Premier League Team of the Week

Who else besides Robin van Persie made it to our Premier League Team of the Week? Find out!


The Dutch striker caused the shock of the round as his hat-trick helped trounce Barclays Premier League title contenders 5-3 at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur while Newcastle kept up their amazing start to the season with an easier than expected game at Stoke.

GK: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)

Mark Schwarzer was one of the best keepers on display from a Barclays Premier League round of fixtures which only had three clean sheets from ten matches. As Wigan began to exert some pressure on his Fulham side, the big Australian ensured the Lactics found no joy on the goal front. Schwarzer made crucial stops against David Jones and Ben Watson, including expertly tipping the latter’s volley over the bar. Fulham won 2-0.

RB: Angel Rangel (Swansea City)

Swansea City could not have asked more from their right-back Angel Rangel at the weekend against Bolton Wanderers. The Spaniard was tidy at the back but got forward sensibly as well and it was his ball which provided the assist for Swansea’s third goal (scored by Danny Graham) in their 3-1 win over Bolton.

LB: Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City)



Wolves manager Mick McCarthy must be getting a bit sick of seeing Aleksandar Kolarov. The left-back played in both Manchester City’s midweek 5-2 win over Wolves in the League Cup as well as Saturday’s 3-1 win over the same opposition in the Barclays Premier League. He was influential down the left flank in both games – and even got on the score sheet during Saturday’s 3-1 win.

CB: Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle)

It has taken a while for Fabricio Coloccini to show Newcastle United fans what he is capable of. Signed in 2008, he was part of the Newcastle team which went down at the end of that season. However, the Argentinean stayed on and has been instrumental in transforming the Magpies, who now sit third in the Barclays Premier League following their 3-1 win at Stoke on Monday night. Coloccini, as so often the case now, shone in the victory.

CB: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Nemanja Vidic gave Manchester United fans the perfect remedy to cure their Manchester derby hangover. The Serbian had missed United’s 6-1 defeat to City last weekend but was back in the starting line-up on Saturday to face Everton. His presence at the back ensured United kept a clean sheet against the Toffees, guiding them to a 1-0 win which also allowed Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to keep pace with league leaders City.

RM: Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Theo Walcott tormented his England colleague Ashley Cole during Arsenal’s 5-3 thrilling win over Chelsea. So while Walcott has certainly had his fair share of critics, they cannot take anything away from the winger’s performance on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. His goal was superbly taken and reminded us all of the quality the Arsenal midfielder possesses.

LM: Nathan Dyer (Swansea City)

Nathan Dyer was one of the stars of the show for Swansea as they swept aside Bolton Wanderers 3-1 on Saturday. He was a constant thorn in Bolton’s side and how he finished the game without a goal is beyond comprehension. Bolton had no answer for him with Ricardo Gardner getting sent-off for a cynical foul on the winger.

CM: Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur)



An early candidate for signing of the season? That might be overstretching things somewhat but whatever the case Scott Parker has made a fantastic start to his Tottenham career. On Sunday, it was QPR who felt the full force of Parker’s influence in the middle of the park as they lost 3-1. The England international bossed things for Spurs which allowed the likes of Rafael Van der Vaart to shine ahead of him. The Dutchman has scored in five consecutive Barclays Premier League games and is clearly enjoying the freedom he gets with Parker in the team doing the ‘dirty’ work.

CM: Lucas Leiva (Liverpool)

It would’ve been ridiculous to suggest this a few seasons ago but Liverpool are now a better side with Lucas Leiva in the team. Liverpool – especially Charlie Adam – missed him in their disappointing draw with Norwich over a week ago. On Saturday, Lucas dictated things as the Reds triumphed 2-0 over West Brom. He was covering every blade of grass out there, breaking up the play and allowing Adam to pick out the holes in the Baggies’ defence.

ST: Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

Last week we said that Robin van Persie was the best striker in Barclays Premier League at the moment. Guess what? He still is. The Dutchman’s hat-trick pummeled Chelsea 5-3 at Stamford Bridge and brought up his 28th goal in just 27 Barclays Premier League games in 2011. The only other player to have scored a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge in the league was Kanu back in October 1999 (Opta). A no-brainer for our Team of the Week selection.

