The January transfer window always marks a frantic period in British football. Clubs vie for any acquisition that will hopefully slingshot them up their respective league to glory, safety or just mid table mediocrity. We take a look at the looming transfer window and the likely men to join the Premier League.
Firstly, Anderlecht forward Romelu Lukaku has agreed to join Arsenal. According to Talksport, “the 17-year-old is definitely leaving the Belgian club with the Gunners his destination, a coup for the club considering the Belgium striker has been coveted by Chelsea, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid.” It is unknown how the Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger managed to persuade the player to join the club. “Presumably it didn’t involve showing the youngster Arsenal’s trophy cabinet during his tour of the Emirates Stadium”
With Edwin van der Sar’s retirement in the offing, Sir Alex Ferguson has made no secret that he is in the market for a replacement. The most likely contender is 26 year old Swedish international Anders Lindegaard. Officials from Lindegaard’s club, Aalesund FK have confirmed they have spoken to Manchester United and both clubs are supposedly eager to complete the deal as soon as possible.
Rumours coming out Anfield would suggest Roy Hodgson is planning a transfer swoop for Valencia’s Juan Mata, with out-of-sorts Ryan Babel to be used as a bargaining chip. Liverpool have made their worst league start since 1953 and manager Roy Hodgson is under pressure to turn things around. It would seem Mata certainly has the talent to turn Liverpool’s fortunes around. “He hit 14 goals last season in La Liga and racked up more assists than any other player in the league, except Barcelona’s Xavi.” Reports on Spanish radio, suggest that Hodgson is likely to offer a £10m bid for the 22-year-old, using stop starter Ryan Babel as a make-weight.
Newcastle fans should be worried as rumours are apparently circulating under the surface hinting at the departure of their much loved centre forward Andy Carroll. Although already plying his trade in the Premier League, Carroll could leave Newcastle United following his problems off the pitch – and Tottenham are in pole position to land him. The striker is also attracting interest from Manchester United and Liverpool after a stunning start to the Premier League season. With such clubs interested should an acceptable bid come in for the self confessed Newcastle fan, would the offer he simply couldn’t refuse?
In light of Chelsea’s current injury crisis it is thought Ancelotti will be looking to strengthen and add some depth to his squad come January. With a number of players from Chelsea’s back line out injured, Roma’s French defender Philippe Mexes is said to be being coaxed into signing a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea in January, before pitching up at Stamford Bridge when his contract with the Serie A side expires next summer.
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So there you have it! Whether any of these players will find their way to Europe’s top league is a totally different question, however at this moment in time they seem to be the most likely to join us. Transfer rumours never stop circulating and it’s inevitable I have not mentioned others, so why not comment and let me know!
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What every honourable cockney geezer needs, Michael Caine’s autobiography. As he talks his way through all his… well obviously not his wheeling and dealing as we all know how ‘Arry feels about that! Surely if there’s one thing a true Laaaaaaaandoner desires it’s the life of Laaaaaandon’s most recognisable face of the last few decades in his own words.
Perhaps this could be the start of a truly great friendship encapsulated by just how much they both want everyone to know which city they are from. And despite Michael’s West Ham connections I’m sure he would be welcomed at White Hart Lane, just like Harry himself was. The two can discuss tactics in the game that brought the third Reich crumbling down, Escape to Victory.
Obviously we are only talking in jest here, but if you picked out Harry Redknapp for secret santa what would you buy him? A new right back perhaps? Remember money is no object here?
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Joe Cole’s transfer to Liverpool this summer was widely seen as a positive step for Liverpool and Roy Hodgson. The Joe Cole transfer was impressive because it showed that Liverpool could still attract top names, as well as compete with Chelsea and Manchester United in terms of wages offered. However, following Joe Cole’s sending off against Arsenal on day one of the season, Liverpool have not seen the best of Cole. Injuries haven’t helped and Hodgson’s tactics have stifled Cole at times, but his general play has been below par.
Roy Hodgson’s comments were very strong, and maybe something that should have stayed in the changing room. The Liverpool boss claims that the player should have no complaints with where he has been positioned this season, and should get on with the job.
”I think he has got to do it on the field of play. With all the best will in the world, people can be in support or not in support, some will say he’s not doing it, and some will say he’s unlucky because he’s not playing in the right position.”
“But I don’t have any truck with that. Joe is a midfield player, and what’s the right position for a midfield player?”
”Joe has to come to terms with the fact that he has come here after an unsuccessful period at Chelsea with high hopes of taking Liverpool by storm and unfortunately it’s not happened. That’s life. He should be convincing me and everyone watching that this is a player who can help Liverpool win things. And I think you couldn’t say that has been the case so far.”
