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Ryan Giggs returned to his hometown on Sunday to the place where he first kicked a ball, coming off the bench in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Cardiff City.

United failed to capitalise on a number of chances before a stoppage-time equaliser from Kim Bo-Kyung sealed a deserved point for the Bluebirds.

The sides hadn’t met in the top flight since 1961, and for United stalwart Giggs, it was that little bit special.

Giggs entered the field in the 73rd minute, some 22 years after making his debut for the Reds and helped the visitors get back into the ascendancy after a dominant spell from Cardiff, laying on Danny Welbeck, only for him to lash over the bar. And the miss proved costly with the late equaliser sealing United’s fate, in the week building up to the number 11’s 40th birthday.

It’s a remarkable feat for the Welshman who left his home country at the age of seven to Manchester and even at such an early age, his breath-taking talent was recognised and at one point almost ended up playing in the blue half of the city. Eric Mullender, a Manchester City scout, first saw Giggs at the age of nine, and almost lured him to, at that time, Maine Road.

“He really took my eye. He would just go past players,” the 80-year-old scout remembered, “He had pace, a lovely left peg. He had the skill, good control and he developed from there. I thought he had potential to play for city. He would come in on school holidays.”

Sunday marked his 952nd game for the Red Devils and as he reaches the big 4-0 on Friday, people will no doubt be replaying his finest goals and of course asking, when will it end?

Now acting as player-coach under Moyes’ new regime, many are believing that after 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions Leagues, the most decorated player in football will call time on his illustrious career.

Many except Giggs and Moyes that is. Following Sunday’s game, the United boss thinks there is no reason why the midfielder can’t continue beyond his current deal.

“He doesn’t look like someone who is going to drop considerably,” he told the Telegraph.

“He has made the first step into coaching and management and sometimes when you do that you say: ‘Actually I have had enough of playing now’.

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“He doesn’t look as if he’s at that point yet, so who knows? And it’s only these sort of decisions you would make right at the end. At his age you don’t consider it six months before.”

What is certain however is that when he does finally sign off, he’ll want to do it as a Premier League Champion.

United have picked up their performances considerably in the last few weeks and top the form table, but a disappointing result in the Welsh capital and the Reds still sit outside the top four. It could be difficult for the team who are currently fifth favourite according to Freebets.com.

The managers of both these football clubs entered the doors of sides with rich football heritage following success with newly promoted teams the season before.

They also share common ground in that they have found the expectations difficult to handle with both sides yet to truly hit top gear.

Liverpool have encouragement though to believe that Rodgers’s ideas may be finally getting across with their side looking to win their third match on the bounce on Saturday.

Aston Villa have cause for optimism too, having reached the League cup semi-final midweek and they are starting to collect points to lift them away from the drop zone, slowly but surely.

A trip to Anfield is not exactly a fixture they would have been looking for right now though in their mini revival.

Luis Suarez returns from his one match suspension at West Ham to bolster the Reds. Jose Enrique was taken off in last weekend’s resurgent comeback against the Hammers with a precautionary hamstring injury and should be fit to play, but Downing is expected to start instead. Nuri Sahin could also be set to return to the fold after a spell out. Martin Kelly and Fabio Borini remain away from action for a significant period of time.

Paul Lambert has an ever-growing injury list which will be a concern for the Villa boss. Joe Bennett (knee) missed Tuesday’s Capital One Cup win over Norwich City could feature. Captain Ron Vlaar (calf) and Enda Stevens (ankle) are unlikely to recover after spells on the sidelines.

Darren Bent was forced off at Carrow Road as his manager made the admission that he expect the England international to be out for four weeks.  Dunne and Gardener are still long term absentees.

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If Stewart Downing plays this could be a lucky omen for the Reds with him overdue a goal and his last Premier League goal was in this fixture for Aston Villa against Liverpool.

Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m40pMwmvOME

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has ruled out the possibility of making wholesale changes to his squad during the January transfer window.

It has been thought that the Northern Irishman may look to bring in a number of new faces during the winter in a bid to improve the Reds’ Premier League performances.

However, Rodgers confessed that he is unlikely to make multiple transfers, despite worries surrounding the depth of his Anfield squad:

“The reality is that there was always going to be a bit of movement this season with the club trying to regain some of their money. This season was always going to be difficult.” He is quoted by SkySports.

“We’ll look to do something in the January transfer window, though. There’s not going to be wholesale changes in terms of players coming in, that’s the reality of where the club is at.

