England striker Emile Heskey says that there is far more to his game than goals, having found the net a mere seven times in 58 appearances for his country.
The 32-year-old Aston Villa frontman is a key member of Fabio Capello's squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa and Heskey is confident that he has much to offer to the cause.
He told reporters:"As a striker you're judged on goalscoring. I know people will look at that.
"But I'd like to think I bring a lot more to the game than just that, even though I know people will look at that and I have to take it.
"I do take as much pleasure in assists, even if I am self-critical. I like to be part of a winning team and that is what my job is about.
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"I do sometimes think 'I could've done better and got a goal myself', but I guess that's part and parcel of the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger expects to make a defensive signing before the World Cup is over.
France pair William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre are both out of contract this summer and appear to be on their way out of the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, veteran centre-half Sol Campbell is also yet to put pen to paper on a new one-year contract and is reported to be interesting Celtic.
That would leave the Gunners short on numbers in defence heading into the new Premier League season.
However, Wenger has revealed he is closing in on the signing of a new defender and expects to complete the deal before the end of the World Cup in mid-July.
"We are not close (to signing anyone) at the moment," he told the club's official website.
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"We are quiet. But there will be something happening before the end of the World Cup – certainly on the defensive side."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The signing of Joe Cole has brought renewed optimism at Liverpool football club and suddenly all those pundits, ex players and supporters who were predicting all doom and gloom are suddenly smiling once again. It is amazing what one signing could do to lift the whole place and it makes you wonder whether fans were all simply buying into the negative tripe that is being spurted out by the media.
Negativity sweeps through football clubs like the plague and the media do everything in their powers to ensure it continues. By taking a step back and assessing the simple fact that in signing one player like Cole has seen the club’s perception from a club well and truly on the decline to suddenly one whose aspirations are slightly beyond simply regaining the Champions League spot; it is absolutely laughable in truth and just highlights how wrong we were in buying into the doom in gloom. The fact of the matter is that the reason we struggled last season was not simply the loss of Xabi Alonso, but Rafa’s clear failure to replace him with someone suitable. Joe Cole is the playmaker that we have been craving for the past 12 months and somebody who can restore the balance to the midfield we have been missing.
It is somewhat ironic that one of the reasons for our discontent has been the lack of money available from the yanks for new players and yet it is two freebies in Cole and Jovanovic that has restored hope and pride ahead of next season. Rafa use to moan about the lack of resources, but the free transfer and loan market is something he should have looked to utilise a lot more during his time at Anfield. I accept that he initiated the Jovanovic deal, but over the years he failed to take advantage of some potential coups.
One thing that has been positive is the player’s reaction to Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard in particular has been quick to shower praise. Gerrard has also dropped the hint that his future remains at Anfield as rumours have been abound that he has played his last game for Liverpool. I guess we can only hope that Fernando Torres is equally impressed by Roy and the signing of Cole, to ensure we have every chance of success next season.
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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Ashley Cole will not be leaving Chelsea this summer, according to determined manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The 29-year-old has been linked with a £30million move to Real Madrid following Jose Mourinho's appointment as coach of the Spanish giants.
Cole's future in England has come under scrutiny following problems in his private life.
The left-back has been vilified in the press following the break-up of his marriage to pop-star wife, Cheryl.
However, Ancelotti insists Cole is not for sale and will not be leaving Stamford Bridge.
"Ashley is a Chelsea player and nobody wants to sell him," he declared.
"We want to keep him in our squad. I am 100 per cent sure he will be at Chelsea this season.
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"I consider him to be the best player in his position in the world.
"I don't need to talk to him. He is happy to stay at Chelsea. He never said he wanted to go. There is no chance he will go. No way."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Many football fans might be surprised to learn that Piers Morgan writes a football column for the Daily Mail. He is certainly not a man one would instantly associate with the game. Indeed his latest effort is filled with outlandish predictions and lets just say unorthodox analysis. Of course Piers Morgan is a man who likes to shock people, and is not a shrinking violet, but the disdain he displays for Manchester United in his article is verging on the ridiculous. Morgan does in fact admit he detests Man United, and he predicts in his Daily Mail column that United will miss out on a top four position this season. He also makes a bold prediction about Wayne Rooney’s fortunes this season, he writes;
“Wayne Rooney will score 10 fewer goals than last season. The reason? Premier League defenders will have watched his dismal displays in the World Cup and suddenly realised he is not as unstoppable as they thought.”