Joe Cole is a quality player, a player that can turn a game in a blink of an eye. He had a torrid last season at Chelsea but his quality should not be called into question. Chelsea have made a mistake by not keeping Joe Cole. After their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal last night, it is clear they are devoid of any craft, imagination or flair, something Joe Cole would have offered in abundance. Furthermore, Chelsea are starting to pay the price for allowing Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho to leave the club. Chelsea were wrong to turn their back on Joe Cole, Liverpool must not do the same. Joe Cole is a quality player and he will turn his form around. These comments from Hodgson will not help the situation.
Joe Cole will provide Liverpool with something different. If the team is playing well, Joe Cole will flourish. Cole is not Steven Gerrard – he will not inspire the team with grit and determination. However, when the team is playing with little fear, getting the ball to Cole early, he will show Liverpool fans his true ability. It can’t be easy to have the club you loved turn their back on you but Cole has to get to terms with it sooner rather than later. What happened at Chelsea is not pleasant for Joe Cole but he is playing at one of the most famous clubs in the world – what a chance he has to prove everyone in London wrong.
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Hodgson’s comments were thoughtless and smacked of trying to find a scapegoat. These kind of things should be kept in the dressing room not thrown into the public forum. What morale boosting leader would offer such a strong attack on one of his own players – a player he signed not six months ago. Hodgson is trying to pin his lack of ability on Joe Cole, something most Liverpool fans must see. Joe Cole is a quality player, Roy Hodgson is not a quality manager. At a time when most managers would be offering an arm around a player, Hodgson has publicly attacked one of his. Would Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger destroy a players belief in this way? Of course not. Joe Cole is too good a player not to prove his doubters wrong. Sadly, it is another shameful excuse from Liverpool’s under fire boss.
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For the Boxing Day games I’ve gone for a classic counter attack finished off superbly by Tottenham’s Rafael Van der Vaart. For the Spurs fans who had travelled up to Villa for the game, they were treated to a late Christmas present as their team scored an almost equally impressive first goal again by Van der Vaart but orchestrated by Luka Modric in an open and entertaining first half.
Needless to say Jermain Defoe’s sending off on 27 minutes changed the game and in the second half Aston Villa were in the ascendency. Yet in a performance that epitomised a new spirit at Tottenham, rather than crumbling at a difficult away ground and down to ten men, they were able to rally and play on the counter. A move started by Van der Vaart deep in his own half soon had Gareth Bale scampering down the right flank to find Lennon who looked up and fed Van der Vaart to deliver a composed finish.
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With the shocking news that Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is seeking a move away from the club to Premier League rivals Chelsea this transfer window breaking over the past few days, would the sale of one of the club’s most prized assets be a good thing for Liverpool in the long-run and help facilitate a much needed revamp of the playing staff?
It’s become abundantly clear over the past few months that Fernando Torres has been far from a happy bunny at Liverpool, and while the nature of his discontent has been there for everyone to see, the speed at which things have moved over the past few days has been most surprising.
Chelsea Chairman Roman Abramovich has, correctly in my opinion, decided to right the wrongs of the club’s flawed transfer policy in the summer by digging into his considerably deep pockets to fork out for some established talent. The plan at Chelsea was always that in the long-term, the club would become self-sufficient and there has been a noticeable decrease in the club’s spending the past few seasons.
Abramovich though, has obviously realised that he has the right man in charge in Carlo Ancelotti, it’s just that the current squad that he has at his disposal could do with a bit of spring cleaning. Chelsea are clearly an ageing side on the wane at the minute, and by my estimation they probably need around 5 players to challenge for the title again – a strange thing to say about the current champions I grant you, but let me explain.
Jose Mourinho’s back-to-back title winning teams had pace in abundance and a real strength in depth. While Chelsea’s current allegiance to their youth team players is admirable, they are simply too raw to be relied upon just yet. I think Chelsea need a centre half, with their pursuit of David Luiz likely to be revived in the summer, a creative midfielder, a couple of genuinely pacy wingers and a world-class striker. It’s not a major overhaul that’s required, just tweaking and a padding out of the first-team squad with some more experienced faces.
They lack pace and a source of creativity. Their game is based around power and confidence. A Chelsea side in full flow has a swagger to it that’s hard to match and they can be absolutely devastating when on song. Sadly for Ancelotti though, this hasn’t been the case for most of the campaign so far as they‘ve struggled for consistency. Signing Torres would send a signal that the days of the club dipping into the transfer market for big-name players aren’t completely over yet in a signal of both intent and ambition. Torres most certainly offers Chelsea a different option to what they currently possess.
So how much will he cost?
