Everton’s fans may be grumbling but manager Martinez still banking on Barkley |
- Everton’s fans may be grumbling but manager Martinez still banking on Barkley
- Arab world protests against depiction of Prophet Mohammed as a caricature
- Ginola all style and charm in bid for Blatter’s job, but bookmaker’s £250,000 fee wouldn’t help
- Heartfelt hope: Receiver of novel embryonic stem-cell therapy doing ‘well’
- Defoe joins former teammate Poyet to try and lift Sunderland in battle for survival
- Nations Cup puts the spotlight on growing spread of African football
| Everton’s fans may be grumbling but manager Martinez still banking on Barkley Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:47 AM PST
Barkley, 21, is unquestionably the brightest talent to emerge at Goodison Park since Wayne Rooney and, like his England teammate, he has extra credit with the fans for being a local boy. His ability to beat a player with a swerve of his body has echoes of Zinedine Zidane, few players in world football can match his ability to shoot with such power with either foot, while his driving runs into the heart of opposing defences routinely get fans off their seats in excited anticipation. There is another side to the scouting report, however, which has been all-too-prevalent this season as Everton struggle in the lower reaches of the Premier League. Barkley has given the ball away far too often and far too often in dangerous places, trying to dribble past players outside his own box or trying an ambitious pass that leaves his defence scrambling. His passing accuracy has fallen off and not enough of his good work is transferred into a creating a chance for himself or others, leading to some grumbling from the stands. Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who has continually asked for patience as Barkley develops, hauled him off during Tuesday's FA Cup third-round replay and saw an immediate improvement in Everton's attacking game before they eventually lost to West Ham United on penalties. But the Spaniard was quick to defend a player who appears to be suffering something of a second-season syndrome. "Last season he was just a young man enjoying his football, now he's Ross Barkley and the opposition pay him extra attention — that makes it harder for him," said Martínez as he prepared for Monday's League game against West Bromwich Albion. "He's still getting through that process. What we should know is when he's on the pitch usually the opposition have two players on him and that means there is space elsewhere — that's something we need to exploit. "When you lose the ball three times and then want to hide, that's when you've got a problem. With Ross, on the fourth time he'll go past three players and give you an assist or a goal. "You can't measure Ross on making one or two bad decisions, you can measure him on what he is doing every day on the pitch." — Reuters  |
| Arab world protests against depiction of Prophet Mohammed as a caricature Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:44 AM PST
The largest rally was in Jordan, where around 2,500 protesters took to the streets of the capital Amman amid tightened security, while demonstrations also took place in east Jerusalem and Khartoum. The crowd, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood and youth groups, set off from the Al-Husseini mosque in central Amman holding banners that read "insulting the prophet is global terrorism". The new issue of Charlie Hebdo, published on Wednesday, features a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on its cover holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign under the headline "All is forgiven". It was the first edition of the satirical magazine to be published since Islamist gunmen killed 12 people in an attack on its Paris offices on January 7. The image has angered many Muslims as depictions of Mohammed are considered forbidden in Islam. Qatar condemned what it called the "offensive" cartoon, which was also reprinted by several European papers in a show of solidarity with the victims of last week's attack. "These disgraceful actions are in the interest of nobody and will only fuel hatred and anger," the foreign ministry warned, describing them as a "violation of human values of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, justice, and respect among people." 'Religion of peace' Jordan's opposition Islamic Action Front party, the political wing of the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has branded the publication of the cartoon as "an attack on Muslims across the world". King Abdullah II, who last weekend joined world leaders on an anti-terror solidarity march in Paris, yesterday said the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo was "irresponsible and reckless". Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound today, some with banners reading "Islam is a religion of peace!" and "Our leader will forever be Mohammed". Israeli security forces, which control access to the compound—the focal point of months of Jewish-Muslim tensions in the Holy Land—said Friday prayer passed off without incident, and there were no initial reports of violence linked to the demonstration afterwards. In Sudan, several hundred demonstrators poured out of Khartoum's Grand Mosque and marched across the adjacent square, chanting "Expel the French ambassador, victory to the Prophet of God!", an AFP correspondent said. One banner in Arabic said: "The French government should apologise and the French government must stop insults to religious figures". A protest against the cartoon in Tehran was cancelled, with no official reason given, as senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ali Movahedi Kermani told worshippers its publication amounted to "savagery". In Tunis, worshippers at El-Fath mosque interrupted prayer leader Noureddine Khadmi as he delivered a sermon saying: "We are all against insults made against our prophet but it is not a reason to kill". Charlie Hebdo journalists "deserved to be killed because they insulted our prophet many times," the worshippers cried out. Saudi Arabia's top religious body, the Council of Senior Ulema, also criticised the publication of Mohammed cartoons that it said "have nothing to do with the freedom of creativity or thought". Its secretary general Fahd al-Majid warned that publishing such images would only "serve extremists who are in search of excuses for killing and terrorism". — AFP |
| Ginola all style and charm in bid for Blatter’s job, but bookmaker’s £250,000 fee wouldn’t help Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:44 AM PST