With the departure of Andy Carroll during the summer, and the recent injury suffered by Fabio Borini, Rodgers has only Luis Suarez to call upon in a central attacking role.

Due to this, he claimed that he’ll be searching for alternatives during the next transfer window:

“We’re looking to do business in the striking department in January,

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“We’re looking to grow over the next six months, we’ll get some reinforcements in January and that will support the group who have been magnificent for me so far.

“Hopefully in the summer we can build again.”

A Twitter outburst by Adam Federici’s girlfriend will not disrupt the dressing room harmony at Reading, according to manager Brian McDermott.

Royals supporters were quick to pick up on comments made on Saturday night after Federici had been told by McDermott that he had been dropped for the 3-1 Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

On the social networking site, Micaela Gardner, Federici’s partner wrote: “Football has left me feeling totally numb and empty inside! For once I have NO explanation! #noloyalty #absolutejoke.”

Another of Federici’s friends, Stephanie Gardner, wrote after Sunday’s game: “Reading FC absolute joke of a club unbelievable the way they can treat there [sic] players #lost3-1 tactical decision did not work #badmanagement.”

Reading fans reacted in their droves to the public comments and the two girls were quick to delete their accounts from Twitter on Tuesday. On the surface it makes a mockery of Reading’s ultra-professional approach with supporters fearing unrest in the ranks, but McDermott has told fans that is not the case. The Royals manager spoke to getreading:

“There’s nothing I can do about someone’s Twitter feed. I can’t help what players or their girlfriends put on Twitter – if that’s the case, then it’s a shame.

“The fact of the matter is that I spoke to Adam and made a decision that Alex McCarthy was going to play. No player at the club has a position that means they will play every week – no player.”

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Federici was given a new Royals deal to tie him to the club until 2015 just last month and last summer it was the player himself who upset fans when he declared that he needed to be playing at the highest level for the sake of his Australia career in an interview.

However, current No.1 Alex McCarthy has already been told that he will keep his place for Saturday’s trip to West Bromwich Albion with Federici expected to continue to work on his knee problem over the coming weeks.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, West Ham United are interested in signing Barcelona defender Marlon this summer.

What’s the story?

After Manuel Pellegrini’s arrival as the new manager at the London Stadium, fans are excited and curious about what steps the club will take in the transfer market over the next few months.

Almost every department of the first team needs addressed with goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers needed if they are to push on and finish higher in the English Premier League next term.

One player that could arrive at the London Stadium is Barcelona defender Marlon, who has most recently spent a season out on loan at Ligue 1 side Nice.

That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who say that West Ham are interested in signing the player, with the Catalan giants waiting on a bid, eager to sell.

Rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, is he a player the Irons should be moving for this summer?

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Would he be a good signing?

At just 22 years of age, Marlon doesn’t have the most experience in the world, but has over 75 appearances for Fluminense, Barcelona and Nice.

As demonstrated by WhoScored, he is very much a ball-playing defender with a shockingly high 94% pass success rate, making an average of 60 passes a match. That passing accuracy is higher than every player in the West Ham squad, playing almost as many long balls as any of the Irons’ defenders.

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Defensively his average tackles and blocks per game stand up to the West Ham defence and the fact he has less clearances is probably due to the fact he finds a teammate more often than not.

That kind of composure and ability to turn defence into attack quickly and accurately could make him a hit at the London Stadium, but he would need to work on his aerial duels, the number of which won are on average far below most of the West Ham squad.

Improvements needed then, but still young, he can improve in the areas he has a deficit and also has the ability to fill in at right-back, making him a worthy choice for West Ham this summer.

With over £150m spent and the most expensive XI in Premier League history fielded, Manchester United should be challenging for the top four this season. But after a kind run of fixtures and followed by the Chelsea and Man City clashes, United are only narrowly ahead of North East disaster zone Newcastle United.

Any chance of making it into the top four this season? We at FFC Towers have our doubts…

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CLICK ON SMALLING TO REVEAL THE THREE REASONS

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No depth at the back

Chris Smalling’s ridiculous double booking forced Michael Carrick on into a centre-back position. And the second half made things even worst for the Red Devils, with Marcos Rojo off injured, on came Paddy McNair. United’s back four: Valencia, McNair, Carrick and Shaw. Two teenagers and two midfielders. ‘Nuff said.