Liverpool have apparently demanded £50m for Torres, a fair price by my estimations, especially considering the market today, the barometer of the Cristiano Ronaldo sale, and the premium you pay for doing your business in January. What Liverpool do with this money is even more interesting though.
If Chelsea need 5 players to truly challenge for the title once more, then Liverpool need probably double that to have a sufficient chance of doing the unthinkable – winning a Premier League title.
Liverpool’s squad lacks any real depth and the quality is worryingly uneven. You have fabulous players such as Reina, Gerrard and Torres interspersed with deeply average footballers such as Konchesky, N’Gog and Kyrgiakos. In short, Liverpool are in dire need of a revamp.
The departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid has hit the club much harder than even the most avid Alonso fan could have envisaged, and they’ve struggled to dictate the tempo of games ever since. Raul Meireles has been a great buy, but he looks more of a threat and comfortable further up the pitch. Top priority has to be, a replacement for Torres aside, a player capable of dictating their play from deep.
This is obviously a task easier said than done and playmakers of the calibre of Alonso are few and far between, but with £50m in their back pocket, Liverpool can afford to pursue, in the eloquent Jamie Redknapp’s words, ‘top, top players’.
The fact that Liverpool are so over-reliant on two players – Gerrard and Torres – isn’t a healthy state of affairs for any side to be in and isn‘t conducive to any sort of lasting success. The lack of a plan B if those two struggle to perform has been present for three seasons now and shows a lack of foresight on successive former managers’ parts.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
The new owners NESV have been faced with arguably their biggest challenge to date since taking ownership of the club. If they get the right deal, the one rumoured today to be £40m plus Nicolas Anelka, then it could mark a turning point in Liverpool’s future direction. The fees being banded about are considerable, particularly when you factor in the player’s willingness to move and his injury-record over the past 18 months.
Unlike just a few short months ago, when rejecting a £35-40m bid would have been nothing short of remarkable, the club now don’t have an overwhelming need to sell. The preferred option would be to negotiate some sort of deal with Torres so that he could stay until the end of the season at least, then be allowed to move on if he still wished to. The problem with this though, is that you then have an unhappy player on your hands for half a season.
The deal for Luis Suarez has to be seen as the exception and not the rule when it comes to the sort of fees that the new owners are likely to pay out in the future. Before the whole Torres/Chelsea story came to light, Suarez was being pursued with the intention of partnering Torres, not replacing him. £23m is a lot of money for Suarez, but it shows that if the right player were to become available, NESV aren’t afraid to put their hands in their pocket and stump up the necessary cash.
However, NESV are widely known in the US from their time in charge of Boston Red Sox to be canny operators when it comes to transfer dealings. They prefer sensible investments over time as opposed to the quick fix option. Without the sale of someone such as Torres, the process of rebuilding the side would happen through incremental steps and smart acquisitions as opposed to a short spending spree. The sale of Torres could speed up the revamp considerably and offers the club more options.
The club’s new-found stability off the pitch means their bargaining position is now significantly stronger than it was at the beginning of the season and they’ll drive a hard bargain for Torres.
In an ideal world for Liverpool fans, Fernando Torres would be content to see out the remaining years of his contract at the club and spearhead Kenny Dalglish’s second coming. This, though, looks to be little more than a pipedream after the last few days’ revelations. Torres will leave, either today, something which is looking increasingly likely, or at the very latest, in the summer. What Liverpool do now is of paramount importance.
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Losing a player of Torres’ quality would hit any side hard. He’s unquestionably one of the top three strikers in the world and has a fantastic record for the club. His pace, directness, work-rate and finesse will be sorely missed – but it’s clear that a move for around the £50m is in the best interests of both parties.
It gives Liverpool the opportunity to bring an end to the days of middling players not fit to wear the shirt and presents them with an opportunity for recovery. The first shoots of recovery have already been sown with the arrival of club legend Dalglish. Back-to-back wins and improved performances on the pitch show that it’s not all doom and gloom on the pitch and that there is still a lot at the club to work with.
Inter Milan have shown the blueprint on how to achieve success after the departure of one of the club’s biggest stars, with their reinvestment in their squad after the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovich to Barcelona for £40m plus Samuel Eto‘o. His departure enabled the club to sign Wesley Sneijder, Lucio, Goran Pandev, Thaigo Motta, Diego Milito and McDonald Mariga. An unprecedented treble followed and Liverpool will be hoping the sale of Torres for a similar fee will go some way to repeating similar success on the pitch.
The idea of letting go of Torres seemed bonkers at first, but now, it seems like the only way forward for the club.
What does everyone else think? Should Liverpool cash in on Torres while they can? Will his sale facilitate an improvement of the squad as a whole? Or is this simply a worrying sign of a club in decline?
