Newcastle face up to Twitter exodus

Joey Barton looks to be joined by fellow Twitter rebel Jose Enrique out of (Sports Direct) @ St James Park, as Newcastle look set to become the first Premier League club to issue a blanket ban on players using social media.

Newcastle appeared willing to tolerate Barton's 77 day stint in prison in 2008 for punching a man twenty times, after which Barton confessed to being an alcoholic and at a time when several football figures were urging Newcastle to terminate Barton's contract, but drew the line at his latest thinly veiled criticism of the club on Twitter.

Much of the trouble emanating from Newcastle stems from the decision to cash in on Andy Carroll in January for £35 million. Although considered a blow, the deal represented an inflated figure due to the time constraints in last January's window and Liverpool's need to sign a striker. Although following the sale the assertion from Alan Pardew was that all of the money was to be reinvested in the playing squad.

Fast forward six months and to the majority of Newcastle supporters the club has become even weaker, with the popular club captain Kevin Nolan sold to recently relegated West Ham. With Mike Ashley again failing to discuss the club's policy it was left to Pardew to weakly suggest that 'the club' didn't feel that Nolan was worth a new five-year contract at roughly £60,000 a week.

At 29 there is some sense in such a statement and it probably wouldn't have made financial sense to have a player earning such high wages when into his 30s, but a football clubs success is down to far more than being financial astute. Football clubs are no ordinary businesses and the effect of losing the captain and a major character in the Newcastle dressing room, not to mention the effect it has on fans up and down the country, was something that wasn't granted any consideration.

Enrique's criticism of the board for the sales of Nolan and Carroll and subsequent lack of reinvestment last week led to a £100,000 fine. Barton's increasingly vocal discontent also saw him land a two week fine, but Barton was also publicly transfer listed and made available on a free by the Newcastle hierarchy, who were unable to stomach such public dissent.

Rather than rap their player of the year on the knuckles for expressing his mire in 140 characters, Mike Ashley seems willing to take a loss on a player who this window would have been worth a figure of at least £5million and was edging closer to adding to his solitary full England cap.

The fans have fallen alongside the man convicted of assault, with chants of "Ashley, Ashley sign him up" from recent friendlies indicating on whose side the majority of fans appear to be. A further protest against the management at the club looks set for Newcastle's final home friendly against Fiorentina this weekend, where there is a good chance the supporters will be every bit as vocal in their criticism of the upper echelons of the club as social networks have allowed their players to be in recent weeks.

Super Mario enrages Mancini

Mario Balotelli yesterday managed to inadvertently create another viral hit - although this current Youtube clip involved his on-pitch contributions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oytEUmlkHo

The Italian's "disrespectful" attempted backheel was soon picked up on by other media outlets, and the clip joins other infamous Balotelli videos which have gained a cult status online. His struggle with a bib, his trip on fellow striker Edin Dzeko, and a seeming obsession to push the boundaries of male fashion have seen the 20-year-old making headlines for largely the wrong reasons in his early Manchester City career.

Balotelli racked up more cards than goals in his first season of English football - a return which he himself described in no uncertain terms when live on ITV after the FA Cup final, but how warranted is the heavy scrutiny and his billing as a 'bad boy'?

The reaction of Mancini this weekend and his previous description of Balotelli as "stupid" after getting sent off in against Dynamo Kiev last year, suggests that the manager who put a lot of faith in bringing the young Italian to the Etihad Stadium has lost patience with a player of undoubted potential.

His first season in Manchester was beset with injury at the start of the campaign and his tally of 10 goals was comfortably more than Edin Dzeko, an even more expensive acquisition, could manage. Arguably his best performance of the year came in the FA Cup final, which on paper would be the game, if any, for a player to feel the pressure and act rashly; yet Balotelli thrived, admittedly against a below par Stoke.

Few players do excel in their first year after joining from another league, and a truer test will be how Balotelli responds this season. The inpending departure of Carlos Tevez means that Balotelli has a chance to seize a more permanent place in the starting XI, with likely replacement Aguero waiting in the wings and who would also take a few weeks to adjust to the Premier League.

