Valdes drives Barca forwards

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has hailed his side’s 4-1 victory away to Malaga last week, in a match the often underused stopper proved to be integral. The victory comes after an away run that has seen the defending La Liga champions pick up only three wins in eight games – a deciding factor in the club’s failure to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Spain’s long-term number-two produced a series of stunning saves to stop Malaga from running away with the match during the early stages. A Lionel Messi hat-trick ensured Barcelona left Malaga with the three points, keeping them within five points of rivals Real. Those looking at the Betfair la liga betting will be wondering how close things will get.

Valdes was quick to play down his own role in the comprehensive victory, instead highlighting the importance of picking up three points away from the home.
“We needed this win away from home for our morale because we had spoken about not killing off games and dropping points [as a result],” he said.

“I do not know if they are some of my best saves [ever], but I’m pleased with my game and also happy for some of my colleagues who do not get many minutes but were able to play against Malaga.”

Guardiola will be well aware that his side can no longer afford to drop anymore away points if they are going to have any hope of defending their La Liga title this season. Their hopes already depend on Real slipping up which, on current league form, doesn’t look like happening anytime soon. Fans of Betfair sports betting tips should bear this in mind.

Should Jose Mourinho’s Madrid side indeed go onto win the league for the first time in three years, then Barcelona will be in no doubt that it was their league form that has cost them their title.

Goalkeepers may be the difference between winning and losing this February

February is a make-or-break month in the course of the European season, with teams quickly getting submerged in the deep-end of domestic and international campaigns. The Champions League returns at the knockout stages, whilst in England the big-boys go head-to-head to determine the destination of the Premier League title. Fans investment in football tickets can quickly become a waste of money if your goalkeeper does not play to the highest standard.

Read more

Keepers to Watch at Euro 2012

Defense wins championships. It’s one of the most widely-used clichés in sports, for good reason. Offense puts people in seats, draws in viewers, and commands the most attention (and in professional sports, often gets the highest salaries), but if you don’t have some semblance of a defense, you will often fall short, even in the Eredivisie!

In soccer, the backbone of a great back line is the goalkeeper. A great keeper can make up for an average defense, but the reverse is very, very rarely true. And at Euro 2012, there will be several quality keepers who will be integral to their teams’ hopes and chances for success, with the top two Euro 2012 betting favorites perhaps boasting the top two keepers in the tournament – and in the world.

Read more

Who is first choice at United?

The question on many Manchester United fans’ lips right now will be just who is the club’s first choice goalkeeper.

Supporters of the club will know that the side have a tough time replacing legendary stopper Peter Schmeichel when he retired and after a number of stopgaps but never really found anyone to match him until Edwin Van Der Sar joined.

However, he hung up his boots last season and it seems Sir Alex Ferguson is once again struggling to find the right man to go between the sticks. People following the best online Premier League odds should remember this.

Much was made of the arrival of David de Gea from Athletico Madrid and given Sir Alex splashed out almost £20 million for the young keeper it was expected he would be the first choice.

And so it was that De Gea found himself starting in the Premier League, but his career has not got off to the best of starts.

Although he made a number of excellent saves, he has also proven to be error prone and those mistakes have cost Manchester United goals and even more importantly with point.

The manager has seemed reluctant to drop the young keeper too quickly, no doubt partly because of the huge transfer fee he paid and the fact he does not want to damage the stopper’s confidence.

However, it increasingly seems that Ferguson’s thoughts are turning to Andres Lindegaard, who joined the club from Aalesund during the January 2011 transfer window.

Expectations were lower, not least because he cost less and does not have as much experience as his Spanish counterpart, but now he has a chance to steal away the number one spot.

Champions League or bust for Chelsea

Chelsea’s season appears to be dangling by a thread after this week’s Carling Cup quarter-final defeat, with manager Andre Villas-Boas admitting the Champions League has now become “life or death” for the club. The under-fire tactician saw his young Chelsea side suffer a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, further damaging the club’s poor first half of the season.

