Paul Lambert has banned mobile phones and laptops in the dressing room on match days and also at training.
The Scot is attempting to improve discipline at Villa, as he looks to reinvigorate the Midlands club after a miserable season, and opening day defeat this year.
The Daily Telegraph witnessed Lambert’s disciplinarian philosophy at a fans forum this week, “If you are a professional footballer, then it’s not a hobby it’s your job.” The 43 year old said.
“You are at the training ground to work. If you train the way you play, then I don’t have a problem with it. But iPhones and iPads are a distraction. I’m here to win football matches not play on a computer.”
Another innovation courtesy of the ex-Norwich manager is that the dugouts have been swapped at Villa Park. Lambert is hoping moving the home dugout closer to the Holte End stand, will further motivate the Villa.
Villa host Everton this weekend and Lambert will be hoping on an instant improvement from last term’s home form, where the Birmingham club won only four league matches.
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French midfielder Florence Malouda has been left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the forthcoming group stages, according to The Guardian.
The 32-year-old has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge following the arrival of Juan Mata to West London and has failed to make the squad list in any of Chelsea’s first three Premier League games so far this season.
Malouda was reportedly on the verge of joining Brazilian outfit Santos. However, the deal fell through after the wingers wage demands were thought to be too high.
Malouda is one of the number of ageing Chelsea players who appear to have no future left at the club. Goalkeeper Hilario has also been omitted from the squad list, while Michael Essien has been loaned out to Spanish giants Real Madrid and Raul Meireles joined Fernebache for £8 million yesterday.
Chelsea begin the defence of their European title at home to Italian champions Juventus on 19th September.
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Former England international Emile Heskey has penned a one-year deal to play for Australian A-League side Newcastle Jets.
The veteran forward was released by Aston Villa at the tail-end of last season, and failed to find a new club during the European transfer window, despite confessing that he had offers.
The A-League starts in October, and the 34-year-old will pair up with former Leeds striker Michael Bridges for the east coast side.
Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond feels that Heskey’s stature and experience will offer quality to his side.
“He’s someone who can really lead the line and that is exactly what we’ve been missing,” the coach is quoted as saying in The Guardian.
Heskey is looking forward to a new challenge in his career and hopes to act as a role model for younger players.
“I hope I can help grow football at the grass-roots level and also provide advice to young players at the Jets,” he commented.
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Heskey follows ex-Italy international Alessandro Del Piero to Australia, who signed for Sydney earlier this summer.
Mark Schwarzer has still not responded to the offer of a new contract to keep him at Fulham next season, according to Martin Jol.
The Cottagers boss has been heavily linked with a new goalkeeper and Roma’s Netherlands international custodian Maarten Stekelenburg is the favourite to the make the move to Craven Cottage in the summer.
However, Jol is also keen to keep the 40-year-old Australian veteran on board, while current number two David Stockdale appears set to join loan side Hull City on a permanent basis if they clinch their place in the Premier League as expected.
But the Dutch tactician has admitted that Schwarzer is still dragging his heels over whether he will stay with the Cottagers because he wants to be guaranteed first-team football in order to feature in next year’s World Cup in Brazil – something which won’t happen if he stays put.
Jol said: “We made him an offer so that means we would like to keep him.”
On 27-year-old Stockdale’s future, he added: “The reality is Stockdale wants to be the number one so I’ve got a little problem and it’s a choice. Do you get him back and make him the number one or do you stick with your keeper? Schwarzer did ever so well, so it’s about making decisions.”
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Sunderland host Fulham today with both sides searching for wins, but for very different reasons. Martin O’Neil’s Black Cats are looking over their shoulders as they hover just five points above the drop zone and will be eager for new arrival Danny Graham to help them put that right sooner rather than later.
Martin Jol’s Fulham have the opportunity to increase the gap between themselves and the bottom three to 11 points, which should all but confirm their top-flight status for another season. The Cottagers are yet to lose a game in which striker Dimitar Berbatov has scored so all eyes will be on the Bulgarian at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.
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AC Milan are preparing to make a £3m offer for QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt, if the Super Hoops are relegated from the Premier League, according to reports from the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle.
The Italian giants have highlighted the mercurial midfielder as one of their main transfer targets, as they look to add some attacking creativity to their squad.
However, they are only willing to do a deal on the cheap, a situation that will be far more likely if the Londoners are relegated to the Championship.