Robin van Persie is past it

Robin van Persie was horribly isolated once Smalling went off injured. It’s fair to say not much could be expected of the Dutchman, but the days in which he could occupy defenders on his own seem to be gone…

Rooney not captain material

Plopped back into the XI by Louis van Gaal, Rooney was expected to come good for United in the derby… after all, he usually does. But the England captain was off the pace, annoying his some of his own fans.

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أدرك منتخب المغرب هدف التعادل أمام مصر في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما الآن بنهائي بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 23 عامًا.

منتخب مصر الأولمبي يواجه المغرب، على ملعب مولاي عبد الله، في نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا.

وسجل يانيس بكراوي هدف تعادل المغرب في الدقيقة 37 بعدما حول عرضية متقنة داخل شباك حمزة علاء.

طالع | مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة مصر والمغرب في نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 23 عامًا

وكان محمود صابر تقدم بالهدف الأول لمصر من تسديدة صاروخية من خارج منطقة الجزاء في الدقيقة 10، قبل أن يتعرض للطرد لاحقًا بسبب تدخول قوي على الزلزولي لاعب المغرب.

وتأهل منتخبا مصر والمغرب إلى أولمبياد باريس 2024، بعد نجاح الفريقين في الوصول إلى المباراة النهائية للبطولة الإفريقية. هدف تعادل منتخب المغرب الأولمبي أمام مصر

England will keep the Ashes for the next five months at least after Manchester’s weather proved a far more impassable barrier to Australia’s bowlers than the hosts’ top order batting on a grey final day at Old Trafford

The Report by Daniel Brettig05-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin Pietersen walked off muttering, and minutes later Australia followed him with a spring in their step•Getty Images

England will keep the Ashes for the next five months at least after Manchester’s weather proved a far more impassable barrier to Australia’s bowlers than the hosts’ top order batting on a grey final day at Old Trafford. The retention of the urn arrived formally via the underwhelming circumstances of an announcement that play had been abandoned at 4.39pm local time, due to a solid belt of rain that could delay its arrival no further than three balls into the afternoon session.By that time England had lurched to 37 for 3, Ian Bell stung on the thumb by a prancing delivery from Peter Siddle that rather summed up the danger posed by a committed and skilful Australian attack, who have grown increasingly confident in their ability to snip the top off their opponents’ batting. Confounded by the rain in Manchester, they will look back ruefully on the failure of Australia’s batsmen to provide them with anything to bowl to at Trent Bridge and Lord’s, where England established their decisive advantage.This is not to say that Old Trafford will be a source of entirely happy memories for Alastair Cook’s men nor completely forlorn ones for Michael Clarke’s. Australia have broken a streak of six consecutive Test match defeats, and in the final two Investec Tests have the chance to press for parity in this series and a platform from which to regain superiority at home in the southern summer. England by comparison have appeared to lose steam, their bowlers decreasing in threat while the batsmen grow increasingly dependent on the middle and lower orders to bail them out.A Test match at Durham in four days’ time will provide plenty of questions for both sides, not least whether the admirable Ryan Harris will be able to back up without the benefit of the break he had between Lord’s and Old Trafford. Harris and Siddle were the outstanding performers in the 20.3 overs of play that were possible, finding life in the air and off the pitch to dispose of Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen before the showers set in.It might have been even worse for England, had Clarke held onto the sort of slips chance he would usually claim when Joe Root snicked Siddle. Pietersen looked distraught to be given out, though a noise at precisely the moment the ball passed the bat backed up Tony Hill’s call and that of the third umpire Kumar Dharmasena.Rain overnight and this morning left many pessimistic about the chances of any resumption at all, with England needing only a draw. However the skies cleared enough for a concerted cleaning and drying effort from the ground staff, starting at around 10am, and following an inspection at 10.45 Hill and Marais Erasmus informed the captains Clarke and Cook of their plans to resume.Clarke immediately declared, and threw the ball to Harris when play began at 11.30. As he has done repeatedly when called on, Harris responded with a spell of heart and skill, picking up the two early wickets that his captain required. Cook was drawn across his crease by balls angled towards the slips and then pinned lbw by an inswinger. He referred even though the ball was curling in to hit middle stump, the loss of a review adding to the gravity of the blow.Trott has looked out of sorts in this match, and Harris worked him over in similar fashion, moving outswingers away then arrowing the odd ball back in. Harris’ first attempt at the plan resulted in an awfully close lbw shout declined by Hill. Australia’s referral was lost as the ball was hitting less than half of leg stump, but in Harris’ next over Trott again fell across his crease, this time glancing straight into Brad Haddin’s gloves.Pietersen announced his arrival with a pull shot that signalled Harris’ withdrawal. In Siddle’s first over replacing him, Root was squared up by a ball angled in and seaming away, but Clarke surprised everyone in attendance by dropping the chance. Australian heads were not to be bowed for long however, as Siddle appeared to extract a fine edge from Pietersen as he prodded forward.Hill’s finger was raised, an upset Pietersen referred, and Dharmasena upheld the on-field call after a sound could be heard at the moment ball passed bat. Pietersen walked off muttering, and minutes later Australia followed him with a spring in their step. They returned with hope as the afternoon began, but within three balls were shuffling back to the pavilion, where a few hours later England had cause for celebration, acknowledging the commitment of a small, soggy crowd from the Old Trafford balcony.

