Sunderland striker Darren Bent could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with the hamstring injury that forced him to miss Saturday's 2-0 win against Stoke City.
The former Tottenham forward seems certain to miss Tuesday's game against his former team with the problem he sustained in training.
To add to boss Steve Bruce's woes, John Mensah is also set for a lay-off after injuring a shoulder against the Potters.
Bruce said in the build-up to the Spurs game:"It's been a tough week mentally and we've got Chelsea away on Sunday – I might freshen things up tomorrow night.
"We've got Titus (Bramble) to come back in too (after serving a suspension) and he'll obviously come into the reckoning.
"John Mensah's hurt his shoulder and that's more bad luck for him.
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"It's a shame because he's trained fully for the last three or four weeks and was desperate to get back into the team.
"We're sending him for a scan and hopefully the damage won't be too bad."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Harry Redknapp has revealed that Tottenham have not offered him a new deal to remain at White Hart Lane. Reports in the papers this week had suggested that Daniel Levy was set to offer Harry a bumper pay rise and a £50m transfer kitty to ensure that the North Londoners can challenge for the title next season. This is all news to the Spurs boss who remained very coy about his future and links to the England job.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that includes Spurs most important deal in the summer; is Scott Parker fit for the long term, while the FA are right to take the softly-softly approach.
Best of FFC
Tottenham Would Be Mad To Appoint Him…Wouldn’t They?
Right to respect Tottenham by taking the softly-softly approach
Spurs Most Important Summer Deal?
Do Tottenham really need a big name?
Is Parker fit for the long-term?
WAG Weekly – Tottenham and Man United beauties fight it out
Scott Parker: Captain Marvel?
Tottenham keeping tabs on Rovers ace
Spurs and Newcastle on alert as Ajax ace talks up Premier League move
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Best of WEB
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Spurs in crisis meltdown: Demonstration planned – Dear Mr Levy
Problems pile up for Harry. – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
Time To Hold Our Nerve –Tottenham On My Mind
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Chesney Wishes Europa League on Spurs – Who Framed Ruel Fox?
Levy Needs To Fire Arry TONIGHT – Harry Hotspur
Daniel Levy To Offer His Best Player £3.5M Golden Handcuffs – Transfer Tavern
[divider]Quote of the Week[divider]
“If people want to say I’m diving they can, but at the end of the day I’m trying to get out of the way and save myself and my career, you’ve just got to try to be a bit clever about it. I’ve got a few people sent off this year by doing that. When you have got people flying in at you all the time, it’s not really diving, you’re just trying to get out of the way of the challenges. If you stand there you’re going to get a whack. At the end of the day I would rather dive than get hurt.”
“I suppose you can take it as a compliment. They think it’s the only way they can stop you. But the best players just get on with it. If they get knocked down, they just get up again until it really hurts,” Bale speaking out against accusations that he goes down to easily.
Guangzhou came from a goal down to beat Henan Jianye 3-1 on Sunday, preserving their 100 per cent start to the Chinese Super League season.Henan, second from bottom in the table, led through Leandro Netto’s 71st-minute strike.
But goals from Zheng Zhi, Jiang Ning and Feng Xiaoting, all in the final 13 minutes, turned the match around to ensure Guangzhou finished the day one point clear at the top.
Beijing Guoan moved to second after a 2-0 win at home to Qingdao Jonoon.
Portuguese striker Roberto and Honduran midfielder Walter Martinez notched both goals late on for Beijing.
Hangzhou Lucheng are third, level on points with Beijing, after they saw off the visit of Shandong Luneng 1-0, with Shen Longyuan netting the only goal in the 65th minute.
Liaoning Hongyun took fourth place, two points off the lead, courtesy of a 2-1 win at Nanchang Bayi.
Visitors Liaoning led through first-half efforts from Yu Hanchao and Yang Xu.
Zhu Baojie pulled back for the home side on 65 minutes, but Nanchang were unable to find the equaliser.
