Friday, 8 August 2014

Wenger: Vermaelen set for Arsenal exit

14:21

By: TBMU Admin On: 14:21   In:   No comments

Wenger: Vermaelen set for Arsenal exit

Wenger: Vermaelen set for Arsenal exit

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 06:50 AM PDT

The Belgium international fellout of favour at the Emirates Stadium last season asLaurent Koscielny and Per Mertesackerwere preferredin the heart of Arsenal's defence. With Louis van Gaal seeking to bolster United's back line followingthe departures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Vermaelen has been a reported long-term target for the Old Trafford club. Wenger confirmed there had been offers made for the 28-year-old and strongly hinted that Manchester United were among his suitors. Asked if there were offers on the table for Vermaelen, the Frenchman responded:"Yes, I can't tell you [who] but you will know very soon. "I think [Manchester United]could be in the group.It could happen, I said that since the start of pre-season. "We're in a position where it's difficult to stand in his way.We never speak about the price." Wenger also confirmed his World Cup-winning contingent will return to the club on Monday - a day after Arsenaltake on Manchester City in the Community Shield. Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Mertesacker will also miss Arsenal's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on August 16. "It's not ideal but the final of theWorld Cupwas onJuly 13 andthey went back to Germany, where they lose a few days in celebration," he added. "After having the experience of winning a World Cup,it's always difficult to come back mentally and be sharp and hungry straight away. "They have a [training] programme they follow so [their return]could be very quick."

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

The 10 best celebrations: Dives, dogs, death and dirty deeds

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 04:50 AM PDT

For even more celebration lauding, including: exclusive interviews, our managerial celebration handbook, the best props, when reactions turned painful, the weird and politically wrong 'uns, get your hands on the new issue of FourFourTwo– our Season Preview! 1) Ryan Giggs vs Veet Even Giggsy himself refers to "the rug" when reminiscing about his iconic chest-baring during the 1999 FA Cup Semi-Final. In fairness, he had good reason to let it all out after his glorious solo winner against Arsenal sent Manchester United through to the final. "Sometimes it's hard to control yourself," he later admitted to FFT. "I lost all feeling at the time and I just decided to whip my top off to go and celebrate. A few people gave me a bit of stick for my hairy chest but I just about got away with it because the goal was such a good one." Amen to that. 2) Jimmy Bullard vs Phil Brown Club jester Jimmy Bullard provided the chuckles with his Phil Brown micky-taking at Manchester City in 2009, in honour of his manager's bizarre on-pitch team talk of the previous campaign. Luckily for Tigers players, their pre-meditated plan was able to unfold after Bullard tucked away an 82nd-minute penalty in the 1-1 draw. Sadly for them, boss Brown didn't even see it. "I actually missed the celebration at the time because I was trying to do a bit of a tactical re-jig," claimed the tanned Tynesider. "I only saw it when our analysis guy showed it to me on the laptop at the end of the game." Wasted. 3) Diego Maradona vs Klinsmann Up next is Diego Maradona bringing you the famous Thank-God-For-That. It tends to come at a vital point in a match, and its key practitioners are hotheaded maniacs who don't give a monkeys about losing their cool. El Diego was never a mild-mannered celebrator as a player, and his managerial joy was equally unconfined when Argentina scored against Peru in 2010, upon which he performed a jump-and-slide onto his belly that was as perfectly executed as most of his dribbles. Skip to 17 secs for Diego's swallow dive4) Stjarnan vs Captain Birdseye Passion andspontaneity have made for some of football's most iconic celebrations, but it's hard not to admire some carefully tuned choreography. Johann Laxdall helped put former club Stjarnan on the map in 2010, when the Icelandic side's fisherman routine went viral. "I think a goal celebration means more if it has a bit of meaning to it," he told FFT. "We came up with it after one of the boys had been a fishing trip with his father. People were always saying to us 'it must take hours to put these things together' but it didn't –in fact we didn't practice at all, we just made sure that everyone knew their role. By the end we had people from around the world sending us celebration ideas, it was crazy." Since then they've managed to squeeze in bikes, rowing boats and ballroom dancing. 5) Cristiano Lucarelli vsinhibitions Journeyman striker Cristiano Lucarelli's love of hometown club Livorno is no secret: he's got the tattoo, is pals with the ultras, and rejected several lucrative offers to stay with theAmaranto. Loving the shirt is one thing, but making love to it? After netting against Piacenza in 2007, he took off his jersey, laid it carefully on the turf, and proceeded to commit what a court of law might call "a lewd act" upon it. We get the point, Luca... 6) Facundo Sava vs fashion When Fulham boss Jean Tigana splashed £2m on a little-known Argentine in 2002, Cottagers fans didn't have much idea of what to expect. What they might have anticipated, though, was the striker's fabled goal celebration– a Zorro mask pulled from his sock. Sava didn't whip out the headgear for his first goal, a dramatic late leveller against Middlesbrough, on account of leaving his 250-strong collection back home in Argentina. It'd take him another eight games before he could against Charlton, but he saved his best for a brace against Liverpool with a custom-made Cottagers mask (below). Aww. 7) Finidi George vs K-9 There's nothing not to like about a man pretending to be a dog, and Nigeria's Finidi George did the definitive impression having popped home a sublime chip against Greece at USA '94. He falls to his knees, waddles along on all fours, and then cocks a leg to mark his territory. No explanation has ever been offered, and for us, none is required. 8) Nani vs gravity They don't always go to plan (as Celestine Babayaro and Lomana LuaLua have both discovered), but there's much to enjoy about an acrobatic celebration. And there aren't too many who can pull one off better than Manchester United wingman Nani, whose cartwheel-backflip is quite the sight. Even former Great Britain gymnast Beth Tweddle was impressed, giving the Portuguese preener a 9/10 in our latest issue. "He's streets ahead of the rest," purred the retired flexer. "I'm guessing he has some kind of gymnastic background because his technique is good too. He has a variety of elements in his round-off full twist but he does them with ease." 9) Martin Palermo vs concrete Villarreal forward Martin Palermo could hardly foresee the impending doom as he slotted home a late winner for El Submarino Amarillo against Levante in a 2001 Copa del Rey fixture. The Argentine sprinted up to his delirious supporters, who were pouring towards a small concrete wall – which promptly collapsed. Palermo broke his leg in two places, was out for a couple of months and lost form, missing the 2002 World Cup as a result. No wonder they called him Loco. 10) Medina De La Mora vs morals Can a goal celebration be used as a piece of haunting commentary about man's inhumanity to man? The answer, of course, is no, which is why Chivas Guadalajara players Alberto Medina and Marco Fabian de la Mora were ill-advised to perform a mock gangland execution in a country ripped apart by drug-cartel violence. The berks, who were in the process of beating Estudiantes 5-2 in October 2011, were heavily fined, and made an apologetic donation to an orphanage.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Top 10 drunken escapades: gun toting, egg scoffing, hotel trashing and cup smashing

