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It’s been less than 12 hours, but Luis Suarez’s bite incident with Branislav Ivanovic seems already predestined to enter the Premier League’s Hall of Shame. In the same week the Uruguayan was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player Of The Year, the latest of his misconducts has put the Liverpool striker in the eye of the storm – blurring his league merits in the process. But, is his behaviour reason enough for Suarez to lose, scandals apart, a well deserved award?

Just minutes after the PFA announced the shortlist of nominees for the Player Of The Year award, hundreds of polls in several media, websites and football forums were asking the fans who their favourite was to succeed Robin van Persie as the best Premier League footballer this season. The Dutchman, also nominated this year, Gareth Bale or even Michael Carrick were the most demanded names, while the Premier League top scorer and Liverpool hero took a secondary position. No doubt, his personality and manners on the pitch have an impact on people’s assessment of his footballing virtues.

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The sad reality is that if we merely stick to football reasons and try to choose the winner judging exclusively ‘who has been the best Premier League player this season’, the answer should be Luis Suarez. Having a bad temper on the pitch is not something that eases the always difficult task of sticking ball in the opponent’s net, and he has done it on 23 occasions this season – and there will be no more after he receives the appropriate punishment – similary, no adding to his 10 assists.

Only van Persie matches his numbers – 21 goals, 13 assists – and will probably beat them by the end of the season, but the club circumstances should not be overlooked when conceding individual awards, and it is here where the Uruguayan takes the lead. No other player – Gareth Bale would be the closest one on this aspect – has had a bigger importance to his club. Therefore, while van Persie has been the finisher of the indisputably best team in the league, Suarez has made his way through to the top of the scorers’ table in a team that lies in 7th position in the league. A true reflection of this is the percentage of goals they have scored for their respective teams: 37.7% compared to RVP’s 28%.

Regardless of his numerous controversies, Suarez has been one of the best players, if not the best, this season, and the nomination is simply admitting it whether we like him or not. Gary Lineker claimed via Twitter after the game that the striker should be withdrawn as a Player Of The Year contender. Doing that would be ruling out every one of his 23 goals for a bad gesture that was not related to any of them – if anything, to the 23rd, as he should have been sent off. The award recognises the best player of the season, and every player should be eligible to win it. His punishment should come from the FA and from his club, but never affect the merits he has earned by scoring goals and being a vital component of his team.

Is Suarez going to win the PFA award, then? Of course not. Dives, brawls, bad gestures to fans and racial scandals seem a way to heavy burden to shrug off. Biting an opponent is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and could cost him his future at Liverpool, but the PFA honour was lost long ago and it’s perfectly understandable.

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After all, Robert De Niro would have never won an Oscar if he had bitten, kicked, punched or racially abused the judges.

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Everton youngster Hallam Hope will be hoping that he’s done enough for a new contract at Everton this season.

The Manchester born striker signed a full-time scholarship with the Toffees’ having  joined from Manchester City back in 2005.

The striker, who is eligible to line-up for both England and Trinidad and Tobago, has been described as somewhat of a silent assassin on the pitch due to his ability to go un-noticed in the box until he is ready to pounce.

The youngster has been a regular goalscorer throughout the Everton youth teams since his move, including causing an instant impact in the Under-16’s 2009/2010 campaign.

His good performances that season helped earn Hope a number or call-ups to the Under-18 youth squad as well as becoming a big part of Everton’s 2010 FA Youth Cup Squad.

These performances earned the youngster a call up to International level, as he made his debut for England Under-17’s in the Victory Shield back in October 2009.

He followed up this cap with a brace in England’s 3-1 win over Ukraine in France’s Montaigi Tournament in 2010.

Despite the fact the Hope has represented England at International, he is still eligible to represent Trinidad & Tobago.

Hope celebrated his England appearances by being somewhat of a revelation for the Under-17’s the season after.

He scored seven goals in nine appearances during that 2010-2011 season as he helped the side qualify for the European Championship Finals.

The sides good form continued all the way to the semi-finals in Serbia before eventually falling to defeat at the hands of Holland.

Hope achieved a school-boy dream during the summer of 2011 as he scored a goal of great importance on a personal level.

The striker found the net during the Mexican Under-17 World Cup, helping them reach the quarter finals of the competition.

That 2010-2011 season was also a big one for Hope at club level.

Everton romped the national academy title that season and was rewarded for his progression at both club and international level by being named in the reserves on a regular basis.

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Since then Hope has earned yet more caps at both Under 18 and Under 19 levels, the latter saw him named in the European Championship Finals in Estonia, after a call-up from Noel Blake.

