Manchester United winger Nani believes he is currently playing the best football of his career.
The Portugal international has scored two goals and provided six assists for the Red Devils this season.
The 23-year-old is finally beginning to emerge from the Old Trafford shadow cast by compatriot and former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Nani, who joined United in a £16million deal from Sporting Lisbon in July 2007, scored a superb solo goal in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers and is delighted with his current form.
"I feel more confident now than at any stage in my career," he declared.
"I know I am at a very good moment in my career and my performances have been at a high level.
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"I am doing well and am playing at an important level for my team.
"That is making me confident in every game and I hope to continue that."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Norwich have signed Leeds United captain Jonny Howson for an undisclosed fee, the club have announced.
The midfielder moves to Carrow Road on a three-and-a-half year contract, and will wear the No.24 shirt for The Canaries.
Howson, an England under-21 international, was the Elland Road outfit’s youngest skipper since Billy Bremner, but his contract with The Championship club was expiring, forcing Simon Grayson to sell.
New boss Paul Lambert is delighted to have brought the prospect to his side, and feels Howson can add something to the Norwich midfield.
“I think he has been brilliant for Leeds – how he has played but also being their captain brings its own demands. It’s a fantastic club, Leeds,” the Scottish coach told the club’s official website.
“I think he can add goals to our midfield, which I think we need, and he can do that. He’ll get better as a player the higher the level he goes up. If he does that and everything goes well, he’ll be a great player for us.”
Howson is over the moon with his move, and is glad to be given the opportunity to play in the English top flight.
“It’s been no secret that my ambition is to play in the Premiership and that’s why we never got round to sorting the contract because we don’t know where Leeds United are going to be.
“I’m going to a great club, they are flying high, doing ever so well, and they have a great team that we’ve been close to here over the past couple of seasons, and they have a great manager as well,” he concluded.
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Howson is currently out of action with a knee injury, but is expected to be available for his new team in coming weeks.
Wayne Rooney recently made arguably the most obvious statement since Kevin Keegan informed the footballing world that players who were 30 at the current world cup would be 34 at the next one- if they weren’t careful. Wazza noted that it’s only a matter of time before Ryan Giggs is made Sir Ryan of Salford.
Rooney told The Sun:
“It won’t be long before we call him Sir Ryan. For me he’s a genius, incredible. What he has done at United, what he does for the younger players is absolutely fantastic.”
The British media, or should that be the English media has been so wrapped up in when David Beckham is going to receive his knighthood that many of them have overlooked the man who more than any player in the modern game, deserves one.
I know there may be those among you who like Morrissey may think “what difference does it make?” but surely there’ s a strong case to be made that giving Giggs a knighthood before he hangs up his boots would be not only a great idea but more importantly well deserved.
Here’s ten reasons why Giggs should be on his knees with a sword on his shoulder sooner rather than later.
1. He’s won the lot- several times. With a staggering array of winners medals not to mention the freedom of the City of Salford, BBC Sport Personality of the Year, Young PFA Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, Order of the British Empire, numerous records broken and continuing to be broke every time he sets foot on a pitch, what accolade is there left to bestow upon the man who’s won everything? It’s only right that a man who has won every honour both for his team and individually should be awarded the one thing he hasn’t achieved yet.
2. He’s a shining example to younger players. Let me ask you this: how many times have we heard of Giggs, arguing over a contract, trying to get himself a better deal, diving about on the floor, getting involved in tabloid nonsense, being red-carded- at club level, making silly statements, bringing his club into disrepute? None? Thought so, The man is the best example of how any footballer should conduct themselves bar none. If you’re a youngster and you look up to a Wayne Rooney or even a Roy Keane, then that’s great but you could find an even better role model in Mr Giggs, absolutely faultless, in fact, canonizing rather than knighting him could well be more appropriate.
