While Christmas is fast approaching, so is the transfer window and the media are doing their level best to link as many players possible to the Premier League. Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham, as always with Fleet Street, are behind the majority of them as the media looks to second guess the football clubs.
In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Wenger keeping his options open; Joey Barton and Nicklas Bendtner pledge their futures, while Roy Hodgson remains unfazed by Benitez rumours.
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Wenger keeping options open – Sky Sports
Football Association appoints Bernstein as new chairman – Guardian
Spurs keen on Fenerbahce’s Senturk – Guardian
Barton: I’m staying at Newcastle – Daily Telegraph
Gerard’s all a-loan this Xmas – Sun
Liverpool contact Bordeaux left-back Benoit Tremoulinas – IM Scouting
Steve Kean to serve until end of season – Daily Telegraph
Bendtner pledges Arsenal stay – Mirror
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Sir Alex Ferguson sees tomorrow’s visit to North London as a massive test to the Red Devils current unbeaten run. Despite United’s impressive record in N17 Fergie still believes that it will take a superb performance in order to take home the full three points from the capital and with Rooney and Vidic back in contention they certainly have every chance.
At FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles which includes questioning Fergie’s transfer call; United youngster answers his critics, while Brazilian could provide the perfect solution for Sir Alex.
We also look at the best Man United articles around the web this week.
*VIDEO: The GREATEST Premier League goal ever…you decide!*
From poor man’s Ronaldo, to now a mainstay at Old Trafford
How far should Sir Alex Ferguson search for his NEW Legends?
Manchester is Red/Blue – but does it really matter?
Manchester United youngster making critics eat their words
Rumours of Becks’ decline have (always) been greatly exaggerated
Arsene Wenger better than Fergie…really?
Sir Alex Ferguson making the right transfer call
Is Brazilian the perfect solution to Fergie’s pressing problem?
Is Fergie’s solution simply staring him in the face?
Did Louis ever get the credit he deserved at Old Trafford?
SIX ‘boy wonders’ who represent the future for Manchester United
*Best of Web*
Is Rooney ruined? – United Rant
Local Prominence Or Global Dominance? – The United Religion
Sir Alex Ferguson: Managerial sackings linked to foreign owners – Guardian
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Why are we infatuated with ‘Chicharito’? – The Busby Way
Fergie gets it all wrong on ownership – United Rant
Forlan- far from a United a ‘flop.’ – Red Flag Flying High
The Daily Mail is today reporting that Aston Villa are the latest Premier League club to register an interest in Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton and are prepared to offer Nigel Reo-Coker as bait to get their man. Aston Villa Gerard Houllier is in desperate need of a leading figure to revive his side’s fortunes and it appears that he has identified Barton as that man.
Joey Barton has had a fantastic season for Newcastle this year and Alan Pardew is bound to be reluctant to let his star player go. Alongside Andy Carroll, Joey Barton has been Newcastle’s star performer and was the only player to come out of the FA Cup defeat at Stevenage at the weekend with any credit, with his goal giving Newcastle hope for a short time.
However, there have been reports that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is looking to get Barton off the wage bill at St James’ Park. The 28-year-old is one of Newcastle’s highest earners, and with the form he’s shown this season that is fully deserved. Losing Barton would be a huge blow for Newcastle, and the arrival of Stoke’s Glenn Whelan or Birmingham’s Sebastian Larsson would do little to appease the fans.
For Aston Villa, despite the controversy that follows Joey around, getting Barton would be a huge coup. A player plus cash deal that could see Reo-Coker team up again with his former West Ham manager would also suit the Aston Villa midfielder, who has not had the greatest of times at Villa Park.
Barton’s agent Willie McKay has said: “A lot of clubs have shown interest but Joey is very happy at Newcastle. His ambition is to play for England again and he should do as he is the best midfielder in the country at the moment.” That is hard to argue and is why Newcastle should think twice before letting Barton leave, even if the deal is attractive.
