Thomas Ince: From Reject to Star

When young Thomas Ince saw that he wasn't going to get any chances of breaking into the Liverpool side, he decided to leave to Blackpool, a team that was rebuilding for life in the Championship. After being relegated after struggling in their debut season in the Premier League, Blackpool ear-marked Thomas Ince as one of their top signings for the next season. After getting the English U-21 star on a mere £325,000 compensation deal from the Mereysiders, a young and ambitious Ince started impressing in the second tier of the English league.

As the player scored 25 goals in his two exciting seasons with Blackpool, he also helped his team get into the play-off final at Wembley, in which he scored the equalizer, only to lose to West Ham in overtime. This time, Blackpool were more determined to get back into the Premier League. After with holding pressure from Liverpool exactly one year after they sold the player, Blackpool continued to mount their promotion challenge. After an exhausting season, Blackpool narrowly missed on the play-off spots, but had Thomas Ince shine for a consecutive season.

When Liverpool agreed on the compensation fee of the young player, they inserted a 35% clause in the deal, in which, if Blackpool decided to sell the player, Liverpool would receive a 35% profit. However, when Liverpool tried to transfer the player back to his first team, three times in four windows, they were unable to do so, after failing to agree with a fee with the club numerous times. Even after the father of the player, Paul Ince joined the club as the manager, he specifically asked his own son to stay at the club, or wait for his long anticipated move to Liverpool. That is what Thomas Ince surely showed during this transfer window, as he rejected the contract offer from Cardiff during last month. Although he claimed that he didn't want to move his family and newborn daughter from the coast to south Wales, he also seems to be expecting the move back where his father and perhaps him, will play regularly.

As Brendan Rodgers keeps rebuilding his team to mount for a Champions League spot, the transfer of Thomas Ince would be welcomed, by both the staff at Anfield and the fans, who are in the search for a home-grown player and future captain, like Gerrard was. With Liverpool reinforcing mainly on their attack, Thomas Ince could be the replacement for Downing, who departed for West Ham United this summer. With Liverpool trying to imitate a team like Bayern Munich and Juventus, with high class players to rotate with, Ince could be the answer for Liverpool's search for someone to rotate with. Whether both clubs can agree on a fee for the player, it'd be nice to see Thomas Ince wearing the Liverpool shirt anytime soon.

If the player decides to leave for Liverpool, Blackpool will find it hard to replace their star player, as most goals and assists have come off from him during the past two season. To add to that, with the Championship already started, it will add the difficulty of finding a suitable replacement, as most clubs are reluctant to sell so late into the transfer window without having a replacement signed. However, in good faith, Liverpool might loan one of their youngsters to Blackpool in order to fill in the shoes of the departed Ince.

If Blackpool finally decide to sell Ince to Liverpool, something that is certain, is that Ince is a star that surely will shine for a third and consecutive season, even if its at his young age. Thomas Ince is surely an English talent, that sadly, wasn't given a chance in Liverpool, but if he does return, he will want to prove both the club and the fans that he shouldn't have been let go in the first place.

Below, you will be able to see the skills of the young English player.

Is Goal Line Technology Needed Throughout The World?

Over the years, goal line technology has been deeply needed in top competitions throughoutthe world. Most notably in South Africa's World Cup in 2010, England had fired a goal that had crossed the line, yet it was not counted. Throughout the years, balls that had crossed the line in important fixtures or in derbies added to the much heated discussion. This year however, Fifa have decided to add the Goal Line Technology into the world's best league, the Premier League. Below, you can watch some of the tests FIFA has done in different situations

With all 20 stadiums of England's top tier installed with the required assets, this season will be a trial for FIFA to have an eye whether they will require every league in the world to have the goal line technology. The Premier League having numerous ocassions when the ball crossed the line and the goal not being given, it will be a hell of a ride, as referees will also have a say whether the goal stands. A company that will be profitable with this will be HawkEye, as they are the company that installed all of the goal line technology throughout the 20 stadiums of the clubs of the Premier League.

Whether people agree or disagree, the goal line technology will perhaps be an asset that will help the type of football we play today.

Reviewing Aaron Ramsey vs Fenerbahce

As Arsenal stepped out to the football field to play the Champions League Qualifiers against Fenerbahce in Turkey, they knew that they had to play well and get themselves a nice and comfortable lead to go with in London. That is what Arsenal did today, impressing teams all over Europe by tearing last year's Europa League Semi finalists Fenerbahce away from home. But, one player that showed his talent today, was Aaron Ramsey, even picking up the MoTM award.