The attempted backheel was a mistake but football today is about more than stats and grinding out victories. Man City's trip to America was undertaken to boost the clubs profile and hopefully leave behind lasting images; if the goal had gone in then we would be talking about it for the next months, as would those who saw it. Sadly for all parties it didn't, but this was a friendly fixture and surely the purpose of a friendly, from a fans perspective is to entertain?

In all of this attention and criticism it is easy to forget that Balotelli is still only 20 years old. If you were to give any 20 year old male the reported £150,000 a week that Balotelli is on, the results would largely be catastrophic. Balotelli is still a young man and although he has plenty to learn, he should not be criticised for trying to entertain the paying public. Although players are on the payroll of their clubs; an ulterior motive of satisfying fans, and indeed showmanship is truly appreciated by fans around the world.

Villas-Boas tasked with reviving stagnant Chelsea squad

Chelsea's acquisition of Andre Villas-Boas for a fee of £13.3 million, as well as breaking the transfer records of half of the Premier League, seems to signal a change in policy for Blue's owner Roman Abramovich.

At 33 Villas-Boas will be the youngest top-flight manager next year and will have to begin to overhaul an ageing Chelsea side, with several of the players entering their final years, and accordingly final shot at winning the Champions League. Key characters Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard are the same age as the Portuguese treble winner and may lose out in what is expected to be a revitalised Chelsea side next season.

At Porto Villas-Boas employed an attacking 4-3-3 formation, which has inevitably already drawn comparisons with the approach favoured by Jose Mourinho in his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge, before he was bogged down towards a more negative approach. Assuming Chelsea's new man utilises the system that worked so well for Porto last season; there is only one spot for an out-and-out striker in the starting 11, casting doubt on the fate of Chelsea's existing strikers.

Fernando Torres' arrival as Abramovich's new play-thing last January for £50 million suggests that the team is to be built around the Spaniard, rather than shunting him out to the wing in a attacking 4-3-3 formation, where he is unlikely to be effective. Chelsea's other senior strikers; Drogba, Anelka and Daniel Sturridge, are also unlikely to prosper if played as wingers in the formation, which leaves them striker heavy and light on wingers.

The imminent arrival of Porto's 41 goal man, Falcao, at Stamford Bridge, casts further doubt on the futures of Chelsea's striking line-up. Falcao has already expressed a desire to be reunited with his former manager at Chelsea, and if he does it is not going to be for a place out on the wing, in either sense of the word.

What Chelsea are in short supply of is attacking midfielders who can play on the flanks and are capable of beating their respective defenders; bursting forward and tracking back with equal gusto. At present only Malouda, Kalou and Zhirkov could fill these roles and all three are coming of the back of what were individually disappointing seasons.

They look set to lose out to either Manchester City or Barcelona to the signing of the most coveted winger available this summer, in Udinese's Alexis Sanchez, so need to act quickly if they are to find the kind of players who will invigorate the ageing and narrow Chelsea team of recent years.

Villas-Boas's arrival this summer may not be enough, for a club who's sole managerial objective has manifest itself as becoming champions of Europe. The heavy investment in January, in Torres and Luiz, have shown that Abramovich still has his sights on European glory but the re-invigoration of the Chelsea squad must not end there if the players are finally to realise their owners dream of finally succeeding in UEFA's show-piece event.

Looney Toons

With three new additions already confirmed and one player already shipped out, Newcastle United have started this transfer window with some serious intent.

The signings of French-born Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and the long awaited return of Hatem Ben Arfa from injury will give Newcastle a continental look next season; something which is reinforced by the departure of club captain Kevin Nolan and the uncertainty surrounding other key players in Joey Barton and Luis Enrique.

Nolan's sale for a reported £4 million to relegated West Ham looks to have off-balanced the three recent signings, as Ba and Marveaux arrived on free transfers but it is the manner of the Nolan's departure to West Ham, who remain a big club but one who are plying the trade a division below the Magpies, that has raised the most questions.

With 13 goals last season Nolan finished the season as Newcastle's top scorer from midfield and his goals proved crucial in firing Newcastle back into the Premiership the season before. The loss of any teams club captain would raise eyebrows and fans must be wondering what affect this will have on the dynamic of the club dressing room.

