Talk of a potential attempt from Liverpool to bring Peter Crouch back to Anfield seems strange at best. It’s understandable that Roy Hodgson wants another striker to bolster his attacking options, but for Tottenham, Harry Redknapp and Crouch himself, the move would be a confusing one.

While it is obvious Fernando Torres will again be Liverpool’s first choice striker, the rest of Hodgson’s firepower is either, still unproven – David N’gog and Dani Pacheco – or not out-and-out forwards i.e. Gerrard, Cole and Jovanovic. Liverpool played their best football last season when Steven Gerrard played just behind Torres, but the signings of Jovanovic, and Cole in particular, pose the question of how Hodgson will marry the various combinations together; with that amount of quality attacking midfielders it seems plausible to play them around a central striker. This doesn’t change the fact however, that if Liverpool want to compete for the title, there needs to be at least one other quality striker to ease the load off the shoulders of their Spanish talisman.

Having played for eight clubs already in his career, there is no real suggestion that Peter Crouch has any great affiliation with a particular team. This is not to say he is un-loyal, but that he tends to play well when he gets games at smaller clubs before earning big moves.  It then fails to work out and he is forced to move on to get regular football again: the journey from Southampton to Liverpool, and then to Portsmouth and now Spurs highlights this trend, but it is hard to see it continuing right now. Spurs may not be on the scale of Man Utd or Liverpool, but they are still a major club and one that now has Champions League football to boot. As well as this, Crouch is certain to get a lot of games at White Hart Lane this season, as his partnership with Jermaine Defoe appears to still be Redknapp’s first choice (although it can be hard to tell at times). At Liverpool, Crouch didn’t get the amount of games he thought he deserved under Rafa Benitez, and whether Roy Hodgson would give him 40 starts a season is unclear. Also, for Redknapp, why would he want to sell Crouch this close to Spurs’ biggest season in recent memory?

There may be questions over the Tottenham strikers: both Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko have been linked with endless moves away from North London over the last year, and Spurs have joined the ever-increasing queue of clubs linked with Nice striker Loic Remy, but surely Crouch’s position is still reasonably safe? Tottenham will play enough games this season for Crouch to play regularly, even if there is rotation, as well as the fact that some of those games will be in the Champions League, something he won’t get at Liverpool.

Having bought Crouch from Portsmouth for around £10m, one cannot imagine Redknapp selling him for anything less, especially as the club aren’t in a position where they must offload to ease their books. A hefty fee then makes Crouch a less appealing option, particularly to a club with pocket money that has been clipped by their bankrupt parent.

I may be wrong, but from the outside looking in, it appears that Tottenham need Peter Crouch in their squad this season, it appears that Harry Redknapp likes Crouch (having bought him for Southampton and Pompey, as well as Spurs), it appears that the Tottenham fans like and rate Crouch, it appears that Peter Crouch is enjoying his time at Tottenham and it appears that Tottenham don’t need to sell him – so I’m really struggling to see the move happening. With everything in place for a productive relationship between club and player, it doesn’t make sense for Crouch to return to a club where things weren’t to his liking, even if there has been a change of manager since his time there.

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Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has confirmed that he was thwarted in his efforts to sign England striker David Nugent before the transfer window slammed shut.

The 25-year-old was being lined up for a move away from Portsmouth, before Holloway was unable to contact the player in the final few minutes of last Tuesday afternoon.

He told the Blackpool Gazette:"If the player hadn't gone missing we'd have had David Nugent.

"With 20 minutes to go we had Nugent signed on, but no-one could locate him, so he couldn't sign his contract and it all fell through.

"So that's one that wriggled out of the net, but it happens.

"I thought he was one that was worth trying to get, so because of that we put some other deals on hold.

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"Nugent was the main one we targeted. We didn't miss many, but unfortunately that was one we did and it wasn't possible to get a back-up with 20 minutes left."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

When a football club relieve a manager of their services, the usual suspects are normally linked with the vacant post. In fact any manager out of work usually makes an appearance in the bookmakers’ odds at some juncture. As the football calendar approaches October and the next international break, clubs across the Football Leagues will be considering wielding the managerial axe. West Ham co-owner David Sullivan recently said that no manager could survive nine successive losses, highlighting that Avram Grant was four ninths of the way there. Whether in the Premier League or in the lower divisions, who are the likely candidates to return to the dugout?

