Shay Given is quite possibly the best number two goalkeeper on the planet right now. Giovanni Trapattoni thinks he’s the best keeper in the world, Gianluigi Buffon aside, and with a great pedigree and bundles of experience at playing at the highest level for over a decade, it’s puzzling why the Irish stopper isn’t being looked at more seriously by the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, both of whom find themselves in a bit of a goalkeeping quandary at the minute with concerns to the current options available to both of them.

At 34 years of age, while not the spring chicken he once was, Given is currently at a terrific age for a goalkeeper in a position which tends to favour the late bloomer. His transfer to Manchester City looked to be a shrewd move on Mark Hughes’ part and he started 35 of City’s 38 league games last season until a dislocated shoulder in a league fixture against Arsenal on the 24th of April ruled him out of the rest of the season.

Unfortunately for Given, Joe Hart has firmly established himself as the club’s new number one and there doesn’t appear to be a way back into the starting eleven for him now. It has to be said though, that Joe Hart’s form this season for both club and country has been simply fantastic and he’s the country’s most naturally gifted goalkeeper since the heady days of David Seaman around the mid ’90s era of Terry Venables.

Given has gone on the record as stating his interest in any potential move to Celtic with “I’m a huge Celtic fan and always have been. I’m not saying anything yet but if Celtic want me then that’s where I want to end up because they are a terrific club.” On the face of things, a move for Given to Celtic would seem a good fit, but manager Neil Lennon has entrusted a lot of faith so far in Newcastle loanee goalkeeper Frazer Forster and he doesn’t look like moving for Given, just yet anyway.

Given may have to hold out until the summer if he is to clinch his dream move to the SPL giants and with the player having already stated his desire to move on this transfer window, he’s there for the taking right now for the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd.

His connection to Man City would most definitely rule him out of any potential transfer between the two, especially considering relations have become bitterer over the last couple of years, with Fergie referring to City as a ‘small club’ before calling them ‘noisy neighbours’ after the now infamous ‘Welcome to Manchester’ banner was unveiled upon the club securing the signing of Carlos Tevez.

But purely from a footballing perspective, he’d be perfect for United. His experience in the top flight of English football is vast and Ferguson could rest assured that the position was sewn up for another 3-4 years with Given in between the sticks, knowing that the Irishman could perform straight from the off, much like Van Der Sar did straight away after Ferguson signed him from Fulham back in 2005.

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A much more likely move however could be to fellow title challengers Arsenal. Again, with both of these currently battling it out for the title, a move this January looks extremely unlikely, but a move at the end of the season could be just what Arsenal need. He’s also been linked with them countless times before and it’s baffling that Arsene Wenger didn’t stick in a bid when Man City signed him from Newcastle. Every manager has a blind spot, it appears Wenger’s is with goalkeepers.

Too often they’re undone by goalkeeping howlers. Almunia is a frightfully poor goalkeeper and it’s unfathomable to me how he secured the number one spot for so long. A lack of competition can be the only reason. The current holder of the number one jersey, in the absence of the ever-improving, but gaffe-prone Fabianski, is young 20 year old Wojciech Szczesny who has looked decent when called upon, but he should be looked at as one for the future, despite his apparent itchy feet and insistence that he’s ready to secure a first-team spot now.

Fabianski has performed dutifully this term, yet the feeling still persists, that no matter how good his shot stopping is, and it can be quite simply excellent at times, a mistake still looks like it lurks just right around the corner. He’s a decent goalkeeper now that he’s been given a real run of games for the first time since signing for Arsenal. Ring rustiness is particularly applicable to goalkeepers, unless your name is Wayne Bridge of course, and that some of his mistakes earlier on in his Arsenal career may be partly attributable to the fact that he was thrown in the odd match every now and again and unable to develop as he would have hoped, but with that reasoning aside, whether he’s a good enough keeper to help you win the title, I’m not so sure.

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Cast your mind back to a substantial Given error though? Keep thinking? Drawing a blank still? The fact of the matter is, that allied to great reactions and handling, Given is ever so reliable and rarely ever makes mistakes. He won’t be the leader that the Arsenal back line are crying out for admittedly and his communication skills aren’t the best out of the top flight’s custodians, but he’s a class act.