Mike Ashley's reported transfer policy, which was ridiculed by Joey Barton before Nolan's transfer, of signing younger players who would then possess a greater resale value is already in evidence this summer. By offloading the older members of the squad who are presumably on the greatest wages and bringing in younger talent, Ashley is taking a risk and Alan Pardew will have to mesh together the new additions and ensure that they hit the ground running.

The seemingly Gallic transfer policy has seen the arrival of exciting new players but how well they adapt to the Premier League remains to be seen, and whether they will be able to replace the key figure that was Kevin Nolan, both on and off the pitch for Newcastle United.

Henderson and Liverpool's ground-breaking transfer policy

Jordan Henderson looks set to complete a £20 million move to Liverpool today as Kenny Dalglish looks to further strengthen the current Anfield squad.

That the Liverpool squad needed strengthening was one of John Henry's first appraisals after buying the club for a reported £300 million last October, at a time when the club were propping up the rear of the table. The fact that Rafa Benitez had pushed Manchester United all the way to second in the league two years previously, with largely the same squad didn't seem to wash with the new American owner.

Roy Hodgson, who had been appointed by the previous board, never really stood a chance, although he was far from helped by the performances of some of his key men and the quality of some of his summer acquisitions. His sacking in early January gave Fenway two weeks to make their mark in the transfer window, aided by newly appointed director of football Damien Comolli and Anfield hero, Kenny Dalglish.

After offloading Fernando Torres for £50 million, Liverpool were quick to rush through deals for Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll for a combined fee of around £58 million. Carroll's signature seemed to fall in line with Fenway Sports Group's optimistic corporate policy that they would look to sign young talent, preferably English players.

Carroll was most certainly one of the most desirable young English strikers around, following his performances for Newcastle before getting injured and his subsequent full England début against France. But a transfer fee of £35 million was vastly inflated for a player who had only broken through into the Newcastle first team less than two years ago, after their relegation to the Championship.

That the deal was rushed through on the last day of the window also put Newcastle in the driving seat, as Mike Ashley was able to virtually name his price fully knowing how desperate Liverpool were to sign another striker to replace Torres. A deal was reportedly struck at £25 million only for Ashley to whack another £10 million on the asking price on deadline day, by which time Liverpool had little time to negotiate.

A similar trend seems to have emerged with Jordan Henderson's proposed move to Liverpool. Like Carroll, he has been in Sunderland's first team plans for the last two seasons and also made his England début against France alongside his future team-mate. Unlike Carroll, Henderson failed to impress in his first senior outing and has failed to make any subsequent full England squad and his club form also deteriorated towards the end of this season.

He is due to depart with England's Under 21 squad for this summers European Championships, and Liverpool were once again in a rush to finalise the transfer before the competition kicks-off and other potential teams showed an interest in Henderson. The quoted figure of £20 million, possibly including David N'Gog as a make-weight, seems over priced for a player who has scored only four goals for Sunderland and suggest that Liverpool might have paid over the odds again.

Both Carroll and Henderson are young players who could develop further into senior players in the England contingent but the heavy investment in them already seems a risky strategy for Fenway and Kenny Dalglish. It's all very well stating that a club wishes to buy young, talented and English players, I'm sure most clubs would do, but its also worth noting that such idealistic aims are not always possible. And when there is such a severe premium on young and English players, such a transfer policy seems foolhardy and overly optimistic.

Sorry and tired - same old excuses from Capello and England

Fabio Capello was back to his hypocritical best yesterday, blaming tiredness for yet another poor England performance at Wembley, a match where in all truth England were lucky to take a point with which to mull over this summer.

Capello went some way to point out how the players had been allowed several days holiday before preparing for yesterdays game and how he had seen his players looking fresh, despite having just come off the back of a gruelling league season. Such was this new found confidence before the game, England's head coach suggested that such a move would also be proposed before next years European Championships, if England make it that far.

Whether England will be competing in the Ukraine and Poland next year does still remain in their hands, following Montenegro's failure to take advantage of England's slip up, but England's fortunes in qualifying still pale in comparison to the rest of Europe. The Netherlands, Spain and Germany have continued where they left off from South Africa by winning every competitive game before them.