These comments should be taken with a pinch of salt, but Morgan firmly states that this is his genuine belief of what will happen this season. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Piers Morgan has got his predictions totally wrong.
Firstly, Manchester United will be challenging at the top end of the table for the whole season. The quality of the manager and players will ensure this. The side is certainly no weaker than last term, so quite why Morgan is predicting such a fall from grace with such vehemence is puzzling. Okay Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are a year older, but their quality this season will not be hugely diluted by that fact. Scholes showed his class in Man Utd’s 3-1 Charity Shield victory over Chelsea on the weekend, and he and Giggs will still have big parts to play in the coming campaign. Unlike the beginning of last season, United have not lost anyone this summer, but have in fact added what looks like a very talented young striker to their ranks, in the form of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. Manchester United only finished one point off title winners Chelsea last season, so for them to drop out of the top four is almost unforseeable.
Morgan is correct when he states that Wayne Rooney had a dismal World Cup, that is undeniable. But to predict he will have an unsuccessful Premier League season is bold and most probably unwise. Defenders will still be very wary of his ability, and he will still be Man Utd’s main goal threat, his quality has not diminished. It is by no means guaranteed that Rooney will repeat the superb form he displayed last season again, but the prediction of him scoring ten less goals this season is likely to be off the mark.
Manchester United have won three titles in four years. Last season the club were gunning for what would have been an unprecedented fourth straight title, the fact that they eventually did miss out certainly does not rule them out this time around. Although it was only the Charity Shield, Man Utd have already put in an impressive winning performance over title rivals Chelsea and it does bode well for their season. Since the leagues inception Manchester United have not failed to challenge at the top end of the table, and despite Piers Morgan’s dire predictions, there is no reason to suggest that that is likely to change this season.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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Chelsea's Carlo Ancelotti has been named as the Premier League Manager of the Month for August, while Manchester United's Paul Scholes has taken the Player's award.
Ancelotti's Blues have started the defence of their league title with three wins out of three, keeping three clean sheets in the process as they thrashed West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic 6-0 and beat Stoke City 2-0.
The Italian told his club's official website:"I enjoy getting started on the Premier League and I am happy to win the Manager of the Month.
"It is a good moment recently. We have started very well, but now we have six important games in 21 days."
Meanwhile, the evergreen Scholes has won the nod for impressive displays in the Red Devils' opening three league games of the new campaign.
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The 35-year-old midfielder has helped United beat Newcastle United and West Ham United by 3-0 scorelines, while finding the net in the 2-2 draw at Fulham.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
As October approaches, Liverpool have just won Premier League to their name; a 1-0 victory over West Brom at Anfield in which they were far from dominating in. Admittedly, their fixtures have included Arsenal, Man Utd and Man City, as well as a trip to the miserly St Andrews, and as a result Roy Hodgson has struggled to get any momentum going with a new group of players. Liverpool fans will have far lower expectations than of previous years, but for a club with the prestige that Liverpool possess, those expectations will always remain higher than most.
There is still a vast amount of the Anfield faithful that remember an era when winning trophies was merely a formality. For those fans in particular, it must be difficult to see their team going through such a torrid time on and off the pitch. The sale of the club is an issue that has rumbled on for far too long, and still looks to be no closer to resolution. Without a new buyer, the club remains in financial and political limbo as the team struggles to find its feet.
Roy Hodgson was always going to be given time. The lowly league finish last season means that for this term, anything above will be seen as progress. The fans will be wary of the moves that Man City have made in the transfer market, despite managing to keep hold of their own prized assets, as well as the squad that Harry Redknapp has assembled at White Hart Lane. Within the space of a year Liverpool have gone from having three main rivals for the league, to having five rivals who are all performing better than them; they are now so far beyond what Man Utd and Chelsea are capable of.