Martin O’Neill

The Northern Irishman unexpectedly walked out of Villa Park less than a week before the start of the new season. James Milner’s protracted transfer may have been the catalyst but a breakdown in his relationship with Randy Lerner seemed to have been covertly brewing for some time. He guided the west Midlands club to two successive sixth place finished based on the recruitment of young home-grown talent. His tactics may have been seen as passé but his 4-4-2 formation was cautious yet dangerous in attack. Prior to managing the Villans he won three SPL titles with Celtic and two League Cups with Leicester. He has been sensationally linked with a return to the Foxes should Paulo Sousa fail to improve the team’s results. O’Neill may be itching to return to management but will presumably wait for an opportunity at an upwardly mobile PL club, capable of challenging for Europe with a few quid in the bank.

Alan Curbishley

It has been two years since Curbishley resigned as West Ham boss, arguing that his hand had been forced in the transfer market. A contractual dispute ensued preventing him from taking up any potential offers from other clubs. These days he can be spotted as mediocre pundit for Sky Sports, leaving viewers with the distinct impression that he feels undervalued. His prolonged spell at Charlton Athletic provided the blueprint for aspiring but sensible clubs to survive in the PL. After winning the old Division One in 2000 The Addicks became a top flight mainstay, finishing seventh in the 2003/04 season. He developed young prospects such as Scott Parker and Paul Konchesky and brought in Darren Bent from Ipswich. He was later at the helm of West Ham’s ‘great escape,’ which culminated in the Londoners winning at Old Trafford on the final day of that campaign. Under his stewardship the relegation threatened side finished tenth the following year but won few admirers for their vigilant style. He unfairly became known as a purveyor of mid-table mediocrity.

Phil Brown

Brown’s plucky Hull City were the toast of the PL in their inaugural top flight season in 2008/09. Would Brown have received greater respect if their season had been played out in reverse? After making an unexpectedly fantastic start which included a famous win at Arsenal, The Tigers could not buy an away victory. The perennially tanned Brown’s behaviour became increasingly erratic. His half-time team talk on the pitch at Eastlands won no supporters. When Hull stayed up on the final day of the season due to the whimpering form of their rivals, he launched into some more on field antics. His karaoke routine roused the crowd but was sniffed at by the media. Yet some had overlooked the magnitude of his achievement, saving the club from relegation to League One in 2007 and winning the play-off final the next season. His bizarre conduct continued last season when he claimed to have talked a suicidal woman down from the Humber Bridge, a scenario not recollected by his players. Indifferent form saw him placed on ‘gardening leave’ as Iain Dowie was charged with securing their salvation. This challenge was too great but the deposed Brown will forever be associated with their remarkable sojourn in the PL. Recently linked with the Southampton job, ambitious clubs seeking promotion could do worse than considering Brown.

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Alan Pardew

The 49-year old former Reading, West Ham and Charlton boss was sacked by Southampton last month. Pardew delivered a seventh place finish in League One last season despite an initial 10 point deduction and winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The decision was met with bemusement by Saints fans but this was not the first time he had been harshly treated. Pardew restored West Ham’s fortunes taking them back to the PL via a play-off triumph over Preston. A top half finish followed together with a thoroughly entertaining FA Cup final which Liverpool won on penalties. Second season syndrome set in and Pardew seemed unable to cope with the sizeable changes occurring at the club. Shortly after being dismissed by the new Icelandic owners he joined Charlton and although mounting a spirited challenge, they failed to beat the drop. Pardew made astute signings at West Ham, bringing in Carlton Cole, Dean Ashton and Robert Green. He is known for imbuing a sense of passion and belief in his players.

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Jurgen Klinsmann

A favourite at White Hart Lane, this World Cup winning forward has been out of management since leaving Bayern Munich in 2009. In 2004 he succeeded Rudi Voller as manager of the German national team. He noticed the need to introduce young, exciting players following their miserable performance at Euro 2004. Despite being inexperienced he took the host nation to the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup, narrowly losing to Italy after extra time goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero. His attacking brand of football had won over sceptics in Germany who earlier scoffed at his bold decisions, such as dropping Oliver Kahn. Two summers later he returned to Munich as a manager but failed to last a season after some less than convincing results. As a popular, engaging figure he has previously been associated with Liverpool and Chelsea.

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Manchester United have dismissed weekend press speculation suggesting that they could be tempted to sell England striker Wayne Rooney in the January transfer window.

Real Madrid are rumoured to be preparing a massive bid for the 24-year-old, who has struggled for form for both club and country this season.