By contrast, England and Capello seem to have learnt little from last years debacle. Although much of the deadwood from England's squad last summer have been omitted, the ageing spine of the team remains the same. Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard looked way off the pace yesterday, with none of England's 'first choice' team distinguishing themselves. Almost laughably two of the players who did emerge with some credit, Leighton Baines and Ashley Young, started the game on the bench and weren't even part of the 23 that travelled to the World Cup last year.

Along with Scott Parker and Jack Wilshire these fresh faces in the England camp are certainly an improvement but their inclusion like Capello's belated switch away from the his stagnant 4-4-2 formation seems to be an act of desperation rather than acumen. The inclusion of James Milner and Theo Walcott over Young in the starting line-up proved to be huge mistakes, with neither doing much to justify their inclusion. These are basic errors and the inability to select players who are in form is unjustifiable for a man earning £6 million a year.

Despite allegedly being reassured by Capello after the game, Darren Bent's two misses will probably ensure he is back to a berth on the bench when Rooney and Carroll are available for the next round of matches. The fickle Capello seems not to look on to kindly if a emerging player fails to deliver in just one match: just ask Jordan Henderson who seems likely to remain on one full cap for the foreseeable future.

Switzerland despite only accumulating five points in Group G, looked far more comfortable in possession yesterday and England's Premier League stars were given a lesson in movement and possession by the less fancied Swiss. Their teenage prodigy Xherdan Shaqiri excelled, as did Jack Wilshire, but the confidence and ambition of a young Swiss team was far superior to the lack of creativity shown by yesterdays England side.

The first half performance did indicate that the team was playing on empty and were slightly burnt out, but this makes a mockery of Capello's pre-match claim that the players seemed refreshed. His struggle to grasp the English language means that whatever he claims in a press conference can not be taken at face value. This failure in communication and the ease with which Capello seeks to pass the blame do not bode well for a national side short on confidence and bereft of creativity.

England game and Bent slip in under the radar

Given the amount of attention that FIFA and Zurich have received from the English media over the last seven days, you'd be excused for forgetting that this Saturday England face Switzerland in a crucial qualifying match.

England remain top of Group G for qualification to the European Championships next year, only on goal difference from a determined Montenegro side, who came within a crossbar of claiming all three points when the sides met in October. Three points this weekend will see England remain in pole position over the summer and hopefully restore some normality to a week which has seen FIFA and the world game reduced to a farcical state.

A raft of withdrawals from the initial 23 man squad, and Capello's decision not to call up replacements means that a concise team will be asked to overcome Switzerland, on paper the strongest team in Group G.

Already without two of England's most influential players in Rooney and Gerrard, through suspension and injury respectively, Capello has a squad comprising only three recognised strikers. Bobby Zamora, who has only just returned from a lengthy lay-off, Peter Crouch, who has hardly been prolific this campaign, and Darren Bent, the £24 million man at Aston Villa.

Bent appears to be in favour with Capello, getting the nod ahead of other forwards for the Wales game this March and putting in a superb performance which was capped with a goal: finishing a slick move which was assisted by his club team-mate, Ashley Young.

Bent's arrival at Villa in January and his already impressive link up with Young helped ease Houllier's men away from the bottom reaches of the table in the Premier League and this interplay looks to have carried on to international level. The movement that Bent offers to any team proves invaluable, and his runs off the last defender will cause problems for even the most experienced defenders, especially so with talented play-makers in a midfield.

After an excellent season and Capello's belated switch to a 4-3-3, Young finally seems to have established himself within the England squad. Young failed to even make the initial 30 man squad for the World Cup, losing out to midfielders Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who have failed to even make the bench at times for their clubs this season, so his emergence on the international scene marks a remarkable turnaround.

Young and Bent would have watched from home last summer, as England toiled to elimination in the round of 16, but now look like nailed on starters for the game against the Swiss this Saturday. The pair, much like Saturday's game, itself have come into contention with little attention and fuss; although if England do finally get one over on the Swiss on the pitch, there will be plenty of media attention.