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Mark Schwarzer’s performance against Newcastle on Saturday was a show of goalkeeping skill. Schwarzer has been a model professional for Fulham this season, even though his heart clearly is with joining Arsenal. It would have been easy for the Australian to sulk and let his form drop, but he knows he must maintain his standards if he is going to get the move he desires. Mark Schwarzer has proven he is good enough, Fulham will sell, it is now up to Arsene Wenger to pull out the stops in January and sign the goalkeeper.

Mark Schwarzer wants to join Arsenal. It is no disrespect to Fulham, but at this stage of his carrer, the goalkeeper feels he needs one shot at one of the top English clubs. Talking to Sky Sports in early October, Schwarzer insists he is still keen on moving to the Emirates.

”It was probably one of my hardest periods ever,” Schwarzer said. “This is the only time in my career I have ever tried to force an issue.”

”I don’t have time on my side. If you were a 30-year-old you would walk away and say ‘fair enough, I understand’. “But I’m almost 38 and I want to fulfil an ambition. The sheer opportunity that was there ..”

”That was very flattering, but sometimes you’ve just got to grin and bear it and just get on with normal life again as much as possible.”

”You just have to get your head down and work as hard as possible.”

You have to admire the goalkeeper’s attitude. His attitude must impress Arsene Wenger. His goalkeepers this season at times have shown why Wenger has placed so much faith in them. Manuel Almunia’s performance against Blackburn was brilliant whilst Lukasz Fabianksi was terrific against Manchester City. They have shown glimpses that they can be the goalkeeper Arsenal need but too many times that have let Arsenal, Wenger and themselves down. If Arsenal are to captatlise on the mistakes of Chelsea and Manchester United this season, they need to bring in a top class goalakeeper. Mark Schwarzer fits the bill perfectly. He is a terrific shot stopper, a big game player as well as a fine communicator. He has everything needed to succeed at Arsenal for the limited time he would be there for.

The question that still lingers is, do Arsenal need a new goalkeeper. What they they need is someone of Schwarzer’s experience and class. Not only on the playing field, but since the departure of Jens Lehmann, Arsenal haven’t had a top goalkeeper to pass on knowledge the youngsters. Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczęsny ( I do not envy Arsenal’s stadium announcer) would benefit so much from him on the training ground. Arsenal may not get substantial years out of the Australian stopper but his influence on the young goalkeepers at the club could be priceless.

Its time for Wenger to buy a stop gap, that is all Schwarzer would be. That is no disrespect to the goalkeeper, just his age will control this. The reported figure Wenger offered Fulham seems a fair one, but Wenger may have to pay a little over what he would want to if he is to get his man. His age does raise a few question marks, but the impact that Schwarzer could have on Arsenal, again could be priceless. His experience will be key, something Arsenal will need if they are to challenge in the later part of the season.

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Fulham manager Martin Jol has stated that he is hopeful that star man Clint Dempsey will sign a new contract at the club.

The United States international has been in exemplary goalscoring form this term, and bagged a brace in a 3-0 win over Bolton on Saturday.

Jol has confirmed that Dempsey has been offered a new deal, and that the attacker is appreciated at Craven Cottage.

“I can’t foresee the future. We want to keep him and hopefully he wants to stay. We have offered him a very good contract,” the Dutch coach told Sky Sports.

“He knows he is very appreciated at our club, so hopefully he will stay.

“If we want to be a top side we need players who can score more than 20 goals in all competitions.

“I have always had that – I can remember Luis Suarez scoring 53 goals for me at Ajax.

“He’s not at that level yet but of course it is a different league and for a wide midfield player who can play up front and score that many goals, it is unbelievable,” the trainer concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Manchester United looks to kickstart their spending this summer with a double deal for Phil Jones and Ashley Young. It is a real signal intent from Sir Alex Ferguson who is looking to build what will arguably be a strong youthful legacy at Old Trafford.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes why Rooney could hold the transfer cards for Fergie; seven reasons why Young is the right fit at Old Trafford and 3 transfer plan B’s for Ferguson.

We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this week.

*

Caption Competition: Carroll and Rooney provide a snap for the album

Get into Barcelona’s team…perhaps only Rooney at present

Wayne Rooney could hold the key to Fergie’s transfer call

Sir Alex’s top TEN transfer faux pas’

3 Spanish Plan B’s for Fergie should transfers fail to materialise

SEVEN reasons why he is the ideal signing for Manchester United

Club v Player – where does the true loyalty with transfers lie?