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Reporters standing outside, in front of things – Reporters often stand outside, in front of things. Standing outside in front of things is an important pre-requisite of what reporters do. Standing inside of things is far too easy, and probably comfortable, and reporters should never be comfortable inside of things, lest we cotton on that their jobs are actually pretty easy. I once saw a report on the effects of the cold snap on the rise in hospital admissions, which required – naturally – the intrepid reporter to stand in the cold outside of the hospital (all the way across the road from it in fact, so it was nicely in view) interviewing its chief resident doctor for what seemed like an irresponsibly long time in the shivering cold. This interview could quite easily have taken place inside the hospital of course, where stuff was actually happening, or even in said doctor’s office, allowing both interviewer and -ee a comfortable level of relaxation, aiding and abetting the fluidity and coherence of the conversation immensely one would imagine. But no, they had to stand outside, in the cold, ironically increasing their chances of getting ill and needing to go to the hospital across the road. Often reporters are made to stand outside in front of important landmarks that have nothing relevant to do with the story they’re discussing, but merely to prove they’re in a place that has something do with the story, and thus “looking busy.” We can expect to see a lot of this kind of pointless behaviour as reporters stand idly about in front of Stamford Bridge or Eastlands despite the actual negotiations taking place in Italy, or at the end of a country road that leads to the training pitch they’re not allowed to go near, just to reassure all us plebs that they’re not merely sitting at home checking their twitter feeds like the rest of us.
Ex-Players sitting inside, in cupboards – Whilst reporters are rightly treated like the roaming cattle they are, former players are treated with a modicum more respect by the transfer speculation express. When discussing the possibility of a player’s transfer from one club to the other, it is of course vital to have the opinion of someone who has – at one time or another – played for one club, or the other. This player will likely have no knowledge of the current inner workings of the club, or indeed football itself, having stopped playing in the early ’80s and never gotten closer to the game than a celebrity golf tournament since. Yet his opinion will lend gravitas to whatever opinion it is he’s espousing and he’ll be available. Former players are almost always interviewed in two ways; via satellite from a celebrity golf tournament, or in a cupboard full of monitors. The second allows said former player to view footage of said current player, and make insightful observations with words like “which is what he’ll bring to the table” and “a whole new dimension.” If he’s really lucky, he’ll be able to slip in an anecdote about his time at Fulham in 1982.
Cars – Cars form a crucially important part of transfer speculation, filling up hours of repeatable filler footage as reporters speculate wildly on the actions of various players from outside of a stadium or the end of a country lane. Most footballers these days drive cars of course, and most of these are inappropriately large, expensive things with tinted windows that all inexplicably look pretty much the same. This means that footage of a large car with tinted windows entering and exiting somewhere nondescript makes the perfect visual filler for virtually any story. As rolling news trundles on in its constant desperation for something to happen, this footage will be replayed endlessly as the hapless “man at the scene” informs us that “we’ve heard nothing yet, but he arrived at training this morning as usual.” Occasionally, to the unbridled joy of the huddled, wild outdoor newsmen themselves, a car will stop and converse with the mass of hungry reporters for anything up to a whole three minutes. Frequently however, this conversation will yield no interesting information, and ‘Arry will simply be asking them if anyone knows the form for the 3:40 at Lingfield.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
Sunglasses in Airports – In a spin off from the ‘Cars’ motif, constant footage of players walking around airports with a wheeled suitcase dressed like diamond encrusted clowns will abound. This is a must for your more personal rolling news filler, and will mandatorily require the player in question to be wearing sunglasses, despite the fact he’s in England, in the winter and most significantly indoors, contravening Rule 4 of the official people’s guide to not being a complete and utter twunt.
Women – Due to the recent Sky sexism scandal, women will now perform all acts of reportage leading up to the deadline, as the once proud network that gave us Mile High seeks to claw back its credibility, whilst the other networks seize on their chance to get one over on Old Rupe’s boy’s club. After Richard Keys’ inevitable public flogging (which will take place in The Body Shop and be screened exclusively on Living TV) Helen Chamberlain will be put in charge of all live footballing matters and Jamie Redknapp will (literally) be replaced by Louise – in order to maintain the ancient and accepted quota of Redknapps in football.
Boyhood Dreams fulfilled – Once a player has actually signed for a club, much to the orgasmic joy of reporters and viewers everywhere, he will almost certainly be required to declare some kind of pride at his new employment. In many cases, this will include a gushing fulfillment of some cherished aspirational dream. This line can be recycled indefinitely, especially if you’re Robbie Keane and you’ve signed for one of your many numerous boyhood clubs.