In other matches, Chengdu Blades defeated Shaanxi Chanba 1-0 away from home.
Australian striker Adam Kwasnik – on loan from A-League champions Central Coast Mariners – struck the winner 18 minutes into the match.
A 2-1 win at home to Tianjin Teda saw Shanghai Shenhua retain fifth place, while bottom side Shenzhen Ruby gained a point with a 0-0 draw away to Dalian Shide.
Jiangsu Shuntian climbed out of the relegation zone with their first win of the season, 1-0 at home to Changchun Yatai.
Manchester United set one foot in the knockout phase of the Champions League this week with a professional performance from the club’s second string in Turkey against Bursaspor. United have yet to hit top gear so far this season, but another win at home maintained the Red Devils’ unbeaten start to their Premier League campaign.
The week has not been without controversy for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. Portuguese winger Nani hardly covered himself in glory with his contentious goal at Old Trafford last weekend, and Wayne Rooney was spotted breaking a few rules of nutrition on a boozy birthday holiday. Ferguson will be keen for a break from the media glare after the intensity of the last few weeks.
This week’s top blogs have jumped on stories linking some of United’s old guard with big money moves to the Middle East. There are also entries concerning the potential of some of the side’s rising stars and concerns expressed about the issue of player loyalty in the wake of Rooney’s contract renewal.
We also have the best of what the web has to offer.
Featured articles of the week
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Will Nani ever fill the hole?
Is this the catalyst behind Manchester United’s title challenge?
WAG Weekly – Man United starlet scores a beauty!
A final pay day for United’s finest?
Manchester United stars set to cash in?
Ten things we have noticed from the Premier League this season
Smalling making big leaps at Manchester United
Manchester United starlet finally coming of age
Spurs, Liverpool, United…whose need for Real Madrid swoop is greater?
The Spanish solution to Arsenal and Manchester United’s pending problem
Is Wayne Rooney’s plight ultimately a blessing in disguise?
An important FACT that is lost on most Premier League players
*
Click here to see the Best MANCHESTER UNITED around the Web this week
Best of the Web
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Rio has the X-Factor- The Busby Way
Carrick’s return welcome but only if it lasts- United Rant
A Salute to Sir Alex- The United Religion
EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool vs. Man United – Transfer spending comparison: 1990-2010 – Liverpool Kop
Karel Poborsky: what could have been?- The Busby Way
With just one win in their last eight matches, times are tough for Sheffield Wednesday right now and they didn’t get any easier on Tuesday night after they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Swansea City.
The Owls have failed to score an away goal from open play in 2018 so far and bringing that kind of form to Premier League outfit was always going to end badly.
Carlos Carvalhal’s outfit eventually won 2-0 against his former side to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 1964.
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The big priority for Wednesday of course is surviving relegation from the English Championship, but fans were left disappointed with the result and performance, slating a number of first team stars.
One player who received more criticism than most was Jordan Rhodes, who was completely ineffective in the final third.
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Supporters have completely lost patience with the out-of-form striker and his six goal return this season, with many now calling for him to be sold this summer.
After the sale of Gareth Bale for £85million to Real Madrid, Tottenham were set to invest in players to finally challenge the country’s best sides.
But it wasn’t to be, and Spurs have looked nowhere near as good as when the Welshman was around. And a big part of it is their lack of a natural goalscorer.
Roberto Soldado was purchased for £26million after the sale of Bale to fire in goals on a consistent basis, but he never settled into his new environment.
After the sacking of manager of Andres Villas-Boas, caretaker boss Tim Sherwood installed forgotten man Emmanuel Adebayor and he started scoring, before trailing off to become rather invisible this season.
Now with the two main men set to be replaced, who can the Spurs board push for that will finally land them a striker with a presence not seen since the days of Dimitar Berbatov?
[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON SOLDADO TO SEE THE FULL LIST!
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Mattia Destro
Mattia Destro was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea during the summer transfer window, but the Blues went for Remy instead of young Italian.