Henderson vs. Jones – which move makes the most sense?

Lightning set to strike twice on the transfer front for Manchester United?

Real reject Manchester United approach for Özil

*Best of WEB*

Review of the season: the comic – United Rant

Solving The Macheda Conundrum – The Busby Way

The Phil Jones Hype Needs To Stop – Red Flag Flying High

Tom Has Spoken Quite Cleverley About His Future At United – The United Religion

The complete Man United Premier League season review by numbers – The Stretty Rant

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Click on Wayne Bridge’s lady below to unveil our WAG XI of the season

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Unlucky Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs is set for another spell on the sidelines after picking up a medial knee ligament injury in the early stages of Wednesday's Carling Cup victory at Newcastle United.

The left-back had to be substituted after only 18 minutes of the 4-0 win at St James' Park.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirmed:"We lost Kieran Gibbs last night. That is the bad news. It is a medial knee ligament strain. It needs to be checked on the scan tomorrow but it will be a few weeks.

"We have nobody else back from Manchester City. (Robin) van Persie and (Thomas) Vermaelen are still out. (Aaron) Ramsey and (Manuel) Almunia are not ready. So it should be a similar squad to the one that played at Man City.

"But van Persie and Ramsey are very close to coming back to full training now. They should be back in the group at the end of next week.

"Of course we should not set the same (recovery) time to Ramsey as Van Persie. Aaron will need a longer period to be completely match-fit for the first team. But van Persie is not far away now.

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"Manuel Almunia is maybe one to two weeks away. With Vermaelen, it is difficult to set a fixed time because his Achilles improves slowly."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

It is pleasing and somewhat rare that I can say Ipswich deserved their 3-2 win against bottom of the table Doncaster at the Keepmoat.

There were a few team changes made for the last game of the season. The main news was that Tommy Smith was given a chance to show his potential at left back, Ibrahima Sonko played his last game for the club and Lee Martin was playing in a forward position just behind Michael Chopra.

Out of contract midfielder Grant Leadbitter was taken out of the squad along with Lee Bowyer which adds to speculation that Leadbitter won’t be staying at the club. Youngsters Josh Carson, Joe Whight and Byron Lawrence were all included on the bench but only Lawrence got any game time, the 16 year old became Ipswich’s second-youngest player ever when he replaced Jay Emmanuel-Thomas for the last 10 minutes.

Many would be expecting this game to be a fairly dull fixture given both teams only have pride to play for but there was a bright start to the game with both forward lines looking dangerous. After James Coppinger shot wide for Doncaster early on, Lee Martin got a shot into Gary Wood’s right hand side making the Rovers ‘keeper produce a decent save. Ipswich were the better team in these early stages and won 5 corners in the first 10 minutes of the game. Doncaster’s were punished for conceding so many corners with Town’s fifth corner, Lee Martin found Tommy Smith unmarked in the box and the young defender hit home the opener. A sixth Ipswich corner came a few minutes later and Daryl Murphy hit the bar with a header after another cross from Lee Martin.

Doncaster did have a good chance to equalise a few minutes later but James Hayter wasted this by diverting a shot over the bar from six yards. Ryan Stevenson punished Doncaster for not taking their chances again in the 29 minute by hitting a stunning shot off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net. Fabien Robert pulled one back for Doncaster when he found himself unmarked in the Town box and met a cross from Simon Gillett to make it 2-1.

Paul Jewell said he believes his team were “cruising at 2-0” and was angry that the Ipswich team allowed Doncaster to get back into the game, especially in the manner that they conceded the goal.

The second half of the game was more like an end of the season fixture between two sides who didn’t have anything to play for. The remaining two goals in the game came on the 79th minute when Jason Scotland won a penalty and picked himself up to score it. In injury time Doncaster pulled another back when the Town defence failed to clear a freekick, Habib Beye putting it past Arran Lee-Barrett.

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This final result was never going to matter too much to either team and the performances were always going to be the main focus. Without a doubt Ipswich could have won this game 4-0 if they had kept their concentration up and Paul Jewell was angry that the team could not finish Doncaster off in the first half.

It was disappointing to see Ipswich concede two goals to the worst team in the division and once the team had a two goal lead it was really evident that they started to suffer from their over confidence. The game showed that this Ipswich team have a lot to improve on in terms of their mentality if they want to make a break for promotion next season. Jewell has made it clear that he isn’t happy with a lot of the players’ attitudes at the moment and hopefully he won’t stand for any complacency like what we saw against Doncaster.