Rooney was recently left out for a couple of games by boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who suggested that his player had been hampered by an ankle injury.

However, Rooney played down such talk and suggested that he has been fit all season, sparking talk of a rift with Ferguson that could lead to a parting of the ways.

Despite such rumours, a club spokesman commented: "To suggest Wayne Rooney will be sold in January is nonsense."

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Rooney joined United in the summer of 2004 from Everton and has since scored 132 goals in 289 appearances in all competitions.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has been supported by manager Roberto Mancini, having recently been criticised for his physical approach to the game.

The 25-year-old was axed by Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk following his recent leg-breaking challenge on Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa, but Mancini believes that de Jong has been wrongly identified as a 'dirty' player.

He told reporters:"I remember the foul in the World Cup final very well. He was late in the tackle. He started and couldn't stop.

"But he is an honest player. He is a hard player but there are a lot of players like that and I am very disappointed with all the people who have spoken about this situation.

"It was a normal tackle (on Ben Arfa), not the kind of thing that people have been speaking about. Ben Arfa was very unlucky to get this injury.

"I am very sorry for him and hope he can play very quickly. Sometimes I agree, we must pay attention to tackles because when things happen like this with Ben Arfa, it is very disappointing.

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"But these situations can happen in football.

"Nigel was disappointed to get dropped by Holland. He is a Holland player who always worked at 100 per cent for the national team."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

This fixture is always a virtual cup game. League form goes out of the window as one of the newest, fiercest rivalries in the division opens another chapter.

When this fixture was last played at Anfield, in May, half of the Kop were almost happy with the Chelsea victory, as it prevented Manchester United from topping their record haul of league titles. There will be no such charity on Sunday.

Chelsea, as feared, lacked Frank Lampard’s creative influence against Blackburn last weekend, and with the midfielder’s influential history in this fixture, Liverpool will be happy to see the Chelsea ace sit out another week of games- regardless of the hype surrounding the form of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

These games are never pretty and are almost always decided by the odd goal. These two clubs may have differing ambitions for this season after very contrasting starts, however there is no doubt that Liverpool will throw all they can at their old enemy- and with three wins from three in all competitions, Roy Hodgson’s men might have enough.

FFC Prediction: 2-1

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With Everton hovering just a few points above the dropzone, Manager David Moyes has turned his attention stateside in search of solutions. During Moyes’ reign as Everton boss, fans have become accustomed to a certain kind of success, which has been missing thus far this season. The weekend brought with it another disappointing defeat as 10-men Everton were trounced by a buoyant West Brom. Can a cross-Atlantic swoop stop the slump?

Moyes is keen to take on LA Galaxy’s Landon Donovan for a second loan spell at Goodison Park. He has also made it clear that he’s interested in taking on one of Donovan’s team mates on loan: David Beckham. “I hope that if David wanted to come, he would pick up the phone and call me,” Moyes told the Press. “I worked with David at Preston and if he wanted to come back to the Premier League, he would only need to phone me or Phil Neville”.

Of course, if Beckham were to head to Goodison Park, he would arrive with hefty wage-requirements. Can Everton afford to keep Beckham on the books, even if it’s only for half a season? Moyes seemed keen to impart that such a move would be financially viable for Everton. When questioned about the matter, he quipped, “I’d ask if we could make it work by selling enough shirts”. I’m not sure that it would be as easy as that. Becks arrival would put a great deal of financial strain on the club. Yes, he is an icon and his arrival would increase shirt sales and merchandise and the like, but it’s unlikely that this would be enough to cover his wages. I’m not sure that this is a move the Everton chairman will be keen to rubberstamp.

As of yet, Beckham has been somewhat tight-lipped about the matter. It seems that his foremost priority is to recover his fitness. The Brit ruptured his Achilles tendon in the build up to last summer’s World Cup. He told Sky Sports, “I’m just trying to make sure my body’s in the right condition and then I’ll think about it but I haven’t decided anything yet”. It’s clear that he’s not ready to retire and that he still holds hope for playing in England’s next major tournament. If he wants to do that, he’ll have to prove to Fabio Capello that he can still perform week in, week out at the top level. A move to Everton could provide the perfect arena for him to do just that.

Sadly, you can’t help but feel that Beckham must abandon his dream of playing for England again. He’s 35 now and is very much in the autumn of his career. I fear that a move back to the Premier League would only serve to underline how out of sorts Goldenballs really is nowadays. Everton are in genuine peril this season and need to find players who can really contribute to their cause. Whilst Becks has passion and desire, he’s never had to scrap it out in a relegation battle. Furthermore, Everton’s recent chain of bad results means that Beckham will not be viewing the club as a particularly attractive prospect.