Arsene Wenger – Arsenal’s raptorially elegant manager is a notable mainstay of the January transfer window. Most notable by his absence in fact, but his constant assurances that he will eventually actually buy someone, but that he doesn’t need to, and actually won’t. Some say Wenger is mistrusting of the process of mid-season transfers, some say he will never buy again, and some say he’s has never actually ever bought anyone anyway, and instead grown all his players form an experimental cress garden in his attic, lending credence to the argument that Marouane Chamakh was made from fossilized Raptor DNA after Wenger had watched Jurassic Park over Christmas one year.
Sir Alex Ferguson – Like his nemesis come friend, come nemesis, come friend again, Fergie will be similarly notable for his non-entrance to the mid-winter fray, and his constant assurances that he has actually got lots of money to spend, looaads of it, honest guv, but he just doesn’t see anything he likes, so there. Pfftttttttt.
Last minute changes of heart – Some players don’t really care where they go, as long as they go somewhere, so desperate are they to escape from whatever slavish, highly paid hell they’re currently slumming it in. At some point, but almost always at the very last minute, a player will seem destined to sign for one club, only to suddenly decide to switch to another at the last minute, usually on the basis that this club is actually better, but apparently really where he wanted to go to all along, and also his boyhood club, that he’s dreamed of since he kicked balls of newspaper around a Rio slum.
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Shirts and Tattoos of unsigned players – In the age old tradition of football fans being complete idiots, some irresponsibly excitable fan will decide – wholly unwisely, and probably without the consultation of his doctors – to buy a shirt, or in extreme cases, get a tattoo, with the name and presumed number of a player spuriously linked with his club. Said fan will then be promptly ridiculed by the footballing world at large and drag down the reputation of his exasperated colleagues, most likely at Newcastle or Manchester City. If this doesn’t happen, a photo-shopped picture will appear on the Internet, and everyone will assume it has anyway.
You can follow Oscar on twitter here http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary where you can help him decide whether wanting to see Black Swan just for the Lesbian scene is sexist or not?
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With the arrival of Ben Arfa at Newcastle, I thought back of another French man at St James’ Park, but not David Ginola, I was thinking of Laurent Robert. In the early 2000s, there were many good set piece takers in the Premiership, David Beckham was the most notable but perhaps none were as powerful, or as spectacular as those free kicks of Laurent Robert. So what happened to him?
When Newcastle signed French winger Laurent Robert for £9.5m in 2001, big things were expected from him. He had already played a handful of international games and scored. He had also already played in the Champions League for PSG where he had famously set up six goals in one match.
He scored 4 goals from direct free kicks in his first season. Including this one
[youtube P4ZkHtUs_zY Robert Free Kick]
After a game against Manchester United he drew praise from Alex Ferguson. You could even say his delivery in that game was better than Beckham’s. Indeed it appears his Newcastle career got off on the right foot, despite him having one of the best left feet in the game.
In his first season, though, he was more than just a set-piece expert. He had pace and was creative and delivered some fantastic crosses. Having helped Newcastle get into the Champions League he was still 26 and half way through a potentially long and fruitful journey.
However three years later Robert career had plateaued at Newcastle and he found himself arguing with anyone who would listen, playing on loan for half a season at Portsmouth before leaving the Premier League forever. So just what did happen to Laurent Robert?
Well sadly for Robert, he petered out quite slowly.
In his second year at Newcastle he fell out with the management, apparently being dismayed at the internal decisions of the club. He was accused of becoming lazy and selfish and although he stayed for a few seasons, when Souness arrived his days were numbered.
In 2006 Robert got signed by Benfica, who were playing Champions league football. His first goal was a 40 yard free kick in a big Derby against Porto, so again he got off to a flyer. But his chances became limited as he appeared to lose interest and again was accused of being idle and only really caring about no 1. He found himself on the peripheries, something he was not content with and later secured himself a move to Levante for the following season. There he only played a few complete games scoring a few goals, but again failing to ever make a big impression.
After Levante he had a loan spell at Derby County, there was speculation at the time that he might return to Newcastle, but it appeared these rumours were based on his desires and not the clubs.
He then moved to Toronto where despite one important goal and a few good performances he was released after just 17 appearances. He moved on and played 6 games for Greek side Larrissa before again being released.