The 22-year-old scores goals on a regular basis but is second-fiddle to Roma legend Francesco Totti, which has limited Destro’s game-time to only four league starts. Yet he has managed to score four goals despite less game time.
Right now Spurs are in dire need of a player clinical in front of goal, and can lure the striker with a bid in a region of £15million.
Teofilo Gutierrez
Only a week ago Tottenham scouts went to monitor Teo Gutierrez play for River Plate in the Argentina Primera Division, and he seems to be the London club’s number one target to replace their misfiring strikers.
The Colombian was also involved in his country’s recent 2-1 friendly win over the USA, getting on the scoresheet to further convince Spurs representatives.
Albeit rather quiet in the friendly, he got his name in amongst the goals and it’s no fluke either as the 29-year-old already has 10 goals in just 11 starts for River Plate this season.
Klass Jan Huntelaar
Dubbed as the ‘Next Marco van Basten’ back during his youth at Ajax, Klass Jan Huntelaar never fulfilled the legendary Dutchman’s shoes but has been prolific nonetheless the past few seasons.
Last year’s campaign Huntelaar only managed 12 goals but he only made 18 appearances due to injury, and this season currently has seven goals in 14 games thus far.
Spurs will do well with a deadly finisher like the 31-year-old in the box and could finally have a crack in the English Premier League after stints at Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Schalke.
Seydou Doumbia
Seydou Doumbia was merely a FIFA god due to his immense speed, until he managed to score three goals in two games for CSKA Moscow against Manchester City this season. Now the Ivorian is being coveted by several of Europe’s top sides.
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Doumbia has however been scoring goals regularly since his move to Europe, first with Swiss side BSC Young Boys where he bagged 50 league goals in just 64 games and now 83 goals in just 125 appearances with CSKA.
The 26-year-old will provide Spurs with a clinical finisher up top, but the Lilywhites will have to shell out around £20million for his services.
Jay Rodriguez
It’s hard to believe that Southampton this season are as good as they are without the trio of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, and Jay Rodriguez. However unlike his departed team-mates, Rodriguez has been out of the Saint Mary’s side with an injury but is set to return before the New Year.
The 25-year-old has been a long-time target for Tottenham and with the likes of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic, and Saido Maine all ahead of Rodriguez in the pecking order, ‘Jay-Rod’ may need to make the switch for regular first team football.
Rodriguez scored 15 league goals last season and could be the perfect poacher to play in front of a creative Spurs midfield.
Manchester United kept their place at the top of the league last night after a scrappy 1-0 win over West Ham at Old Trafford, but they’ve struggled to get out of second gear for the most part this campaign and two of the main reasons responsible are the heavy rotation policy currently being used by Sir Alex Ferguson, along with the constant switches in formation, which are stopping the side from gaining any momentum.
Rotation is an essential tool in the modern game and when you can rest players to make sure they are at their optimum for future, more difficult challenges, you most certainly should, but there’s also an argument to be made that a settled side is more conducive to success.
The state of inertia which seems to have gripped the squad so far can be dated back to just after the 3-1 away win over Braga in the Champions League, and while certainly not at their best again, United qualified for the next round with four wins from four games as they established an unassailable lead at the top of the group.
In the very next game against Norwich, courtesy of an outstanding performance from John Ruddy in the home goal, United slumped to an embarrassing and somewhat avoidable 1-0 defeat, their third in the league already so far this campaign. The midfield pairing of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs kept the ball but moved it far too slowly to cause the organised Canaries any undue problems, while Javier Hernandez lacked both service and support up top to have any sort of impact.
The very next game, Hernandez was brought off the bench and involved in all three goals against Aston Villa as the side came back to win 3-2, a result which always had a certain air of inevitability about it, and bringing on the Mexican striker was hailed as some sort of masterstroke and the topic of ‘super subs’ once dominated the week’s news along with Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko, completely ignoring that Ferguson has mismanaged him two games on the bounce. Meanwhile, the constant chopping and changing between Anders Lindegaard and David De Gea in goal is truly baffling and isn’t helping either player’s form or confidence.
