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- Everton's Roberto Martínez to honour agreement over Gareth Barry
- Jon Flanagan learns from the sins of his father to thrive at Liverpool | Andy Hunter
- We don't fear trip to Manchester City, says Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers
- Controversial Cardiff City owner Tan buys Bosnian club
- Fulham get Curbishley and Dempsey
- A-League: what to look out for in Round 12
| Everton's Roberto Martínez to honour agreement over Gareth Barry Posted: 25 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST • Manager will let midfielder decide future as a free agent Roberto Martínez has said Everton must wait until the end of the season to open talks on a permanent deal for Gareth Barry, despite his impressive impact at Goodison Park. The 32-year-old is flourishing on a season-long loan from Manchester City, who deemed him surplus to requirements last summer and would be open to a nominal fee of around £1m for the midfielder when the transfer window reopens. Barry is out of contract at City next summer but Martínez insists he will honour an agreement to allow the England international to decide his future as a free agent. "Gareth has been vitally important in what we have achieved so far this season and I would like that to be the case for many, many years to come, but that is a conversation we are going to have in the summer," said the Everton manager. "The agreement was for the season and for Gareth to just enjoy his football and I don't want to change that. I don't think there is a real need. There is trust about what we agreed and all I want now is for Gareth to continue concentrating on his football for the second half of the season. I don't want him thinking about his future, which might distract him from enjoying his football and that was the agreement we had." Everton have home games against Sunderland and Southampton over the festive period to push their Champions League claims and Martínez believes Barry will make his decision for football reasons next summer. He added: "Gareth is not a player who is going to change his mind at the last second, he knows what he wants. We were very clear that I wanted him to have a specific role at the club and then in the summer he would make the choice and decide what he wants to do. "I hope that everything I told him before he joined is exactly what he gets out of being here and he is enjoying it. "Gareth is in a great position in his career where he can make choices about what he wants to do, rather than for finances or what sort of contract he will get. I trust Gareth to just get on with enjoying his football and then in the summer we will sit down and talk." theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds  |
| Jon Flanagan learns from the sins of his father to thrive at Liverpool | Andy Hunter Posted: 25 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST • Player's dad cleaned Dalglish's boots but didn't make the grade Less than two months ago Jon Flanagan feared the opportunity had passed at his beloved Liverpool. Today his inbox contains a text message from Jamie Carragher that reads: "Well done – the next Roberto Carlos." The transformation has been swift, the tributes deserved and it is a recovery the young defender believes was made possible by the mistakes of his father. Flanagan should make his seventh consecutive start for Brendan Rodgers' in-form team at Manchester City on Boxing Day, having flourished in the left-back role he was handed for the Merseyside derby at Everton last month. If the position was unexpected for the right-footed full-back, then so was his reaction, a display that Steven Gerrard described as "one of the best derby performances I have seen for many years. Jon was our star man by a country mile." The turnaround had begun at Arsenal, and even the 20-year-old did not see it coming. "At one stage I thought my future might not be at Liverpool," he admits. "With all the players that were in front of me I thought that I was never going to get a chance. That's hard for me to admit because I'm a Liverpool fan and I'm desperate to be a Liverpool player but I also had to be realistic and at that time that was the way I saw it. "It was tough. I'd had a couple of injuries and I was working hard but an opportunity wasn't really opening up for me. I had a couple of chances to go out on loan but I didn't think they were right for me and my development so I just stuck at it and waited for my chance." Flanagan made an immediate impact when thrown in by Kenny Dalglish for his Liverpool debut in April 2011, a 3-0 win against City at Anfield. "Even if it had only happened once I'd treasure that game but it made me want to play for Liverpool again and again," he recalls. "I didn't want that game to end." The homegrown talent made seven appearances at the tail end of that debut season, eight in what proved to be Dalglish's final campaign as manager but only two in Rodgers' first term in charge. A dip in form in that second season coupled with a series of injuries stalled Flanagan's progress. But he drew on the experience of his father, John, who before becoming a successful local businessman had been on Liverpool's books as a promising young striker. "My dad used to play here but he got let go when he was a scholar," says Flanagan Jr. "He told me about the mistakes that he'd made and admitted that he maybe hadn't had the right attitude. His message