It seems his CV would have had enough dazzling footage on it for him to be signed up in the hope that ‘maybe this time it will be different’ managers must have thought ‘with the right handling and care he could become great’. This never materialized after moving to leaving England at the end of 2005-06 he only made 53 appearances in 4 seasons.
So talented, but it appears, so very temperamental that he was never able to achieve what he could perhaps have done. He always scored good goals. But his temperament was up there with the worst of them and he was always his own biggest enemy.
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With the recent retirement of Gary Neville you can only wonder how good a hybrid of the two may have been. Robert certainly lacked Neville’s desire to improve and do his best to make the most of his ability. Robert honestly has very little choice but to blame himself for never establishing himself and his career in the way he could have done, it appears he was always content on the spectacular but never interested the uglier side of the game, the dedication and the hard work.
In answer to the question whatever happened to Laurent Robert? You would have to answer; not much. He promised so much but peaked at 27 and never really got his career stabilized. That said, he had an unbelievable left foot and will never be forgotten for scoring some of the most unlikely and audacious free kicks I have ever seen….
As Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness basked in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over AC Milan in last week’s Champions League last 16 tie, the pair were asked about the potential for an Italian victory in the second leg. Redknapp, who had been busy lauding the Spurs performance, blurted out; “Milan can’t be that bad again- they were shocking!” Souness, taken aback by Redknapp’s negativity, bristled. ”I don’t know Jamie, I thought Spurs didn’t allow Milan to play well.”
The post-match sound bite of a losing manager, slating his players but claiming that such criticism takes nothing away from the winning side has long been the standard, however the attitude has had a knock on effect on the way the media paint a picture for fans through the medium of player ‘ratings’ which so flood websites and newspapers.
You will hear, more often than not, that the winning team played well and losers poorly, regardless of the context of the game. This is thus reflected in the ratings given players by major newspapers and media outlets in the wake of big games.
You might remember that the BBC used to run a player rating system where there was a chance to mark players during the course of the game. This seemed, in principal, an excellent way of gauging player performance until it dawned that for the users of the website to be viewing many of the games they would either have to be watching illegal streams, or making up the ratings as they went along- possibly explaining why Emile Heskey averaged under 3.9 every week. The scheme was quietly shelved.
My big issue with these ratings, particularly when dealing with two well matched teams, is when one springs a possibly unexpected result. The key protagonists on each side will be given wildly different marks despite a relatively close score line. I accept this can sometimes be accurate, but surely we are doing good performances a disservice by rating the losing side so poorly when they don’t deserve it.
In reality, if two top sides went head to head and each member of one midfield rated eight or nine out of ten and the other rated four or five, as we are so often meant to believe happens, these games would be far more one sided and uncompetitive. Are you not annoyed when reading about a big win for your team and seeing that your vanquished opponents are getting slated, whether they deserve it or not?
This leads to my next question; what are these ratings meant to reflect? Are they supposed to appreciate the varying levels of ability of each player- would an eight for Titus Bramble be more of a six for John Terry? Or are all players created equal with top marks something each player could realistically attain by merely having a reasonable game?
The game that always sticks in my mind as an example of the problems with the current system was Arsenal’s 2008 Champions League win over AC Milan at the San Siro. The papers cried how it was the dawning of a new era and the coming of age for Arsene Wenger’s young team. Yet, when the same journalists came to put their player ratings to paper, none of the AC Milan players managed to get higher than a six- whilst many of Arsenal’s big players were given eight or nines- was this really the disparity in performance required to hand the Gunners victory in Italy?
With such a subjective system in place, it is strange that so many papers and media outlets put such a weight behind the concept. I would like to see a system that distinguishes itself from an arbitrary numbers system, where each rating considers context and perceived potential of a player, instead of just slating the losing team.
