The Barclays Premier League thread 2015/2016

[Lineker]

Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho has told the club's website that the Reds will end their trophy wait in 2016.

"We're in a very good position," Coutinho said. "It's the goal of everyone involved, we're all focused on fighting for the trophies and I think we have a great chance in the competitions we're in this year.

"We're going to fight for that and I hope we win a trophy this year."

You heard it here first, from the horses mouth - 2016 is Liverpool's year.

[DavidMarrio]

CAPITAL ONE KLOPP AND FA KLOPP HERE WE COME!!!!

[Gazz]

2016 FA Malaysian Friendship Tournament Champions!

[Meacon Keaton]

I'm afraid my leave of absence was the cause of Leicester City's rise to the top. So should they begin to fall from the top spot, I'm willing to disappear again until June.

 

Go Foxes @Benji

[Benji]

4 minutes ago, Meacon said:

I'm afraid my leave of absence was the cause of Leicester City's rise to the top. So should they begin to fall from the top spot, I'm willing to disappear again until June.

 

Go Foxes @Benji

NO. No disappearing, bad Meac :@

[The Lusophone]

Leicester or Meacon, Benji, you must choose.

[Baddar]

Welcome back, @Meacon. We'll have to arrange a round on TGC soon.

[Benji]

 

[MDK]

Is there a third option?

[Baddar]

Ranieri press conference on SSN. What a great guy he is. I hope they win it for him.

[Gazz]

TIL that the Premier League highlights show on French TV is called 'Match of ze Day'.

[Lineker]

Quote

The West Bromwich Albion duo James McClean and Salomón Rondón have been suspended for three matches by the FA, according to the club.

They were sent off during Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth, McClean for serious foul play and Rondón for violent conduct.

McClean was dismissed for a late lunge on Adam Smith, just 10 seconds after the pair were involved in a 50-50 tackle, while Rondón was sent off for pushing his head into Dan Gosling. Tony Pulis called the behaviour of both players “stupid” and said they would be fined.

They will miss Saturday’s match at Swansea City, the home game with Newcastle United on Monday and the visit from Stoke City on 2 January. Albion are 13th in the table with 20 points from 17 matches.

Martin Skrtel will miss six weeks of action with a torn hamstring. He will therefore miss Premier League games against Leicester City, Sunderland, West Ham United, Arsenal, Manchester United and Norwich City. He will also be absent for both legs of the Capital One Cup semi-final against Stoke City, plus the FA Cup third round tie at Exeter City.

[Lineker]

José Mourinho’s agent says his client is not negotiating behind Louis van Gaal’s back to take over at Manchester United if the Old Trafford club decide they need to move out their current manager.

While United have been made aware that Mourinho is keen on the job, Jorge Mendes said there had not been an approach for the former Chelsea manager. “There is nothing,” Mendes said, when asked about reports Mourinho had provisionally agreed to replace Van Gaal. “We don’t know what will happen in the future, but now there is no agreement. There isn’t an official proposal either, that’s not true.”

The Guardian also understands that, while United are aware of Mourinho’s strengths, at least one of the key decision-makers at Old Trafford dislikes the idea of him taking over. His availability has divided United’s board, just like it did when Sir Alex Ferguson was retiring in 2013, when the Portuguese was overlooked in favour of David Moyes.

Van Gaal’s job is on the line after a run of three successive defeats that has seen United eliminated from the Champions League as well as losing to Bournemouth and Norwich City. His team have dropped to fifth in the Premier League and Van Gaal is under intense pressure going into Saturday’s game at Stoke, followed by Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford two days later. The Dutchman holds his weekly press conference on Wednesday while, behind the scenes, the club have insisted they will not be drawn on the feverish speculation surrounding their manager.

Amid growing criticism about the team’s playing style, United have not won in six matches and their former player, Mark Hughes – now in charge at Stoke – is aware Saturday’s fixture could have serious ramifications for the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager.

“I said last week when José lost his role that no one is immune,” Hughes said. “It doesn’t matter what you have done in the game previously – and his [Van Gaal’s] record as a top-line manager is exceptional – you have to win football matches. He has been in the game a long time and he knows better than most if the results and perception is you are not doing particularly well, you come under pressure. He understands that – we all do.”

Guus Hiddink has addressed the full Chelsea squad for the first time and stressed that opportunities to win a competition this season and even climb into the upper reaches of the Premier League remain, despite their traumatic title defence.

The former Holland and Russia manager, who signed a six-month contract in the wake of José Mourinho’s dismissal last week and met some of the players at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, oversaw the first full training session of his second spell in interim charge on Tuesday. He was assisted by Steve Holland and Eddie Newton for the floodlit afternoon drills, geared towards preparing for the visit of Watford on Boxing Day, but had gathered the players and staff in a briefing room prior to training to discuss the season’s remaining targets.

The tone of his message was upbeat, pointing to the positives he had witnessed in Saturday’s victory over Sunderland, and urging all to focus on the objectives that can still be met. While Chelsea languish in 15th in the Premier League table, the nine defeats suffered in 16 games having cost Mourinho his job, they are 11 points off the top four with 21 matches still to be played and the cluttered programme over the festive season offers them a chance to recover some ground. A Champions League knock-out tie against Paris Saint-Germain awaits in February, with Scunthorpe of League One to visit Stamford Bridge next month in the third round of the FA Cup, a trophy Hiddink won in his previous spell back in 2009.