The young Welsh player has been plagued by injuries, even at his young age. However, the player certainly proved something today, that he was the player Arsenal looked when they brought him from his native country. Making runs from up and down the pitch, it can safely be said that Ramsey bossed the midfield. Many people call him a "Running Machine" as he has the stamina and cardio rate that would impress anyone. But, the young player has been criticized recently because of his sloppy matches he has had in the Arsenal shirt, but this time, he did prove to be a player that can definitely break through the Arsenal squad.

The player was the main man in Arsene Weneger's commanding ship, as Spanish international Santi Cazorla was absent. However, Wenger could've called up Tomas Rosicky, an old, yet reliable playmaker who was work wonders for the French manager. But, he decided to call up Ramsey to the spotlight and give him a chance. The player quickly repaid his boss's faith as he scored an exquisite solo goal that will definitely make him be on the first team line up next Saturday on the Premier League. Another impressive action that the player did was play smart and accurate passes, even passing the ball to one of the players that assisted.

Mostly used as a player that creates from the centre of the midfield, that's what was expected of Ramsey to do in this match, and he duly delivered. As a player that creates chances, the player added a big plus to his performance by catching several intense, yet precise tackles on the opposition to stop their plays of their own.

So, after watching Arsenal and Ramsey excelled during their Champions League Qualifier, the Welsh player deserves my respects, earning a 10/10 experience, as I can also see the former Cardiff City player stay at Arsenal and become a legend if he continues to impress like this.

How To Make Your Own Fantasy Football Team

Have you ever wanted to have your own Barclay's Premier League Fantasy Football League, but didn't understand it? Well, today, you'll have the opportunity to learn the rules and how to make the best of the money available for your team.

The rules of the Fantasy Football League are simple.

http://fantasy.premierleague.com/

Squad Size

• To join the game select a fantasy football squad of 15 players, consisting of:
  • 2 Goalkeepers
  • 5 Defenders
  • 5 Midfielders
  • 3 Forwards

  Players per team

  You can select up to 3 players from a single Barclays Premier League team.

1.  Arming a Fantasy Football League is a tough challenge, so I will lead you forward. First, you will need a goalkeeper that is consistent, yet cheap. Good goalkeepers are hard to find, and cheaper ones are even harder, so I will give you some options. Some of the options that come to mind, are players such as Simon Mignolet, David De Gea, Petr Cech, Hugo Lloris and finally Joe Hart. All of this players will cost big bucks, but one that is under-rated and good is Tim Krul.

2. One of the key things of your team will be your defence, mostly your centre-backs. The centre-back has an important role to hold off defenders, but since this is a Fantasy Football League, you will need to find yet again, the players who play at the most consistent level. Since you have only 5 defenders to sign, I suggest signing three centre-backs, as injuries are very common to defenders, specifically, centre-backs. The defenders that play at the most consistent level last season were Laurent Koscielny, Daniel Agger and David Luiz. All of these players are extremely expensive, though they provide the quality and consistency any team would want to have in their ranks. If you are looking to the cheaper options however, I would recommend either Ashley Williams or Ron Vlaar, who excelled last season at Swansea and Aston Villa respectively.

3. Football would be a different game if we didn't have full-backs, as they provide cover and attack as well. Consistent players and quality must go hand by hand in a Fantasy Football League, so you need someone who is as equally good in attack and defense. A player I would highly recommend you get is Leighton Baines. Ever since he moved to Everton, he has established himself as the best left-back in the league. However, if you want a player a bit lower in quality, I would look into Jose Enrique who wears the colours of Liverpool. The right-back role is practically the same. Some options are Angel Rangel, Rafael, Glen Johnson and Pablo Zabaleta.

4. A creating midfielder like Demebele, Gerrard or Coutinho. However, a player that can bring something new to the table is Japanese player Shinji Kagawa. This must be a requirement, as a playmaker can make a spark into a full fire.

5. A holding midfielder that is consistent is key, as it can hold off incoming counter-attacks. They also add the strength any team needs, as it is a necessity. Players like Mohamed Diame, Jack Cork and Chieck Tiote are especially cheap, and relatively unknown. Another player that could be handy is Moussa Sissoko that can play as an attacking midfielder, or a box-to-box midfielder.

6. Left and right midfielders are key, so you will definitely want to spend the money well. I can give you the names of midfielders such like Adam Lallana, Hatem Ben Arfa, Oxlade Chamberlain and Theo Walcott can definitely do the damage to other clubs.

7. The last and final thing you need is your own forward line. If you decide to boast players like Christian Benteke, Papiss Cisse or Robin Van Persie, you will need to cut in your other areas. I would recommend a high class player like Van Persie and someone like Rickie Lambert or Iago Aspas.