After defeat to Fulham on Monday night, a game in which Taarabt scored, QPR are joint bottom of the table and seven points for safety.
A comeback appears to be unlikely, which has sparked AC Milan’s interest in the Moroccan.
The Loftus Road club tied Taarabt down to a long-term deal last summer, and as a result of this will be far from keen to lose him for a reduced fee.
But, with the financial hit that dropping to the second tier would bring, it’s unlikely that they will be able to reject any serious offers.
The 23-year-old himself may also be looking to move to a big club, with his self-confident approach well known.
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If relegated, QPR will also face a fight to keep the likes of Julio Cesar, Christopher Samba and Loic Remy at Loftus Road.
Swansea played out the longest game in Premier League history against Man City last weekend, and will be frustrated that they could not take all three points as they outplayed City for long stretches. The longest game in Premier League history was a test on player fitness, and Swansea covered the most ground they have in a single game this season with 66.92 miles, led by Jonathan de Guzman’s 7.01 miles, the most by a single Swansea player this season.
Jonathan de Guzman has impressed for Swansea this season, and leads the team for passes completed in the opposition half with 199 so far this season.
A good performance was marred by injury to goalkeeper Michel Vorm. Vorm has been a key figure for Swansea this season and had made 45 saves so far in nine games
Angel Rangel picked up a booking against City, and is one of only two players to have now been booked five times this season, along with Wigan’s James McArthur
Miguel Michu has been Swansea’s star player this season, and he can now count speed among the qualities in which he is dominating the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Michu was clocked at 23.06 mph against City, the 7th fastest speed registered so far this season.
Chelsea’s last Premier League game against Man Utd has made headlines, but that aside was a scintillating game of football. Goals from Juan Mata and Ramires weren’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat for the blues. As well as his goal, Ramires committed five fouls in the game against Manchester United, the joint highest in the last round of games Mata’s goal was his fourth of the season, coming from 19 shots at goal with 68% on target and at a rate of 21% of shots converted to goals.
Fernando Torres was controversially sent off in the game, in a moment which will blot an otherwise excellent start to the season for the Spanish striker. Torres has four goals this season from just 14 shots at goal, an impressive conversion rate of 29%.
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Despite Manchester United’s Premier League campaign having petered out some time ago, they can still have a big say over the race for Champions League football next season.
David Moyes would most likely say that he couldn’t care less who qualifies next season, but he really should. For the good of Manchester United and for the good of his employment he should be praying his old Everton side make it.
For a long while this season United’s league performances have been a matter of pride above everything else. They find themselves 10 points off fourth place with just five games remaining; a practically insurmountable difference. An upturn in form in recent weeks – including the arrival of Juan Mata – has suggested small positives going forwards for Moyes, and a victory this weekend at Goodison Park would be another small step in restoring the lost pride of the season.
But it may just be most beneficial for United if they were to shelf their search for pride this coming weekend. The battle for fourth place looks to be heading to the wire, and Arsenal have a one-point advantage. If they are to make Champions League football in 2014-15 then their financial power will continue to grow. As a club with worldwide international support, a 60,000-seater stadium, world-class training facilities, and a core of very talented players, Arsenal have the potential to make Man United’s inevitable hiatus from UEFA’s flagship tournament a longer, more painful wait.
Everton, for all their improvements this season, still don’t have the kind of clout in Europe that Arsenal do. They’re very much still a work-in-progress club, reaching for the stars but having only recently left planet earth.
Roberto Martinez has worked wonders this season, and if Everton achieve Champions League football they will thoroughly deserve it. But the reliance this season on loan signings demonstrates what the club lack financially. Martinez had to make do with a number of late temporary options because the club can seldom afford to pay the money that players like Romelu Lukaku would cost them.
The money that Champions League participation provides for individual clubs would be far more dangerous to Man United in the power of a club the size of Arsenal. Added to their recent sponsorship renewals and kit manufacturing deals, Arsenal would be a harder beast to tame, were they to have the luxury of Champions League football.
Roberto Martinez has already admitted he is planning a big spend this summer. And Champions League football would no doubt allow him to attract a higher calibre of player. But the resources of the club don’t enable them to pay the type of wages that the Gunners can offer, whilst Arsenal’s Champions League history makes them a far more attractive prospect.
