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Sir Alex Ferguson was named the League Manager Association’s Manager of the Year on Monday.It is the third time the Scot has collected the award and is a double as he also won the Premier League’s Manager of the Year prize, after leading Manchester United to the English title and a Champions League final.

Ferguson, speaking via video link at the awards ceremony in London, said he was honoured to bag the award.

“It’s a wonderful honour. It has been a fantastic season for us in the most difficult league in the world,” the Scot said.

It was United’s 19th Premiership title – a record in the English top flight – while they also went through the season unbeaten at their Old Trafford home.

Ferguson will be hoping to collect the Champions League trophy for the third time as United take on Barcelona in the final at Wembley on Saturday.

Norwich boss Paul Lambert was named Championship manager of the year after his side earned promotion to the Premier League by finishing second to Queens Park Rangers.

Brighton manager Gus Poyet and Chesterfield’s John Sheridan claimed the League One and League Two honours respectively.

Chief football administer Brian Marwood has admitted Manchester City are unlikely to repeat the massive spending spree they embarked upon during the summer.

City spent an estimated £120million on a host of big-name players before, during and after the World Cup finals.

Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner and Mario Balotelli all arrived at Eastlands during a busy summer transfer window.

But on the same day that the club's Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour returned to the top of English football's rich list, Marwood has suggested that the days of big spending at Eastlands are over.

"Now the intensity of signing players is levelling off, allowing this group to build and develop – they haven't gelled yet," he told The Guardian.

"We have fast-tracked a lot. We need to put the structure in place. We talk about elite development, the academy, because that is the foundation. That is the future for Manchester City."

Meanwhile, Marwood has rejected criticism of City's transfer policy since Sheikh Mansour began his ambitious reign two years ago.

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"You have to chuckle to yourself," he continued.

"We were criticised for supposedly ruining English football by bringing foreign players in, then when the England team finished the last game against Switzerland, six City players were in it. That was a big jolt to a lot of people."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Thierry Henry scored what might be his last goal for Arsenal against Sunderland in the Gunners 2-1 victory. Even though the goals he scored in his second spell weren’t classic Thierry Henry, he scored some important goals in his first spell.

When Arsene Wenger signed Henry from Juventus in August 1999 for £11 million, even he didn’t think that this man would become an Arsenal and Premier League legend and surpass Ian Wright’s record of 185 goals. In his time at Arsenal, Henry won 2 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Community Shields. The Frenchman also won a huge amount of individual awards, including 2 European Golden Boots, 4 Premier League Golden Boots and was in the PFA Team of the Year 6 times.

This article is a selection of Thierry Henry’s greatest goals that includes exquisite volleys, stunning strikes and astonishing pieces of skill. I hope you enjoy my tribute to the great Frenchman.

10- Charlton

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9- West Ham

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8- Blackburn

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7- Real Madrid

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6- Weiz

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5- Man United

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4- Tottenham

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3- Man City

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2- Liverpool

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1- Man United

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It is being reported in Mirror Football that Scott Parker will be allowed to leave West Ham United in the summer – if the club is relegated and Manchester City and Spurs are likely to head the queue for his services.

Parker does not have an official clause written into his four-year contract – but there is believed to be a verbal agreement, should West Ham be relegated that Parker can move to a Premier League club. Spurs would not look to increase his £60,000 per week wages and it’s now looking unlikely that they would be able to offer Champions League football. Manchester City on the other hand could offer to treble Parker’s current wages and are now looking likely to be able to offer Champions League football.

The interest in Parker is not much of a surprise because he has been in superb form this season. He has been a standout player for West Ham that has led him to be voted the FWA Footballer of the Year and also appeared in England squads. Parker has represented England twice this season and played 30 Premier League games for West Ham and even managing to score 5 Premier League goals.

However, Parker may choose to remain in London for personal reasons. His father recently passed away and at this time Parker is reluctant to leave his mother.

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Newcastle United’s prestigious number nine shirt is currently in the ownership of Andy Carroll and it is not an object to take complacently or to treat whimsically. I can only hope that he doesn’t do so, for he holds such promise in the way he plays the game. He possesses a great deal of raw ability that could be moulded into making him a formidable striker. The only negatives, of which they are significant, come in the form of his private affairs. Only today did Carroll have to attend a court hearing over a previous incident involving his now ex-girlfriend. This now equates to two court appearances and an alleged training ground fight with Steven Taylor, the latter coming off worse, all very much baleful behaviour that doesn’t bode well for his future affairs. His mentality is obviously one that doesn’t reason possible consequences through, or maybe he does and he isn’t troubled over the consequences due to his profession as a football player. Either way, he still finds himself in these disreputable scenarios, having to deal with the criticisms that come with it. What he needs now is to be taken aside and, almost, restrained into concentrating on improving as a player. He holds so much potential, having been blessed with a domineering physical presence, that it needs channelling in the correct way.

Like many young players that emerge in an eruption of media attention, it is easily removed in the next few weeks when the same performances that earned the attention in the first place seem to diminish. This shouldn’t deter Carroll in any way or form due to what he has shown and this can be rekindled with dedicated training, the right mentality and experienced mentoring. Like many strikers, form is determined by confidence, which is why at present there isn’t any need to dismiss Carroll’s form or potential. Having scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa the media were quick to champion him for an England call-up, but when England are lacking in-form strikers, this could have be seen as inevitable.