With it looking like the Premiership title is now beyond Chelsea’s grasp and the trophy staying in Manchester, the Champions League and the FA Cup will be the only chance for Villas-Boas to pick up some silverware from this campaign. People following the best Champions League odds online will know this.

The former Porto head coach has admitted his side will need to play a lot better in the Champions League than the sort of performances they have been producing in recent weeks. Villas-Boas also made it clear Europe this season has now taken on a whole new significance following the shocking run Chelsea have been on recently.
“The Champions League is a competition that is life and death and this standard won’t be enough,” he said.

“We will need to up the tempo and play that game with the ultimate desire.”

The Londoners will welcome Valencia to Stamford Bridge in their make or break final Group E tie. If the pressure wasn’t already on the young Portuguese manager, then it will certainly be on him if Chelsea fail to secure their place in the next round of the Champions League.

United keeper not yet handing title to City

Manchester United are still in a great position to win the Premier League title and are not ready to hand over the trophy to their great rivals Manchester City, according to David de Gea.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are currently five points behind their bitter rivals and league leaders City, with United still feeling the after-effects of City’s 6-1 humiliation at Old Trafford last month.

United are looking for a 20th Premier League title, compared to a first for City, but already at this early point of the season it looks increasingly likely the trophy will remain in Manchester this season, but which team it will reside with is still murky. People who bet on Premier League games should bear this in mind.

There is no doubting the incredible array of talent Roberto Mancini has at his disposal at the Etihad Stadium, with City boasting the finest attacking options of any team in Premier League.

However, United are proven winners and that experience will be vital in what is going to be a long and challenging season for both of the sides. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League weekend games should remember this.

De Gea, who arrived at Old Trafford from Athletico Madrid during the summer, had to watch City put six goals past him last month on top of the two he conceded to them in the Charity Shield, but the Spaniard is optimistic the blue half of Manchester are not going to run away with the title.

“United can still win it all. It’s still not decided that City will finish first,” said the keeper.

While five points separate the two Manchester sides, Chelsea remain only four points behind United and are still regarded in some quarters as dark horses for the Premier League title.

Should City or United slip-up between now and May, then Andre Villas-Boas’ team will be sniffing around and hoping to be in a position to capitalise on their mistakes.

De Gea ‘not first choice’

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has warned new signing David De Gea that he will not be the club’s automatic first choice goalkeeper.

The former Atletico Madrid ‘keeper joined the Old Trafford club earlier this summer and is expected to be the man to fill the void left by the recently retired Edwin Van Der Sar. Those looking at the Champions League final odds should bear this in mind.

However, United also have January signing Anders Lindegaard and exciting youngster Ben Amos on their books. The duo shared the goalkeeping responsibilities in the Red Devils convincing 7-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders and both proved they could provide the Spaniard with stiff competition after both produced solid performances against the MLS side.

The pairs’ displays have given Ferguson great heart and has warned his new signing not to take anything for granted.

“Obviously we have signed David de Gea as the main choice I would imagine” Ferguson told the press in America.

“But Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos have probably said to themselves they have an opportunity with Van der Sar retiring. It is an open door for me.”

The match was also Ashley Young’s first appearance for the club and the first time he has witness firsthand the sheer adulation that follows a club like United around. While the reception the side received in the States is nothing compared to that laid out by the club’s Asian fans, the reception has still been rapturous and Young says he is enjoying the new experience.

“This is fantastic for me,” he said. “You come to the United States and see the number of fans outside the hotel every day.

Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson will be hoping the added competition will help the club retain their Premiership title as well as helping them to once again challenge for the Champions League.

Manchester United Move Closer to Signing David De Gea

How do you solve a problem like Edwin? If Sir Alex Ferguson were to have his way, the void left in goal by the departure of Edwin van der Sar at Manchester United would be filled by David De Gea. This has moved closer to reality as De Gea confirmed via his twitter account that an offer by Manchester United has been made.