8. Enjoy and keep up to update with your team! Comment bellow to tell me who would you pick!

Angelo Ogbonna: The Italian Stallion

Angelo Ogbonna, who is seen as a player who can exceed Chiellini at Juventus, currently plys his trade at their Juve cross-city rivals, Torino. The player has been constantly linked with both AC Milan and Juventus, but it seems that their rivals have secured his signature. With over 2 years of being linked to the clubs above, the player will now be using the black and white shirt next season. The left foot Italian centre-back, who was bought for a mere €3000 by Torino earlier in his youth, will complete his ‘dream’ move to Juventus, who are looking for a player to replace Barzagli, who currently is 32 years old. But, the question remains, what makes Ogbonna so special?

Once his parents moved with Angelo to Italy from Nigeria in 1983, searching for a better life, they saw young Angelo quickly developing. He possessed a tall stature, a fantastic amount of strength and a wicked left foot which was quickly recognized by a Torino staff member, Antonio Comi. After spending a few years at ‘La Granata’s’ youth academy, Crotone and Torino agreed to loan the player, in which the player’s determination to improve his game, improved with a huge injection of first team football. With the impressive performances at Crotone, the player returned to Torino to play second string to Natali and Di Loreto. However, after his club’s relegation to Serie B, he earned his first-team place. Justifying his place at Torino ever since, the player even got his first Italy cap, while his team play still played at Italy’s second division, the Serie B. With Torino’s recent promotion to the Serie A, Ogbonna was constantly linked with top Premier League clubs and Serie A top teams. However, Ogbonna did something that nobody thought he would do. He signed an extension in February of last year until 2016 and vowed to stay ‘at least’ until the summer of 2013. Fast forwarding to the summer transfer window of 2013, reports in Italy have reported that Juventus will announce the signing today, or on Tuesday.

With a player of Ogbonna’s quality leaving Torino, who was their best player, how will they re-invest the transfer money? Their are various reports that AC Milan youngster, Saponara, who is ‘eager’ to leave the Milan side after a pair of appearances. Whether the player will join permanently, on loan or on an co-ownership deal, remains unknown. Another target for Torino is Marco Capuano, who raised some eyebrows along with Pescara team-mate Mattia Perin during the last season of the Serie A. With the recent relegation of the ‘Delfini’ and key players like Perin and Weiss already have left the club and a defender like Capuano on the rise, it seems that Torino will purchase the player, on a request from the player. But Torino manager, Giampero Ventura has confirmed that they will purchase players of ‘the same quality of Ogbonna’. To add to that, the club’s chairman has said that a ‘suitable’ replacement will be found and that the money will be re-invested into the staff, to find more players like Ogbonna. On the other hand, Juventus will use Ogbonna to the maximum, as they will continue to participate in at least two major competitions and with the constant injuries of Chiellini, Ogbonna will be an excellent replacement or heir to Italy’s best defender.

With Ogbonna leaving for Torino’s city and worst rivals, Juventus, many fans will be angered, as Ogbonna has used the captain’s armband the previous season in Torino’s mid-table finish. Since Ogbonna is seen as one of Italy’s major defensive talents, it seems that he can improve and excel at Juventus, who seem to continue and keep a legacy in Italy. But, the question remains, will Ogbonna be a Juventus flop, or become a great in the black and white shirt?

Top 10 Stadiums Around The World

10. Since the opening of the Estadio Azteca in Mexico, it has hosted numerous competitions, from local finals, and the biggest competition of the world, the World Cup. The stadium is currently in use from local club, America. The stadium is also hosts the national side when they play at home. The biggest Mexican stadium holds up to 105,064 fans.

 

9. The Nouve rich Monaco currently plays in the Stade Louis II, which lies inside their city, Monaco. The stadium has held numerous European Super Cups, as well as awarding ceremony of UEFA. To add to the illustrious list, they have also held Champions League finals. Currently, the stadium is used by AS Monaco, who seem to fill their stadium every match with the new arrivals of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho.

  

8. The next stadium that earns their spot in the list is Liverpool's stadium, Anfield. The stadium was officially opened their gates in 1884, and Liverpool played their first league game 7 years later. Renovations throughout the years, have added to Anfield's capacity, now boasting an impressive, 45,726 fans. The stadium impressively, stands as one of the best stadiums in the United Kingdom and has been labelled as a must go place if you ever hit the shores of Liverpool.