ST: Demba Ba (Newcastle)



Stoke manager Tony Pulis has proven to be one of the more shrewd managers in the Barclays Premier League when it comes to the transfer window. However, he will wake up on Tuesday morning regretting his decision not to sign Demba Ba. The former West Ham striker, who nearly moved to Stoke in January, has scored eight goals in his last nine Barclays Premier League games including a hat-trick on Monday night to lead Newcastle to a 3-1 win over Stoke.

Park: United have forgotten City loss

Park Ji-sung is looking forward to the rest of the season confident Manchester United's derby mauling is now forgotten.
The champions bounced back from their 6-1 home thrashing by Manchester City with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Everton in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side now face Otelul Galati in midweek hoping to take another step towards the Champions League knockout stages before hosting Sunderland at Old Trafford next weekend.

Park said: "It was very important for us - we had to get back to winning ways after the defeat against City.

"The boss told us that in the club's history, we always get over [bad results]. He encouraged us to play and be confident.

"We had to show that and the players had to fight to win the game and the determination was great.

"Goodison Park is always a hard game for us, we have had difficulty there. We had to win the game."

United's form has generally dipped over the past month but, with a relatively kind run of fixtures ahead, Park believes momentum can be built.

The Korean, 30, said: "It is very important to improve ourselves for the rest of the games. Hopefully we can continue to play like that."

Chelsea to add youth, Manchester United want Barcelona player

BEIRUT: In Monday’s transfer news, Chelsea want to add youth to their squad, Manchester United look for solutions to their central midfield conundrum and Manchester City use Carlos Tevez as leverage.

Manchester United want Barcelona midfielder

With Sir Alex Ferguson still not convinced that Anderson, Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick can partner Tom Cleverly in an effective enough partnership to challenge Barcelona, the Scot has turned his sights to the Camp Nou itself.

Javier Mascherano is the player thought to be in Man U’s radar, although the Argentinean defensive-midfielder is not a first choice in the Barcelona midfield, with Sergio Busquets deployed in his favored position.

Mascherano has typically been selected to play as a central defender for Barcelona when Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol or Eric Abidal are unavailable. It is thought that the prospect of lining up as a defensive midfielder in a top European side will appeal to the hard-tackling player.

Another player being looked at by the Red Devils is Swiss wunderkind Xerdan Shaqiri. The Basel midfielder has been labeled one of the hottest prospects in European football. On top of being wanted by Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City are also known to be admirers.

English rivals watch progress of player described as ‘finest player of his generation’

Holland Under-21 coach Cor Pot deals with some of the most talented youngsters in the world.

The performances of Under-21 star Ricky van Wolfswinkel have led Pot to label him as the finest player of his generation.

Van Wolfswinkel moved to Portugal this summer to ply his trade with Sporting Lisbon and has gone on a scoring spree. His play has been to such a high level that he is already attracting interest from rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

Manchester City looking to use Tevez as leverage

Manchester City are offering Carlos Tevez, plus 15 million pounds ($24 million), to Brazilian side Corinthians in exchange for Neymar and Ganso.

The Brazilian pair are two of the most exciting players to come from Brazil for a long time, with Ganso being likened to Kaka and Neymar to the King himself, Pele.

Real Madrid has been repeatedly listed as the favorites for the duo but a deal for Tevez would be hard for the Sao Paolo side to pass up.

Chelsea to overhaul aging team

Chelsea are now favorites to sign Lille’s superstar Eden Hazard, with sources inside the club saying that the West London outfit is following him most closely.

With Frenchman Florent Malouda and Ivorian Salomon Kalou both expected to depart in the next year, Hazard would bring some youth and flair to Chelsea’s wings.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Inter Milan have also reported interest in the 20-year-old Belgian.

Luka Modric is another player that Chelsea is still chasing. After an unsuccessful summer with three separate bids turned down by Tottenham, reports say Chelsea will come back in for the Croatian with a heavy bid of 52 million pounds ($83.2 million).

With Didier Drogba out of contract next summer and contract talks not going smoothly, it seems Andre Villas-Boas will turn to Napoli striker Edison Cavani. The Uruguayan has been labeled the next Diego Maradona by Napoli fans due to his talismanic first season with the Italian club.