Meanwhile back in Milan,Redknapp, settling in well as the elder statesman of the Sky punditry box brought out one of the oldest clichés in the book in response to Souness; “Ahhh Graeme, I’m not taking anything away from Spurs…”
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Twente cut PSV Eindhoven’s lead at the top of the Eredivisie to just one point on Sunday with a 2-1 home win over VVV Venlo.That result, plus PSV being held to a 2-2 draw at NEC Nijmegen, means the reigning champions are only a point behind PSV with eight games to play.Ola John secured the win for Twente with a goal six minutes from full-time, after Wout Brama had cancelled out Ferry de Regt’s fourth-minute opener for the visitors.PSV, meanwhile, will be ruing Ramon Zomer’s 90th-minute equaliser for NEC. Leroy George put NEC 1-0 up four minutes before half-time but Balazs Dzsudzsak struck back for the visitors three minutes later and Jeremain Lens had them 2-1 in front just after the hour mark before Zomer’s late intervention. Elsewhere on Sunday, Ajax kept up the pressure on the top two with a 3-1 win at bottom side Willem.Ajax were surprisingly behind at half-time after Rangelo Janga opened the scoring on the 19-minute mark, but a Siem de Jong goal levelled proceedings just after the break.The turning point came on 73 minutes when Willem substitute Denis Halilovic tackled Jan Vertonghen crudely and was given his marching orders.Ajax made their numerical advantage count and Vertonghen put them ahead after 80 minutes and Christian Eriksen sealed the win two minutes from the end.Feyenoord climbed to 11th with a 2-1 win at home over NAC Breda.Luc Castaignos put the home side ahead just before the half-hour mark, but NAC struck back through Julian Jenner and a draw seemed likely until Stefan de Vrij scored just two minutes from the end to delight the home fans. And De Graafschap moved further away from the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over ADO Den Haag, thanks to a 10th-minute goal from Rydell Poepon.
Argentine international Fernando Gago could be the latest player to join Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool revolution this summer. Speaking to Calciomercato.it, the player’s agent Zoran Vekic said: “As for Gago, I can say that at the moment it is just speculation. I guess there is some interest. To be more precise, we must still wait for the next few weeks, when we will know his situation better.”
The 24-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, who has appeared 121 times for Los Blancos, started his career with Argentine titans Boca Juniors. He made his debut for the club in December 2004, featuring in the side’s 1-0 victory over Quilmes. He established himself as a key player for the club during the course of the next season, and featured prominently in their hugely successful 2005/06 season, which saw Los Xeneizes land five major titles.
Gago moved to the Bernabeu in December 2006 for a fee of €20.4 million, and was followed by his compatriot Gonzalo Higuain. He instantly adapted to La Liga, and appeared 17 times for Real Madrid during their 2006-07 title-winning season. His importance to the side grew in 2007/08, and Gago racked up 42 appearances as Real Madrid stormed to a second successive title.
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El Pintita featured in Argentina’s 2005 FIFA World Cup Championship-winning under-20 side, and he has received full international recognition. He made his international debut in 2007 and has been capped 30 times.
A combination of injuries and tough competition for places has meant that Gago’s influence at the Bernabeu has diminished over the course of the last two seasons.
The combative anchorman, who has drawn comparisons with club legend Fernando Redondo, came close to joining Manchester City in January 2010. The summer arrival of German international Sami Khedira has pushed Gago further down the Bernabeu pecking order, with Mourinho preferring to partner the former Stuttgart man with Xabi Alonso.
Rumours suggest that Gago will be available for around £10m this summer. With Liverpool sorely lacking midfield steel since the departure of fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano, a move for Fernando Gago could prove to be an excellent one for both club and player this summer.
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Craig Moore, chairman of the FA Commission that recently punished Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, with a five game touchline ban for criticising referee Martin Atkinson, has this week stated that the Scottish manager’s comments “undermined the FA’s Respect Campaign”.
Moore further suggested that Ferguson’s failure to officially apologise to Atkinson was a “serious aggravating” factor for his punishment, and his reluctance to retract the comments “undermined the attempts by the FA, through its Respect Campaign, to encourage higher standards of behaviour within the game.”
Whilst the content of Ferguson’s comments justified a severe punishment – he claimed an absence of a “fair or strong” referee in United’s 2-1 Premier League defeat by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on March 1st – the intrinsic nature of the discussion was flawed.
The Respect Campaign was launched at the start of the 2008/2009 Premier League season as an attempt to promote better behaviour towards referees. However, the initiative was immediately undermined by a series of outbursts from managers, notably Joe Kinnear, then manager of Newcastle, claiming a “Mickey Mouse referee” had overseen his side’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham. The man in black that day was, you guessed it, Martin Atkinson.
Instead of clearing the lines of communication between referees and managers or awarding referees a voice of their own, the Respect campaign simply attempted to provide a deterrent to managers and players for speaking about the officials. Unfortunately, the incentive to refrain from complaining about referees was not, and is not, strong enough.
