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Leicester City: Claudio Ranieri has our 'unwavering support'

Leicester City have issued Claudio Ranieri a vote of confidence, saying he has the club's "unwavering support" following speculation surrounding his future.

Despite guiding Leicester to the Premier League title last season, reports have emerged recently that Ranieri has lost the dressing room at the King Power Stadium, with the club currently sitting 16th in the table and just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Ranieri said on Monday that he does not feel his job is in jeopardy, and the club have now insisted that they remain "united behind [their] manager."

A Leicester statement read: "In light of recent speculation, Leicester City Football Club would like to make absolutely clear its unwavering support for its first team manager, Claudio Ranieri.

"While there is a collective appreciation from everyone at the club that recent form needs to improve, the unprecedented success achieved in recent seasons has been based firmly on stability, togetherness and determination to overcome even the greatest of challenges.

"The entire club is and will remain united behind its manager and behind its players, collectively and firmly focused on the challenges ahead."

Leicester's 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday was the latest in a poor run of results. They are the first Premier League team to fail to score in the first five matches of a calendar year and the only side in the top four English tiers to have failed to score in the league in 2017.

The club's title win last season came just one year on from a successful battle against relegation and with odds of 5,000/1 ahead of the campaign.
 

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Arsene Wenger said his time at Arsenal is 'coming to the end' - Ian Wright

By Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent
from espnfc.com

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright says Arsene Wenger has indicated he is "coming to the end" of his 21-year stint as Gunners manager.

Wenger's contract expires after this season and his future is in serious doubt after the Gunners fell 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea with a 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge last Saturday.

And Wright, who attended a Q&A event with Wenger on Thursday night, said he was given the impression that the Frenchman could be stepping down this summer.

"I was with the boss last night and if I'm going to be totally honest I get the impression that that's it," Wright told BBC Radio Five Live. "I was with him for a few hours last night and we're talking. He didn't say to me 'I'm leaving at the end of the season' but ... I get the impression looking at him that that's it.

"He actually mentioned when I was talking to him last night that he's coming to the end. I've never heard him say that."

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Wenger himself has steadfastly insisted that he won't make a decision on his future until the end of the season, and that the team's results until then will be a decisive factor.

"I have nothing to add to what I said last week," Wenger said curtly at his press conference on Thursday when asked if he had made a decision.

But Wright, who played under Wenger between 1996 and 1998, said the 67-year-old looks like he's had enough.

"You just feel that he looks winded, like someone has whopped him in the stomach. He has lost all his wind," Wright said. "If someone asked me 'is he going to go at the end of the season', I think he will."
 

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Leicester City: Claudio Ranieri has our 'unwavering support'
Leicester City have issued Claudio Ranieri a vote of confidence, saying he has the club's "unwavering support" following speculation surrounding his future.

Until they get relegated. :biggrin:
 

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Tired Tottenham torn apart at rivals again, dragged into top-four scramble

By Mark Ogden, Senior Football Writer
espnfc.com

LIVERPOOL, England -- They are a good team, Tottenham, but just don't mention those away games against their rivals.

On a night when Sadio Mane showed everyone just what Liverpool missed during his five-week absence while on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal -- scoring two goals in two minutes to secure a 2-0 victory over Spurs -- Mauricio Pochettino's team failed to turn up for the party once again.

Tottenham are formidable at White Hart Lane and can be pretty unyielding on their travels against the lesser teams, but with Chelsea preparing to move 12 points clear at the top of the table in the event of a win at Burnley on Sunday, Pochettino's men missed a golden opportunity to establish themselves as the biggest threat to Antonio Conte's team by doing what they always do -- falling short at the homes of their closest rivals.

This defeat at Liverpool left Spurs with just one victory from their past 15 games away to the top six. That solitary win came at Manchester City in February, at a time when their opponents were digesting the news that Pep Guardiola would be replacing Manuel Pellegrini as manager.

As for this season, Tottenham's two previous losses before Saturday came at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, with Spurs only able to draw at the Emirates and the Etihad.

The good news, of course, is that their difficult road trips might now be out of the way.

Of their remaining away games, Tottenham's only opponent currently in the top 10 is West Ham, but if there is a psychological block barring their way to the top, it emerges when they face the likes of Liverpool away from home. Perhaps they will recover and remain unbeaten between now and the end of the season, but it is too late for their title hopes.

"We are second in the table, but my feeling now is not so good," Pochettino said. "But we need to recover after this defeat and fight.

"It's true that nine points is a massive gap and 12 points will make it even more difficult.

"But it is difficult to fight for the Premier League if you show that performance, that lack of desire to play for a win. If you start a game like we started, then it is very difficult."