What Chris Hughton and his backroom staff now have the tricky task to implement is to find the delicate balance for Carroll that will allow him to use his natural aggression but not sprint aimlessly across the pitch and lose his position that sees him at his most effective. To remove Carroll’s aggressive nature would be to negate what makes him as a player; it would merely be a utilization of this willing effort he represents. Carroll will also have to respond and not be obdurate if those around him feel that something in his game needs to be rectified. I have no doubt that an England debut will come soon and be one of many if Carroll can organise his affairs.  The road to perdition will await Carroll if he continues to behave in the manner he has exhibited off the pitch, but the road to salvation and cult status remain a possibility if he is prepared to harness his raw abilities, add invaluable goals to his repertoire and keep these consistent.

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Adama Traore is being widely tipped to leave Middlesbrough this summer, and a number of clubs are said to be closely monitoring developments.

Traore can leave Boro for £18m – as covered by Arab News – and Paris Saint-Germain are said to be considering an approach for the former Barcelona youngster.

Newcastle United are also believed to be in the hunt, and the Premier League club’s supporters have been reacting to the transfer speculation.

Rafael Benitez’s side are believed to be keen to add a new winger to their squad this summer, but it would be fair to say that the Newcastle fans do not want Traore to arrive.

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The 22-year-old scored five times and registered 10 assists in 34 Championship appearances for Boro last term, but there remain question marks over his end product.

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There is no doubting that Traore has talent, although the Newcastle fans are not interested in a deal at £18m.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian has told the club’s official website that Manuel Lanzini is ready to return to the team.

What’s the latest?

The Hammers have been without the influential Argentine since January 20 when he suffered a hamstring injury in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

It was arguably the worst time for the club to lose Lanzini given that he had started to link up well with Marko Arnautovic.

The Austrian returned with a bang at the weekend following his own injury spell as he scored in West Ham’s 2-0 win over Watford at the London Stadium.

While speaking to West Ham TV, Adrian revealed that Arnautovic and Lanzini could be linking up again soon.

“Marko is a great player, everyone knows that, and you absolutely miss this kind of player [when he is out injured] and you have to adapt and work in a different way, but now we have Marko back and Manu is ready to come to the team.”

The East London outfit will have a break this weekend while FA Cup games are played, but it seems that the creative star could be available for the following Saturday’s clash against Liverpool.

Will his return make a difference?

Since Lanzini has been on the sidelines, West Ham have drawn one, lost one and won one in the Premier League.

David Moyes’s side were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic during the midfielder’s absence.

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Arnautovic’s return last weekend gave the team a massive boost, and Lanzini is sure to provide the same reaction.

Having the Argentine back for any game would be welcomed by West Ham fans, but if the 24-year-old is available for the Liverpool clash, then it would be even better.

Name: Ivan Perisic

Country: Croatia

Club: Wolfsburg

Age: 25

International Caps: 31

Position: Attacking Midfielder

After a surprising fifth-placed finish to their Premier League season, Everton are looking to add recruits to a squad which could suffer from the departure of three key loanees from last season. According to newspaper reports, Croatia’s attacking midfielder Ivan Perisic is to be the subject of an £8 million bid from the Toffees.

The Croatian has arguably been his country’s stand-out performer at the World Cup so far, and his eye-catching performances have further alerted Roberto Martinez to his qualities. Perisic only made his move to Wolfsburg last summer, but with the German club preparing to spend in order to boost other areas of the squad, Perisic could make way in order for them to do so.

Perisic netted his first goal of the tournament in Croatia’s 4-0 drubbing of Cameroon in their second game, but it wasn’t just his goal that caught the eye. He assisted Ivica Olic’s opener with a crafty through ball, perfectly weighted to put the ball on a plate for his teammate.

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With the departure of Gerard Deulofeu back to his parent club Barcelona, Everton are in need of players who can fill wider attacking positions. Perisic is the type of player willing to take the ball down and beat his opposite full-back, and he has the end product to make something in promising positions. He scored 10 league goals and contributed a further five assists last season at Wolfsburg, demonstrating his effectiveness in front of goal.

His goals tally is far more impressive than any of Everton’s current options. At £8 million he would cost a significant portion of their £20 million. But there is little doubt he would be a welcome addition to their roster. His goalscoring record and threat from the wing would help make up for the loss of Deulofeu, and add quality to a squad that is looking to progress even further from the success of last season.

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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.”

Newcastle are reportedly eyeing up a move for Swansea City midfielder Roque Mesa, but would they be better off sticking with what they already have?

According to Spanish outlet ABC Sevilla, Newcastle and Fulham are rivalling Sevilla’s move for Swansea’s Mesa.

The little midfield maestro joined the Spanish side on loan in January, but it seems they could face plenty of competition to secure his services on a permanent basis.

Mesa joined Swansea for £11m last summer, but struggled to make an impact for the Swans, making just 11 league appearances before going out on loan.

The 29 year-old was much better during the loan spell, but his struggles with Swansea suggest his size, or lack thereof, is a problem in the Premier League.

Newcastle are looking to buff up their midfield options this summer, as Mo Diame turns 31 this week and Mikel Merino could leave the club.

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Many fans want Merino to stay though, and it could be a big mistake to let the 21 year-old leave only to replace him with Mesa.

Both players are very technically gifted, but Merino has the size and strength to perform better in a Premier League midfield, and what he lacks in experience he makes up for in talent.

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Mesa, valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt, is a very smart player, but at 29 it seems unlikely he would be a huge hit on Tyneside after being so poor in south Wales.

So, Newcastle fans, would you rather stick with Merino? Or would the experienced Mesa be a good addition? Let us know by voting in the poll below…