Roberto Mancini and Clint Dempsey talk goals, Seamus Coleman escapes a pre-season horror tackle, the wide man transfer merry-go-round picks up speed and Rafael Van der Vaart sends thousands of Fantasy managers back to the drawing board. Here’s your Saturday morning scribbles to take us into the final furlong of friendly matches.
Roberto Mancini has vowed his Manchester City side will be more attack-minded than last season. City may have grabbed third place last season but their performances were often dour and defensive. The Italian wants to play with more style and adventure in 2011/12 and with the addition of Sergio Aguero to the City ranks, Mancini’s talk of more flair looks promising for Fantasy managers already anticipating that Gameweek one home match with Swansea. Mancini said yesterday:
“We need to score 10 or 15 goals more than last season. If we are to win the title, we need to beat the smaller teams. After that, when you meet top teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, it’s not always easy to beat them but it can happen sometimes. You can draw some, lose some, but if you can win all the other games you can still win the title.”
Staying with Mancini, the City boss had admitted he is to blame for the confusion surrounding Carlo Tevez’s late return to training. Tevez will miss tomorrow’s Community Shield due to the mix-up, though with Sergio Aguero looking set to make his City debut, albeit from the bench, all eyes will be on the new boy instead. Mancini explained:
“I have spoken to him, his phone is working again. He was happy and told me he would come back on Monday – everything was normal. He was on holiday, there was a mistake. We said he needed to come back on August 5 with Zaba [Pablo Zabaleta] but it was my mistake because I told him come back on August 8.”
Seamus Coleman was victim of a poor tackle in last night’s friendly with Villarreal. An x-ray after the game confirmed there is no break in the Irishman’s ankle but Coleman will undergo further tests on Monday to ascertain the extent of the damage. Everton assistant boss Steve Round told evertontv:
“We think it is ankle ligament damage, but we are not sure until there is a scan. There is no fracture. It was a bit naughty the challenge and their manager and the player have been in to apologise.â€
A few weeks on the sidelines could allow Victor Anichebe a stint on the Toffees right flank. Anichebe, priced as a 5.5 forward in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) could be promoted into our thinking as a cut-price option, though as a reverse out-of-position player, few will be willing to take a punt.
Reports suggest Newcastle are on the verge of snapping up Gabriel Obertan from Man United. Having sold Wayne Routledge to Swansea, Alan Pardew’s side have only Jonas Gutierrez and Sylvain Marveaux as their only “natural†wingers, though Joey Barton was mainly stationed on the right flank last term. A move away from Old Trafford may be the best for Obertan, with Ashley Young joining Nani and Antonio Valencia ahead of him in the queue for starts on the wing.
Steve Bruce may be in the market for another player. Despite snapping up nine new members of the Sunderland squad so far, Bruce indicated he’s not yet finished in bringing fresh acquisitions to the Stadium of Light this summer. The Black Cats boss indicated he’s eyeing up Man City’s bloated squad when considering his next move:
“It’s fair to say all us managers are looking at City, because of the amount of players they’ve got and the fact they can only pick a squad of 25.They’ve got some unbelievable players who they’ve not even taken on pre-season tour with them. I’d think every manager’s looking at City. In an ideal world we’re looking to bring in a player who can play wide left, who can go past people. That’s where we’re looking to strengthen.”
Bruce also added that, contrary to recent reports, Lee Cattermole is still the Sunderland captain and suggested there may be a few face following Steed Malbranque out the exit door over the next few weeks.
Clint Dempsey has vowed to help Fulham push on from last season’s eight place finish as the club look to a more attacking approach under new boss Martin Jol. The American, back in action for the Cottagers in midweek, seems intent on adding to his recent seasons of goal scoring form under a variety of bosses:
“I think we are going to try to play with a little bit more attacking flair this season. But getting the outside backs to push up more forward and take more risks, as long as they’re calculated, is going to add to our attack, so hopefully we can continue to score goals and try to keep as many clean sheets as possible. We’ve always been a team that was tough to break down and hopefully we can maintain that but add more goals to the season.”
Doubts have emerged over the availability of Rafael Van der Vaart for next week’s opener at home to Everton. The Spurs midfielder picked up a knock in a friendly game at Brighton last weekend and his loss will come as a blow to the FPL managers who have already drafted the 10.0 man into their squads- Van der Vaart is the fourth most transferred-in midfielder thus far.
The chase for Shaun Wright-Phillips picks up pace. There’s little doubt Man City are willing to sell the player and it appears there are at least three Premier League clubs after his signature- Wigan, Sunderland and Bolton. Wigan are looking to add to their squad in light of Charles N’Zogbia’s departure, Bolton need a replacement for the unfortunate Chung Yong-Lee and Sunderland, as mentioned above, are looking to spend further in this transfer window. At 6.5 in FPL, Wright-Phillips will no doubt tempt a few Fantasy managers if he’s a guaranteed first-team player.
Brendan Rodgers has been singing the praises of new signing Wayne Routledge. The winger moved to the Liberty Stadium earlier this week and will look to provide competition to Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer on the flanks in Rodgers’ preferred 4-3-3. While Sinclair seems nailed-on, Routledge, at 5.0, should offer more competition for Dyer, who comes in at 4.5. Rodgers said yesterday:
“Wayne is someone who will get in the final third and get the crowd on their feet with a piece of magic or a combination to get in behind. He has experience of the Premier League and I’ve no doubt he will improve us as a team.”