Chelsea, even if they fail to win at Turf Moor, are disappearing over the horizon and Tottenham have now allowed themselves to be dragged into a bitter five-club scramble for Champions League qualification. Only two points separate Spurs in second and Manchester United in sixth, so if the title race is over, there is certainly still plenty to play for.

None of Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City or Manchester United are playing well enough to be certain of a top-four finish, with each displaying positives and negatives in recent weeks. Spurs were unusually lethargic at Anfield, with Pochettino's players beaten at their own game by Liverpool.

The home side tore Spurs apart with their high energy and incessant running during the opening period, scoring twice and going close on three more occasions. Tottenham's back four was repeatedly forced into mistakes, with Eric Dier and Ben Davies constantly troubled by Mane, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris making at least three stunning saves to keep Liverpool at bay.

Jurgen Klopp's players were unable to sustain their 100 mph approach, tiring as the game wore on, but Tottenham simply could not summon the energy or inspiration to take advantage.

So was it a bad day at the office or a sign of things to come?

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Are Tottenham hitting the wall -- this was only their third defeat of the season, but they had also failed to win their last two away games at Manchester City and Sunderland -- or were Liverpool just too good on the day?

The absence of the injured Danny Rose at left-back hurt Tottenham and Liverpool capitalised by targeting Davies. Jan Vertonghen's ongoing spell on the sidelines is also an issue, with Dier far less commanding and mobile in the back four as he is in midfield.

But the games do not slow down for Spurs, with a two-legged Europa League tie against Gent on the agenda and an FA Cup trip to Fulham before they resume Premier League commitments at home to Stoke on Feb. 26.

Liverpool, out of all the cup competitions, can now rest up until they travel to Leicester City in 16 days' time, but do not be fooled into thinking that this win banished the grey clouds that have been hovering over Anfield since the turn of the year.

Klopp's "heavy-metal football" blew Tottenham away in the first half, but they could not keep it going in the closing stages and might have paid the price against more determined opponents.

The trip to Leicester will test Liverpool's revival, with their fixtures against struggling clubs proving so frustrating this season, so it is too early to suggest that a corner has been turned.

"We finally started 2017 tonight, but we should not go nuts immediately," said Klopp. "We have the potential to do much better, the next chance is against Leicester and we have to use this time now to start with a little pre-season.

"Today the pressure was on us but we dealt with it. We had a really bad period, but we are still around, not with Chelsea, but with the rest.

"It shows we are able to do some good things. To qualify for the Champions League has to be our aim, but we need this performance consistently."

Both Liverpool and Tottenham have question marks still hanging over them, but so do their rivals in the race for the top four. Arsenal continue to look nervous, Manchester United have yet to show they have fully solved their problems in front of goal, while Manchester City must overcome a tricky trip to Bournemouth on Monday before focusing on their Champions League tie against Monaco.

They are all in it together, five of England's biggest clubs, but two of them will end the season having failed.

And after this result at Anfield, it is anyone's guess as to which of them will be the winners and the losers.
 

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Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool are back in the race after win over Tottenham

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the comfortable win over Tottenham at Anfield had sparked their season back into life.

The 2-0 win over their top-four rivals, achieved thanks to two Sadio Mane goals in three first-half minutes, was Liverpool's first in the Premier League since they beat Manchester City on New Year's Eve.

Such performances have been in short supply in 2017, but Klopp feels his players are back up and running -- even if their new-found momentum will be interrupted by a 16-day break before their next game at Leicester.

That period could become even longer if the game at the King Power is postponed in the event that Leicester need an FA Cup replay to get past Millwall.

"Now we are back in this race and we have to use this situation," Klopp said.

"Even though we didn't perform fantastically in January, we are still in a really good position in the league.

"Really it's not a shame [about the length of the break until the next league game]. I love football, but I have no problems with a few days where we can now really train.

"The boys will have a little bit of a rest and then we will start a preseason, that's how we understand it.

"We want to use the time, and hopefully everybody can see that it would make sense."

Liverpool are likely to go away for a warm-weather training camp and there will be some rest and recuperation after a hectic month that saw them play 10 matches in 32 days to the end of January.

However, Klopp will also work on how to ensure that his team do not suffer similar problems to the ones they have had in recent weeks to break down sides mainly intent on defending.

"I don't want to find excuses for the not-so-good games or whatever," the manager added.

"I know that it will come up before the Leicester game and everybody will ask: 'What will you do now against a counter-attacking team...deep defending?'

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"It's not that we have no idea about it, but we need the boys in the best shape and then you need to make the right decisions on the pitch.

"It's not always about willing -- you cannot want with all you have, sometimes you have to wait a little bit and then you have to be still in the interesting positions."