3. Charity work. It amazes me how little is made of the amount of work Giggs does for “charidee2 when compared with other so-called celebrities who seem to revel in the limelight of all their benevolent efforts. Giggs has done his bit as part of United’s charity work during his career but has also branched out to become an ambassador for UNICEF. Giggs visited Sierra Leone as part of his work with UNICEF which is where his father’s family originally come from. Giggs has also been a vociferous member of the ‘Show Racism The Red Card’ campaign, opening up his heart about the abuse he suffered as a mixed-race child in a white environment.
4. He’s Welsh and proud of it. Being Welsh shouldn’t qualify you for a knighthood, but Giggs deserves credit for being a shining example for his national side as well as his club one. Although he didn’t ‘choose’ Wales as some have claimed, he was born in Cardiff to Welsh parents so could only play for that country, he has never made an issue of it. One Reebok campaign simply stated : “I’m Welsh end of story.” It’s a crying shame for England that he is as the left side of our national side’s midfield has NEVER had a decent long-term player there during Giggs long career.
5. If he was an Olympian he’d have been knighted by now. The likes of Chris Hoy, Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent have all been given knighthoods so why not Giggs? If he was an Olympic athlete, he’d have taken part in the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2010 games. Would he have been knighted by now? Of course he would have. Yet just because he’s a ridiculously successful footballer that somehow doesn’t count. Well it should, athletics shouldn’t have a monopoly over honours, football’s the people’s game and no one embodies it better than Giggs.
6. If the Queen’s waiting for him to retire- it could be a long wait. Her Majesty may well be thinking, she’ll give Giggs the honour his talent and attitude deserves when he hangs up his boots. The problem is, Giggs isn’t human, he’s a cyborg created by United supporting scientists that will simply keep going for many years to come. While that last statement may be a bit of a porkie it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Giggs could actually be playing into his forties. Sounds ridiculous, well we’ll see about that in a few years.
Any more reasons Ryan should become Sir Will Tear Your Apart Again? Feel free to suggest them below:
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Read more of Justin’s articles at the excellent Red Flag Flying High
As Spurs exited Bern in the wake of a 3-2 defeat to BSC Young Boys Michael Dawson may have regretted relaying his dream of marking Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to a plethora of media outlets – it is this sort of naïve complacency that could trip Tottenham up.
Perhaps Dawson should have instead being dreaming of marking Young Boy’s Henri Benvenue who outstripped him to score the Swiss side’s second – because the grim reality is that if Tottenham get carried away by the mouth-watering prospect of Champions League glamour ties, there won’t be any.
Dawson said: “There are so many games you watch and to play against the best players in the world – Messi and players like that – would be fantastic and a great test.”
But what Tottenham and Dawson in particular must remember is that the journey to the group stage is not paved with gold due to their admirable domestic exploits and if last night was anything to go by, looking ahead to the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid is dangerous.
Due to the global popularity of the English Premier League, the desire to beat English teams in Europe is intensified and this desire was laid down for all to see at the Stade de Suisse yesterday evening. Young Boy’s defender Christoph Spycher told of how “For every player in Switzerland, it’s really a great challenge to play against an English team” and they certainly embraced it.
Spurs at least managed to pull it back to 3-2 ahead of the return leg at White Hart Lane next week but if they continue to turn their attentions elsewhere, then the Swiss minnows may just turn them over.
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It may well be wise for Dawson to keep his thoughts to himself and take the Champions League in his stride – like his manager Harry Redknapp who says he “never thinks about it” referring of course to the long journey which has finally earned him a place amongst the elite.
After all, unless Spurs record a victory in a week’s time, the hard work throughout last season may be undone by their own ignorance, Dawson’s dream may remain just that.
Rangers midfielder Steven Davis is set for a return to Aston Villa in January as Alex McLeish looks to strengthen his options going into the second half of the season, according to The Sun.
The Northern Irish international has been a key player for club and country over the past four years but McLeish believes the Glasgow club could accept a cut price £2million bid as their financial situation worsens.