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My general attitude to David Pleat when listening to the former Tottenham manager on ITV and BBC radio is to ignore him. In fact, ever since Pleat referred to Hernan Crespo as; “that Italian striker” his opinions lost a fair amount of credibility in my eyes.
I was surprised then to hear the former TV pundit pick up on Fabio Capello’s use of his midfielders during England’s friendly win over Denmark on Wednesday night. Pleat’s argument is that the use of two out and out wingers is an unnecessary risk, and a luxury at the top level. Capello would appear to disagree, and whilst a two pronged attack with Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent is becoming a more a more likely option for England’s next round of Euro 2012 qualifiers, the idea of using two fully-fledged wingers is certainly something the Italian is considering as a back up.
However, are England able to justify the use of two attacking wingers in any system? In the past, with David Beckham still patrolling the right hand side of midfield, the national side have had a slightly slower, arguably more balanced midfield. In employing two responsibility free wide men, Capello’s men can potentially gain the sort of penetration that they lacked during the sluggish World Cup campaign.
However, there are major risks to this formation. On Wednesday night, the experiment left full-backs Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole exposed to raids from veteran, Dennis Rommedahl and the impressive but inexperienced, Christian Eriksen. This would be a potential disaster were England to adopt the same system against European rivals with genuine pace down the flanks. Holland or Germany in particular would pounce on this sort of formation with relish.
Admittedly Cole, who has history of struggles against Rommedahl, has shown the ability to keep the very best players quiet. However, it is the role of Glen Johnson that would most concern me in a formation that enabled two wingers to operate with the freedom with which they were deployed against the Danish.
When England line-up against Wales in March, which two of Theo Walcott, Stewart Downing, James Milner and Ashley Young will start is unclear. By then, Capello will hope to be able to call on both Frank Lampard and Seven Gerrard in the centre of midfield, increasing the chance of a two winged system being used again, certainly if he backs out on selecting Darren Bent.
However, the whole conundrum would appear to rest on how keen the Italian will be to give Jack Wilshere his first competitive start in an England shirt. Handing Wilshere a role in the centre would mean sacrificing the increasingly immobile Gareth Barry as defensive cover at the base of midfield. Either Capello would be forced to try and turn Wilshere into a holding player for the trip to Wales, certainly a risk, or to do away with the attacking winger concept altogether.
The concern for Capello is if he doesn’t try a system with two wingers now, there will precious little time to experiment in any sort of meaningful environment until England revert to the system when 2-0 down to Spain in a Euro 2012 semi-final.
Nevertheless, even against a Wales side hammered 3-0 by the Republic of Ireland this week, the thought of leaving Glen Johnson alone to deal with a rampaging Gareth Bale does not sound a sensible proposition.
The demands placed on the modern day full back mean that Cole and Johnson will already be expected to do some attack-minded work for England- both have already been nurtured at club level to display attacking capability- this may convince Capello to shelve the experiment for the time being.
My money would be on Walcott being given the freedom of the right flank against Wales, with James Milner carrying out a conservative brief on the left hand side. This would allow a fit Gerrard and Lampard to team up in the middle, with Jack Wilshere given the nod ahead of Gareth Barry. With the potential problems of a system overhaul, Capello might just hope his plan A is good enough. If not, he’ll just wing it.
If you fancy a lesson on the formations used by Tottenham sides of the 1980’s, sign up via my Twitter account- David Pleat is the guest speaker. Don’t worry about transport Dave and I will pick you up curbside.
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Tottenham by nature never make life easy for themselves and this week certainly proved no different as the North Londoners missed a golden opportunity to move into third place in the Premier League. If Harry Redknapp is going to secure Champions League football next season then it is clear that they will have to do it the hard way, although Spurs fans will concur that they don’t know it any other way.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Tottenham blogs that include a cheaper option to the club’s stadium development; Assou Ekotto proves critics wrong, while it is time Aaron Lennon got similar plaudits to Theo.
We also look at the best Tottenham articles around the web this week.
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How ‘Championship Manager’s’ finest fell by the wayside*
The WORST Tottenham Kits of our time?
Only serves to highlight Levy’s transfer failing
Tottenham set to battle for Fenerbahce star
The cheaper option to Tottenham’s stadium development?
Tottenham prodigy highlights the pitfalls of a big move
‘Six of the best’ – Tottenham starlets set to make the grade at WHL
Benoit Assou-Ekotto has certainly proved me wrong
Harry Redknapp’s most pressing problem
Top TEN Football Rulings That Need To Change
Tottenham game highlights why I hate player ratings
The right move for Connor Wickham?
Time Aaron Lennon was afforded similar praise?
Is their achievement really greater than that of Tottenham?
