Premier League 2007/08 #16

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Op dinsdag 1 januari 2008 20:13 schreef Gunner het volgende:
Spurs is het jaar ook alweer in stijl begonnen zie ik.

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Op dinsdag 1 januari 2008 20:29 schreef One_conundrum het volgende:
niet zichtbaar door bandbreedte blabla

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Op dinsdag 1 januari 2008 20:15 schreef Ambrosius het volgende:

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Het is niet de eerste keer dit seizoen dat ze een doelpunt tegen krijgen in de slotminuten iig .

Het bleef bij 2-1.

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 20:48 schreef DutchGooner het volgende:
Blijft indrukwekkend, een minuut applause ipv een minuut stilte.

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 21:28 schreef DutchGooner het volgende:
0-1 City bij Newcastle

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 21:56 schreef Grimm het volgende:

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Wanneer zou Allardyce er uit vliegen

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 22:58 schreef Doc het volgende:
FFS LFC toch - schande!

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 22:41 schreef Dos37 het volgende:
Yesss, en dat City het ook maar volhoud.

Newcastle mag wel degraderen

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 22:59 schreef MaxPower het volgende:
Cityyyyyy wat een geweldige ploeg toch dit seizoen, echt genieten

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 23:18 schreef Ofyles2 het volgende:

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Maar ze kunnen iets anders voor de dag brengen dan betonvoetbal.

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Ramos puts £30m price on Berbatov

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos has admitted that it would take a fee of more than £30m to tempt the club into selling star striker Dimitar Berbatov.

Ramos reiterated his desire to keep the 26-year-old at White Hart Lane, but conceded that "everyone has a price".

"I think a club would have to break the British transfer record to sign Berbatov," said Ramos.

"It's normal that they would have to pay such an amount. There are very few players of his class."

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko is believed to be the most expensive signing in the British game, with the Blues shelling out a reported £30.8m in 2006 to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

"At this moment Berbatov's value is more than this price," added Ramos.

"It's not a question for me if a club can pay this. The other clubs will know what they need for their squads.

"Unless something strange happens - and I think it will not happen - there's not going to be a club that will pay the price that Tottenham could accept."

Berbatov, who cost Spurs £10.9m in 2006, has been linked with Manchester United while Chelsea boss Avram Grant has confirmed he is an admirer of the former CSKA Sofia and Bayer Leverkusen player.

The speculation about Berbatov's future was reignited earlier this week when agent Emil Dantchev told BBC Sport that his client would be interested in a move to "a big club".

"Dimitar wants to fulfil his potential and win trophies now," said Dantchev.

Ramos agreed that the Bulgarian was an especially tempting target for the big clubs because he is free to play in the Champion's League.

"The truth is that I understand perfectly why he would cost so much money because there are few players like Berbatov," he said.

"And those who do exist play for great teams who play in the Champions League. And those great teams will not sell their players. He's the only great player who has not played in the Champions League that they could sign."

Nevertheless, Ramos insisted he wanted to keep Berbatov at the club and that any decision to sell would not be down to him.

"I fully expect that at the end of January I will have all my four strikers," he said.

"At this moment I am convinced they will continue with us because we want them to.

"(But) from the first moment the decision has been out of my hands. The final decision rests with the club. I don't want to sell Berbatov. I want the best players - but the club have to make a decision."

Berbatov scored 22 goals in his first season at White Hart Lane and has bagged 11 goals this term, including four in the recent 6-4 victory over Reading.

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Op donderdag 3 januari 2008 20:41 schreef Gunner het volgende:

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Wat heeft ie nu gepresteerd bij een echte top-club? Helemaal noppes en dan 50 miljoen voor vragen? ;')

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Op donderdag 3 januari 2008 20:43 schreef MaxPower het volgende:
Ach, in de PL gaat het toch al lang niet meer om realistische bedragen?