Yes, the move would have an air of romance about it, but faced with the grim reality of the situation, I don’t think it would be a good decision for either party.

If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter, where you can also keep up to date with the latest Everton news!

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If the lazy clichés of the press are to be believed, with Carragher joining Gerrard on the sidelines there’s very little lifeblood left flowing through the veins of the Liverpool right now. Perhaps Kyrgiakos provides an added trickle. After beating Chelsea the corner looked to be turned but two defeats in three games later and the Reds have meekly back tracked around said corner. Frustrations are growing again amongst the fans at the perceived lack of progression in the side’s performances but they will at least be thankful that this weekend’s game is at Anfield.

With several first-teamers being left at home and a Monday night kick-off there can be no nodding towards the Europa League trip to Bucharest if the players don’t perform for the return of Gerard Houllier with Aston Villa. Though few of the players were at the club during the Frenchman’s reign, the fans will remember the far more attacking style with which his sides played, especially before he fell ill. His current side share Liverpool’s away day struggles managing just four points from twenty-eight on the road. So with just a little confidence and some creativity going forward, there should be no danger in backing a home win at 8/13.

The return of Joe Cole will certainly aid the attacking end of things and he may be worth a small punt at 9/1 to open the scoring or 16/5 to score anytime.

Fernando Torres scored in both fixtures against the midlanders last season and though he hasn’t been at his sharpest or most enthusiastic so far this season, he’s a player who doesn’t need to be playing well to score. He’s the clear favourite to score first at 7/2 and even money to score anytime.

If Hodgson goes for Lucas in the holding role and allows Raul Meireles to play further forward, the ever improving midfielder could be a better bet than Cole to score first at 10/1 and 7/2 to score anytime. He’s been getting a lot closer to opening his Anfield account of late.

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Liverpool have enjoyed comfortable victories in their last three home league games and have started well and scored the first goal in all three and are rightly 4/9 to score first in this game. There have been three penalties over the last three meetings with Villa so the 3/1 on a penalty to be scored is worthy of consideration. There have been enough penalties awarded in Liverpool games this season to justify a bet.

From all angles this looks like a home win though they may make it more difficult on themselves with another display of second half nerves. So while 3-0 at 11/1 would be a welcome result, 2-1 at 7/1 may be a little more likely. Hodgson needs to be brave and if he is he’ll get his rewards, if not the fans will let him know all about it.

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Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, James Milner and Gareth Barry. All reasonable English, middle level Premier League players, never fail to deliver but never really excel. Steven Pienaar, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Mikel Arteta and Nemanja Vidic. Arguably the stars of their respective teams. Coveted by teams ranging from Inter Milan, Real Madrid and the big boys in the Barclays Premier League.

The former’s accumulated transfer value? £72 million. £18 million respectively for Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves, an extortionate £24 million for the workmanlike James Milner and £12 million for Gareth Barry, even with a mere twelve months left on his contract. The latter’s? £18 million. Everton spent £2 million each on Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar, Van Der Vaart went to Tottenham Hotspur for £7 million and Manchester United picked up the colossus that is Nemanja Vidic for the same price from Spartak Moscow in 2007. The reason for the huge difference in fees? The simple fact that Carrick, Hargreaves et al all hold an English Passport.

This ‘English Tax’ has again reared its head in the winter transfer window, with Darren Bent allegedly the subject of an initial £18 million bid from Gerard Houiller’s Aston Villa. Whilst Newcastle United’s Andy Carroll is interesting Tottenham, but another extortionate English fee seems to be getting in the way. Harry Redknapp explained, “[Tottenham Hotspur] are nowhere near getting Andy Carroll. How much is he? You are talking £30million to 40million.” For £33 million you could invest in an internationally recognized striker, who has scored twenty goals or more in each of his last five seasons. Or you could get yourself an international newcomer, who has had one good season at the highest level. Ask yourself who would you rather spend your money on; David Villa or Andy Carroll?