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We are all aware that referees face a tough task in trying to make the correct decision every time, but their jobs are made much more arduous as a result of a lack of accountability. Had Atkinson been granted a few minutes to publicly explain his decisions, within say an hour following full-time, and with the aid of televised replays, then at least Ferguson would have had grounds to complain based on Atkinson’s reassessment.
If all referees were obliged, as managers are, to participate in a post-match analysis, then managers, players and fans would better understand the methods employed by referees to reach a conclusion on decisions that have to be made in the blink of an eye. Officials should be afforded the opportunity to clarify their in-match judgments and conclude whether they were correct or not. By providing a reexamination of events, referees could afford managers a platform for discussion where all parties share a voice.
Currently, managers can only assume that muted officials defend every glaringly erroneous decision they make. In the current managerial climate, each refereeing decision could be the difference between achieving the targets set by the chairman or instructing your agent to look for available coaching positions in the Championship. In this regard, it is understandable that managers vent their fury at inaccurate refereeing, as the pressure on them to produce results is so high.
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Respecting referees and the demanding task they continually face is of fundamental importance, especially as a way of setting an example to youngsters who imitate their heroes behaviour in Sunday-league matches. The problem is the FA has been attempting to encourage others to respect officials whilst at the same time neglecting their duty to do so. Suspending and charging managers for speaking out against decisions is only legitimised within the framework the FA has developed. It is time, and has been for a while, for the FA to grant referees and their assistants the capacity to reevaluate their decisions, thereby providing managers with a more concrete platform for debate and an enhanced respect for those in charge.
The recent comments by Gavin Law of Liverpool’s shirt sponsor, Standard Chartered, have caused some concern over the possibility of the Reds signing token players in the summer rather than what’s needed on the pitch.
The banking company’s Mr Law; head of corporate affairs, expressed the desire for Liverpool to sign players of nationality where their bank operates, like Japan and China. He mentioned how the likes of Manchester United’s Ji-Sung Park has massively increased coverage and revenue in Korea and how Liverpool want to do the same, by saying:
“Liverpool are more aware than most other clubs we’ve spoken to of the commercial opportunity for them. If they can sell a million shirts with another Mr Park on the back, why wouldn’t you?”
So could we see a few Asian players sign for Liverpool in the summer? Or should Liverpool’s main concerns be to sign quality on the pitch, before commercial interests are considered? After all, they’ve just announced a pre-season tour of Asia this Summer.
Fortunately for Reds fans, the club has responded to the desires of their shirt sponsors. Fenway Sports Group have said they will not be signing players to sell shirts and new arrivals will be signed on the basis of their football talent before any commercial advantage is considered.
However, there are a number of Asian players that could match Liverpool’s summer transfer targets. Monaco’s Park Chu-Young is already said to be a target of Liverpool and the winger has been impressing in the French league this season. Or, the Reds could go for a player with Premier League experience in Bolton’s right sided midfielder, Lee Chung Yong, who has shown some class since joining the Trotters in 2009.
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The comments made by Liverpool’s £20-million-a-year sponsor have only created more scrutiny on what is already a much-debated subject. When Arsenal signed Japanese international Junichi Inamoto in 2001, it was criticised in regards to Arsenal cashing in on the Asian market, as sales of Arsenal shirts increased and tourists from Japan were visiting Highbury.
Inamoto wasn’t a huge star in his own country at the time, unlike Hidetoshi Nakata, who moved to the Serie A in Italy in 1998. The player had commercial success but was also rather successful in Italy playing for the likes of Roma, Parma and Fiorentina.
The accusation of Arsenal signing the player for commercial reasons was not helped after he was released a year later having never made a Premier League appearance for the Gunners, only getting games in the League Cup and Champions League. The player did go on to have successful spells with Fulham and West Brom, however.
Commercial interests are very important to Liverpool, who want to financially match the likes of the current top four and the signing of a talented player from Asia would be a smart move on the pitch as well as off it.
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It’d be worrying for Liverpool fans if they did sign an Asian player, who would only a fringe player in the squad at best. However, if they are to sign someone similar to the ability of United’s Park, then it would be successful in both avenues and you can’t argue against that.
Can Liverpool get the better of Man City at Anfield tonight? You can back them at 6/4 for the win!