A transfer stance that will show that Tottenham are the real deal
*Best of Web*
The only way we know – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
You Make Your Own Luck – Tottenham On My Mind
Spurs stadium – It’s all gone quiet over there – Martin Cloake Online
A Guided Tour Of Crazypavinchenko’s House – Harry Hotspur
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Anyone for a goal? – Dear Mr Levy
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Click on image below to see a gallery of Christian’s lady wife
Trying to recall the 1953 FA Cup final sounds like an impossible task, until you hear it described by it’s more famous nickname. The Stanley Matthews final was of the greatest cup ties ever seen at Wembley as his performance inspired Blackpool to beat Bolton after being 3-1 down.
The performance of the Blackpool hero was that good that it eclipsed that of striker Stan Mortensen, who during the game, became the only player to score an FA cup hat-trick at the old Wembley.
The Tangerines went in at half-time 2-1 down, with Nat Lofthouse getting on the score sheet again for Bolton; he’d scored in every single round. In the second half, after going further behind, Matthews turned on the style and produced cross after cross for the Blackpool strikers to feast on.
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The winner, scored with seconds remaining again via a Matthews cross, sparked scenes of hysteria amongst the Blackpool fans. The performance of Matthews was said to be that good that the brilliant Nat Lofthouse even stood to applaud despite the crushing defeat.
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Matthews had missed out on the trophy in the previous two finals. Not only did he finally get his hands on the famous trophy in the year of ‘53, but he wrote himself a little bit of FA cup history which will be remembered forever.
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Inter Milan boss Leonardo credited his side’s psychological strength following their come-from-behind 5-2 defeat of Genoa on Sunday.Inter were trailing 1-0 after Rodrigo Palacio opened Genoa’s account in the 40th minute at the San Siro, but the hosts slammed in three goals – two of them to Samuel Eto’o – in the first 17 minutes of the second half to wrest the advantage away.Goran Pandev added another in the 71st minute to make it 4-1, and on-loan Cesena defender Yuto Nagatomo notched his first Inter strike six minutes from time to complete the rout.Leonardo said he could not take credit for Inter’s stunning turnaround, praising instead the physical and mental strength of his players.”We were slow in the first half and these things can happen, but there were no magic words at half-time to get them going again,” the Brazilian manager said.”The fact we score so many second half goals is a great sign for our physical as well as psychological condition.””We work as a team unit and have the same ambitions, to fight together for something important.””This squad is ready and goes beyond all limits. We are coming up to the decisive moment of the season and we’re right in the battle.””Last night’s AC Milan win shows they are a solid outfit and deserve to be top of the table. It’s an open season and the derby will be spectacular, but there are plenty of other games to go as well.”Since taking over from Rafa Benitez, Leonardo has led Inter to 33 points in his first 13 Serie A games, breaking Fabio Capello’s record from his time at Juventus in 2004/05.But the Inter boss refused to be drawn on any similarities between himself and the England manager, who he played under as an attacking midfielder with AC Milan.”Never compare me to Capello,” Leonardo said. “That is not right, as he is my master. Capello brought me to Italy and is an important reference point, as he helped me a great deal.””It’s a nice record to have, but let’s not go overboard. Capello is on another level.”
Twitter recently celebrated its 5th birthday and the social networking site continues to go from strength to strength. For us football fans it is a great place to hear the thoughts of the current Premier League stars, ex-players and top journalists. You shouldn’t just restrict who you follow to those people from the world of football, though, as there are plenty of other great Twitter accounts out there. Here we profile 100 of the best, including football and non-football, funny and serious, famous and spoof. If there’s any we’re missing let us know in the comments below…
Seeing as we’re a football site, let’s start with some big-name footballers:
Rio Ferdinand – Arguably the most famous football Tweeter, Rio spends more time Tweeting than he does playing football right now!
Rafa van der Vaart – Tottenham’s revelation this season, Rafa’s English might not be the best but that doesn’t mean that Spurs fans won’t lap up everything he says.
Nani – The Manchester United midfielder often goes on Twitter to put the record straight, recently saying: “I’ve seen some false reports on the press. I want you to know that you will hear the truth from me. Love MU”.
Darren Bent – Bent hasn’t been on Twitter that often since his outburst against Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy but the Aston Villa striker has said “Promise I will be back on here soon”.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Ronaldo has more than 2 million followers on Twitter so make sure you follow him if you want to stroke his huge ego even more!
If you’re wondering where all the Arsenal and Liverpool players are don’t worry, they’re featured later on!
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Time for some generic football accounts:
The FA – Plenty of quotes and links to video footage, a good source of news before international fixtures.
Soccer Bible – ‘The Global Authority on the latest Football Gear’, the soccer bible will keep you up to date with the release of new football boots, shirts, etc.