The main problem that the side have had this season is going behind early in games, something they have suffered in 13 of their 21 matches across all competitions so far to date. They’ve also kept just three clean sheets in their 14 league outings, the third of which came courtesy of a fine defensive performance against West Ham, with both Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans superb.
Nevertheless, that is the exception rather than the rule this term and both of their title rivals – Manchester City and Chelsea – have kept six clean sheets in the league. The amount of times that they can continue to be bailed out be a fantastic and diverse forward line is not infinite and they must learn from their mistakes and where they keep going wrong.
The lack of form of several players in key areas right through the side appears to have been a motivating factor in the constant switches from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation, while the midfield diamond system keeps making an appearance every so often, which all just helps to cover up the fact that United have an unbalanced, top-heavy squad, with very few central midfielders of genuine quality, so much so that it’s taking them three or four to control a game these days.
That Brazilian midfielder Anderson has been hailed in many quarters as enjoying something of a revival, off the back of a 15-minute cameo against QPR and a admittedly good display against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge says it all. He, along with Carrick and Tom Cleverley (does he have an actual position yet?) started against West Ham and by and large controlled the midfield, but they offered little in attack and while they shielded the back four well at times, Ferguson is still finding it tricky to compensate and get the right balance.
Of course, the switch to a 4-3-3 can be seen as little more than an admittance of the fact that the side have only one genuinely consistent winger in Antonio Valencia. Both Ashley Young and Nani are capable of producing moments of magic, the latter has made a career out of said ‘moments’, but from one game to the next, Ferguson has literally no idea what sort of performance he’s going to get from them and the answer has been to play three in the middle apparently, which has seen Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney come deep in search of the ball and occupying very similar areas, meaning the side carries less threat when playing three up top should mean more.
Against QPR, Ferguson simply got it wrong again and starting Danny Welbeck in an auxiliary left wing berth with Fletcher and Scholes in the middle and Young on he right left them short of inspiration and unable to make their possession count. The eight-minute spell aside, where they plundered three goals, neatly displaying what the side are capable with the right formula in the process, they were far from their best. A better and more confident team than the side currently found propping up the table would have made them pay, and they’ve struggled to produce a performance across the entire 90 minutes all season domestically.
We all know that United are traditionally slow-starters, and their success has allowed a degree of leniency towards this accepted fact, but why has nobody really asked ‘why does it keep happening, though?’ Their rivals, City haven’t been at their fluent best either yet, which is what makes it them so frustrating that they’re not cashing in when the teams that can challenge them are struggling.
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Ferguson seems incapable of addressing the problems in the side at the moment and in search of the answers, the needless tweaks to the side are doing more harm than good. There’s a hint of complacency about United this term, they don’t look nor feel like a team that can be champions, yet they sit at the top of the table, only serving to highlight that in terms of quality, the league is not at its strongest at the moment and that above all else, it’s really there for the taking if they can start to string some good displays together in sequence.
The 70-year-old Scot needs to find his best side, because at the moment I’m not entirely sure he knows what it is nor which formation they fit, and he needs to do it quickly, otherwise their stop-start nature around the busy festive period could come back to haunt them in May.
Spain were as fancied as any side going into the week before the World Cup began, but then their preparations began to unravel.
Julen Lopetegui agreed to join Real Madrid at the conclusion of the tournament but the Spanish FA were so affronted that the process had bypassed them that they fired him just two days before their opening match of the tournament.
Fernando Hierro has been left to oversee a tournament that has seen the 2010 winners struggle to find their best form, but still contrive to win Group B on goals scored thanks to a 2-2 draw with Morocco.
What do you think of the World Cup so far? Let us know and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.