United have been left with a big dilemma following the news of the Dutchman’s decision to hang up his boots after an illustrious career which included 4 Premier League Titles, 1 Champion’s League, 1 FA Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup and 3 Community Shields in his time in Manchester after successful spells at Ajax (where he also won 4 League Titles and a Champion’s League), Juventus and Fulham. Those who bet on Premier League weekend games will know just how vital he was.

Sir Alex has found himself in this situation before when Peter Schmeichel left the club in 1999 after winning the treble, going through 11 goalkeepers before signing Edwin van der Sar to finally solve the problem of losing a world class goalkeeper. After a few unconvincing performances from Tomasz Kuszczak towards the end of the season, it looks like Sir Alex will be looking elsewhere to replace van der Sar this time. Those following the Premier League betting offers wouldn’t be that surprised.

David De Gea has impressed many during his time at Atletico Madrid where the bust through the ranks from the youth team and has even proven himself at international level by winning the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with Spain this summer with a clean sheet in the final against Switzerland.

Whether or not United have made on offer that will impress Atlectio is yet to be seen, but they will be reluctant to let him go.

Carson to move to Turkey

In one of the strangest transfers we’ll probably end up seeing all summer, West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson has decided to write himself out of Fabio Capello’s future plans on the international stage by opting for a move abroad to Turkish side Bursaspor. With Carson a man who became a fans’ favourite at the Midlands club after joining from Liverpool a few years ago, it would seem that he has been unable to resist the lure of European football at a crucial stage in his career.

OK, so Bursaspor may well be playing in the Europa League next season, and they may well be a side that has competed in the Champions League in recent years, but is Carson making a rash move for the promise of immediate career advancement rather than sustained upward movement in a goalkeeping career that has often promised much, without ever truly delivering the goods? Those who follow the Manchester United betting odds will know he has never looked good enough to cut it at the highest level.

Carson will receive the short-term bonus of competing against the second tier clubs in Europe in the Europa League, but this is a side that only managed to finish third in the Turkish league last season, and that’s not exactly one of the most competitive leagues out there in Europe, it must be said. Anyone betting football money will wonder how he gets on.

With the Premier League becoming more and more competitive in recent years, with the lesser sides improving all the time and no one team now looking like a shoo-in for the title, staying put in English football seems to be the best way for an Englishman to push forward in his career.

Should Carson ever want to add to his three England caps, he may end up ruing his decision to move thousands of miles away from Fabio Capello’s office.

United target keeps the faith

Spanish youngster David De Gea insists he is not concerned by the possibility of becoming one of the world’s most expensive goalkeepers if his proposed transfer to Manchester United is completed.

The Old Trafford club are currently on the lookout for a replacement for the recently retired Edwin Van Der Sar and the Spanish youngster is thought to be at the top of Sir Alex Ferguson’s shopping list as he looks to develop a stopper for the future.

The Atletico Madrid youngster is currently starring for the Spanish under-21 side at the European Championships in Denmark as is tipped to be one of the stars of the future. Those looking at the free betting will know United need a top keeper now.

The Red Devils have reportedly been quoted a figure of around £18million to prise De Gea from Los Colchoneros but the confident 20-year-old insists the hefty price tag doesn’t faze him and the only thing he would be concerned about is proving that he’s good enough to fill the boots of such an illustrious custodian as Van Der Sar. Fans of sports betting UK will be keeping an eye on him.

“I feel incredibly motivated by the fact that Manchester United are thinking about me,” he said. “I like the fact that they are considering me as a replacement for a goalkeeper of Edwin Van Der Sar’s calibre.

Sir Alex Ferguson appears once again to be re-building his side with the emphasis on youth as he looks to replace ageing players such as Ryan Giggs and the retiring Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Sar and De Gea says that despite being young, he hopes to continue his career as long as the Dutchman.

“I hope I will still be playing when I am his age. It is hard to look so far ahead but it is something I want to do” he added.

« Previous Page — Next Page »