Having Mane back to his best after missing most of January at the African Nations Cup will boost Liverpool, with the Senegal international now their leading scorer with 11 goals.

He told Liverpool's official website: "It was not easy in the last few weeks, but it's football and that can happen.

"More important is the reaction -- we did it and we're just going to try to keep going.

"The difference was the quick start. At 2-0 we stayed compact as a team and worked together.

"We're doing our best all the time on the pitch. We're going to take it game by game until the end of the season."
 

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Man City's Pep Guardiola heaps praise on 'special' talent Jack Wilshere

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has described on-loan Bournemouth midfielder Jack Wilshere as a "special" talent ahead of Monday's Premier League clash between the two clubs.

City travel to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth knowing that a win will take them up to second in the Premier League table, eight points behind leaders Chelsea.

Guardiola is looking forward to coming up against Arsenal loanee Wilshere, a player he first encountered in 2011 when his Barcelona side met the Gunners in the Champions League -- and who has been linked with a move to City in the past.

"I remember in Barcelona and that year we played Arsenal he left a massive impression when he came," Guardiola is quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph. "A high, high level. I know the problem with Jack Wilshere was just the injuries.

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"He's lucky to play regularly for one season and he is going to be back to being one of the best midfield players in England by far. He's quality, he's smart and has the quality on the ball. He has a special quality with the ball, dribbling as a holding-midfielder to attack central defenders -- it's not easy to do that.

"He's a little bit like [Mousa] Dembele at Tottenham. They have quality to pass, pass, pass and then immediately destroy the defensive structures. I'm so happy he's back and he's playing regularly. Hopefully on Monday he can play."

Wilshere left Arsenal to join Bournemouth for the season on loan last summer in attempt to build up his fitness and gain regular game time.

There have been some suggestions that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made a mistake in letting him go given his side have been light on central-midfielders in recent weeks.

"That's a good question," Guardiola said when asked why Wilshere made the move. "He would still be playing for Arsenal if he was fit [before]. But I think it was so important for him to be able to play week after week."
 

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Luis Enrique frustrated after Barcelona's 'inferior' display vs. PSG

By Samuel Marsden
from espnfc.com

Luis Enrique was visibly agitated with a reporter following Barcelona's 4-0 humiliation against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, but admitted his team were clearly inferior in defeat.

Two Angel Di Maria goals and one each from Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani left Luis Enrique's side with a mountain to climb in the second leg at the Camp Nou next month.

Speaking to TV3 immediately after the game, the Barca coach said to reporter Jordi Grau: "I don't like your tone and I would have liked the same treatment all the times we have won that I am getting tonight when we haven't."

As the Barca manager started to walk away, Grau concluded by saying: "[Luis Enrique] seems to be very upset, but we can't understand what he means when he talks about our treatment since in victory, almost always, and when the team loses, our treatment toward him has been consistent."

At that point, multiple reports from Spain indicated that Luis Enrique turned back toward Grau and had further words with the reporter.

Luis Enrique has always had a tense relationship with the press since being appointed as Barca's manager, despite the fact he's won eight trophies in two-and-a-half years.

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His complaints on Tuesday are in part related to the fact that he feels there is a different agenda when Barca lose as opposed to when they win, when he believes he's rarely given credit.

However, Luis Enrique had no such complaints about his side's defeat when he appeared in his postgame news conference shortly after.

"It was a disastrous game," he admitted. "It's not difficult to explain. PSG were better than us from the start. They overcame our pressure and they were better with and without the ball. We were clearly inferior.

"I'm responsible for this so don't look for anyone else to blame. The responsibility falls solely on me. These players have given us a lot of joy."

However, the Barca manager refused to rule out an unlikely comeback when the two sides meet again on March 8.

"There's half the tie to go and I won't lose hope, even though it will take a heroic comeback," he added. "Why not dream?"
 

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Arsene Wenger: Arsenal 'collapsed' in thrashing at Bayern Munich

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his team "collapsed" in the second half of their 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday and conceded that the German club "are a better team than us."

Arsenal were level 1-1 at half-time but look headed for a seventh straight exit in the round of 16 after conceding four goals in the second half after captain Laurent Koscielny limped off with an apparent hamstring injury.

And Wenger, whose future was thrust further into doubt following another disappointing display by Arsenal, said Koscielny's injury was the turning point in the game.

"I think the most important in the second half [was] we lost Koscielny very quickly," Wenger told BT Sport. "And suddenly it looked like we collapsed. Mentally, we collapsed, and overall I must say they are a better team than us as well. They played very well in the second half and we dropped our level. And we were a bit unlucky as well, but overall, well done Bayern. They were better than us."

Alexis Sanchez had cancelled out Arjen Robben's opener by converting the rebound from his own missed penalty and Arsenal had two good chances to take the lead before the break, but Manuel Neuer saved shots from Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil.