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Op woensdag 2 januari 2008 21:56 schreef Grimm het volgende:

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Wanneer zou Allardyce er uit vliegen

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Op donderdag 3 januari 2008 20:50 schreef One_conundrum het volgende:

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Het lijkt me toch wel duidelijk dat het een uitzonderlijke spits is die een aanwinst zou zijn voor elke topclub

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Op donderdag 3 januari 2008 21:30 schreef DutchGooner het volgende:

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Dat moet blijken, hij zou niet de 1e spits zijn die het aardig doet bij een subtopper en bij een echte topclub niets klaar maakt.

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Op donderdag 3 januari 2008 22:21 schreef TimoBasso het volgende:

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Ik schat hem toch wel echt hoog in hoor Berbatov..

Het lijkt me sterk als het hem niet lukt bij Scum..

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Allardyce has to stay, says Butt

Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt has urged the club to keep faith with under-fire manager Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce admitted the pressure was mounting after the Magpies lost to Manchester City at home on Wednesday - their third successive defeat.

But Butt said: "Things will never improve unless he's given time. I've been here for three-and-a-half years and I've had four managers.

"Sooner or later someone has got to say this is the manager we're standing by."

Newcastle face high-flying Championship side Stoke in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and defeat would make Allardyce's position even more precarious after only seven months in charge.

However, Butt, who spent 11 years under Sir Alex Ferguson at former club Manchester United, is convinced stability is the key to long-term success.

"If you look at all the big teams, like United and Arsenal, they're the clubs that have stood by managers for a long time," he said.

"If we do that, I'm sure we'll do it right."

The 32-year-old added: "These are tough times at the moment but all of us in the dressing room just have to stand up and be counted.

"Lately, there have been signs we are improving. Had we taken one of our chances when we lost 2-0 against Manchester City on Wednesday, it could have been a different story. We didn't and we have to kick on."

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Op vrijdag 4 januari 2008 13:37 schreef Ofyles2 het volgende:
In ieder geval wil één speler Allardyce niet kwijt
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Eigenlijk had Allardyce moeten opstappen, dit avontuur zou op niets uitlopen.

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I am under pressure - Allardyce
Sam Allardyce admits his position at Newcastle is becoming increasingly precarious after seeing the Magpies lose their third successive match.

Club chairman Chris Mort has publicly backed the 53-year-old manager.

But the former Bolton boss conceded: "The support is great, but at the end of the day, the pressure still mounts, it mounts despite that support.

"A team like us should not be losing at home. A team like us should not be losing three games on the trot."

Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City at St James' Park on Wednesday.

The defeat followed a controversial 2-1 loss to Chelsea, a disappointing 1-0 reverse to Premier League strugglers Wigan and a 2-2 home draw with bottom club Derby.

The Magpies are nine points clear of the relegation zone, but fans are growing frustrated with Allardyce's reign.

"I am not daft enough not to know that I am in the results business and I need to win some football matches," he said.

"That's clear, but I will have to look at the encouraging performances today and at Chelsea and look to get the right decisions from the players at the right times.

"With that and a bit of luck, we can look to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal, but we are creating chances."

Allardyce was furious that what he felt were several key decisions went against his side against City.

He was particularly upset when Elano received just a yellow card for a challenge on Abdoulaye Faye which he believed should have been a red.

Newcastle have now won just one of the last six games at home, but Allardyce received the backing of City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson after the latest setback.

"He's a very, very good manager," said the former England coach.

"He has shown that in the past and he is, and will be, a very good manager for Newcastle. Just give him some time and he will sort it out, I'm sure."

A defeat to Stoke in the FA Cup this weekend will only heap more pressure on Allardyce, who expects the Championship side to pose a real threat at the Britannia Stadium.

"They will fancy it now won't they? They will think we are there for the taking," he said.

"We have got to stick together and believe that how we can play can get us out of trouble. That starts at Stoke."

But he added that a win on Sunday could spark Newcastle's season into life.

"The FA Cup relieves the pressure of the Premier League. It is not the same competition and it is a straight knockout," he said.