Davis joined Villa as a 16-year-old and enjoyed five years at the club before moving to Fulham for £4million in 2007, but left just 22-appearences later. The 26-year-olds boyhood club, Rangers, then took the midfielder for £3million and he has gone on to make over 150 appearances for the Ibrox club.
McLeish is desperate to strengthen his underachieving Villa side that have won just four games from 15 this season since his arrival in the summer from arch-rivals Birmingham City. The Midlands club have failed to replace the outgoing Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Nigel Reo-Coker from the summer and Davis would be the perfect addition to the lacklustre Villains.
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Fringe players such as Stiliyan Petrov, Carlos Cuellar and Stephen Ireland could be on their way in January as the new Villa boss looks to reshuffle his pack to win over the disapproving Villa fans.
Peter Crouch went some way to making amends for his Champions League dismissal with a brace in Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Stoke on Saturday.Crouch was the villain for Tottenham against Real Madrid on Tuesday, with his early sending off playing a major part in his side crashing to a 4-0 defeat at the Bernabeu in the Champions League quarter final.
But he was the hero at White Hart Lane as his brace ensured Tottenham secured all three points and helped the north London club record their first victory in the English Premier League since February 12.
Harry Redknapp’s side had gone four games without a win, but they are determined to keep alive their chances of finishing in the top four and are now just three points behind Manchester City.
Stoke gave everything but this latest defeat means they are still only six points clear of the bottom three and will need a couple more victories to cement their top-flight status.
In a thrilling first half, it was Tottenham who opened the scoring on 11 minutes.
Rafael Van der Vaart played a short pass to Roman Pavlyuchenko, whose cross picked out strike partner Crouch. The England man made no mistake to nod the ball past Asmir Begovic in the Stoke goal.
Pavlyuchenko turned provider once again on 18 minutes when he fed a short ball to Luka Modric, who raced past Robert Huth into the box and fired the ball under Begovic to make it a dream start for the home side.
Stoke refused to lie down and Matthew Etherington scored a superb individual goal on 27 minutes to help his side get back into the game.
The former Tottenham winger raced from his own half past Michael Dawson and then took the ball around Tom Huddlestone in the penalty area before striking the ball through the legs of Heurelho Gomes to give Stoke a lifeline.
But Crouch restored Tottenham’s two-goal lead when he added his second of the game on 34 minutes.
The Tottenham striker rose above Ryan Shawcross to meet a cross from Huddlestone and directed a powerful header into the corner of the net.
Another cracking effort helped Stoke get back into the game on 41 minutes.
Bale lost the ball and Kenwyne Jones fired an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area which sailed into the roof of the net past Gomes.
Stoke were desperately unlucky not to grab an equaliser on 53 minutes.
Jones weaved his way into the box and crossed in for Jon Walters to shoot at Gomes, with the ball deflected onto the post.
Jones was causing all kinds of problems for the Tottenham defence and he came close to scoring once more on 57 minutes when he connected with a cross from Jermaine Pennant and saw his header fall inches past the post.
Tottenham had the ball in the Stoke net again on 67 minutes but the effort was ruled out after Younes Kaboul was adjudged to have fouled Begovic when he jumped for the ball.
Gomes came to Tottenham’s rescue on 87 minutes when he made a stunning save to deny Jones’ 25-yard effort, but the home side held on to record a crucial win.
One name which has been strangely absent from this summer’s transfer gossip columns is that of Ilan Araujo Dall’Igna. The Brazilian striker is currently a free agent having been released by West Ham United in June. The former Saint-Etienne player made a telling impact during his time in east London, scoring crucial goals in their relegation run-in. He told Sky Sports, “I did well in the Premier League and I was hoping to continue where I left off next season, but West Ham had other ideas, that’s football.” Hammers fans feared their loss would be a rival’s gain as Bolton Wanderers reportedly registered an interest in the striker. Ilan remains unattached as the Premier League season begins this Saturday. Many clubs could do worse business in this period of relative austerity than sign up this intelligent forward.