And after Koscielny went off in the 49th minute, Bayern scored twice in the next seven minutes to take a 3-1 lead. Thiago Alcantara then scored his second of the night in the 63rd minute and substitute Thomas Muller rounded off the rout in the 88th minute after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the ball away outside his own area.

Wenger complained that Bayern's second goal, a header by Robert Lewandowski, came after the referee had initially given a corner to Arsenal but changed his mind, and Neuer took a quick goal kick while another ball was still on the pitch.

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"The referee gives a corner for us. And the ball is on the pitch, they play with the second ball," Wenger said. "Look, I do not look for excuses, I look for an explanation because we were quite solid defensively and after that, of course, it's very difficult. In these kinds of games you need a bit of luck going in your side and you need to be focused for 90 minutes. I felt the third goal was a killer for our players because after that we had no response."

The loss immediately reignited the debate about whether Wenger can stay in charge at the club after this season, with his contract expiring in the summer. Arsenal are 10 points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League, with the FA Cup now their only realistic chance for a trophy.

But when asked if the second half on Wednesday was one of the lowest points of his 21-year Arsenal reign, Wenger did not want to discuss his own emotions.

"How I feel, I don't think that is the most important," he said. "But of course it is disappointing."

Asked if Arsenal require a miracle to progress against Bayern, Wenger said: "Of course. I think we have to recover first and focus on our next game [against Sutton in the FA Cup on Monday]."

Arsenal and Bayern meet again in their round-of-16 second leg at the Emirates Stadium on March 7.
 

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Real Madrid cruise to comfortable first-leg defeat of Napoli

Two goals in five second-half minutes helped Real Madrid come from behind to beat Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Brazilian Casemiro scored a stunning second-half goal to cap a thrilling comeback after Lorenzo Insigne's audacious eighth-minute opener had threatened to pull off an upset for the visitors.

Karim Benzema equalised for the hosts within 10 minutes before Toni Kroos put Real in front and Casemiro lashed a 30-yard volley past Jose Reina to complete an impressive victory.

Keen to avoid the same kind of humiliation endured by La Liga rivals Barcelona -- defeated 4-0 at Paris St Germain on Tuesday -- Real started with plenty of intent, with Benzema bringing a superb save out of Reina in the first minute.

But Insigne had other ideas and he put Napoli in front when he raced onto a perfect threaded through-ball by Marek Hamsik before spotting goalkeeper Keylor Navas way off his line and stroking a low bouncing effort into the net from fully 35 yards.

Napoli's opener stunned the home side into action, with Benzema missing with a weak header after being set up by Cristiano Ronaldo, before the France international grabbed the leveller with 18 minutes on the clock.

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Dani Carvajal dredged up a deep cross from the right byline and Benzema jumped high enough in a crowded box to send a glancing header into the net past a helpless Reina.

The home side should have increased their lead in the 27th minute when Ronaldo was guilty of an uncharacteristic blunder after being sent clear by Luka Modric.

Ronaldo found himself one on one with the advancing Reina but, instead of firing his side into the lead, he inexplicably blazed his chance high over the bar.

Hamsik could have made Real pay five minutes later but he fired just wide with a good chance from an Insigne cross.

In the last act of a richly entertaining first half, it was Real who almost grabbed the advantage when Benzema's shot beat Reina but struck the base of the post, before Raphael Varane flashed a header wide from the resulting corner.

Napoli started the second half on the front foot but Kroos made it 2-1 four minutes after the restart by steering a first-time shot past Reina from Ronaldo's inch-perfect right-wing cross.

And Casemiro lit up the Bernabeu in the 54th minute when he pounced on a half-clearance to drill a magnificent looping volley past Reina from long range.

Ronaldo and Casemiro would both miss further chances for Real before Napoli rallied, and they should have reduced the deficit on 68 minutes when Dries Mertens blazed a simple chance over the bar after being set up by Jose Callejon.

Napoli kept pushing for a potentially crucial second goal and they almost got it in the dying minutes when Callejon bundled the ball home from Insigne's header down, but it was ruled narrowly offside.
 

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Arsene Wenger: I will work next year, whether at Arsenal or elsewhere

By Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent
from espnfc.com

LONDON -- Arsene Wenger insists he will still be managing next season -- whether it is at Arsenal "or somewhere else" -- but refused to shed any more light on whether he will walk away from the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger confirmed on Friday that he will make his decision on whether to stay in the job in March or April, but said Wednesday's 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich would not lead him to retire.

"No matter what happens, I will manage next season, whether it's here or somewhere else. That's absolutely for sure," Wenger told a news conference ahead of Monday's FA Cup game at Sutton United.