was that he didn't want the same thing to happen to me, that he'd missed his chance and he didn't want me to miss mine. That was a big thing for me because I was able to listen to that advice and take it into training. "There aren't too many players who are fortunate enough to have a dad who's been in a similar position to them when they were younger, so it's up to me to make the most of that advice. He was a great player. I've heard many stories about him. He was a forward and he used to clean Kenny Dalglish's boots but he was just one of the many who didn't make the grade here." Gerrard's post-derby tribute made a lasting impression on the Liverpool defender. "It doesn't get any better than to read comments like that from someone who was your childhood hero," he says. And Flanagan's confidence and form have improved by the game, the highlight being his first Liverpool goal in the recent 5-0 rout of Tottenham Hotspur. "Carra is always there giving me advice and after the game he sent me a little text. It said: 'Well done – the next Roberto Carlos.' It was just a laugh but it is good to have that kind of support from someone like him." theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds  |
| We don't fear trip to Manchester City, says Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers Posted: 25 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST • Rodgers tells City: it's your title to lose Brendan Rodgers has said the Boxing Day visit to Manchester City holds no fear for Liverpool despite his belief that the Premier League title is City's to lose. Manuel Pellegrini's side enjoy an unblemished home record in the league, winning all eight games at the Etihad Stadium with a remarkable return of 35 goals, an average of 4.37 goals per game. City have put six goals past Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the past month but with Liverpool boasting the second-highest goals tally in the Premier League, the competition's finest player in Luis Suárez and a one-point lead over City, Rodgers insists there will be no trepidation at the Etihad Stadium. "We arrive there with no fear," said Liverpool's manager. "We outplayed Manchester City last year, home and away. We had two draws and we should have won both games but we will go there with every respect for them. I believe with the squad they have, it is their title to lose. "For us, we will go there and play our game. We will go there and be aggressive and to press the football. We had 23 shots on goal against Cardiff [on Saturday]. They will have seen from Cardiff and from Tottenham [whom Liverpool beat 5-0 at White Hart Lane this month], that we can score goals." The outstanding form of Suárez, who took his total to 19 goals in 12 games with a double in the 3-1 defeat of Cardiff, is central to Liverpool's confidence at City. Rodgers revealed his belief that City are not unbeatable at home in the Premier League grew after attending Bayern Munich's 3-1 win at the Etihad in the Champions League in October. Rodgers, who took several Liverpool players with him to see that group game, said: "Bayern played with a three-quarter press [as Liverpool did at Tottenham]. They played with a controlling midfielder. Man City played 4-4-2, which was surprising on the night. They played two centre-forwards. Bayern had a holding midfielder, they had the quality and they got a result in the end." Liverpool went top of the Premier League at the weekend and Rodgers accepts expectations will soar further at Anfield should his team halt City's winning streak at home. "That is something we can't control. All we can control is our game," he said. "This is a brilliant match-up. We have been in real good form, developing our football idea all the time. We go to a team that is full of quality players. It should make for a great game." Pellegrini believes Liverpool have announced their title credentials regardless of the result on Boxing Day and has not discounted Tottenham or eighth-placed Manchester United from being in contention come the run-in. "I always think that every team has the chance to win the Premier League," he said. "The Premier League is not only Liverpool and Manchester City. Tottenham will continue fighting. Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton are playing good football and will fight for the title until the end." Pellegrini also insists he will be making no particular arrangements to deal with Suárez as the Uruguay international looks to break the 20-goal barrier before the new year. City's manager said: "He is in a very good moment. He has always been a very good striker but Liverpool is not only Suárez. They are a very good team, it will be a tough game and we hope we can continue winning at home. "There are no special plans for Suárez. He is a player that is in a good moment but we must continue playing the same way at home. We are not playing against Liverpool thinking of Luis Suárez. We are playing against Liverpool thinking we must repeat what we are doing at home." City have two home games over the festive period, whereas Liverpool, Arsenal and United have two away fixtures, but Pellegrini has criticised the decision to schedule Crystal Palace's visit for Saturday when other contenders play on Sunday. He said: "I don't know if the word is ridiculous but playing 46 hours from one game to another is not the best thing for the players. They cannot recover in 46 hours. "All the teams must have the same rest. Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool all play on the 26th and 29th. And we play 26th and 28th. It's not fair, it should be the same for all teams." theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds  |