"You have got one chance and we have to make sure we take it and not miss the opportunity to get into the next round because that could be a confidence-booster and turn our Premier League performances, which are good, into results.

"But it is a tough month for us."

After Stoke, Newcastle have to face Manchester United and Arsenal away either side of Bolton's visit to Tyneside.

And Allardyce will have to do without Abdoulaye Faye, Habib Beye, Geremi and Obafemi Martins, who are on African Cup of Nations duty.

But Mort has indicated the Magpies boss will have some money to spend in the current transfer window.

"I would expect us to make a couple of further additions to the squad in January," said Mort.

"But like any other club, we would prefer to add players in the summer transfer window than in January so that players have a chance to settle into the team.

"And January is always a more difficult time to extract high-quality players from their current clubs.

"With the strength we have in the squad, I am hopeful that the team will soon settle into a winning run that will push us back up the table to where we should be."

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Match-going mood killers?
By Chris Whyatt

You know something is up when even Mr Man United himself compares the atmosphere inside Old Trafford with a "funeral".

Sir Alex Ferguson's complaint came after Manchester United scraped past Birmingham on Tuesday - but it is not just his beloved, 75,000-plus "Theatre of Dreams" that is left reeling.

Ferguson's explosive comments have triggered a bout of soul-searching up and down the country as, like a naughty pupil who has been admonished by the headmaster, clubs and fans ponder whether their behaviour needs improving.

The Premier League may have glamour and passion on the pitch. And billions of pounds ploughed into it off the pitch.

But is the atmosphere within the hallowed stadiums in which top-flight English football is played diseased? Is it in danger of becoming, as Ferguson observed, "dead"?

BBC Sport spoke to prominent voices from supporters within eight clubs to dig deeper into the issue.

IS THERE REALLY A PROBLEM?

The man who has seen it all in British football, the most successful manager of the modern era, certainly thinks so.

Ferguson - usually entrenched in the dug-out - noticed the lack of voice from Old Trafford's 75,459 crowd after watching the match from the directors' box as part of a two-match touchline ban.

"That was the quietest I have heard the crowd, it was like a funeral," he said. "There are some situations when we need them to get behind us and give us a lift."

"The players need the crowd sometimes but the atmosphere inside the ground wasn't good."

Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club chairwoman Sue Gardener certainly thinks they the problem is endemic.

"I see it a problem throughout Premier League football," she said. "It's a two-way thing between the team and the supporters.

"Yes, fans want to be entertained, but with a lot of corporate fans going to the matches now, and with the all-seater grounds, it's having a ripple effect on the atmosphere."

Liam Cooper, spokesperson for Wigan Athletic Supporters Club, is also of the opinion that the atmosphere within top-flight football can be stale.

"In the Premier League now, there's a lot more riding on games," he said. "People go and they just want results."

WHY IS THE ATMOSPHERE SUFFERING?

Where on earth do you start? Maybe 1992. Football has changed beyond recognition since pre-Premier League days. And thus the answers are like the roots of an ancient oak tree - deeply-rooted and complex.

"At Elm Park the singing fans used to be along the side of the pitch under a corrugated roof that made the sound bounce well," remembers Paula Martin, chairman of the Reading Supporters' Trust.

"When you go into a nice bowl stadium it just seems to dissipate and always makes the away fans sound louder, partially because we're spread out more."

With a flurry of clubs moving to swanky new grounds in the past decade or so - Reading, Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Manchester City, Bolton, Wigan, Derby - it is clear that upping sticks initially takes its toll.

Fans are also now questioning the motives of their clubs, with the attraction of corporate supporters coming at the expense of the atmosphere which the fans hold dear.

"Roy Keane was right when he said the 'prawn sandwich' brigade have taken over," says Navid Nazir, founder member of Villa Fans Combined.

"A lot of clubs now go for the corporate image and the boxes are more important to them than the bread and butter fans."

According to most clubs' fans, the nature of all-seater stadia - with specific seats allocated primarily to season ticket holders - means that sitting next to big group of similarly vocal supporters is rare, and thus creating a rousing atmosphere even rarer.