Newton, who has been heavily involved in scouting the club’s many players out on loan since a spell as Roberto Di Matteo’s assistant in 2012, will remain on the first-team coaching staff and one of his duties will be to ensure greater involvement for those academy graduates whose senior careers appeared to stagnate under Mourinho.

The hope is the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ola Aina will gain more game-time in the first team and while Jamal Blackman is expected to join Standard Liège on loan, the Belgian midfielder Charly Musonda may remain at the club in January. Feyenoord, Queens Park Rangers and AZ Alkmaar are among the clubs who have scouted the 19-year-old in recent weeks aspiring to secure him on loan next month.

Chelsea will still pursue signings in the winter window with interest retained in Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and the Shakhtar Donetsk forward, Alex Teixeira. The Brazilian is understood to favour a move to Stamford Bridge, where the 25-year-old would be offered a deal through to 2020, having scored 26 goals in 25 games for the Ukrainian club this season. Teixeira would cost around £30m but would be cup-tied in Europe. Leicester will resist any attempts to lure Vardy after their eye-catching first half of the campaign.

Chelsea – whose long-term targets to replace Mourinho remain Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone – and Vitesse Arnhem have been cleared by the Dutch football federation (KNVB) of having an ‘improper relationship’ after an independent investigation into links between the clubs. A number of players have been loaned from the Premier League side to Vitesse, fifth in the Eredivise, over the last five years – Isaiah Brown, Dominic Solanke, Nathan, Lewis Baker and Danilo Pantic are currently in Peter Bosz’s first-team set-up – with the KNVB having sought clarity over the ownership structure in Arnhem.

There had been allegations by the former Vitesse owner, Merab Jordania, that Chelsea exerted a considerable influence over the Dutch club’s approach, but the KNVB investigation found no written agreement between the clubs with all loan moves above board. “In the interests of the integrity of Dutch football we gave an independent commission powers to make a broad and intensive investigation,” said the KNVB in a statement. “Vitesse offered full co-operation and allowed access to all documentation, including the club’s shareholding agreements, loan agreements and meeting notes for the period 2010-14.” Jordania had not responded to requests to co-operate with the investigation.

[Lineker]

Former Newcastle goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek had a "stable night" in hospital following his cardiac arrest, his agent Steve Wraith said.

Czech Srnicek, 47, who also had spells with Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth and West Ham, collapsed while out jogging in Ostrava on Sunday.

It is hoped he will have a CT scan on Wednesday.

"His body is healing, however there is a long, long way to go," Wraith said. "Wednesday is an important day."

The agent added: "If they can perform the CT scan, we should know a lot more about his chances."

Srnicek became a fans' favourite during his first spell with the Magpies between 1991 and 1998. He was signed by manager Jim Smith and played under Ossie Ardiles, Kevin Keegan and latterly Kenny Dalglish.

While Keegan was in charge, Srnicek helped Newcastle win promotion to the top flight during the 1992-93 season.

The former Czech Republic was also an integral part of the squad that came close to winning the Premier League title in the 1995-96 campaign.

Srnicek was brought back to the club on a season-long deal in September 2006 as cover for the injured Shay Given.

He made 49 appearances for his country and was in Tyneside in December to promote his autobiography.

[MDK]

Pavs :<

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

How had I not seen this  

[Lineker]

Everton are in talks with a United States-led consortium about a potential £200m takeover at Goodison Park.

The group, fronted by former San Diego Padres baseball team owner John Jay Moores and fellow entrepreneur Charles Noell, have been in discussions with Toffees owner Bill Kenwright in recent months.

Moores and Noell, who were previously interested in investing in Swansea City, have now turned their attention to Everton.

Negotiations will continue over the next few weeks, when the consortium is expected to perform due diligence on the club's accounts.

Everton declined to comment on the latest interest, but there have been several parties pondering a deal to buy the Premier League outfit this year.

In October, City of London sources revealed to BBC Sport that American investors, some with links to Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City, were exploring the purchase of Everton.

The Times reports that the group led by Moores and Noell has been granted a period of exclusivity by Kenwright, which expires at the end of January, when they can examine Everton's finances.

Everton owner Kenwright has conducted a search for investment stretching back more than a decade.

The latest moves are felt by those close to the club as representing the most positive and hopeful development since the theatre impresario indicated his willingness to sell.

Kenwright, who bought the club from Peter Johnson for £20m on Boxing Day 1999, said as far back as November 2007: "If the right person stands in front of me and wants to take this club forward then I will sell."

Former Everton midfield man Peter Reid told BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday: "It's my club and Goodison Park. As much as I love it, I think Everton need a new football ground. 

"I think we've got a great squad of players and a good manager, but we need to get a new stadium to keep pace with the other clubs in this Premier League. You need the revenue that generates. If Bill Kenwright says it's ok, yes, let's get it done."

It is understood that after years of inactivity regarding a sale, there has been a growing intensity and intent to do a deal in recent months, fuelled by growing, serious interest from a number of groups.

If the deal is completed, it would mean both Merseyside clubs would be under American stewardship. Moores, who bought the San Diego Padres from current Liverpool chairman Tom Werner for $80m in 1994, is believed to be worth around £500m.

Moores and Noell have background in technology. Moores founded BMC software and also JMI Equity, a venture capitalism arm of his empire, which Noell helped to co-found.

[Jimmy]

slow day at work?

[Lineker]

It's Christmas (nearly)!