7. Up next, is the famous Argentinian stadium is commonly called La Bombonera. It's real name however is Estadio Alberto J. Armando. The official date of the openings of the gates of the stadium opened in 1940 and the highest attendance match was in the same year. Currently, it can hold up to 49,000 people, but in the record attendance, an extra 8,395 fans squeezed into the stadium, making it 57,395 fans as their record attendance.

6. To claim the sixth spot in this article, it goes to Juventus's stadium called the Juventus Stadium. Recently finished two years ago, the stadium's ticket sales have soared the roof, literally. The stadium is currently the best one that resides in Italy, as it has officially surpassed the famous Guisseppe Meazza, where AC Milan and Inter Milan play. The stadium is located in Turin, Italy and Juventus is the owner of the stadium, not like other Serie A clubs who pay rent to play in their respective stadiums. It can hold up to 41,000 people.

5. In the lower top half of our list, Barcelona's iconic stadium, Nou Camp takes the place. Hosting uncountable finals, the stadium has had three renovations ever since they opened it in 1957. The most recent was in 2006, as the Catalan club were improving and expanding their stadium. The iconic stadium can hold up to 99,413 fans, making it one of the biggest stadiums in the globe.

4. On our final four, the next place in the top 10 list goes to Manchester United's legendary ground, Old Trafford. Correctly named the Theatre of Dreams, great goals and even better saves have been made there. The original cost of the stadium cost 90,000, which now is a total bargain. The maximum capacity of Old Trafford is a round 80,000 people. The stadium has held from as low as youth players to Ballon D'Or Winners.

3. Making way into our third place finish, it has been labelled the 'best' stadium of Europe. Of course, I am speaking of the legendary Santiago Bernabeu. Originally made for former club president and player Santiago Bernabeu, it has left a legacy for Santiago. The stadium has a 85,854 seating capacity. It has hosted the World Cup final of 1982, the Champions League final of 57', 69', 80' and more recently 2010. Boasting a record of holding 35 Copa del Rey finals, the Santiago Bernabeu is perhaps the best stadium in Europe that has been built in the 1900's. 

2. The runner-up to the best stadium prize is England's national team's home. Wembley. Recently hosting the 2013 Champions League Final between the two German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, it has exceeded it's expectations. Since it's demolition of the old Wembley in 2002, it took an impressive 5 years to build the new Wembley, now boasting a 90,000 capacity. It has been named as one of the greatest stadiums to have been ever built, but the best is about to be presented.

1. Our winner of the best stadium in the world is the Rio Maracana, that lies in Rio, Brazil. The Brazilian stadium has been around for an exact 64 years, as the opening day of the 1950 World Cup. However, with the announcement of Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup, they have renovated the Maracana, who has a capacity of 79,000. The stadium has already hosted the Conferedations Cup of 2013, which Brazil won.

Gary Medel: The Chilean Gattuso

As for today, Gary Medel, known to many as ‘El Pitbull’, has become a Cardiff City player. After an outstanding performance against Moyes’ boys, the player flew to Cardiff for a medical, after Malky Mackay’s club agreed a fee with Sevilla. With Cardiff having already signed Cornelius and Caulker, they might have completed their spree with the signing of Medel.

However, the new addition to Cardiff was surely destined for greater things, as he wore the shirts of two of the biggest sides in South America, Universidad Catolica and Boca Juniors, from Chile and Argentina respectively. Ever since he joined the youth ranks of the ‘U’ Catolica, he was given the nickname the ‘Chilean Gattuso’. Why would one suppose that? His short temper, much like Gattuso’s style. But, as his own and Gattuso’s style, he could sacrifice himself for the team, getting himself sent off numerous times for his side.

After a successful U-20 World Cup with Chile’s ‘La Rojita’ in which they achieved a third place medal, he played a prominent part for the Universidad Catolica for the following season. With his dazzling performances in South America’s biggest competition, the Copa Libertadores, Boca signed Medel on a one-year loan, with the option of making the deal permanent. Fast forwarding two years in a Boca shirt, he finally moved to the hot city of Sevilla in January and debuted against rivals Racing, in which he played the whole 90 minutes. A month later, he played what is possibly his best game in the Sevilla shirt, against Barcelona in which the match ended in a draw after Medel was capable of shutting down Messi.

One of the many things that a team in the Premier League need is a strong box-to-box midfielder that can fight off the counter attacks or win some important balls. With Gary Medel, that’s what Malky Mackay has been delivered. After failing to get Etienne Capoue, who now seems to be joining Tottenham, Mackay might have even gotten a better player. With Medel, he is capable of distributing the ball and at the same time, fight for the ball. To add to that, the Chilean international can drop deeper and act as an extra barrier to Cardiff’s defense, something that they might use against bigger clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. Another plus to Gary Medel is that he is willing to give anything for his team, as he was given a red card in Chile’s 2010 World Cup campaign against South Africa, perhaps saving a goal against his side.