Platini, who has been president of European football's governing body UEFA since 2007, decided last year not to run against Blatter in this year's FIFA elections in May — partly because he thinks Blatter is unbeatable. But Ginola, paid £250,000 (RM1.4 million) to stand by a bookmaking firm, appears undaunted, even if his bid has already been widely dismissed as a publicity stunt that has no chance of even gaining the five nominations needed for him to enter the race officially. At the launch in London today, Ginola appeared desperately ill-prepared to answer questions from sceptical reporters on his knowledge of several key issues he would need to fully understand if he ever assumed the role of the head of world football's governing body. Ginola, one of the most aesthetically pleasing footballers of his generation when he glided down the wing for Paris St Germain, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and France in his pomp in the 1990s, has lost none of his Gallic good looks and charm more than a decade on from his retirement as a player. Looking at a video of his career highlights before launching his campaign he quipped "I was worth it then", a reference to the advertising slogan for the hair shampoo company he used to promote. When he played at his peak there was always something of the romantic charmer about his game, and while his performance today was full of charm and idealism there was little substance on how he would implement the changes he wants to see in the world game. He brushed off questions about the International Football Association Board (IFAB), Third Party Ownership (TPO) and was unable to name any members of the FIFA Executive Committee, instead speaking about bringing trust back to football and getting fans around the world involved in his campaign. Asked if being a former player would give his campaign more credibility, among the fans at least, Ginola replied: "Michel Platini is the prime example of an ex-footballer who is now in charge. "He did great things on the football pitch and he has done great things as UEFA president — and for me he has set the target." Whether he can reach it, or will even get a chance to try, is another matter entirely. — Reuters |
| Heartfelt hope: Receiver of novel embryonic stem-cell therapy doing ‘well’ Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:43 AM PST
The patient, 68 at the time of the procedure last October, was given juvenile heart cells that had been grown in the lab from human precursor cells, Philippe Menasche of the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital in Paris told AFP. An ailing septuagenarian man was the first in the world to receive the treatment a few months earlier, but died of unrelated causes. The young cells were transferred in a gel-laced patch applied to a damaged part of the woman's heart during bypass surgery last October. "Today, she is much better. She is well, she is at home, and has resumed normal activity," Menasche said. The damaged area of the heart is now functioning, he added, though it was unclear whether this was due to the patch or the bypass. Menasche and his team said they were the first to use human embryonic stem cells to treat heart failure. Extremely versatile, these cells can differentiate into any tissue of the body, one day possibly replacing damaged or lost organs. They have been shown to restore some vision in people with deteriorating eyesight. There are ethical complications, though, as well as concerns that the transplanted cells may be attacked by the patient's immune system. The new technique had not triggered any tumours in animal trials, said Menasche, and the female patient has not shown any negative reaction to the cells or immunosuppressant drugs. The results were presented in Paris today at the annual meeting of the French Society of Cardiology. France's transplant watchdog has approved a six-patient trial to test the procedure's safety. — AFP |
| Defoe joins former teammate Poyet to try and lift Sunderland in battle for survival Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:42 AM PST LONDON, Jan 16 — Former England striker Jermain Defoe returned to the Premier League when he signed for Sunderland today and could make his debut against his former club Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane tomorrow. Defoe, who has signed a 3½-year deal, had been training with the youth development squad at Spurs since returning to England from Toronto FC during the MLS close season. Striker Jozy Altidore moves back to the MLS, where he started his career, signing for Toronto as part of the deal.
"I am thrilled that Jermain is a Sunderland player," Poyet said on Sunderland's website. "I know all about his attributes and his qualities first-hand and his exceptional goal-scoring record speaks for itself. He has something different, something special. "We know each other very well — he was very young when we played together and I was coming to the end of my career, so I know him from inside the pitch." On the day Defoe made his Spurs debut against Portsmouth in February 2004, Poyet replaced him after 82 minutes. Defoe scored the first goal in a 4-3 win over Portsmouth while Poyet scored the last-minute winner and the Uruguayan will hope Defoe has not lost his scoring touch as Sunderland seek to preserve their Premier League status this season. They are 16th in the table, a point above the relegation zone. Defoe has been one of the most prolific scorers in England over the past 15 years, with 214 goals in 524 matches for Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth and over two spells at Tottenham. Defoe scored 143 goals for Spurs and is their fifth highest all-time scorer and their record scorer in European competition with 23. He also netted 19 goals in 55 England appearances and in his brief spell in the MLS scored 12 in 17 games for Toronto. — Reuters |
| Nations Cup puts the spotlight on growing spread of African football Posted: 16 Jan 2015 07:39 AM PST
The 368 players from the 16 teams competing in Equatorial Guinea come from 243 different clubs in 57 countries across four continents. More than half of those at this year's tournament, which kicks off tomorrow, come from European clubs, which has been a dominant feature of the Nations Cup for more than two decades, but the range of domiciles in which they are based is ever expanding. France, with its deep colonial roots, is again the country that supplies the most players to the Nations Cup, with 73. There are 27 from Spain, 23 from England and 21 from Belgian clubs. Spain's representation is usually much lower but dramatically boosted this time by hosts Equatorial Guinea's search for players with African roots among the lower league clubs in their former colonial power. For the first time, there are players from footballing backwaters such as Armenia, Andorra, Gibraltar and Estonia. In total, there are 248 Nations Cup players from 32 different European leagues. Fifty-eight clubs in 17 African countries are represented for a total of 107 home-based footballers. But two of the finalists, the Cape Verde Islands and Senegal, have no representative at all, with both squads drawn exclusively from clubs outside of their countries. Players based in Hong Kong, India, Iran and Mexico add to the vast array of destinations where African footballers ply their trade. Economic conditions in Africa mean most young footballers set their sights on earning a professional contract abroad, which carries not only financial rewards but also a sense of prestige. Growing leagues and rich clubs in countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa now pay salaries that keep players at home and it is no surprise that 18 of the South African squad are home-based. At this Nations Cup, the top clubs represented include the likes of Manchester City, Paris St Germain, AS Roma and Borussia Dortmund plus juniors from both Barcelona and Real Madrid. It is unlikely clubs such as Leones Vegetarianos (Equatorial Guinea), CS Duguwolofila (Mali), Esteghlal Meli-Sanati Khuzestan (Iran) and Pune City (India) will ever be in such exulted company again. — Reuters |
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