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Liverpool have completed the signing of midfielder Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee on Thursday.The 20-year-old England international has joined the English Premier League outfit after undergoing a medical and agreeing to terms on Wednesday.

Reports suggest the deal is worth up to 20 million pounds, while Henderson’s contract has been described as a ‘long-term deal’.

“Liverpool Football Club have completed the signing of Jordan Henderson after the 20-year-old passed a medical and agreed personal terms,” a statement on the club’s website said.

“Henderson travelled to Merseyside on Wednesday after a fee was agreed with Sunderland. He then underwent a medical examination in Liverpool before signing a long-term deal.”

“The midfield has now joined the England Under-21 squad in Denmark as they prepare for the European Championships.”

“Henderson’s first game after completing his transfer is likely to be against Spain Under-21s on Sunday.”

Reds striker David N’Gog was rumoured to be part of the deal, but he remains at Anfield for the time being.

Henderson is the first player to join Kenny Dalglish’s ranks in the off-season but adds to the acquisitions of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January.

He made his way through the Sunderland youth academy and made 79 appearances at the Stadium of Light before leaving, although the club’s chairman Niall Quinn wished him well.

“Jordan is a credit to himself, his family and Sunderland’s Academy and everyone here wishes him the very best for the future,” Quinn said.

“I’m pleased that we got the deal to a level that we felt was right for our club.”

“We know the areas that we need strengthening and the type of player we need in order to progress and the job of bringing those players to the club is continuing at pace.”

Liverpool are also believed to be interested in Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam as Dalglish looks to strengthen his squad.

Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his irritation at suggestions that Owen Hargreaves is finally injury-free and pushing for a Manchester United recall.

Ferguson has reacted to claims from Colorado-based surgeon Dr Richard Steadman that the England midfielder is ready to make his comeback after making just four appearances during the last two seasons.

Tendinitis problems led to surgery on both of the midfielder's knees as he fought to save his career.

However, Ferguson has explained to both Dr Steadman and United fans why Hargreaves has yet to make his comeback appearance.

"Owen is not ready. He is injured," he told Key103."He has missed training for the last few days.

"We are having difficulty with the doctor in Colorado coming out with statements that are not accurate.

"It is not fair to the player for him to say Owen is going to be playing tomorrow (against West Brom).

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"It is ridiculous. I pick the team and I have been doing it for quite a while.

"We have this small interference, which is causing some confusion. He is out with a calf injury."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The reaction of the media and some supporters to Tottenham’s recent defeats has been slightly over the top to say the least. Three losses in the space of two weeks’ has left their great rivals within touching distance of them in third and Fleet Street deeming it the great collapse. Nobody seems to mention the fact that Spurs have been incredibly unlucky (certainly two of the games) where they thoroughly deserved maximum points. They just didn’t get the rub of the green in front of goal and subsequently a media-fuelled crisis has hit the North Londoners.

The news-men love a crisis and it is now the turn of Tottenham to face their wrath. While there is no getting away that their big lead has been chipped away, I would be more concerned if Spurs weren’t playing well and were subsequently well beaten as a result. The fact of the matter is they haven’t and confidence and belief clearly remains high within the squad, but the failure in the final third to convert chances is costing them at present.

Obviously the media don’t see that and would prefer to paint the picture that it is the uncertainty over Harry Redknapp’s future that is the reason behind Spurs’ latest dip, something that doesn’t quite add up. With the exception of the Stevenage ties (typical performance when Tottenham play lesser teams) they have only played one bad 45 minutes since Capello’s departure from the England job, therefore pouring cold water over this so-called coincidence. Fergie admitted they were lucky, while David Moyes said that Tottenham were the best team they had witnessed at Goodison Park all season. I suppose that is not the side of the story they want to note, especially when it fails to highlight any signs of a crisis.

The actual reality is that there isn’t one, given the way the team are playing and if they carry on performing in such a manner they will pick up close to maximum points here on in until the end of the season. This is simply a media-induced crisis and the sooner everyone wakes up to it the better.

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As a Norwich City supporter I was surprised to see/hear reports that Paul Lambert was in the running for the vacant West Ham job. Not so much to why West Ham would be interested, because Lambert’s record over the last two years speaks for itself. But more the suggestion that Paul Lambert would be prepared to jump ship after all the hard work he has done in getting Norwich City into the Premier League. For me, it would pure madness for the Scotsman to spurn a chance of Premier League management in favour of taking over a club that needs an awful lot of work, but perhaps most crucially will be playing Championship football next season.