United would be able to catch up with Everton far more easily than Arsenal in the long-term. If Arsenal miss Champions League football, what they have set out to achieve since the erection of the Emirates Stadium would be knocked back. If the club continues to benefit from Champions League participation, they become much more difficult for United to overhaul.
Heading into a new era of financial power, and with the monetary increase that the BT television deal will give Champions League clubs from 2015-16 onwards, Manchester United can’t afford their absence to be a long one.
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By no way am I trying to question the professional integrity of David Moyes’ players. Each and every ones of them are under pressure to perform against Everton, many of whom are fighting for their Manchester United careers. They’ll be focused on derailing Everton’s progress in the home straight. And as a matter of pride for David Moyes, damaging his old club’s push for Champions League football would be some consolation, if only scant. But they should be mindful of the ramifications.
With all the names being bandied around in the media, and the financial power that Manchester United can still exercise, they are destined to strengthen this summer. Even with Champions League football, Everton can’t hope to challenge Manchester United when it comes to the transfer market. Arsenal can. Whether Arsene Wenger opts to is another matter entirely, but missing out on Champions League football would damage them this summer. Less competition for United would help, and Everton finishing fourth would be an important step in their rise back amongst Europe’s elite.
In the run up to Joey Barton’s home debut for Marseille, the controversial midfielder has asked French supporters to judge him on his performances, not the stories describing him as ‘Hollywood.’
The English midfielder is expected to play in Marseille’s Europa League clash with Limassol on Thursday.
“It’s difficult because of my bad reputation; I find it a bit unfair. They are stories like Hollywood, far from the truth,” the former Queens Park Rangers captain told the BBC website.
Barton joined the French club in August after signing from QPR, and has only played once before in the Europa League, due to the fact that he is serving a 12 league game ban which he picked up during his time in the Premier League, after being found guilty of two counts of violent conduct.
The midfielder however, is enjoying his new French life so far, and is happy to be away from the English press.
“The English media love to make headlines and dramatise as English football is the number one sport.
“I hope that people in France and here in Marseille judge me on what I do here and not in relation to what they read.”
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Marseille currently sit top of Ligue 1 with 6 wins from their first 6 games, ensuring that it won’t be easy for Barton to step straight into the side.
“There are some very good players here, but when you want to be a big club you must have a team of 15, 16, or 17 players. All players cannot play every week and I hope to bring something different to the team and become an important member,” he added.
I’m not interested in scaremongering, but there are serious problems at Leeds that need to be addressed quickly.
Over the last few months Leeds fans have gone from daring to dream about oil rich billionaires to having nightmares about cash strapped banks. Throughout this time, one concern has been bubbling under the surface which is being slowly considered by more and more of the fan base. Administration.
Administration would be a disaster for Leeds at any point of the season, but the clubs finances and actions suggest that the last few months of the current campaign are going to be a massive struggle.
Many people simply look at the fact that we are debt free and assume that administration is impossibility, but just how debt free are we?
After all, we effectively took a loan out on the future sales of season tickets. We were told by Bates 12 months before being placed into administration that he had shrunk our debt to under £10 million, only for it to be revealed that the debt was actually in excess of £35 million. Finally, consider how Ken left Chelsea with around £20 million of hidden debt, and even the most neutral fans must start to wonder.
Not only that, but where have these ‘debt free’ claims come from? Who has actually told us that it is a fact that we are free of debt?
Ken Bates.
And whilst the majority of fans are happy to label him as a liar and a cheat, they seem accepting of this statement as being the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Even if the club are debt free, what money do we actually have? As the recent financial reports show that we have once again only avoided making a loss because of player sales.
The summer proved that the club have no money to spend, Warnock had to wheel and deal to make sure he could bring players in and you have to admire the job he did considering the circumstances, but what good will that prove to be if the club plunge into administration by the end of the season?
Falling attendances, dwindling interest and a fan base devoid of hope. Three ingredients that will only serve to cause further problems for the club financially.
The fans have spent the last few months willing the takeover by GFH Capital to be completed with the promise of investment that will ensure our return to the Premier League, though the recent reports that have surrounded the finances of GFH make those promises seem worryingly hard to fulfill GFH seem to have little financial clout on their own, we can only hope that they have wealthy financial backers ready to plough money into the club.
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Either way, Bates will leave. Leeds entering administration would be his 3rd strike, and he would no longer pass the Football Leagues ‘fit and proper persons test’.
How he passed it in the first place is anyone’s guess.