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 04:30 AM PDT

1) Merse on the sauce When Graham Taylor took England on a tour of America in 1993, his wayward midfielder treated the trip like a "Club 18-30 p***-up". In Washington he stumbled into a fight in the city's murder hotspot after the rest of the squad had gone to bed. The biggest party was saved for Detroit, however, when Merson drunkenly stumbled into a gay bar with Paul Ince and John Barnes. "We thought the handlebar moustache was a local fashion," he said. 2) Gun-toting Tino Having already escaped the slammer in Colombia for firing an illegal firearm outside a nightclub, South America's favourite barmpot Tino Asprilla brought his armoury to Newcastle in 1996. When the striker moved into his rented house in Woolsington, neighbours complained of hearing gunshots at a particularly rowdy party. After Asprilla moved out in 1998, his landlord was shocked to find a series of bullet holes peppering the walls of his house. 3) Mongoose McQueen After a few shandies, former Manchester United star Gordon McQueen unveils an impressive party trick: he can eat raw eggs whole, shell included. "It's like watching a ravenous mongoose," says Soccer Saturday anchorman, Jeff Stelling. "He flips his head back and a medium-sized egg disappears down his throat. His record is four in one sitting." 4) Booze + tablets = Gazza Paul Gascoigne briefly lived with Paul Merson in 1998 while turning out for Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough. To pass time, the two alcoholics played a suicidal drinking game: when bottles of red wine were opened at home, each glass was followed by a sleeping tablet. Whoever stayed awake the longest was declared the winner and earned thousands of pounds in wagers. 5) Motorcycle emptiness Peter Beagrie's biggest mistake during Everton's 1991 pre-season tour of Spain wasn't sinking gallons of continental lager late into the night. Nor was it borrowing a motorcycle from a confused local and driving it through the glass front of the team's hotel when a night porter was unavailable to open the door. Beagrie's largest blunder, he mused, as the 50th stitch was put into his wounds, was driving into the wrong hotel. 6) You're nicked (again) Even by Pete Doherty's standards, being arrested twice in 24 hours for being drunk and disorderly is an impressive feat. But when the former Forest and Derby full-back Gary Charles was pinched for spitting at the window of a hairdressers in May 2003, he continued his binge after release and drove his car into a hedge. Police discovered Charles slumped in the backseat surrounded by torn-up money and his own excrement. "P*** off," he said, as officers tried to breathalyse him. 7) Best hits bar... then the post When George Best signed for Fulham in 1976, he made the fancy London nightclub Tramps his second home. After one late-night bender, the midfield maestro borrowed the Fiat belonging to the chairman's daughter. Shortly afterwards he mangled it against a lamppost outside Harrods. When team-mate Rodney Marsh told him to watch his drinking, Best responded, "Don't you ever f***ing tell me what to do again." 8) Cup takes a battering After Coventry City upset the odds and tonked Spurs 3-2 in the 1987 FA Cup Final, the team and a gang of well wishers got absolutely blotto. "Even the Mayor of Coventry went crazy," said Coventry goal hero, Keith Houchen. "Everyone was out of it by 2am. Policemen were coming in and filling their helmets with champagne. People were chucking the cup around the room bouncing it off the walls. At one point, someone realised the lid was missing. Someone was sitting on it. It was all bent out of shape." 9) Peter 'pants down' Shilton In May 1980, the England goalkeeper parked his Jag in a dirt track behind Nottingham racecourse with Tina Street at 5am. No drama there, except Shilts had drunk a few too many and Tina's husband Colin was hardly enamoured with the fact that the pair were "partially clothed" when he tried to open the car door. When police arrived at the scene, Shilts sped off, crashed into a lamppost and was busted for drink driving. 10) Razor cuts Shearer Neil Ruddock nearly ended the career of Alan Shearer before the then-Southampton striker had even made his England debut, when some hotel hijinks got out of hand. "I raided his mini-bar," said Ruddock. "He chased me down the corridor but I dropped a couple of glasses and he stepped on the broken glass. He needed an operation to save one of his toes on his left foot."

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Written by TBMU Admin

We are Manchester United Fan located around the World which provides user friendly, effective and easy to browse info regarding our Team. Each support/info is free. Support us by clicking the ads located in this site. Thanks

0 comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Click Picture Below for More Info

Popular Posts

Share

 





© 2013 TBMU . All rights resevered. Published by The Best Manchester United Admin Blogger

Back To Top