The same logic applies to Darren Bent, who is a very competent striker with a good goal scoring record in the Premier League. But is he really worth £18 million? Tottenham saw fit to pay £16.5 million for the Englishman but Bent failed to cut it at White Hart Lane and was swiftly dispatched to Sunderland. Another comparison again demonstrates the apparent lunacy of such money being spent, when the Uruguayan Luis Suarez is being touted across Europe for the same fee. Suarez is like David Villa, a prolific goal scorer at international and club level, with 80 goals in 108 games for Ajax, both in the Eredivisie and the Champions League. Darren Bent on the other hand has barely appeared for England and the closest he has come to European football is mainly on the substitute bench for Spurs.

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The obvious reason for this so called ‘Tax’ is the implementation of the requirement of eight home grown players within their twenty-five registered players. However as most football fans know, this rule is open to manipulation, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas and the Da Silva twins both meeting the specifications needed to be classed as home grown. English players also usually provide a safe bet, with a (very, very high) majority having learnt their trade in our game, therefore not requiring any potential transition phase as seen with numerous foreign imports. United’s Vidic and Evra both come to mind as prominent examples of this. In the cut and thrust world of Premier League management, managers simply cannot take a risk on a player that will not integrate into the squad immediately. Juande Ramos at Spurs lost his job after several of his new signings failed to fire immediately. Modric, Pavlyuchenko and Assou-Ekotto, were the guilty ones, the same players that now form part of the strongest Spurs team in decades.

Even that argument can be picked apart, with numerous English and British players taking months and in some cases years to fully settle at new clubs. Gareth Bale signed for £12 million in the same summer as Modric, was a much more prominent failure until last season. Failing to win a Premier League game in twenty-four attempts. Whilst his fellow Southampton academy product Theo Walcott has failed to make any form of significant impact at Arsenal after joining for a similar fee to Bale.

This ‘Tax’ is a strictly English phenomenon as Spanish, Italian and French players all moving between clubs in their respective league for much more modest and realistic fee. There is however a plethora of high quality players of these nationalities, the same can’t be said for any British players. There are about five world class Englishmen, any player who seems to be heading to a decent level of football is immediately seized upon by the big clubs. Driving the price up; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is another example of this strange ‘Tax’ with his fee looking to reach £10 million, twenty games into his fledgling career.

Quality Englishmen will always be hot property; no Englishman wants to go and watch their club and see none of their countrymen. Kids need to see local products and their compatriots wearing the shirt they so desire to wear. Although it doesn’t make business sense, it will continue until quality British players become the norm, rather than the exception

Written By Lee Wilson at the excellent ‘This Is Futbol’

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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has backed his former club to win this season’s English Premier League title.The club’s record goal scorer also ruled out a return to the Emirates Stadium on loan and told Arsenal’s current captain, Cesc Fabregas, to forget about the critics.

Henry was speaking at the Football Writers’ Association dinner where he received a Tribute Award, and believes Arsenal can lift this year’s Premier League title – something they have not done since 2003/04.

“I do think they can do it with the style of football that they play,” Henry said.

“I don’t think it’s the only time they’ve had the chance to grab the title. It will be a great thing for the club if they can bring back some silverware, especially for the fans.”

The French international has been training with Arsenal lately but dismissed reports he was about to join them on loan from his current club New York Red Bulls, who he plays for in USA’s Major League Soccer.

“I enjoyed my time here but I’m over there now and I’m happy to be over there,” he said.

“I started to train with them, I had two months off and I’m a bit off the pace right now, and you know how Arsenal play sometimes.”

“I trained with the squad before the game that they played the other day against Ipswich and it’s quick, pretty quick, so no that’s not the plan (to join Arsenal on loan).”

Henry also offered advice and support to Fabregas, who had critics when Arsenal went through a bad patch earlier in the season.

“People are always going to have a go at Cesc, rightly so or not. He’s an amazing player, he won the World Cup, he won the European Championship, he’s the talisman of the club, he’s the club captain,” he said.

“The only thing I will tell him is to not listen, I’ve been through that and there’s nothing you can do about it and that’s the way the game is.”

“If Arsenal go on and win the title they will say he had an amazing season, and nobody will remember what happened at the beginning of the season.”

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Two of Henry’s clubs will face off in the Round of 16 in the Champions League when Arsenal take on current La Liga champions Barcelona and the striker rates the London side’s chances.

“I think (they are) probably the two best teams in terms of football, in the way the game should be played. I think for the neutral it’s going to be an amazing game,” he said.

“For me I don’t know, I’m an Arsenal fan and I have a lot of friends also at Barcelona so it’s going to be a tricky one, but as I said its going to be a very difficult game, but if a team can beat Barcelona then it’s Arsenal.”