Soccer AM – The best football show on TV – well it used to be at least and their Tweets will allow you to enjoy the banter within the team.
Opta Joe – A great source of information for football fans, Opta gives you more footy facts than you could ever want – great pub facts!
ITV Football – Links to football news in and amongst football chat. Don’t think Adrian Chiles is let loose on the account, though.
Mirror Football – One of the better newspaper football accounts around, plenty of footy gossip for you to get your teeth stuck into.
Nike Football – Tweets about what the footballers wearing Nike football boots are up to on and off the pitch.
Adidas Soccer – I couldn’t include Nike but not Adidas, even if they do call their account Adidas Soccer not Football.
Four Four Two – Their bio just about sums it up: ‘Humorous but wholehearted, polished but readable, substantial but accessible, it’s football’s most insightful brand – with added F.U.N.’
Football FanCast – This list wouldn’t be complete without a shameless plug, so here it us! Make sure you follow Football FanCast for all the latest football news and opinion.
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A departure from football now as we look at some general interesting stuff:
Funny or Die – They make funny videos with famous people. Will Ferrell is their boss. They like to laugh and watch kittens do adorable people things – so join them!
Zoo UK – The Twitter account of the UK’s leading lads mag, there you’ll find the hottest girls, latest news, sport, cars, jokes, interviews, gadgets & films.
My Drunk Texts – A place for you to send all the drunk texts you have either received or sent, completely anonymous of course.
Top Gear – Perhaps the best programme on TV (apart from Match of the Day), take a look the gorgeous cars that are featured.
Nando’s – This could well be Rio Ferdinand’s favourite restaurant if his Tweets are to be believed, you can make suggestions for additions to their menu.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE for more must-follow Twitter accounts…
Arsenal players seem to be keen on Tweeting, let’s have a look at some Gunners:
Jack Wilshere – The future of Arsenal and England is a regular Tweeter and even online wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to show his emotions.
Wojciech Szczesny – The young goalkeeper certainly speaks his mind, as a certain tweet about Ashley Cole illustrates.
Johan Djourou – Seeing as the Swiss defender has just got injured, I would suspect on his Twitter Djourou will be keeping you right up to date with how his comeback is progressing.
Samir Nasri – Nasri’s tweets aren’t always the most enlightening, but if you support Arsenal I suppose you won’t really care too much.
Robin van Persie – The Dutchman seems to be something of a joker, posting pictures of Theo Walcott sleeping (left) amongst other gems.
Aaron Ramsey – Arsenal’s second most exciting youngster (after Wilshere), his Tweets are a bit sensible but interesting nonetheless.
Bacary Sagna – The Frenchman’s personality shines through in Tweets like “Ahaha england is cold but i like this country” – priceless.
Craig Eastmond – Grammar isn’t great, but Eastmond’s on Twitter a lot, so worth the follow.
Henri Lansbury – Currently on loan at Norwich, Lansbury is nearing the 50k followers mark on Twitter, so help him smash through it!
Cesc Fabregas – Cesc posts plenty of pictures of the Arsenal lads, but you might need to brush up on your Spanish as he mixes his native language with English.
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5 forms of entertainment to keep you busy when the footy’s not on:
EA – The makers of many great games, including FIFA of course, the Electronic Arts Twitter account will help keep you up to date with all your favourite titles.
Playstation – Official Twitter updates on PlayStation, PS3, PSP, PSN, and PS2, letting you know when the next great game is coming out.
Xbox – If you’re a Microsoft rather than a Sony man than this is the Twitter account for you, just ‘jump in’ as they say in their bio.
Nintendo – Not wanting to leave any of the big games’ manufacturers out, here’s Nintendo’s Twitter offering, where they share the latest gaming news.
Betfair Poker – More of a poker man than a gamer? This account is a must follow as you’ll be treated to irregular free tournament entry competitions.
Liverpool rival the Gunners in terms of players on Twitter, here’s some of their lot:
Dirk Kuyt – Just in case you were unsure, this is the ‘only official Dirk Kuyt Twitter account’ – thanks for clearing that up Dirk!
Glen Johnson – The Liverpool full back says it how it is: “Nice day today, just finished training.” By the way, it was sunny when Glen said that.
Luis Suarez – Liverpool fans will want to follow Suarez who is“convinced we will fix it up in Anfield. Let’s work hard now!”
Lucas Leiva – Not all of Lucas’ Tweets are in English but don’t let that put you off, he recently Tweeted: “Great result and even better celebration thanks Dirk and Luis for the goals and all the team for the tribute.”
Jonjo Shelvey – Jonjo lets you know exactly what he’s up to. Last time I looked it was “Tattoo time!” Jonjo has since deleted his account after his mates got hold of it!