West Ham fans were justifiably concerned that Gianfranco Zola allegedly signed the forward in January without having seem him play. The player who has made three appearances for Brazil was available as a free transfer after Saint-Etienne terminated his contract. Having made his name with Atletico Paranaense in Brazil he moved to France in 2004 and amassed an impressive goal tally at Sochaux. He moved to AS Saint-Etienne in 2006 and initially adapted well, scoring goals including a beauty which earned him the Ligue 1 Goal of the Year award a year later. The player diminished in the club’s attacking plans and was allowed to leave prematurely in January. He did not have long to wait as he was offered a short term contract by West Ham and handed the number 9 shirt.
During his last full season at the French club the player starred in their successful fight against relegation and was accordingly well-accustomed to West Ham’s predicament. Ilan scored on his debut for the club in their away loss to Burnley. When a ball into the box was missed by Brian Jensen, the Brazilian slid in at the far post to direct it goal wards. It was a simple finish but one delivered by a player of cool temperament. A frustrating period followed for the striker who was customarily left on the bench or used in unfamiliar positions. His fantastic diving header at Goodison Park halted Everton’s seven match-winning streak and West Ham’s seven match-losing streak. Connecting with Julien Faubert’s enticing cross Ilan directed an unstoppably powerful header past Tim Howard to earn a 2-2 draw. It was a header deserving of comparisons with Yordan Letchkov’s winner against Germany at the 1994 World Cup.
This morale boosting contribution was followed by netting the only goal of a scrappy, attritional home game against Sunderland. It was a striker’s finish as he instinctively flicked Carlton Cole’s nod down into the net. Ilan scored once more for West Ham in their decisive home tie against Wigan. Bereft of delivery, Ilan dropped deep to receive the ball and spread the play before making surging, astute runs into the box. This approach paid dividends as Ilan managed to level the scores in the first half. Despite showing an impressive knack of finding space in the box and finishing clinically Ilan remains a free agent.
Why are Premier League sides searching for value in the transfer market ignoring this natural finisher? His absence from transfer proceedings may be due to comments he gave to a Brazilian newspaper while at West Ham. He claimed Zola had, “lost control of the team” and especially, “to players who speak Italian.” Few clubs would welcome the emergence of such unwanted headlines but Ilan steadfastly argued that his comments made months earlier were incorrectly translated. The player was contrite and the fans forgave their latest South American star to guide them to safety. Premier League clubs wishing to strengthen and diversify their attacking options may wish to consider Ilan before the transfer window closes.
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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 eased the pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas after inflicting Newcastle’s first home defeat of the season with a comfortable 3-0 win at St James’ Park.
Goals from Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge saw off a spirited display from the Magpies who will feel the visitors should have had a man sent off after David Luiz hauled down Demba Ba in the early stages. The Brazilian was shown a yellow card by referee Mike Dean and it proved to be a game changer as the home side struggled to find a way through the Blues back four. Alan Pardew’s men did hit the woodwork three times but also had keeper Tim Krul to thank for a series of impressive saves including Frank Lampards first half penalty. The win was only Chelsea’s fourth in 10 games and saw them leapfrog Newcastle into the Premier League top four to ease the pressure on Villas-Boas’ shoulders. It could have been so different had Luiz been shown a red after bringing down Ba just outside the area as the Senegal striker made tracks for goal. Despite being the last man referee Dean opted to brandish a yellow card much to the displeasure of Pardew and the Geordie public.
From that moment on Chelsea took control and should have been four up by half time had Daniel Sturridge not wasted a host of chances after catching left back Ryan Taylor out of position on more than one occasion with Krul denying him with a series of smart stops. The Dutch goalkeeper would really earn his stripes on 13 minutes diving low to his left to save Frank Lampards penalty after Yohan Cabaye had tripped Sturridge in the area. Still the West London onslaught continued and it was only a matter of time before they took the lead with Drogba meeting Juan Mata’s cross to power the ball past Krul. On the balance of play it was well deserved although Newcastle should have equalised just moments later with Ba seeing his header from Danny Guthrie’s cross hit the post with Petr Cech beaten. They took that momentum into the second period with Shola Ameobi coming on for the ineffective Hatem Ben Arfa and it proved to be an inspired change as they went in search of an equaliser.