MatériaMais Notícias

No primeiro semestre do futebol brasileiro, as conversas ficam mais nos assuntos voltados aos jogos da Copa Libertadores e dos principais clubes do país, como Grêmio, Corinthians, Flamengo, Atlético-MG e tantos outros espalhados. E é assim, longe dos holofotes, que um clube do Rio Grande do Norte vai mostrando sua cara e conseguindo boas campanhas em três competições.

O ABC, de Natal, já está garantido na final do Campeonato Potiguar, uma vez que conquistou o primeiro turno do torneio, continua vivo na terceira fase da Copa do Brasil, em que enfrentará o Santa Cruz, e na Copa do Nordeste, torneio no qual assumiu a vice-liderança do Grupo B.

No clube desde dezembro de 2017, o Diretor Executivo de Futebol, Giscard Salton, falou do trabalho feito pelo clube nos bastidores para que a equipe conseguisse os resultados dentro de campo.

– O nosso planejamento está todo pautado em pequenas metas que, claro, se conquistadas nos levarão aos principais objetivos. O que chamamos de “Projeto de 100 dias” foi a montagem de um elenco enxuto, porém de qualidade, para entrarmos forte nas três competições que estamos disputando. O trabalho da comissão-técnica está sendo muito bem feito e os resultados estão aparecendo de forma natural. Se conseguirmos passar de fase na Copa do Brasil nós estaremos entre os principais clubes do país com um orçamento de série C – explicou o dirigente.

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Claro que a premiação da Copa do Brasil tem pesado favoravelmente na balança do ABC.

– A classificação à próxima fase pode acrescentar mais 1,9 milhões de reais ao nosso orçamento só de prêmio, além do que já conquistamos por chegar até aqui. Bilheteria e acordos pontuais aumentam essa arrecadação e podemos organizar melhor as contas e subir o nível da nossa procura no mercado.

As boas campanhas no estadual, no regional e no nacional têm rendido frutos que estão sendo essenciais para a administração do futebol.

– Temos uma gestão do futebol para o futebol. Com essas metas sendo atingidas o ABC mantém um orçamento todo direcionado para a modalidade sem depender do quadro social ou de um grande patrocinador. O futebol está se pagando e isso é importante porque assim conseguimos ter maior poder de negociação para manutenção de atletas e novos reforços.

E mesmo em bom momento, o torcedor quer sempre saber de novos atletas chegando para ver seu clube ainda mais forte. E é nessa frente que o diretor está atuando.

– Estamos conversando para trazer peças pontuais para acrescentar qualidade ao elenco que já é bom. Concorrência sempre faz qualquer time evoluir. A presidência dá bastante liberdade para eu e o treinador Ranielle Ribeiro contratar reforços. Nós conversamos sobre carências no elenco e opções e trazemos jogadores que realmente se encaixam dentro do perfil do nosso técnico. Precisamos ser cirúrgicos porque do mesmo modo que temos liberdade, nós também temos muita cobrança, contou a Salton.

Em qualquer clube que esteja demonstrando bons resultados o ambiente é ressaltado. O convívio diário de pessoas com perfis e funções diferentes é base para muitas equipes vencedoras. E o bom relacionamento de todos dentro do ABC também é destacado pelo dirigente.

– Os funcionários do ABC são um diferencial para o nosso ano ter começado neste nível. Vemos pessoas realmente empenhadas em fazer coisas além de suas atribuições e os atletas entram em campo querendo retribuir isso. O ambiente no clube é o melhor possível e tem refletido bastante em tudo, no campo e nos bastidores.