It’s an odd situation where such a good goalkeeper can find his opportunities so limited, especially considering when the two clubs currently challenging Man City most for the title are the ones just crying out for a man of his talents. Man Utd need a replacement for Edwin Van Der Sar, whereas Arsenal need to finally address their shortcomings and move for a reliable number one capable of putting an end to any debate over the position at the club. While Fabianski has done well until now, the debate still persists.

A move to Man Utd looks unlikely and the same can be said for a move this term to Arsenal. Given may have to wait until the summer for the move he deserves, but if he’s patient enough, he could be rewarded with a dream move to Celtic or as part of a new-look Arsenal back five come the summer.

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The fortunes of Newcastle and Sunderland have certainly been mixed throughout the Premier League years.

While the Magpies have enjoyed title challenges, Champions League football; they have also had the indignity of dropping out of the Premier League back in 2009 much to the amusement of their local rivals. The Mackems themselves are no strangers to relegation and have been something of a yoyo club throughout the Premier League years; however you do sense that times are changing at the Stadium of Light and Steve Bruce is building a strong squad that is more than capable of holding its own among the upper echelons of the league.

Tomorrow sees Sunderland looking to heap revenge, after a humiliating defeat at St James Park, and while the pundits and media will be focusing on who will be coming out of the game with the Tyne/Wear bragging rights, we will focus on the major battle set to take place in the player’s lounge at the Stadium of Light.

In the second part of our new series of ‘Wag War’ we look ahead to the likely battle at the Stadium of Light tomorrow afternoon and ask you the viewer to decide which team wins this epic battle.

Let the battle commence: click on the badge below to see the line-up and cast your vote at the end:

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Manchester City winger Adam Johnson will be sidelined for three months due to an ankle injury, City boss Roberto Mancini has revealed.

Johnson suffered ligament damage to his ankle during midweek training at the Eastlands, and scans have revealed the injury is worse than initially feared.

Speaking after City’s 1-1 draw at Notts County in the FA Cup fourth round, Mancini confirmed that the England international faces a long road to recovery.

“We have lost Adam Johnson for three months,” Mancini told reporters.

“This will be a very big problem because he is an important player. The injury is like the one Aleksandar Kolarov had earlier this season. We do not have another player like Adam.”

Johnson’s absence is a blow to City’s pursuit of league leaders and local rivals Manchester United, as well as Mancini’s attempts to secure a Champions League berth.

It is also bad news for fellow City midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has reportedly had a transfer request denied by the Eastlands club.

Mancini confirmed that City were unlikely to part with Wright-Phillips now that Johnson is unavailable.

“I can understand his position,” Mancini said of his wantaway winger.

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“We haven’t had any offers for Wright-Phillips at this moment but it is difficult for Shaun to join another team now.”

“We still have another 24 hours, so anything can happen but it probably affects it.”

I saw Gary Neville in the Sky studio one match day last year – I think it’s the only time he has been there, I may be very wrong. He seemed harmless enough. He gave some opinions which seemed vaguely sensible, his moustache had gone, I quite liked his suit to be honest, and he didn’t say anything too controversial. His trousers weren’t as tight as Jamie Redknapp’s, and he didn’t say “you can’t raise your hands” a single time, but with a bit of media training that can be sorted out. If I didn’t know who he was, I’d say he seemed quite well suited for the role.

Sadly (or not), all this is irrelevant. Gary Neville could be the most eloquent man to walk the land since Oscar Wilde. He could have the charisma of Jack Nicholson, the style of David Beckham, the wit of a young Woody Allen, the oratory skills of Winston Churchill and the tactical insight of Herbert Chapman. It matters not one jot.

And it matters not one jot because Gary Neville doesn’t like a large chunk of the English population, and has said so publically. And more to the point, the feeling is mutual.

Very mutual.

“I can’t stand Liverpool, I can’t stand Liverpool people, I can’t stand anything to do with them.” reported in the Guardian.