Ameobi did well to win a corner that saw Ba meet Cabayes whipped corner with a powerful header only to see the ball bounce agonisingly off the bar before being hacked away as Chelsea went on the counter. Sturridge’s pace saw him stride up field catching the home defence napping before squaring for Ramires who was denied brilliantly by Krul from 10 yards. That halt the home side in their efforts to level the game and Ameobi almost produced a moment of divine brilliance picking the ball up 25-yards from goal before cracking a stunning left foot drive that smashed off the post. Brother Sammy Ameobi was then introduced as a substitute with 20 minutes left and the 19-year-old came within a whisker of restoring parity only to see his volley cleared off the line after Chelsea failed to clear a corner. Those missed chances would prove to be vital as the Blues killed the game off in the last five minutes. Firstly substitute Kalou cooly slotted past Krul after being teed up by Fernando Torres before Sturridge got the goal he deserves cutting in from the right and finishing accurately from the edge of the area.
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The United States will lock horns with Argentina in New Jersey on Saturday in the first of two friendlies ahead of their Gold Cup campaign.The USA will be looking to extend their four-game unbeaten record that has seen them twice draw with South American opposition in Chile and Colombia.
US coach Bob Bradley has named three uncapped players for the friendly, summoning Nuremberg attacker Timothy Chandler, Duisburg keeper David Yelldell and Norwich City defender Zak Whitbread.
The game also offers Bradley the first chance to have his favoured starting squad together for the first time since a 2-2 draw with Poland.
However, the US midfield – the side’s weakest component – has been dealt a blow with Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden ruled out for six months following a collision with Manchester United defender Jonny Evans on Saturday.
Bradley’s men crashed out of last year’s FIFA World Cup in the second round after a 3-0 defeat to eventual semi-finalists Ghana, but will be hoping to secure their fifth Gold Cup crown come June.
Argentina also have a regional competition to contend with, the Copa America which kicks off in July on their home turf.
Coach Sergio Batista’s side will be buoyed by their recent international friendlies, which has seen them account for Portugal, Venezuela and great rivals Brazil.
Barcelona superstar and world player of the year Lionel Messi has recovered in time for the clash after suffering a knee injury in La Liga.
Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez has been left out of the squad with reports suggesting the prolific scorer, who has netted 18 goals this term, was being punished for his late withdrawal from the friendly against Brazil, which saw him subsequently feature for his club only three days later.
Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero is also out of the Argentina squad while Benfica striker Eduardo Salvio comes in in the absence of Inter’s prolific marksman Diego Milito.
Elsewhere, Mexico hosts Paraguay at the Estadio Azteca, with both sides looking to record a positive result ahead of the Copa America, while Chile tackles Portugal at the Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa in Leiria.
Earlier in the day, Colombia will face Ecuador at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez.
Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti refused to be too concerned despite seeing his side beaten 3-1 by Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley.
The loss was the Blues' fourth consecutive setback during pre-season, with Ancelotti's men having also been beaten by Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg.
The Italian told reporters:"I am not worried. We have improved, we may have to improve more and we have to have more time in possession.
"We played too slowly at the start and we didn't have the possibility of finding our play in the first half, so for this reason we have to work.
"They played better than us and they deserved to win, we knew Manchester could play a good game. They did that and they deserved it.
"But importantly now our players are very close to being fit.
"This was Michael Essien's first game of 90 minutes for eight months and Frank Lampard and John Terry played 90 minutes each.
"They need more time, which is why it is good for them to play a national team game this week.
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"They could play 70 minutes without a problem. Naturally they have to improve still, but within one or two weeks they will be fully fit.
"It was not a good pre-season. We knew it was a difficult pre-season, but we are disappointed – we don't want to lose these games."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email