It becomes difficult to fathom what supporters will deem as acceptable this season. Rafa Benitez was much maligned by the time his tenure on Merseyside was up – I personally believe that despite some faults, he was, and still is, a manager of really high quality and for the Champions League exploits alone, deserves a huge amount of credit. Sixth or above in the league will be a good first season for Hodgson, and a fair reflection of the squad assembled at the club. The Europa League, in my opinion, is a different matter. Liverpool are one of the best teams in the competition; while there is a serious Iberian threat to their chances (Atletico Madrid in particular), there will be no teams they do not believe they can beat.
Hodgson’s arrival was seen as the beginning of a new dawn, a chance to start afresh. But in reality, no supposed new era can begin without the issues in the boardroom being resolved. In Hodgson, the club have a tactically astute manager with vast, extensive experience, but who has his hands tied behind his back in terms of the scope he is given to work in, as well as the stability of his employers.
Liverpool fans are not naïve enough to believe that they should be winning leagues in the way that they used to twenty years ago, or how Man Utd have done since, but they will still want more than they are currently getting. The American owners have seemingly bitten off more than they can chew, and perhaps underestimated just what the club means to people. Hodgson will be given time, but over the next two to three years, Liverpool will need to be re-affirm their status in the old ‘Big Four’, they are too big not to be there for more than that period of time.
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Newcastle United have written to the Football Association calling for action to be taken against Manchester City's Nigel de Jong over his leg-breaking challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa.
Ben Arfa broke both bones in the lower half of his left leg during the 2-1 defeat at Eastlands on Sunday, with Dutch international de Jong being axed from the Netherlands squad as a result of his actions.
However, match referee Martin Atkinson took no action against de Jong at the time and United would like the FA to take a look at the incident again.
A statement from the Magpies read:"Newcastle United FC have written a strongly-worded letter to the FA in relation to the tackle by Manchester City's Nigel de Jong on Hatem Ben Arfa in Sunday's Premier League fixture, which resulted in Ben Arfa sustaining a broken tibia and fibula of his left leg.
"The club has asked the FA for the appropriate action to be taken against de Jong for the tackle which in the club's opinion was unnecessary and used excessive force.
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"Newcastle United will also be writing to the appropriate body regarding the performance of the match officials, specifically the referee, in relation to a number of incidents during the game including the tackle on Ben Arfa."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Under-pressure Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has been reassured that the club's prospective new owners have full faith in him being to the right man to get the Reds back on track.
Hodgson took charge at Anfield in the summer and the former Fulham boss has seen his new charges make a dismal start to the new campaign.
However, New England Sports Ventures believe that the experienced coach is capable of engineering a turnaround in fortunes.
Club chairman Martin Broughton confirmed:"They are very happy that this manager is the right person to take this club forward.
"They talk enthusiastically about winning and investing in the team, stadium development and doing all the right things.
"I think they are going to be pretty hands-on and they have a track record of that."
Meanwhile, Hodgson has reacted positively to the news that a takeover at Anfield seems to be close at hand.
He told the club's official website:"It's very positive and of course I'm delighted. It's been going on a long time and I know how hard the board have worked to set things up.
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"I know it's not easy for them because the owners have other ideas in terms of the sale of the club and what is achievable.
"But I was delighted to hear the news and have it confirmed that it looks like it is going to go through."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Chelsea have made serene progress this week, maintaining their five point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought win over Blackburn and in beating Spartak Moscow at Stamford Bridge during the week, qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League at the earliest possible opportunity.
However, questions have been raised about the strength in depth of Carlo Ancelotti’s table toppers, as key personnel continue to lack fitness, and as the season heads towards the most intensive period of games to be played this season, the Italian may be re-examining his pledge not to sign any new players in January.
On the blogging networks there is speculation as to whether the Blues should pursue a move for Brazilian playmaker Kaka, the merits of Ancelotti’s transfer denials and praise of footballers with asthma playing at the top level of the game.
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