Hope, who’s current contract ends in June 2013, will be hoping that he’s done enough to earn himself a new deal.

However the youngster may have to wait until David Moyes signs his contract extension before one arrives for himself.

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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas remains optimistic after his side’s Premier League defeat against Liverpool and hopes the team can manage another 12-match unbeaten run after the setback.

Spurs failed to increase their third-place advantage over Chelsea and Arsenal, but the Portuguese is still confident the team can finish the season among the top-four and qualify for the Champions League, reports Sky Sports.

“A couple of mistakes at the end cost us the game but we can’t be too negative on what we have done,” he said.

“Hopefully this is a reminder for us but we’ll try and go on another 12-game unbeaten run.”

Villas-Boas regretted the chances the team missed when leading 2-1, but assured that he was happy with the performance of his players.

“The chance for Sigurdsson was a big, big chance. But we did ever so well to come into the game, played well and managed to create some good opportunities,” he added.

“The boys did well apart from a couple of mistakes that we committed. But that was a good performance. We are confident we can put our strengths back together and go on another run.”

The 35-year-old also appealed to the character the team has shown in previous blips in what has on the whole been a successful season so far.

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“We’ve suffered set-backs before. But we’ve jumped out of them and I think that it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to put ourselves back on track,” he concluded.

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Everton boss David Moyes has claimed that he will wait until the final day of the January transfer window to make any signings.

The Toffees have been able to hold on to their key players this month and are set to add at least one more player to their ranks on Thursday, just before the deadline closes.

Moyes has a history of making late window deals and has had success with the likes of Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar on deadline days.

The long serving Goodison Park boss is hopeful that with one or two additions his squad can break into the top four this season ahead of the likes of Arsenal and bitter rivals Liverpool.

It is well documented that Moyes has to work on a tough budget at Everton and the relationship between him and the chairman in key to enable the funds are spent wisely and only if necessary.

“We’ve tended to be Christmas Eve shoppers, so hold on to your hat,” Moyes told the Daily Post.

“Myself and the chairman have said there was a little bit of money we could do some business with.

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“That hasn’t changed so it makes it harder to get the level of player you might be looking for.”

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Liverpool have been dealt some serious blows in the transfer market over the past few seasons. While the club may not have fallen foul to the cult of the badge-kisser over the years, they have certainly had their fair share of fallen idols and unsavoury characters in and around the first-team squad.

The latest villain to add to the list, a player that has seriously let the club and it’s fans down with his actions was Fernando Torres, who moved to West London for a fee of £50m.

However, Torres is not the first player to let the club and it’s fans down. Whether it be due to an acrimonious departure, failure to live up to a price tag or simply because they’ve joined a rival club, Liverpool fans have seen there fair share of villains over the years.

So without further ado, here are my top ten Liverpool villains – click on Markus Babbel to reveal the gallery:

The Monday night fixture witnesses a fascinating duel between two clubs desperate for a win. If it is anything like the last time these two met in the Capital One Cup at the Madjeski stadium then the fans are in for a treat.

Arsenal managed to knock Reading out of the cup competition in injury time 7-5 that night, after coming back from 4-0 down. They weren’t so lucky midweek as they were booted out of the same trophy by minnows Bradford City.

It comes as the latest blow in a string of disappointing displays for the Gunners resulting in Ivan Gazidis making a public apology to the fans.

Reading are not exactly doing themselves any favours at the moment either as they too lost midweek leaking 3 goals in a comprehensive defeat to Sunderland.

The Gunners should have Olivier Giroud back in the fold following a recovery from a back problem. Laurent Koscielny has resumed training too after a thigh injury. Theo Walcott’s injury situation is due to be assessed too. Andre Santos and Abou Diaby remain out.

The Royals could be heavily boosted by the return of their two key talismans up front in the shape of Jason Roberts and Pavel Pogrebnyak. They may not be able to start but both could feature at some point at the Madjeski.  For Jimmy Kebe and Jem Karacan the game appears to have come too soon and Sean Morrison alongside Alex McCarthy are definite misses too.

The game should be a nervy encounter with the gap growing further and further from safety for Reading and Arsenal are at risk of losing touch with the top four.

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Arsenal have played Reading 10 times in all competitions and won every single time so they would expect to keep that unblemished record on Monday.

Prediction: Reading 1-2 Arsenal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcF83WMdrDw

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has praised winger Raheem Sterling, saying he sees a level of maturity in him which puts him a cut above other young prospects.