"You do not stay somewhere for 20 years to then walk out after a defeat like that [against Bayern]. It is difficult to take, but I have the strength and experience to respond to that."

Wenger, whose contract expires in the summer, has come under heavy pressure after the demoralising defeat in Germany, which likely means they will exit the Champions League in the round of 16 for the seventh straight year.

Wenger had told ZDF in Germany before the Bayern game that he would decide his future in March or April and confirmed that remained the case on Friday, adding: "If I said March or April, it is because I didn't know."

The 67-year-old also said he is in regular contact with majority owner Stan Kroenke and club chief executive Ivan Gazidis, but refused to discuss what they have told him regarding a new contract.

"I do not want to come back on that. At the moment we have other priorities. My personal [future] as I said many times is not important. It's Arsenal Football Club and the future of our team and what we can achieve until the end of the season that is important," he said.

"I think what is important is that the club makes the right decision for the future. I do not work here for 20 years not to care about this club, because I had many opportunities to go somewhere else during that period and I care about this club and I care about its future.

"It is very important that the club is always in safe hands, whether that is me or someone else, which I am sure it will be."

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Wenger also defended his record at the club despite not winning the Premier League since 2004 and the team's annual struggles in Europe. Arsenal have never finished outside the top four in the league under Wenger, and he warned that not everything will be perfect at the club if he leaves.

"Look, as long as you do not win absolutely everything there is always something wrong and you have to accept that because you want always to go to the next level," he said. "On the other hand, in the last 20 years in Europe only three clubs have managed to play every year in the Champions League and that is Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and nobody else.

"That means if everything is not perfect, not all is wrong. Even if I go, Arsenal will not win every single game in the future. That is part of it -- you have to accept that, as much as it hurts to lose games.

"If you look at the history of Arsenal, Arsenal had less Champions League games when I arrived than I had in my career already, and since then we have done a few, so I hope in the future we can win this trophy, or Arsenal can win this trophy, but it is not like when I arrived Arsenal had already won the European Cup five times -- they had never won the European Cup.

"They played maybe 10 games in the history of the club so you have to take into perspective some demands."

Wenger denied reports of a dressing room row after the Bayern Munich defeat.
 

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Leicester City looks set to create another piece of football history by getting relegated from the Premier League the season after winning it! :biggrin:
Seriously, if you get beaten by Millwall in the FA Cup, you probably don't deserve to stay up!
 

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Leicester City looks set to create another piece of football history by getting relegated from the Premier League the season after winning it! :biggrin:
Seriously, if you get beaten by Millwall in the FA Cup, you probably don't deserve to stay up!

Bournemouth and Watford were also beaten by Millwall in the FA Cup. :biggrin:
 

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Non-league Lincoln City knock out Burnley with stunning late winner

Lincoln pulled off one of the great FA Cup upsets as Sean Raggett's late goal secured the National League outfit a 1-0 victory at Premier League side Burnley, and a place in the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.

Raggett scored the dramatic winner with an 89th-minute header that Clarets goalkeeper Tom Heaton pushed away after it had crossed the line, sending the travelling Imps fans into delirium.

The deserved triumph sees Lincoln become the first non-league club to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals since it adopted its current structure in 1925, with QPR, in 1914, having been the last to get to that stage of the competition.

Lincoln's run to this round -- featuring victories over Championship sides Ipswich and Brighton -- had been remarkable as it was. But this really was something special from Danny Cowley's men, not just in that they beat a top-flight side away but particularly given that it was Burnley, who had won seven of their previous eight home matches in all competitions.

A feisty encounter saw the visitors approach the task in superb fashion, as they kept their opponents -- for whom Andre Gray wasted a decent chance and Joey Barton might have been sent off -- at bay before delivering the sucker punch at the end.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche had stressed the importance of not taking anything for granted about the meeting with the National League leaders, and while his starting lineup featured six changes, it was strong, with the likes of Gray, Barton, Michael Keane and Heaton having been retained.

Lincoln, whose first XI showed only two adjustments, made a positive start, as they claimed the ball in midfield in the fifth minute from a Heaton kick, and the subsequent burst forward saw Nathan Arnold tee up a chance for Jack Muldoon, who shot over the bar.

They then showed a combative edge as Alan Power was booked for a rash challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson that led to the Icelander having to come off for George Boyd.

Sam Vokes fired Burnley's first real attempt on goal over in the 19th minute and then sent a header off target, with Gray hitting a low strike straight at Imps goalkeeper Paul Farman between those efforts.

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The hosts were starting to impose themselves, but Lincoln were still able to exert pressure of their own, with Keane and Jon Flanagan making important interventions in the home box.

As the first half came to an end, Barton's volley from the edge of the box was caught by Farman and Scott Arfield lashed over from a similar range.