Após vencer o Sampaio Corrêa na última quinta-feira pela Copa do Nordeste, o ABC volta a campo no próximo domingo, pelo Campeonato Potiguar, para enfrentar o Santa Cruz local.

An emphatic a win as Yorkshire could have imagined over a Nottinghamshire side that ought to be higher in the table took them 33 points clear in Division One

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge23-Aug-2013
ScorecardRyan Sidebottom moved on to 597 first-class wickets, one more than his father, Arnie•Getty Images

This was as emphatic a win as Yorkshire could have imagined over a Nottinghamshire side that ought to be higher in the table but the notion that the race for the title is as good as over can be dismissed as premature.Yorkshire have a 33-point lead as things stand, at least over Sussex and Middlesex, but the margin may well be cut by Durham before the weekend is complete, unless the weather has a major say at Chester-le-Street. Durham, with a match in hand, are next up for Yorkshire at Scarborough, followed by Sussex at Hove and Middlesex at Headingley. The title may be Yorkshire’s to lose – but one sub-standard performance might give the table a different look quite quickly.This is the thought in Martyn Moxon’s mind at least. “I think we’ve shown we’re capable of winning [the title],” Yorkshire’s director of cricket said. “If you take the first game of the season against Sussex out of it, we’ve played some fantastic cricket for the last 11 games.”But we have to close it out. We’re trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves. We know we have some tough games and we have Durham, Sussex and Middlesex – the top teams – all to play yet, and Surrey in the last game are going to be scrapping as well.”We’ve won nothing yet and over four games a lot can happen, with a lot of points available. We’re enjoying the wins as everyone does but the first words the captain said in the dressing room after the game were ‘let’s just keep doing what we’re doing and not get carried away’.”It might be an idea to summon Mick Newell to deliver a few words ahead of the Durham match if they want to give some context to this performance, impressive though it was at times, especially when Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson were taking it in turns to make batsmen of international pedigree seem relatively ordinary.The two seamers shared 12 wickets in the match, with Sidebottom’s seven a painful reminder to the Notts director of cricket that his bowling resources need a fair amount of rebuilding yet to restore the standards that prevailed before Sidebottom left two years ago, in search of a longer contract than Notts were prepared to offer.”Over the first two days we were really outplayed by Yorkshire but our bowling in the first innings allowed Yorkshire to dominate the match,” he said. “We have not taken 20 wickets in a match since May and if you don’t take 20 wickets you don’t win. It is an area we need to strengthen.”We have been criticised in the past for not having a strong enough spin-bowling attack but when our seam bowling has been as disappointing as it has been in this match we have an issue there too, certainly since this is a wicket we would have wanted to bowl on.”Over the last few years we have lost Ryan, Darren Pattinson, Charlie Shreck and Mark Ealham and we have been trying to be competitive in Division One while having a big turnover, particularly of fast bowlers. In Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney we have two lads who have potential but are inexperienced, while Andre Adams is not quite on his game. So we looked a bit lightweight there compared to an attack like Yorkshire’s, full of experience, who have come down here and bowled very well.”There was never much doubt that Yorkshire would win from the moment Nottinghamshire slumped to 65 for 8 on day two, in reply to a Yorkshire total of 407 that can rarely have been bettered here by a side invited to bat first.They followed on 257 behind and while there was some improvement on the third morning, when Nottinghamshire progressed from 118 for 4 overnight to 217 for 7 at lunch, it was merely delaying the inevitable. Chris Read, whose lack of form with the bat this year has been another factor in his side’s modest season, completed his first half-century this year. Not since 2003 has the captain and wicketkeeper completed a first-class season without a century, or contributed between 700 and 1200 runs.In the event, they obliged Yorkshire to bat again, thanks to Read and another lively thrash by Adams, his second in the match, but three boundaries in five deliveries by Adam Lyth, whose 95 was the highest score in the game, completed the job without fuss.Sidebottom’s seven wickets neatly took him to 597 in his first-class career, one more than his father, Arnie, achieved and from 43 fewer matches.”I suppose it’s an honour and a privilege really to go past dad,” he said. “He had a fantastic career himself and to follow in his footsteps was something I’ve always wanted to do.”I’ll give him a buzz in a bit with a beer in my hand and I might buy him a bottle of whisky to say I’ve gone past him. But I’ve still got a few years left in me yet and I’d like to go way past him if I can. I think 700 would be nice before I finish. I don’t know if that will be achievable, but it would be a nice little swansong.”