Another option scouted by Chelsea is Porto’s Hulk. The Brazilian is apparently worth “100 million pounds” if you listen to Porto’s president, but with Chelsea and Real Madrid calling, the lure for playing in one of Europe’s two top leagues may be hard to turn down.

Barcelona favorites to sign Benfica’s best prospect

Barcelona are thought to be favorites to sign Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo, who is a strong central forward with great technical ability. Guardiola is thought to be looking for a strong central striker option since Zlatan Ibrahimovich’s departure.

Arsenal want to add strength for European push

Arsene Wenger has his eye on German wunderkind Mario Gotze. The Dortmund playmaker has recently received high praise from around Germany and even been put on par with Real Madrid ‘trequartista,’ Mesut Ozil by national team coach Joachim Low. The Gunners are pondering a January bid for the youngster.

Another player the North London side is monitoring for January is Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic, a skillful winger with a great eye for goal and would add needed depth to Arsenal’s attack.

Adam Johnson has also been linked with Arsenal. Johnson is known to have a rocky relationship with Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and it would be no surprise to see him depart in January to either Arsenal or Liverpool.

Johnson isn’t the only player being linked to exit Manchester for North London. Former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure has also been linked with a return to the club that helped make his name.


Tottenham consider Llorente

Fernando Llorente has had a great last year. He’s broken in to the Spanish national team and many have tipped him to remain in the first team ahead of struggling namesake Fernando Torres. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been a long-term admirer and with Roman Pavyluchenko repeatedly expressing his desire to leave Spurs, a new forward may be needed.

Redknapp is also keeping his eye on Ricardo Montolivo who is widely expected to make a move this summer (if not sooner). Arsenal and Liverpool are also thought to be interested in the Italian international.


Bayern Munich chase German international

Bosnian-born Marko Marin has caught the interest of Bayern Munich and may move in January to the German powerhouse.

Man Utd monitoring Liverpool FC and Arsenal FC target Lucas Biglia - report

Manchester United are reportedly monitoring Anderlecht midfielder Lucas Biglia, who has previously been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool.
The 25-year-old was linked with a move to Liverpool during the summer, with reports suggesting Reds boss Kenny Dalglish was considering making a move for player if Lucas Leiva had left the club on loan.


Since then, Arsenal have shown interest ahead of the transfer window reopening in January, but according to the Manchester Evening News, the Gunners could face competition from Old Trafford.


United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be keeping tabs on the Argentina international as he considers strengthening his squad in the New Year.


Biglia is believed to be keen on a move to the Premier League after seeing Romelu Lukaku leave Anderlecht to join Chelsea during the summer.


And reports during the summer had suggested that the former Independiente player had spoken to compatriot and former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano about a move to England.


Arsenal have already sent scouts to watch Biglia play for the Belgian club in recent weeks, while reports in Italy last month suggested the player has a verbal agreement with Anderlecht that will allow him to leave for a "big club" next year.

Man Utd 'there for the taking': Rodwell

Everton's Rodwell kicking himself for missing golden opportunity

Sir Alex Ferguson may be getting cold feet after the 6-1 mauling Manchester United received at the hands of Arsenal a week ago.

They barely came out unscathed by eking out a 1-0 victory on Saturday at Everton whose midfielder Jack Rodwell claims that United were "there for the taking".

Ferguson, who marked 25 years as manager at Old Trafford, seems to have adopted a safety-first approach even pulling back Wayne Rooney to marshall the midfield.

"They managed to keep us out of their penalty box, but they weren't the same side either, and we definitely think it is a chance missed," said Rodwell who felt they were a shadow of the side Everton faced a year ago.

Last season Toffees bagged two injury-time goals to earn a point but were edged out despite having far more possession.

"We had a lot of possession and they were there for the taking, but we didn't capitalise," the England under-21 midfielder was quoted in 'The Sun' virtually kicking himself for blowing a golden opportunity to cock a snook at the 19-time Premier League champions.

He attributed United's cautious approach for conceding many against Arsenal while going forward.

"Maybe they felt vulnerable and they didn't want to go as gung-ho," he said.