Seven minutes after the break, Gray passed up a decent opportunity as he got on the end of a free kick but skewed his shot wide.

Tempers then flared as Barton and Matthew Rhead, whose tension had been building all game, were involved in an incident that prompted referee Graham Scott to call both over for a word. Rhead said he had been stamped on by Barton, who had gone to the ground holding his head.

No cards were produced on that occasion, but moments later Barton was booked following another flashpoint.

After Boyd brought down Alex Woodyard, Terry Hawkridge arrived on the scene and took a hand in the face from Barton before being shoved over by Flanagan.

Graham deemed Barton to be deserving of a yellow card, while Flanagan escaped any action.

Lincoln were indebted to Farman in the 80th minute as Gray scuffed another shot, the ball moved to Ashley Westwood and his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.

They then left Turf Moor stunned in the dying moments as Luke Waterfall's header to the back post was met by Raggett, who nodded in from close range.
 

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Hahaha LOL LOL LOL.................. :biggrin:

Former Nottingham Forest keeper denies stealing PENGUIN from German zoo

from yahoo news

1eb6140566c28814a86da4f3f3c07a9b


Globetrotting goalie and former Nottingham Forest star Lutz Pfannenstiel has claimed that he is not the culprit behind the theft of a penguin.

The extraordinary crime - one that Pfannenstiel has previous for - was reported by the ​Sun, with the paper stating that police in Germany had contacted the 43-year-old over his apparent involvement in stealing the animal from a park in Mannheim.

Pfannenstiel remarkably committed a similar crime years ago during his time with Dunedin in New Zealand's football league. However, he stated that he was not the man that the authorities were looking for on this occasion, and pleaded for the actual thieves to return the bird to its home.

The Hoffenheim scout said: “The police phoned me about a stolen penguin. They had received an anonymous tip-off that I might be involved.

“But it wasn’t me. I urge the thief to return the penguin, as this is no joke. I know it well from the sins of my youth.

“In 2003 I took a penguin home from its colony and put it in my bathtub. But I returned it inside two days after my club chairman explained penguins were a protected species. Besides, my housemates were not delighted, as it stank like a fish factory. I did not steal it – I just borrowed it.”

The 43-year-old enjoyed a nomadic career during his playing days, playing on six continents for clubs like Forest, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Orlando Pirates and FC Bad Kotzking during his globetrotting 20 year playing career.

Pfannenstiel, who had initially admitted to stealing the penguin in his autobiography 'The Unstoppable Keeper', also coached an Antartic XI in 2010, spent over 100 days in jail in Singapore for match fixing allegations and was declared dead in December 2002 after he stopped breathing on three occasions during a Northern Premier League match between Bradford Park Avenue and Harrogate Town.

A remarkable story for a remarkable man, it would seem.
 

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Arsenal's Arsene Wenger concerned about Sutton United's plastic pitch

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is worried the artificial pitch at Sutton United's home ground could cause problems for his players when they visit the fifth-tier side in the FA Cup on Monday.

Sutton play on a 3G surface at their 5,000-capacity Gander Green Lane in South London, which will be an unfamiliar experience for the Premier League club.

Arsenal enter the fifth-round tie as massive favourites and cannot afford another disappointment after their 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

But when asked what could go wrong for the Gunners against a non-league side, Wenger said: "First of all the pitch. Secondly their enthusiasm. Thirdly that we are not ready mentally for a big fight and think subconsciously that it doesn't matter."

Wenger had his team train indoors on their own artificial pitch on Friday at London Colney, and said they cannot use the unusual surface as an excuse.

"Look, ideally we would like to play on a normal pitch. Competition is as well to deal with what you face, and we'll face an unusual pitch and we'll have to deal with it," he said.

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"We practice inside [on Friday] because we have an artificial pitch. It's not the same as it's a dry pitch, and at Sutton I've heard that's a wet pitch, they water it before the game. So it will be much quicker than what we have."

Wenger has pledged to field "a normal" team for the game, but has opted against using forward Danny Welbeck, who scored twice in the previous round at Southampton in his first start of the season.

Welbeck has only recently recovered from a serious knee injury and played for Arsenal's under-23s in a 2-1 loss to Leicester on Sunday.

The England international confirmed after the match that he would be skipping Monday's tie as the artificial pitch could increase the risk of him having a setback.

Wenger said the surface will have an effect both on players' bodies and the ball.

"The weight on the joints is stronger, you cannot glide, you have to block every time. So it makes the football a bit different," he said. "Because the ball comes to you and suddenly accelerates and doesn't slow down like in a normal game. So you have to get used to it and deal with the speed."
 