But, another question remains, what will Sevilla do? Gary Medel is the fourth high-profile departure the team has had, with both Jesus Navas and Negredo joining Manchester City, and Jose Campaña joining Crystal Palace. Now, Sevilla will probably use the money to clear some debts they have, and keep Geoffrey Kondogbia who will probably now play in Medel’s role he had in Sevilla’s first team. However, with Real Madrid interested in the French player, it will be a challenge to keep the player.

One thing is certain for the Welsh club, Gary Medel will be a star.

Erik Lamela: The Gem Inside Serie A

           At 12 years old, a young Argentinian kid had the chance to move to one of Europe’s finest, Barcelona. After making a live stream of choosing River Plate, now his former club, over Barcelona, the young child already showed huge signs of loyalty. This player currently wears the orange colors of Rome’s more decorated team, Roma. With the player being heavily linked with a team that will be looking to challenge for the title in the Premier League, Tottenham, he will prove a loss for both Roma and the Serie A.

Taking back to the years of young Erik’s youth career, he showed what kind of players River produced . At a young age, he showed great signs of a ferocious and wild left foot, much like Messi did. To add to that, one of the things he is shares with the Argentina captain is his ability to slot the ball into the low post. Showing all those skills during his youth, he was praised for his famous chip in goal, which ultimately would lead him into promotion to the senior side of River. Once into the promotion of the young prodigy, he played a sole season at River’s senior side, making 34 appearances and scoring six goals.That season in particular, River were relegated for the first time in the clubs history.
After River Plate intended to slash the clubs wage bill and earn the money that the TV rights had in Argentina’s top division, they decided to cash in on two of the clubs brightest prospects, Erik Lamela and Lucas Ocampos to Roma and nouve rich, AS Monaco respectively. While Lamela’s departure brought more money than Ocampos, the clubs fans protested against the clubs president, Daniel Passarella after selling Lamela, who had become a club favorite in just one season.

At the premature age of 19, he completed his move to Italy’s capital, Rome. He would go on and have a below par debut season, because of Luis Enrique’s different style of play. However, when Roma appointed Zdenek Zeman in this past season, he played his best season in his short career, scoring 15 goals in 33 appearances, one short of Roma’s goal scorer of the season, Pablo Osvaldo. In Lamela’s best season, his best performances came during the first half of the season, particularly during October and early November, scoring 7 goals in 6 appearances. Without Lamela, Roma will have it hard to find or replace a player like him, but with securing the talented and unknown Gianluca Caprari during the first weeks of July, they already have a player to either replace Lamela or alternate him if the Argentinian decides to stay.

Should Lamela move to Spurs, he could be a worthy addition to André Villa Boas side. Whether Bale will move to Real Madrid, the two players in the same team could prove to be a deadly counter-attack for their opposition. Even if the unlikely Bale to Real Madrid move happens, he too can be the replacement of the Welsh player. With Villa Boas wanting to make Spurs a team that challenges for the title, the signing of Lamela could be the final intention and signing of Daniel Levy and Villa Boas that they can surely challenge and surpass some teams that have finished in the top four.

One of the major things that Lamela is missing is international experience, both for his club and country. However, the Argentinian player has been unlucky for international experience, as Roma are a project that has just begun, and surely will get to play next season, whether its for Spurs or Roma. Next is the problem with the national team. Alejandro Sabella is a coach, who honestly, has had his eyes on a more local team. If Lamela gets more activity with Argentina, he will surely gain the needed experience and will up his game.

With Tottenham heavily linked to the former River Plate player, it will surely be another loss for Italy’s top league, Serie A, but a gain to whichever club he goes to, and any league he features. For a young player who took a jump of faith into unknown waters, he has reaped success for himself and has been ringing his name to Europe’s biggest clubs, Real Madrid, Manchester United and finally, Tottenham Hotspur.

Welcome to Footie Network

Hello, and welcome to Footie Network, where you will witness the uprise and coming of this blog about football or soccer, as you like it. In this blog, you will have the opportunites to read articles, hear podcasts and watch videos. Watching football and playing it ever since I was 7, I will try to bring the best aspect for you, the reader. I am fan of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Boca Juniors and local Bolivian club Oriente Petrolero. Stay tuned for the next update for this blog, whether it comes as a future article, or a podcast.