So said Mr Neville once. Such was his vitriol of all things Liverpool in a interview once his dad had to step in to try and calm him down, turning off the interviewer’s tape recorder, to which Gary responded: “But I do hate them Dad.”

You might think this puerile hatred of a whole city and all its people  is a bit laughable and not worth worrying over. But this small matter would somewhat compromise his role as a neutral observer of football matches. Could you rely on Gary Neville to comment on how excellently Liverpool played or how City totally outplayed Manchester United (it’s a hypothetical question, ok?)?

To be honest, I’m not going to lose sleep over this decision. I don’t watch pre-match build ups, or half-time analysis – it’s the football, and the football alone that I am interested in. I couldn’t believe how sexist remarks from two football pundits dominated the news for over a week – it just wasn’t that big a story, THEY are not that big a story. But hey, maybe it would be quite good fun watching Neville squirm and have to compliment teams he hates. Maybe he’ll be the consummate professional and be totally unbiased. I can’t see it myself.

But last Wednesday the news came through that Gary Neville was retiring with immediate effect, mid-season. And the whole of Liverpool, half of Manchester and a fair swathe of the rest of the country simultaneously muttered “uh-oh”.

There’s bias in many studio guests – they often have affiliations with specific teams (usually playing that day), and so you might think it’s unfair to single out Neville. But when a player has been so public with his hatred of a set of football fans, it goes further than having a simple bias. It alienates viewers, and it compromises his ability to do his job properly, and professionally.

I can’t see Sky taking that risk. But if Dean Windass can be employed as a reporter, anything’s possible.  I have seen written and heard of at least a hundred people saying the day he becomes a Sky employee they will cancel their subscription – this seems like nothing more than bravado to me, and a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, but the anger truly is there at the thought of him being in the studio. Not that Sky would care, whoever they employ will outrage someone. And they appeared to be trying to soften us all up at the weekend by running an interview with Neville, which to be honest did him no favours.

Of course he may be kept away from teams he despises. And if Paul the Apostle could stop persecuting Christians and follow Jesus instead, maybe Gary can forgive Scousers and blue Mancunians and himself take on a road to Damascus journey and come out a changed man. (13:6 And he did come to a crossroads. And the Lord said seek forgiveness and make peace with your fellow man. And Gary did make peace, and great rewards were delivered from the sky, and from BBC too). Then again, I might pop up to the attic tonight and discover Lord Lucan hiding behind the immersion heater with a copy of Nuts magazine.

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The answer to me is clear. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt, planted a flag in the centre circle. Speaks with honesty, knowledge, knows what he’s talking about, speaks his mind, and appeared to despise Richard Keys. He too had a moustache, but a proper one. Step forward, Graeme Souness.

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Roma manager Vincenzo Montella was disappointed after his side threw away a two-goal lead against Parma on Sunday.For the ninth time this season, Roma dropped points from a winning position after Amauri’s late double salvaged a point for Pasquale Marino’s side at the Stadio Olimpico in the exciting 2-2 draw.The result leaves Roma in sixth position on the Serie A table, leaving them five points behind fourth-placed Lazio, who occupy the last of the Champions League spots.”We concede far too many goals in the final half hour,” Montella said.
“It isn’t a question of players or formation but simply a dip in concentration. This side has suffered this lapse all season and we must work to put this right.””I liked what I saw during the first half and this gives me confidence going forward,” he said.”After the break we were missing (David) Pizarro who is fundamental for our particular way of playing.””We believe a lot in the fourth place, very much and also after today’s result and today’s performance, because, I repeat, there were positive signals.”Roma are close to terminating the contract of Brazilian striker Adriano after he failed to attend a medical. The forward, who signed a three-year deal in June, has been in his home country to receive treatment on a dislocated shoulder and has repeatedly delayed his return to Rome.He finally arrived last week but did not turn up to an organised medical, infuriating club director Gianpaolo Montali.”It’s true, the player did not turn up and will be given a heavy fine,” Montali said.”We tried in every way possible to look after this man when he came to Roma, but now the problem is that he is unprofessional. Adriano is indefensible.”

