Football News: O'Neill Believes Leicester City Can Win The League And Wenger Has Sterling Regrets

1. O'Neill is a believer
With Leicester City flying high under Claudio Ranieri, the talk in the media has mostly been about their chances of finishing in the top four this season, but former Foxes manager Martin O'Neill believes they can set their sights higher. The Republic of Ireland boss was asked by BBC Radio 5 Live if Leicester could win the league: "The very fact we're asking this question, it would seem ludicrous a couple of months ago even with the great, great start. Now you think this is actually possible. They've gone to Everton and got a fantastic result. They've only been beaten once this season, it's just incredible. And just for the very first time you're looking at whether the league is there for them or not."

2. Roma deny Jose talks
AS Roma president James Pallotta has denied media reports that the Italian club have held talks with Jose Mourinho following his exit from Chelsea. Tabloids in Italy were reporting that Pallotta met with Mourinho in London on Friday, but the president insist the reports are not true. With current manager Rudi Garcia having failed to win any matches in the last seven, it is thought that the Rome club are actively seeking a replacement. With Jose ruling out taking a sabbatical, the rumour mill has cranked into gear to link him with any top level managerial jobs.

 

3. Clinton under the knife for knee surgery
Young Cameroonian forward Clinton Njie has undergone knee surgery to fix a ligament injury he suffered during a Europa League match earlier this month. Njie, who joined Tottenham Hotspur from Olympique Lyonnaise in the summer, has yet to make a Premier League start for Spurs. The White Hart Lane club have not put a timeframe on the former Lyon forward's return.

4. Keeper leads after match celebrations
After Vitoria Guimaraes won 1-0 away at Estoril, their goalkeeper Miguel Silva led the fans in a celebration:

Agora em vídeo! Miguel Silva festeja o triunfo em casa do Estoril com a claque vitoriana. (via @miguel1922vsc) pic.twitter.com/GOfY3SYYCP

— B24 (@bola24pt) December 19, 2015

Makes you wonder what it would be like if the team won a trophy, rather than just a league match!

 

5. Blanc close to extending PSG deal
With Paris Saint-Germain running away with the Ligue 1 title again, their Qatari sugar daddy owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has confirmed that the club are in talks with Laurent Blanc over extending his contract. The former Manchester United defender is out of contract at the end of the season, and looks set to stay with PSG on the verge of their fourth title in a row. PSG are currently the only team playing in one of Europe's top five leagues to be still unbeaten at this stage of the season.

6. Wenger's Sterling regret
Arsene Wenger has revealed his disappointment at not signing Raheem Sterling while he was at QPR. Arsenal manager Wenger has admitted they had Sterling watched, but Liverpool beat them to the punch to seal a £600,000 deal with the Hoops of QPR for their young starlet. This summer Sterling joined Manchester City for £49m, after a prolonged contract dispute with Liverpool, but Wenger still feels, despite that issue, that the Gooners missed out by letting him join the Reds.

 

7. Arsenal injury record still needs changing
It just seems that, no matter how much things change in the Premier League, there are still some things that never change. One of those things is Arsenal and their injuries. I am not referring to the number of them, though that is also a consistent theme, I mean the length of time that those injuries keep the players out for. No matter what the injury, it always seems to take an Arsenal player many times longer than it should before they are able to play again. No matter how innocuous the injury, it never seems to require less than a month on the sidelines. Usually that month is followed by even more time out due to 'setbacks', until the player is out injured so long you forget they even exist. Danny Welbeck seems to be the latest victim of the Gooner curse, as manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Welbeck's injury could keep him out for longer than expected. "Unfortunately he was injured at the end of April and we are now at the end of December and he is still not available because of a bone bruising," Wenger added. "That deteriorated and it is a big blow to us. Especially now we cannot rotate."

8. You can take the Maccarone out of Mackem but you can't take the Mackem out of Maccarone
Former Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone showed just what he learnt in his time at Boro. The bald headed Empoli striker notched a goal, then ran straight to the stands in celebration for a quick beer:

 

9. Elano arrested after assault allegations in ISL
The Indian Super League (ISL) is only just completed its second season, both of which were shorter than the usual league season people have grown accustomed to in other countries, but this time around it has had no shortage of talking points. The latest comes as former Manchester City midfielder Elano Blumer has been arrested following a complaint from a co-owner of FC Goa. Dattaraj Salgaoncar has alleged that Chennaiyin FC captain Elano assaulted him following Chennaiyin's victory over Goa to clinch the ISL title. It is claimed that Elano was taunting the Goa players and then assaulted Salgaocar when he intervened. No wonder the ISL is succeeding where the I-League is failing, it is certainly providing interest.

10. Even managing the league leaders does not make your job safe
Ronny Deila is nearly at the midway point in his second season at Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) side Celtic, and his reign is already beginning to look like it might be coming to an end. Despite winning the Premiership last season, and leading the way again this season, the fans are beginning to turn on Deila, with jeers ringing out around Celtic Park as they suffered a shock home defeat to Motherwell. It has been four matches at Parkhead since the fans last saw the team notch a home victory and the pressure is building on the Norwegian boss. Following his side's poor showing in European competition, the fans expect Celtic to coast to the domestic title and another attempt at Europe. So far this season Celtic have spluttered and stuttered to lead by just one point over Aberdeen. With the SPFL finally showing signs of turning into a competitive league, even with the absence of Rangers and Hibernian, the Celtic fans are unhappy ahead of a trip to Heart of Midlothian on Sunday.

Written by Tris Burke December 21 2015 05:29:10