| Controversial Cardiff City owner Tan buys Bosnian club Posted: 25 Dec 2013 07:09 AM PST • Cardiff to exchange players with Sarajevo Cardiff City's owner, Vincent Tan, has sealed an agreement to take over the control and management of Bosnia's Premier League football club Sarajevo, officials said on Wednesday. Under the deal, Cardiff will co-operate with Sarajevo, exchanging players and taking part in a football academy, yet to be established, which Tan has said would lure new talents. "We have signed an agreement which defines the investment and management rights in accordance to the club's statute and legislation that is in force in Bosnia," Sarajevo's general director, Dino Selimovic, told Reuters. Selimovic declined to provide details on investment but local media reported on Wednesday that the Malaysian billionaire has pledged to invest three million Bosnian marka (£1.2m). Sarajevo, established in 1946, have faced bankruptcy over millions of marka in accumulated debt. Tan has been in talks with the club's managers since last summer. "We plan to play friendly games, exchange players, organise joint training camps and marketing campaigns," Tan told the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz in an interview in September. "I am very optimistic and hope that this co-operation will be very useful for both clubs and for Bosnian football generally," he added. Local media reported that Tan would not change the Bosnian club's badge and colours, as he did at Cardiff, angering fans. Tan has furthered annoyed supporters over his recent treatment of Malky Mackay, Cardiff's manager. Mackay, is happy for the fans to give vent to their feelings when the club face Southampton on Boxing Day. The Scot is set to be in charge of the Welsh club having been given a reprieve of sorts in the wake of Tan's ultimatum that he resign or be sacked. When releasing a statement saying Mackay would be in charge of the club for the "foreseeable future", the chairman Mehmet Dalman had appealed to fans not to display any 'Tan Out' banners against Southampton but rather show messages encouraging owner and manager to sort out their differences. But Mackay offered no advice to fans, other than to ask them to back his team as they have done throughout the campaign. "Our fans are the lifeblood of the club," said Mackay. "When I'm gone and the owner is gone the fans will still be supporting the team. What they want to sing and what they want to say is down to themselves. "They are intelligent people who have got their own opinions about the football club but I know they will get behind the football team like they have always done from the first day I have arrived there. I will always be thankful for that." theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds  |
| Fulham get Curbishley and Dempsey Posted: 25 Dec 2013 04:43 AM PST • Curbishley arrives as first-team technical director Alan Curbishley has been appointed first-team technical director at Fulham as he returns to club football more than five years after leaving West Ham. The announcement came hours after the Premier League club confirmed the United States captain Clint Dempsey was returning on a two-month loan from Seattle Sounders in the Major League Soccer off-season. It has been a time of change recently at Craven Cottage, with the former manager Martin Jol sacked on 1 December to be immediately replaced by Rene Meulensteen. The arrivals of Curbishley and Dempsey will give the fans hope the club can start to improve on the field as they sit second from bottom at Christmas. Curbishley is taking his first role at a club since leaving West Ham in September 2008. A statement on Fulham's website read: "With a wealth of football experience behind him, Alan will work with head coach Rene Meulensteen as the club embarks on the second half of the season, and the important task of securing our Barclays Premier League status for a 14th consecutive campaign. "Both Curbishley and Meulensteen will report to the club's CEO Alistair Mackintosh." Meulensteen said: "I'm very happy that Alan has joined us as I know his expertise will be invaluable as we enter the remaining months of the season. "Following Martin [Jol's] departure I discussed with both Alistair Mackintosh and the chairman the challenges we face, and I was delighted that they supported the idea of additional support within the coaching team. "Alan has a proven track record in the industry and understands full well what it takes to succeed." Meulensteen and Curbishley will be able to call on the knowledge and leadership of the 30-year-old Dempsey in his second spell at Fulham. He signed from New England Revolution in January 2007 and scored 60 goals in 225 appearances before moving to Tottenham in August 2012. "It feels good to be back," Dempsey told Fulham's website. "This has always felt like my home in Europe." theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds  |
| A-League: what to look out for in Round 12 Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:24 PM PST Paul Connolly: Adelaide's revival; Christmas miracles; teams continue to suffer from bad finishing; and the menace of Taylor Swift  |
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