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Arsene Wenger confirms bottle thrown; Sutton boss Paul Doswell slams 'idiots'

Sutton United manager Paul Doswell hit out at the spectators who caused trouble at the end of Monday's game as Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed a bottle was thrown.

Arsenal won 2-0 at National League side Sutton in the FA Cup fifth round but there were some unfortunate incidents late on, with a bottle thrown in Wenger's direction and police having to intervene as many flooded on to the pitch at the final whistle.

Wenger confirmed the bottle incident after the match, saying: "I don't know if it was at me or someone else or the referee but there was a bottle thrown, yes."

Sutton have an average attendance of 1,561 but sold out their full 5,013 capacity at Gander Green Lane on Monday, and Doswell said the trouble would not have been caused by regular followers of his team.

He said the bottle incident "would not be a Sutton fan" and also criticised those who caused trouble when they entered the pitch after the match, along with the man who ran onto the field while the game was ongoing.

"It disappointed me at the end. They don't support Sutton. You know that and I know that. Absolute idiots," he said. "I totally get it. Unfortunately that's the world we live in. I saw a few idiots shouting and screaming at Wenger and Arsenal players. They've got to be protected from those type of people.

"I saw some odd stuff on Twitter, what people are going to do when they got here. You saw the idiot run on the pitch [pitch-invader during the game] -- that was the big moment of his life. I don't blame them. It's way out of anything I can understand or would even want to understand. I wouldn't want that if you gave me £1 million."

He added: "They [the players] couldn't get the round of applause they deserved. It was a real shame people came on the pitch and took that away from them."

Doswell, who has been Sutton's manager since 2008 and does not take a salary, did say that the club would earn "more than £1m" from the cup run and that Arsenal had made a generous contribution.

"Arsenal have been superb and we think they will help us with a classroom," said Doswell, whose club reportedly pay £40,000 a year in salary to 20 of their squad of part-timers. "They promised us £50,000 and that will buy us two classrooms, an amazing gesture, and we are very thankful."

He also praised Wenger, saying: "He was an absolute gent. He gave me a very nice smile and a handshake."

Doswell, whose property development company sponsors Sutton, did raise his eyebrow at the treatment afforded to players at the elite level of the game.

"Arsenal walked in with bodyguards," he said. "My lads were driving round their bodyguards to get out. They took over the tunnel. We didn't even get to say 'thank you' to our supporters at the end.

"It's a different world, can't say any more than that. My lot are going to work tomorrow. They [Arsenal] are movie stars now -- not allowed to speak to them, can't get near them. It's a different world from when I watched first division football when I was growing up, 14 or 15. Bizarre, to be honest, seeing James Bond security around us. Felt quite safe. A very strange way that football's gone."

Wenger has said he did not enjoy the game on Sutton's plastic pitch but did enjoy the experience of visiting Gander Green Lane.

"I come from a club that is smaller than that so it reminds me of my childhood," Wenger, who played at amateur level in France, said. "The changing rooms for me were fantastic -- the closer you are, the more united you are when you go out there. When you are too far from each other in the dressing room with everybody having a chair, it is not so good. I prefer that -- much more together."
 

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Man City's chance to overturn fan distrust of the Champions League

By Mark Ogden, Senior Football Writer
espnfc.com

To suggest that Manchester City and their supporters have a love-hate relationship with the Champions League would perhaps be pushing it too far. Quite simply, there is precious little love for the competition in the blue half of Manchester and it will take more than the visit of AS Monaco on Tuesday to change that.

Theirs is a multi-layered antipathy towards the Champions League and UEFA, which has developed into outright hostility at times. Even the pleading of manager Pep Guardiola earlier this season for a line to be drawn under previous grievances has so far failed to spark a change in the mindset of those who pay to watch from the Etihad Stadium stands.

"I was not here, I don't know what happened, but they must forget what happened in the past," Guardiola said last September, after the City supporters had booed the Champions League anthem prior to the Group C victory at home to Borussia Monchengladbach. "What happened in the past is the past: forget about it. Our fans have to know we need them in the Champions League.

"In the Premier League, everyone comes here, but in the Champions League, they don't. We need them to compete against the best teams in the world. We cannot make something good in the Champions League, this year or next year, without them."

Yet Guardiola, a two-time Champions League winner, had misjudged his audience. Partly, perhaps, because of his Barcelona and Bayern Munich past, he is undoubtedly a part of the European establishment that many City supporters believe have made the club's life so difficult in the competition since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan provided the platform for them to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 2011.

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City have been a Champions League fixture ever since, but while supporters of Manchester United and Liverpool yearn for the nights when their teams once again take on the likes of Real Madrid, Barca and Bayern -- all regular visitors to the Etihad since 2011 -- such fixtures are greeted with indifference and, at times, anger by City fans.