I think it’s fair to say that Paul Lambert has completed his lower league training and there is now no reason for Lambert to manage outside the Premier League ever again. As Norwich City fans I think we are realistic enough to know that Paul Lambert will move on at some point, but when it happens it will be to a big Premier League outfit. Now to be fair to West Ham they will almost certainly get themselves back into the Premier League and with them moving into the Olympic Stadium they certainly should have a bright future. And I certainly understand people who say West Ham have the greater potential of the two clubs. However, I prefer to live in the here and now and not what could happen in the future.

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In the present Norwich City is a Premier League club with an exciting but also challenging season ahead. There is clearly a good relationship between Lambert and the board and I think both have a huge amount of mutual respect for each other. The board know that they have to back Lambert because if they don’t someone else will. So expect Norwich City’s summer transfer spend to be that bit more ambitious than that of Blackpool’s this season. Equally Lambert knows the board are there to help but not to interfere. Make no mistake Lambert is in total control of who is bought and who is sold. Furthermore, there is the relationship between Lambert and the fans to consider; again it is one of mutual respect. The fans love Lambert for the success he has brought the club and Lambert is in awe of the support Norwich has. Full houses every home game and thousands of fans travel away. And that has been the case in League One and the Championship, yet there are Premier League sides that can’t sell out. But there won’t be a spare seat to be had at Carrow Road next season.

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Now I don’t think Paul Lambert is ready to leave that behind. He has built something special at Norwich and he will want to see how far it can go. Yes, the time that Lambert leaves Norwich will come but not for a while yet. So you might as well remove his name from the shortlist, West Ham because he is not leaving Norwich just yet.

Join in on this debate on Twitter and while you are there why not follow me.

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Manchester United’s forward line of the 1999 treble winning season has gone down in club folklore. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke formed one of the most potent strike lines in the history of the Premier League, and with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham backing the pair up, they formed what is generally regarded as the club’s best set of forwards in the last twenty years. Since then United have had a series of top class forwards, but recently Sir Alex Ferguson stated that his current crop may just be the best since 1999, he stated,

“In terms of numbers, it’s the best strike force since 1999. I’m sure they will all get their chance.”

Whilst Ferguson evidently believes the numbers are there, the wider question and perhaps the more important one is whether the quality of his strikers is the best since 1999?

Manchester United’s current stable of forwards certainly has depth on its side. Wayne Rooney is the club’s best striker, and he is a world-class talent despite the difficulties he is currently experiencing. Next in the pecking order is Dimitar Berbatov; the Bulgarian is an incredibly gifted player but opinion at Old Trafford has been divided on him, so far this season though, Berbatov has shown some great form and you get the impression he is finally getting it and will have a good season for United.

Javier Hernandez looked like a hot prospect in the World Cup, though he is young and unproven in the Premiership and we await to see how he will perform this season. Bebe similarly is unproven, and judgement has to be withheld on him. Federico Macheda made a huge impact on his debut in April 2009, scoring a sensational injury time winner against Aston Villa, but since then his first team chances have been limited and like Hernandez and Bebe, it remains to be seen whether he can be a consistent performer in the Premier League.

Finally there is Michael Owen, a natural born goal scorer, but he has been plagued by injuries and is not getting any younger, and the jury is still out on his effectiveness for Man Utd. It leaves United with two top quality established strikers, and four more who will need to prove themselves, while there is numbers, the quality of the forward line is in my view not the best since 1999.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was an unstoppable striker for Manchester United in the early to mid 2000’s, but he was not really part of a great selection of forwards as would be seen in later years. United’s best attack since 1999 in my view, was the triumvirate of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Dimitar Berbatov also present in this line-up in the 2008/09 season. The trio of Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo was arguably the most formidable set of forwards in Europe at the time, with their crowning glory coming in the 2007/08 season when the club won the Premier League and the Champions League, Louis Saha also acted as a back-up in this season.

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Manchester United’s current attack is undoubtedly quality, but while Ferguson believes it is the best in terms of numbers, in terms of quality, the seasons between 2007 and 2009 saw in my opinion what constitutes Man Utd’s best attack since 1999 and beyond Rooney and Berbatov, we will have to wait and see how the club’s other strikers perform this season.

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