That game yet again saw Real Madrid playmaker Isco – valued at £67.5m by Transfermarkt – stand out above nervous teammates making six key passes and scoring his side’s first equaliser after Khalid Boutaib’s shock opener.
On this form, it is staggering that the Champions League winners cannot always find space for the playmaker in their starting eleven, and Manchester United have been linked with a summer move.
That prospect could be raised again amid rumours that Juan Mata is very much on Barcelona’s radar and there can be little doubt that Isco has the star quality that United are sorely lacking in forward areas.
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Manuel Lanzini has compared current West Ham United teammate Marko Arnautovic to former Hammers star Dimitri Payet.
Payet left West Ham under a cloud in January 2017 after refusing to train or play for the London club as he forced a move to Marseille.
The attacker was outstanding for the Hammers during the 2015-16 season, however, scoring 12 times in 38 appearances in all competitions.
Lanzini has claimed that Arnautovic, who has found his feet at the London Stadium following a slow start to the season, is very much like Payet due to the incredible ability that the Austria international is able to call upon.
Lanzini told West Ham’s official website:
“We make each other better, of course. We want the same things and we think the same way.
“It’s similar to the feeling I had with Dimi before, because they are similar players. If you have a player who plays like you, it’s easy.
“You need to connect and that’s it. You touch the ball one way, and he touches the ball the same way.”
Arnautovic has scored seven times in 21 Premier League appearances for West Ham this season, with his form particularly impressive since David Moyes took charge.
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Lanzini, meanwhile, has recently returned to action following a month on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, and is in line to start against Swansea City this weekend.
With the international break over (cheer or sigh depending your feelings towards the past two weeks) the Premier League roadshow is once again back in town and that means Fantasy Football returns!
The fiendishly addictive game will have us all scrambling for 3G signal while taking a strange interest in Crystal Palace v Burnley as we plot to overhaul our mates or continue the quest for office bragging rights.
Manchester United provide, perhaps, the most interesting challenge heading into the weekend following their transfer activity, and here is how you could take advantage of Louis van Gaal’s dealings…
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CLICK ON RADAMEL FALCAO TO REVEAL
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IN – Angel di Maria
Having broken the British transfer record and shown signs of promise during his debut at Burnley, Di Maria is likely to be a key cog in United’s XI against QPR on Sunday. The Argentine was La Liga’s top assist maker last season with Real Madrid and has shown in the past he knows where the goal is, making a points return feasible.
He may not come cheap, but Di Maria could become the focal point of your side and potential future captain material.
OUT – Juan Mata
With the raft of attacking additions at United it looks like one man could drop out just to ensure that LVG doesn’t have the most top-heavy team in Premier League history. Even though Mata has impressed so far in terms of points, his Dutch manager may be tempted to add more pace to his side and incorporate his own players, which could see the Spaniard drop out.
IN – Marcos Rojo
After finally being granted a work permit, Rojo looks set to slot into United’s backline in a bid to add some form of solidity. The Argentine was decent at the World Cup in a left wing-back role, and he has shown in the past with Sporting Lisbon that he can occupy a centre back position capably – which is where he could be used.
Rojo won’t break the bank and chances of keeping a clean sheet at home to QPR are relatively high.
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OUT – Tyler Blackett
For anyone who has been using Blackett as a cheap way into a big side’s backline, it may be the time to cut the youngster loose. With Rojo in and Jonny Evans back, the academy graduate’s short run in the first-team might be at an end. Blackett picked up a decent return at Burnley, but that may not be enough to keep him in LVG’s XI any longer.
IN – Radamel Falcao
Now back to the fun stuff. Falcao grabbed headlines on deadline day by completing a loan move from Monaco, and LVG may opt to throw him straight into the action on Sunday. If the Colombian’s record is anything to go by he will guarantee goals, with his spells at Atletico Madrid and Porto having garnered a return of nearly a goal a game! You’re looking at a Wayne Rooney or Sergio Aguero style price tag, but the South American may well be worth it.