Sir Alex Ferguson once dismissed City as a "small club with a small mentality" after the unveiling of their provocative "Welcome to Manchester" billboard, which came in the wake of Carlos Tevez's controversial cross-town move in 2009. Some fans of a red persuasion would argue that City's suspicion of UEFA and the supporters' view of the Champions League supports Ferguson's claim, but that would be missing the point. Many City fans believe that their club has been harshly treated by UEFA as their supporters continue to rail against the perceived imbalanced treatment handed out by European football's governing body.

There have been heavy sanctions for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations (a £49 million fine and squad reduction), charges for booing the anthem, punishment for entering the field of play late -- City were fined £24,735 in April 2012 for entering the field of play a minute late for the second-half of their Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon -- and a seemingly softer approach to incidents of racism against the club's players.

For example, shortly before receiving their hefty penalty against Sporting, City's opponents from the previous round, FC Porto, were fined around £8,000 less (the fine was a paltry £16,700) after Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli were subjected to racist abuse in Estadio do Dragao.

City were again exasperated and bemused in October 2014 when, after being ordered to play their Champions League group-stage fixture behind closed doors at the Khimki Arena as a result of racist chanting, CSKA Moscow allowed over 600 supporters to watch from the stands during a 2-2 draw against Manuel Pellegrini's City.

"Why the hell do we not have any fans here?" asked an angry City captain, Vincent Kompany, after the game. "What have our fans done wrong? There's no fairness in it."

That is the backdrop to City's uneasy relationship with the competition, a bitterness further fuelled by contentious refereeing decisions and group seedings over the years, but will it change? With Ligue 1 leaders Monaco due in town for the round of 16 first-leg tie, will Guardiola's plea be heeded by the supporters? Or will they whistle and jeer once again and vote with their feet, choosing to stay home when Leonardo Jardim's team arrive?

"The problems of the past are in the past," Francis Lee, the former City player and chairman, told ESPN FC. "It is time for a positive atmosphere. The fans should embrace the Champions League and get used to being in it because like it or not, Manchester City are now one of the top clubs in the world and they will be competing in it for years to come.

"Anyone who boos the anthem is being childish, in my opinion. As a player, there is nothing better than playing in a fantastic, electric atmosphere with the feel of a big occasion and that is what the team needs in the Champions League."

Lee's view echoes those of Guardiola and senior figures within the club but among the supporters, the sense of injustice still burns.

"The booing is a result of the FFP punishment and how UEFA dealt with the racism towards our players," claimed Phil Harman, a City season ticket holder of more than 20 years. "Also, many of our older fans haven't bought into the Champions League.

"Domestic success still feels more important after so long without any silverware. Also, a lot of City supporters see David Gill [former United chief executive] on the UEFA committee and wonder why the seeding system is designed to help the old elite rather than clubs like City."

With neighbours United classed as European royalty having first played in Europe in the mid-1950s before suffering the tragedy of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, which saw 23 killed (including eight players), there remains a sense of City regarding themselves as outsiders among the elite.

City's success in recent years, in contrast to United's post-Ferguson decline, has done little to alter that perception but the club is making strenuous efforts to entice their supporters through the door on Champions League nights. Against Monaco, under-16s can watch for just £7.50 while adult tickets start at £30: admission prices that reflect the largely working-class, low income demographic of the City fan base.

But old grievances die hard.

"We still feel like outsiders," claimed Mark Gardner, a season-ticket holder since 1989. "UEFA just want to look after the big clubs and keep the status quo. The elite don't want clubs like Manchester City coming along to threaten their success and that has been reflected in the decisions that have gone against us, on and off the pitch.

"We never get anything against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern or Barcelona but their players surround officials, they hound them in packs, yet nothing ever happens.

"Like many City fans, I don't enjoy the Champions League. I don't enjoy the football and I don't enjoy the diving and the other nonsense that goes on in the competition. I only go along in the hope that we win it. If we do, I'll have seen it all as a City fan: I think I will then retire and never go to another Champions League game!"

Guardiola's appointment as manager, with former Barcelona vice-president Ferran Soriano working alongside him as chief executive, has given City a fast-track route to acceptance within the European elite and their ongoing presence will ensure previously closed doors are opened to the club. But ultimately, what happens on the pitch will define City's relationship with the Champions League and Guardiola insists that everybody at the club should relish the opportunity to face Monaco on Tuesday.

"I think of the passion and how beautiful it is to be here again," Guardiola said. "To be here is not easy. A lot of clubs, big clubs, are not here, so we are lucky guys. This club knows that perfectly, better than anyone else. The recent history is good but for a long period of history, Manchester City have not been here.

"We are here now, so I want the players to enjoy the moment."
 
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