Raheem Sterling – Arguably the future of Liverpool Football Club, Raheem loves football and is certainly one to watch.
Nathan Ecclestone – Currently on loan at Charlton, Nathan is living the dream: “Bedrooms like a bombs hit it yazoo and lucozade bottles all over the gaff need to fix up!”
Brad Jones – Not sure Brad has played for Liverpool yet, but you can read what he thinks about sitting on the bench week after week!
Kenny Dalglish – The man behind Liverpool’s revival has “been a bit busy. Affected my tweeting. Trying to catch up. Thanks for the wonderful support.” – I think we can cut him some slack.
John W Henry – The owner of Liverpool Football Club. Earlier this month he said: Don’t believe the 200 or so stories on potential player “swoops” – spoil sport!
Continue to the NEXT PAGE for even more must-follow Twitter accounts…
5 more non-footy Twitter accounts for you:
Firebox – As their bio says: ‘Firebox scours the world for things with a twist: the very latest gadgets, gifts, games and other geek stuff’. Cool!
Lovefilm – Ideal for when there’s a lack of football on TV, there you’ll find interviews, reviews and general film banter.
Wired – The official Twitter feed of Wired.com and Wired magazine, which they claim is the first word on how technology is changing, and I wouldn’t disagree with them.
Maxim Magazine – Another magazine, this time one that is guys’ ‘Ultimate Guide to Celebrities, Gear, Hot Girls, Photos, Videos, Sex, Women, and Sports’.
FHM – More gorgeous girls, this time courtesy of FHM. Some other random stuff such as “Hear ye! Hear ye! Send a story about a disaster you’ve had with a pet to [email protected], and we’ll pay you £25 if we use it in the mag.”
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15 more footballers for you to look through:
Kevin Davies – Kevin is a regular Tweeter and the captain of Bolton Wanderers is only too happy to talk to his fans – top bloke.
Stuart Holden – Kevin’s Bolton teammate has recently suffered an injury, so the American player will have a fair bit of time to carry on Tweeting.
Ryan Babel – The Dutchman may no longer play for the Reds but he famously got in trouble while at Liverpool for mocking up photos of referees!
Micah Richards – Plenty of links to reports of Micah in action, but a few personal Tweets too including “All the best andy carrol! U will live up 2 the expectation!!”
Jamie O’Hara – Jamie says this about himself – Professional footballer and a loving dad with an amazing fiance loves playing football and works hard, but never forget where ive come from – which pretty much sums him up.
Landon Donovan – The American players are into Twitter in a big way and if you follow Landon you’ll get a good idea about the daily life of a professional footballer.
Carlton Cole – The West Ham striker has some big concerns –“How comes when u go into a carribean restaurant and u ask for a certain dish they say “we’ve run out!” Unacceptable.”
Kyle Walker – Kyle lets you know how he’s getting on – “In the car on the way home guttered about this little niggle hopefully will be fine for everton on sat fingers crossed 🙁 :'(“
Danny Welbeck – Danny gets up to all kinds of mischief –“The lollipop man was lucky dis mornin. I was guna take his stick smack him on the head and rob his jacket! Hah”
Anton Ferdinand – Rio isn’t the only Ferdinand into this Twitter lark, Anton ‘Im as mighty as a lion, but still as gentle as a bluebird’ is on there too”
Freddy Adu – Championship Manager sensation Freddy Adu didn’t quite make the dizzy heights predicted, but you can still see what he’s up to.
Giuseppe Rossi – Could the former Manchester United striker be heading to Tottenham in the summer? Check out his musings at Villarreal right now.
Neil Danns – He plays for Crystal Palace but that’s not all that Mr Danns does, he also writes and produces music that might take your fancy.
Steven Pienaar – The South African midfielder, now at Spurs, posts stuff like “If u want to be the best u have 2 beat the best!” Well said.
Danny Simpson – Danny’s an honest lad, and after a Newcastle defeat said “no excuses mate it was poor! Sorry 2 all fans who travelled 2day like yaself, I apologise.”
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Beware, not everyone on Twitter is who they say they are! Here are 5 great spoof accounts:
Big Sam – A spoof of former Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, The Big Sam is NSFW and anyone with sensitive eyes!
Dimitar Berbatov – Berba is a gentleman first, footballer second and has said recently “Our arsenal away game means I’m in London for the royal wedding – this pleases me.”
Chuck Norris – Some great stuff on Chuck’s spoof account including: “When Chuck Norris goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket.”
Sepp Blatter – FIFA supremo Blatter is not the favourite person of most British football fans, perhaps you’ll like spoof Sepp more.