FIFA have begun disciplinary proceedings against six officials allegedly involved in fixing the outcome of two international friendlies in FebruaryFootball’s governing body said officials involved in last month’s matches which saw Bolivia play Latvia and Estonia take on Bulgaria in Antalya, Turkey, were now facing charges over the outcomes of the games.The games were organised by Footy Sport International, a Thailand-based company, and saw Latvia beat Bolivia 2-1, while Estonia and Bulgaria played out a 2-2 draw.The two games were played in front of only 100 fans and all seven goals came via penalties.Also causing confusion was the choice of officials for the Bulgaria-Estonia match, with reports from the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and Estonian Football Association citing the referee as Hungary’s Krisztian Selmeczi.But Hungarian referees’ boss Laszlo Wagner said the man who actually refereed the game was another Hungarian official, Kolos Lengyel.FIFA said in a statement that match officials had been charged in relation to the games, but did not identify those under suspicion.”FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against six match officials in relation to the international A friendly matches Bolivia-Latvia and Estonia-Bulgaria played in Antalya (Turkey) on February 9, 2011,” the statement read.”The proceedings were opened following an evaluation of all documentation and information received by FIFA, in relation to a possible match-fixing situation in these matches. The FIFA disciplinary committee will be in charge to deal with the matter.”

Ashley Young has been causing a bit of a stir for the last few seasons now, but I’ve always wondered why. Aston Villa signed him for a huge price from Watford, and although he has produced from time to time, he never really did strike me as the future of English football. But it would seem Gerard Houllier has managed to get Young playing again, and against Blackburn he was at the heart of everything good. Maybe Ashley Young could be the future after all?

The 25-year-old was so prolific at Watford because he was the main man, deployed just behind the striker. At Villa, Young has often played second fiddle to the likes of Gabby Agbonlahor and had to be content with a place out wide. But against Blackburn, Young was given the armband, and played off a quality front man in Darren Bent and really looked the part. With Downing one side, Albrighton the other, Houllier seems to have found a system which is getting the Midlands club playing football – something the fans have been craving for years.

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We all know the ‘golden generation’ of English football passed their sell by date long before the abysmal World Cup showing of last summer. Everyone is talking about how the future of the national team is James Milner or Jack Wilshere. Why not Ashley Young? If Fabio Capello adopted the same sort of system used at Villa Park, Young could play off Wayne Rooney. England may then be in danger of actually attacking teams with a bit of pace and urgency. God forbid, I know.

First things first though for the Villa player – he needs to be playing at this level consistently. He played like a leader at the weekend, which is a trait I definitely didn’t see in him before, but it is certainly not a bad one to have. There has been talk of Young moving away from Villa Park at the end of the season (just as there seems to be at the end of every season) but I hope it doesn’t happen. He could go to Manchester United or Liverpool and become a bit-part player – a role which clearly doesn’t suit him. Young should stay at Villa and spearhead the new French regime. This season may be a write-off as far as the fans are concerned, but the Villains have every reason to look forward to next season – if Young stays.

What they don’t need is to lose their best player, again. I sincerely hope Young doesn’t get his head turned by the bright lights of a top four club because next season could be the platform for the former Hornet to lead Villa’s revival and cement himself a starting berth in the England side.

It seems a long way off, but there is no reason why Ashley Young can’t be a part of a successful future at Villa and for England. He’s matured and improved, now is time for the next step: a Young lion to lead the next ‘golden generation’? Watch this space…