"Since the all-seater era, with games mainly sold out to season ticket holders since the ground was redeveloped, some games are great - if the team puts on a performance and everybody's up for it," says Mark Jensen, editor of Newcastle fanzine The Mag.


"But there isn't one significant part of the ground where the atmosphere starts, which used to happen in the old days, when people would congregate.

"You have a group of 10 or so lads drinking in the city centre and singing as they make their way to the ground, but when they get there, three go that way, three go the other, and four drift off on their own.

"There is a great atmosphere in the pubs, but it doesn't continue inside the ground."

Jensen also jovially points out, without any negativity, that the broader demographic of modern football has quite naturally diluted some of its boisterous force.

"These lads get inside and they are sat next to a granny or a couple with kids. At the minute there isn't a natural way for people that are like-minded to be together."

Money talks ever louder in football and this, says Nigel Tresidder, chairman of Portsmouth Supporters' Club, is a large reason why some supporters rest on their laurels when it come to encouraging their team.

"There is so much money in the game now that the fans are expecting more out of the players," he said.

"The fans pay so much money to go. Those that can still afford it, they are expecting to see more. If a player is on £120,000 and you are paying £40 to see them, how do you get behind them if they don't perform?"

Paul Matz, chairman of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association, says that the substantial rise in ticket prices - and not enabling people to stand safely - have contributed to the falling ambience at football grounds.

But whatever the reason, most fans seem agreed on one common point.

As Middlesbrough supporter Sue Gardener puts it: "I think it depends upon which team we are playing and, more importantly, how our team is playing."

WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?

One thing, is quite clear: it is not all doom and gloom.

In fact, a number of clubs, having adapted to the edicts of the Taylor Report in 1990 and responded to challenges faced by new grounds or the changed face of football, are now enjoying lively atmospheres.

"It used to be a problem," says Nazir of VFC, "but not since Villa changed their policy."

"Behind the North Stand we used to have the away fans, 3-4,000 behind the goal and it was difficult, because you used to hear them more than the Villa fans.

"Now they have made the whole of the North Stand Villa-fans only and they have moved the away fans to a corner of the old Doug Ellis Stand.

"Having fans behind both goals now has improved the atmosphere at Villa Park a hell of a lot."

Wigan fanatic Liam Cooper says: "A lot of our fans have moved into the corner of the East Stand at the JJB.

"It's almost always full every game and that's where all the noise comes from. It does generate a good atmosphere and is definitely an improvement from last season.

"In fact, the atmosphere has been really good at recent games.

"It may seem a bit last ditch, but someone has now brought a drum to the games. Most people hate them but, really, it does generate atmosphere."

Manchester City Official Supporters' Club representative Kevin Parker says noise is building at Eastlands - and not purely because of the Sven-Goran Eriksson revolution.

"Over the last couple of seasons, things have dramatically improved, especially since City introduced the specific singing section where you can buy a season ticket there," he said.

"What that does is generate atmosphere that builds all around the rest of the stadium.

"They were concerned at first that singing would be restricted within that area but the opposite has happened and its improved the atmosphere throughout the stadium."

Perhaps the final word should go to Paul Matz, talking about what happens when 60,000 Gooners gather to watch the pulse-setting league leaders Arsenal.

"The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium is improving all the time," he insists.

"We have a fantastic supporters' group called RedAction, who are leading the drive to improve the atmosphere and it's getting better with every match.

"RedAction have a section of the ground reserved for them, they work closely with the club and that area is noticeably noisier and that gradually spreads to the rest of the stadium.

"The solutions are to have ticket prices of all ranges. It's great to have the expensive seats but there must also be seats affordable to everybody.

"Then the supporters' groups must work to ensure atmosphere is improved. The club, in turn, need to ensure not everything in football is money-driven."

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Op vrijdag 4 januari 2008 07:26 schreef Gunner het volgende:

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En wie moet daar voor hem wijken? Tevez? Rooney?