Man Uniteds goalie search, why Birmingham will go down, Villa stay forever Young & Roma target Premier League players

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: Ive been waiting for this for a very long time. I supported Manchester United since I was a boy and my hero was Eric Cantona. I hope I can score there because although Im a Man U fan Im doing my job. I have to stay positive so were going there to win. Maybe Ill try and swap shirts definitely it will happen. I dont know whose shirt, any player. I liked United because they played good football. I liked Eric Cantona because he was a great player, his personality and everything. My dad was a Man U fan for many, many years. His favourite player was Gary Pallister, because he played in defence. Asamoah Gyan.

Runner-up: We already have 25 players so we cannot bring anyone in unless someone leaves I love David Beckham but we cannot sign anyone in the department he plays. Arsene Wenger.

Todays overview: The fifth estate has begun to wind down ahead of Christmas.

Accordingly, the main talking points this Friday see some old chestnut rise to the fore. Included are discussions of Manchester Uniteds long term goalie situation, there is some news on bad-boy Balotelli, while Liverpools transfer plans come under the microscope.

In other news, Paul Doyle serves up the main comment piece of the day in which Birmingham take a pounding. Harry Redknapp makes his 2011 predictions, while Jim White looks at how 3D has affected football.

That leaves the transfers. Aston Villa want to keep their star player, Roma target a Premier League goalie and midfielder, while Robbie Keane has a new admirer.

When Van Der Sar Leaves: Many of the papers pick up on Sir Alex Fergusons comments on Thursday that Manchester United expect keepr Edwin van der Sar to hang up his gloves at the end of the season.

Andy Hunter looks ahead to pre! dict how United may fill the gaps between the sticks. Tomasz Kuszczak, who may also leave the club next summer, and Ben Foster failed to dislodge Van der Sar as No1. Although Anders Lindegaard has recently signed for 3.5m from the Norwegian club Aalesunds and there are high hopes for Ben Amos, Ferguson indicated a proven, top-class keeper will be on his transfer agenda next summer. David de Gea of Atltico Madrid and Schalkes Manuel Neuer are potential candidates.

Keeping Jack In The Box: A potential club versus country row is brewing up at the Emirates.

Paul Doyle detailed that Arsene Wenger has placed himself on a collision course with the Football Association by warning England against calling up Jack Wilshere for next summers Under-21 European Championship in Denmark The teenager has appeared 21 times for his club in this campaign and Wenger envisages him playing at least double that amount by the end of the season, which he believes should preclude Wilshere from being selected for the Under-21s tournament, which runs from 11 to 25 June.

Bad Boy Balotelli: According to Neil Custis, Mario Balotelli has been axed by Roberto Mancini for being lazy and miserable. The Italian striker turned in an awful display for Manchester City in Mondays home defeat by Everton Balotelli, 20, has started five of Citys last six games but will be on the bench for their Boxing Day trip to Newcastle.

Liverpools Transfer Policy: With readers wondering whether this is anything more than white noise, Andy Hunter reports on Liverpools transfer strategy this winter. Roy Hodgson says he will put Liverpools long-term health before his need for immediate results in next months transfer window as he admitted the club must learn from their wasteful strategy of recent years. Hodgson believes Liverpools predicament owes much to a short-term, ex! pensive transfer strategy that existed before his arrival and is anxious to avoid repeating those mistakes, even if a lack of spending invites further criticism of his tenure.

Bashing Birmingham: Ignoring all sensitivities around the holiday period, Paul Doyle rants that Birmingham are relegation cannon-fodder, and if they go down itll be good riddance. Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City have been stitched up. The least entertaining team in the Premier League is Birmingham City. What is more, they will probably be relegated. None shall mourn their passing They have little creativity and no cutting edge. They have no pace. They do not even have the power of Blackburn and Stoke, nor the dynamism of Wolves, who inflicted an emphatic 1-0 defeat on them in their last outing. And Alex McLeish can do little about these shortcomings, since he has been told that there is no money for purchases in January There is a staleness about Birmingham. Without the injection of a lot of new blood, it is hard to see how they can finish above at least three teams.

2011 Predictions: Harry Redknapp is convinced that the Premier League will go global. I am absolutely convinced down the line, Premier League games will take place all around the world. The Chinese owner wants his team to play in his homeland, the Russian billionaire will want games played in Moscow, the Indian food magnate will want to show off what he has got in his own backyard. I dont think there is anyone or anything that can stop it. Look at pre-season games if you want proof of my vision. They used to be against local opposition, maybe a team would travel to the coast but now the coast is in California, China or Australia.

Reviews of 2010: Taking an off-beat angle, Jim White looks at how 3D football coverage has taken off. The trailers promise balls ! flying i nto your living room and slide tackles concluding in the middle of the pub snug. Unfortunately, unlike animated dramas about crackshot archers, sporting footage cannot be contrived; balls are rarely fired directly at the lens. And for most of the time 3D appears distinctly, well, two dimensional, its most entertaining feature the look on latecomers faces who, happening on a pub full of people wearing dark glasses in midwinter, conclude they must have just stepped into a Roy Orbison lookalike convention.

Neil Warnock: Did you see the footage last week on the linesman arguing with the bolshie QPR boss after his side lost at Leeds? (Footage here.)

Neil Warnock uses his column in the Independent to explain his side of the event. The TV cameras picked up some banter between me and referee Scott Mathieson coming off the pitch at Elland Road. As they showed, Scott gave as good as he got. I was disappointed because I thought hed missed the worst tackle of the game, by Bradley Johnson on Jamie Mackie. When it wasnt a yellow card our lads were incensed and Clint Hill was booked. If the ref had seen the original offence my lad would not have got booked. But Scotts response was that if my lads had made as few mistakes as he had in the game wed have got a better result. There was really no answer to that. Ive known Scott for many years, and we had a laugh afterwards, but I dont want every ref to think he can now have a go at me.

Signing On: Rory Smith gassed Newcastle defender Steven Taylor is on the verge of signing a new long-term deal. Taylor, 25, is expected to finalise a new five-year contract having feared that he may have played his last game for Newcastle.

The Transfers: The Guardian repeat old news that Aston Villa are refusing to sell Ashley Young, eve! n if in the long term that will allow him to leave on a free transfer. The story is fleshed out by Sandy Macaskill, who reports Gerard Houllier has admitted that there are no guarantees Aston Villa will be able to hold on to Ashley Young next month, although he has warned that potential suitors such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Villas Boxing Day opponents, Tottenham, will have to part with crazy money if they want to sign his marquee player.

Flipping to the Telegraph theres a similar no-go story as Wenger has also ruled out the January departures of Nicklas Bendtner or Denilson. The Telegraph also list Liverpools targets. Liverpool are believed to be keen on the likes of Ashley Young, the Aston Villa winger, Yann MVila, of Rennes, and Wigans Charles NZogbia.

The Daily Mail say Roma want Shay Given on loan, Aston Villa have stolen a march on Chelsea and Liverpool with move for Le Havres Gueida Fofana while Birmingham are the latest suitors for Robbie Keane.

Elsewhere, the Express print that Valon Behrami is close to 4.5m to Roma, and The Sun claim that Shaun Wright-Phillips is a West Ham loan target.

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