Kai Rooney – A young Tweeter, Wayne Rooney’s son Kai lets you know what his dad is up to from his Big F*** Off house in Cheshire.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE for more must-follow Twitter accounts…
The final 5 men’s lifestyle accounts:
MTV – If you’re a fan of music, and I’m not talking about Hoddle and Waddle and their attempt at Diamond Lights, check out Music Television’s Twitter.
Burberry – A favourite with footballers, Burberry is a ‘155 year-old global brand with distinctly British attitude’.
Top Man – More clothes, this time from TopMan UK, which they claim is the ‘ultimate online destination for the best in menswear fashion’ – I wouldn’t quite go that far, but they’re good nonetheless.
Play.com – An excellent online retailer selling games, music, films, etc – find out what new products they’re selling first.
LastMinute.com – Ideal if you need a holiday or are a planning a footy trip with the lads, because sometimes you just need to get away.
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All the top football journalists and personalities are on Twitter, here’s a selection of them:
Henry Winter – The Daily Telegraph Football Correspondent and Columnist for the Sunday Telegraph seems to always be on Twitter and is often first with the big football news.
Guilleme Balague – What he doesn’t know about Spanish football isn’t worth knowing and he is open to you offering suggestions for questions for his various interviews.
Stan Collymore – A man who divides opinion, Stan has plenty to say for himself and thus Twitter is perfect for him. Worth following just to see what he’s ranting about next.
Jacqui Oatley – Jacqui says her Tweets ‘involve lots of stats and motorways’ – she isn’t afraid to air her views and has recently questioned Fabio Capello’s attempts to learn English.
Kay Murray – Another female follower of footy, Kay aka Football Barbie is a northern lass and describes her Tweets as ‘Football with heels & hairspray!’
Georgie Thompson – The third and final female footy follower on this list, Georgie regular Tweets her fellow A League of Their Own teammate @flintoff11.
Bryan Swanson – Sticking with Sky Sports presenters, Bryan is always one of the first to Tweet the latest football news and rumours and has a fair few sources.
Phil McNulty – Chief Football Writer for the BBC Sport Website, Phil gives great insight into the circles he moves in and brings you the latest news.
Oliver Kay – Oliver Kay is a well-respected football correspondent for The Times Newspaper and posts news as well as pictures from the games.
Robbie Savage – Definitely a football ‘personality’, Robbie’s Tweets may stray from football from time to time but remain interesting if not always informative nonetheless.
Samsung – They make TVs, Mobile Phones and pretty much every other gadget you could ever want. See what they’re releasing next!
Kick It Out – With allegations of further racism in football at the weekend, this time towards Neymar, make sure you support this cause
Empire of the Kop – ‘You’ll Never Tweet Alone’, especially with not far off 150,000 Liverpool fans following these updates.
Odds Checker – Fancy a bet? Check the odds of football and non-football events and decide whether to have a flutter or not.
The Football League – If you’re not a glory boy who follows the Premier League, then the Football League Twitter feed is for you.
Caught Offside – Football News and Gossip, if there’s a rumour worth hearing then these guys will probably have posted it.
Men’s Health Mag – For those fans that spend too much time on the sofa watching the footy, ‘your ultimate guide to fitness, health, weight loss, nutrition, sex, style and guy wisdom’.
Football Soccer UK – They claim to write ‘Thought provoking tweets on European Football…’ and close to 100,000 people follow them, worth a peek.
7 Digital – The home of MP3 downloads, check out the latest music releases first and get yourself some digital bargains.
Skittles – Granted, a little bit random, but they are the ‘Official Tweeter of Awesomeness. Follow the Rainbow. Taste the Rainbow’.
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Some new additions to the world of Twitter, as well as a couple of old favourites:
Michael Owen – MO has recently signed up to Twitter and has thousands of followers despite not Tweeting yet. That first one better be pure gold! (It wasn’t).
Aleksandr Orlov – As his bio says: “I am Aleksandr, founder of comparethemeerkat.com.I live and make my work in Moscow, where many generations of my family have thrive.”
Marc Albrighton – A great prospect for Aston Villa and England, we’ll just have to wait and see what his Tweets are like.
Charlie Sheen – Sheen has become a Twitter sensation within a matter of days, you don’t know what he’ll say next but then neither does he!
Grant Wahl – The final word on this list goes to Grant Wahl. The Sports Illustrated senior writer and New York Times best-selling author is running for FIFA president!
Those with a keen eye will have noticed that Jonjo Shelvey has deleted his account since making this list, which is now 99 Twitter accounts every football fan should follow! Also, if any of the accounts above aren’t real (apart from the spoof ones obviously) I can only apologise. Perhaps the players in question would like to get in touch with their official ones!