The 37-year-old striker who scored 183 goals during two spells at Anfield rose to prominence in a similar fashion to Sterling who has only recently turned 18-years-old, and the former Red is very impressed by what he’s seen from the winger at such a young age.

The clubs website quote him as saying to the Mirror, “What I’m seeing is that this is a kid who’s had the right attitude drilled into him, and I think that’s a good thing for Liverpool – a big thing.”

“Sterling has a great talent, but what he also has that makes him stand out is a maturity in his approach to the team’s needs that you rarely see in youngsters. That shows he’s being coached and developed in the right way.”

“I watch Raheem and I can see he has respect for the team and for the senior players around him.”

Fowler also expressed his admiration for Sterling’s ability to choose  the right ball rather than always looking for glory himself, while saying Brendan Rodgers deserves a great deal of credit for the players development as well.

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Sterling has reportedly agreed a  new deal at the club which will come as great news to Liverpool fans following rumours that he was a target for the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

They will now hope he can develop at the club for years to come, the same way Fowler did.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was pleased with the performance of his side, despite their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Cluj.

The Red Devils chief rested a number of his key players with top spot in Group H secured before kick-off.

Luis Alberto’s 25 yard effort settled the tie, but Fergie felt that if not for a moment of magic, his side could have taken at least a point from the game:

“It was a wonder goal that beat us,” he told SkySports.

“We had a lot of good chances but with a goal like that we have no complaints, You can’t do a lot about it.

The likes of Nick Powell and Scott Wootton were give starts by the Scot, who was impressed with their showings:

“We had a young side out that did very well at times. I’m satisfied they put a decent performance in.

“It was a good experience for the youngsters. Nick Powell I though in the first half did quite well for us and Phil Jones had an excellent game. It’s only his second game in about nine months so I’m very pleased with that part.

“We qualified earlier so it gave us a chance to experiment and play the players that needed a game. We gave some young players a bit of experience and that will hold them in good stead.

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“We’re into the next stage being winners of the group and there are some big names in there. We could face Shakhtar Donetsk, Milan, Porto.”

“We qualified comfortably and the real tournament starts in February. The knockout stages are fantastic.”

Gylfi Sigurdsson believes Tottenham Hotspur must score early against Maribor in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Andre Villas-Boas’ team have drawn all three of their Group J games so far this season and could only manage a 1-1 draw against the Slovenian champions last time out.

But the Tottenham midfielder is hopeful that an early lead will open the game up and encourage the White Hart Lane crowd to get behind the team.

He told Tottenham’s official website: “It would be ideal if we get an early goal. That means Maribor cannot just sit there and defend and it would the game up.

“That would also get the crowd right behind us and it will be a great atmosphere. That is important for us.”

Sigurdsson, who scored the equaliser at the Ljudski vrt Stadium two weeks ago, also believes the size of the White Hart Lane pitch will work in their favour and that Spurs still have a realistic chance of progressing in to the knock out stages.

“It’s a big pitch at White Hart Lane so hopefully we will get wide, get some crosses in and break them down this time,” he added.

“It is still in our hands and we now have the advantage of playing at home. Hopefully we will use that advantage and take the three points.

“We want to progress to the knockout stage, so it is important for us.”

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Arsenal are set to expand their scouting network in Germany in an attempt to lure the next crop of talented youngsters to the Emirates.

With the country having produced some of the most skillful and coveted players of recent years not to mention Wenger’s reputation for developing players the club and chief scout Steve Rowley have been spending an increasing amount of time and money in order to further expand the scouting network.

The Daily Mail claim that the plans will be implemented soon, noting that “the Gunners have already found the country a valuable breeding ground for talent,” with Podolski, Mertesacker and youngsters Thomas Eisfeld and Serge Gnabry also at the club. Wenger is a known fan of other German internationals having monitored many of the current German crop including Ozil and Sahin extensively before missing out on their signatures.

With Podolski already making waves in the Premier League, Serge Gnabry is hot on his fellow countryman’s heels with the 17 year old set to make an appearance during the Capitol One Cup match on Tuesday night, with the player himself looking to build on his growing reputation, confiding “I hope I can create some chances of score goals and that will give them more to talk about.”

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The Gunners will however be without Gervinho, who is set to miss the weekend showdown with Manchester United after being ruled out with an ankle injury sustained in the previous game against QPR with the Mirror reporting that a second string will be fielded in the Capital One Cup with “Oxlade-Chamberlain unlikely to be risked even if he is fit.”