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Hearts came from behind twice before snatching a late winner to beat St Mirren 3-2 in the Scottish Premier League on Saturday.Michael Higdon put visitors St Mirren in front in the 14th minute at Tynecastle, before Rudi Skacel levelled for Hearts 10 minutes into the second half.Striker Higdon was on target again to restore St Mirren’s lead on 69 minutes, but this time it was the turn of Ryan Stevenson to level for Hearts with nine minutes to go.And there was a final dramatic twist, with Czech midfielder Skacel grabbing the winner from a corner three minutes into injury time.Hearts remain third on the table, 10 points behind second-placed Rangers. St Mirren are second from bottom, seven points clear of Hamilton Academicals and with a game in hand over the last-placed team. Elsewhere, Kilmarnock came from a goal down to beat Motherwell 3-1 at home.John Sutton opened the scoring for Motherwell in the 15th minute, but Kilmarnock were in front by half-time with Manuel Pascali levelling and Jamie Hamill making it 2-1 a minute before the break.Liam Kelly found the net just six minutes into the second half to complete the scoring and wrap up all three points for the hosts. Kilmarnock are fourth, 10 points behind Hearts while Motherwell are eight points further back in sixth.Daniel Swanson’s first-half strike saw Dundee United beat visitors Inverness 1-0, while Hamilton Academical played out a goalless draw at home to St Johnstone. Hamilton finished with 10 men following the 91st-minute dismissal of Simon Mensing.

Owen Hargreaves looks to have played his last game for Manchester United.Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted on Friday that the 30-year-old will not be fit enough to play any part in this season’s run-in.

The England international midfielder’s contract expires on June 30 and, while recent speculation suggested that he may be offered a one-year extension, the news of his latest setback might put paid to those chances.

When Ferguson was asked if Hargreaves would play again this season, he replied: “I don’t see it all.”

“It is a shoulder injury. It has just brought his season to an end.”

“He has just carried bad luck all the time he has been here. I am pretty sure he won’t be playing this season.”

Hargreaves cost a reported 17 million pounds when he joined the Old Trafford outfit from Bayern Munich in July 2007, but despite playing a big part in United’s Premier League and Champions League double the following season, he has managed just 39 appearances since the big-money transfer.

“His contract is up at the end of the season but I don’t know what is going to happen,” said Ferguson.

“David Gill had a discussion with the boy last week. But no more than that. We have to make a decision.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, has dismissed suggestions that city rivals and FA Cup semi-final opponents Manchester City are lacking in the kind of experience that United possess in abundance.

“They have plenty of experience in their team, they’re not carrying any young players really, maybe Adam Johnson is probably the youngest but they have a lot of experience in their team,” he said.

“Playing at Wembley, you have to play well to win. It’s very seldom a team plays badly and wins, you have to play well so hopefully we can do that.”

“We’ve got a strong squad now, I think that our bench the other night reflected that and we’re going into this game in good confidence.”

Other than Hargreaves and the suspended Wayne Rooney, United are only without Darren Fletcher, who is out with a virus, while Anderson may be in contention after scoring two for the reserves on his return from a knee injury.

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has denied the club is in talks with former coach Jose Mourinho over a move back to the San Siro.Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported the 48-year-old has enrolled his children in a school in Lugano, near Inter’s training ground, prompting speculation the Real Madrid boss could be poised for a return to the Italian champions.

Mourinho guided Inter to a historic treble in 2010 when he led them to glory in the Champions League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but Moratti has hosed down the speculation.

“I’ve read it in the newspapers, but there is nothing going on with Mourinho,” Moratti said.

Moratti defended new Inter coach Leonardo, who took over from Rafael Benitez in December, after the club’s exit from the Champions League at the hands of Schalke, and their tumble to third in the Serie A standings after a 3-0 thrashing by fierce rivals AC Milan.

The president believes a tired squad is responsible for the club’s predicament.

“I don’t think Leonardo has changed much. I think he did fantastically well up to the derby against Milan,” Moratti said.

“We expected a great result, but the big mistake was sending the players away to play with their national teams, and having them come back convinced they were in peak form, when they were actually very tired.”

“Everything went wrong from there. The coach has tried to do what it has been necessary to do and he usually does his job very well, as far as I’m concerned.”

“We are going through a crisis period at the moment and everything has been highlighted even more from the outside.”

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re considering this moment for what it is: we’ve had a drop in form mainly due to physical and mental tiredness. Therefore we have not been playing well in our recent matches.”

Inter have a chance to pick themselves up on Tuesday when they take on Roma in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final at the Stadio Olimpico.