Penalty taking is considered a test of ones nerve and resolve. Like a modern day version of pistols at dawn the battle to see who crumbles first is both exhilarating and fraught with tension. Second guessing where the goalkeeper is going to dive and trying to work out from his stance where his weaker side lies. It’s a mental test of endurance like no other and if you’re lucky enough to come out smiling the feeling of success is sensational.

Right, enough of the romance before this turns into a soppy set piece love story. For every perfect dead ball there is an absolute howler of side splitting proportion. For every exquisite spot kick there is blunder that leaves you cackling and gasping for air. As wonderful as it is to witness flawless set pieces in all their glory you really can’t whack a good old fashioned mishap.

Skying a free kick out of play, tamely tapping a penalty into the welcome grasp of a goalkeeper and missing the ball completely are just some of the hilarious clangers included in this list.

So please make sure your mouth is free of any liquids and your stomach muscles are worthy of withstanding intense laughter. We aren’t prepared to foot the bill for medical costs or laptop repair. But do enjoy this hysterical compilation of some out of the ordinary set pieces from around the world.

Click on Chris Waddle to take you to Top Ten Worst Set Pieces

The Premier League champions are thought to be long-term admirers of The Netherlands international, and pursued him as a possible replacement for Paul Scholes last summer to no avail.

Sneijder has sparked speculation of a move to Old Trafford again by stating an uncertainty over his future.

“There have never been any concrete contacts with Manchester United. I see everything, I am not blind, but there is nothing concrete right now,” the playmaker told Nos, translated into English by The Daily Mail.

“I am happy at Inter, but we will see. I currently have no contacts with other clubs and I am living day by day.

“If on the last day of the transfer window an offer had arrived, maybe I would have left.

‘The truth is that I feel at home at Inter, but I do not know where I will play next season,” he admitted.

Despite Scholes coming out of retirement to help United’s injury-stricken midfield, Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to be in the market for a new creative player for the centre of the park, and a move for Sneijder come the summer may yet be a possibility.

By Gareth McKnight

Some are universally disliked and run the gauntlet of hate every time they set foot on the pitch and this list is a celebration of those footballers who we all love to hate.

Click on Sol Campbell below to unveil the top 10

Among the inflated transfer fees, the ability among many to quickly become an ‘In the know’ expert on twitter and the calls among almost all supporters for their clubs to spend lavishly on the next big thing, the transfer windows have turned football into somewhat of a joke.

Yes there would be negatives to leaving the market open for the majority of the year; teams who are looking to hold onto their best assets would struggle considerably to keep the wolves at bay for a prolonged period, much less the summer months. Players might be inclined to jump ship as soon as things start to become difficult and, equally, it would give fans an incentive to demand signings after a poor result. But why can the American leagues manage it? The aim, of course, is to cut down on ridiculous fees being spent and panic buys highlighting the shortcomings of the windows and clubs. Would clubs be as inclined to spend well over the odds if they knew they weren’t in a race against time to get deals done? The only obstacle they’d face would be the rival clubs competing for a player’s signature—something which also plays it’s part in inflated fees.

Introducing Financial Fair Play and capping the amount of players that can be registered for a league season won’t do a huge deal in prompting clubs to spend less heavily when the opportunity arises; much of it comes from the fact that there is very little time to do so much—equating in £50 million purchases that backfire. In much the same way that American sports do it, the governing bodies should look to allow clubs the freedom to move and acquire players whenever they please, with a small part of the season of maybe a month or two for clubs to negotiate player contracts behind closed doors.

Much of the excitement of transfer deadline day is the not knowing whether your club’s manager or chairman are about to pull an ace of out their sleeve. It adds to the joy of seeing a new signing, and especially a star signing that may once have been out-of-reach, arrive at the club. But it doesn’t always add up to benefit the game. Almost as if people are working behind the scenes to cash in on the feverish nature of supporters who will do almost anything to pick up on the latest rumour; FIFA and UEFA need to look to ways of eradicating an aspect of the game that does very little for the model they wish to set.

Dortmund are a fine case in point. They cruised to their first Bundesliga title in 9 years last season, finishing 7 points ahead of nearest rivals, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

Under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund won the Bundesliga last year with a squad that had an average age of 24.3 years old – the youngest Championship-winning side in Bundesliga history.

At the heart of this vibrant outfit were Nuri Sahin (22 years old) and Mario Gotze (19). Add into the mix Mats Hummels (22) Sven Bender (22) and Shinji Kagawa (22) and the spine of their side was largely made up of what would traditionally be considered youngsters.

But what exactly is a ‘youngster’ these days?

In seasons gone by a youngster could constitute a player up to the age of 23 years of age (sometimes still young enough to represent their country in an under-21 international tournament). However, nowadays, the old adage of ‘if you’re young enough, then you’re good enough’ seems to most definitely apply.

Players have begun to break through at a younger and younger age. Arsenal last season were built around the influence of Jack Wilshere, a player whose maturity on the pitch belied his relative inexperience at a mere 19 years of age. Cesc Fabregas broke into the very same side at just 16 years of age and was an ever-present until his departure to Barcelona this summer.

The much-vaunted Man Utd side this campaign, or ‘Fergie’s Babes’ as some have rather bafflingly termed them (note to the Sun; they’re not his babes, just how much did they collectively cost?) had a starting eleven with an average age of 23.9 years old, despite the presence of wiser heads such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s biggest legacy is his determination to constantly reinvent his Man Utd side and this season could arguably hail the dawning of his fourth great side. The likes of Wayne Rooney, David de Gea, Phil Jones and Tom Cleverley occupy key positions in a title-chasing side, despite none of them being older than 25.

So why are the top sides beginning to get younger and younger?

As far as I can make out, it simply comes down to the rigours and pace of the modern game. Seasons are much longer than they used to be, the pace of the game has quickened and there are simply more games than ever before to occupy a coaches mind.

Dortmund’s youth coordinator and scorer of that now infamous goal against Juventus in the 1997 Champions League final, Lars Ricken, had this to say on the matter: “Athletic demands have increased enormously, so it could be that the age structure is changing because young athletes can cope better with that.”

Traditionally, outfiled players approach their peak, dependent on their position of course, between the ages of 27-29 years of age, but is that accepted truth now starting to change?

The pace of modern football is quicker than ever before. The demands that it has on your body must have increased exponentially over the last decade. The space between defence and attack has also shortened when compared to a decade ago; this in turn means that there is now a lot more congestion in the middle of the pitch. Expansive play, which grants the player more time on the ball, is  a lot rarer than what it once was.

Of course, there will always be exceptions to this rule. Xavi Hernandez, the metronome around which the most successful club and national side in world football conduct their style of play, is hardly a spring chicken at 31 years of age. Andrea Pirlo has revitalised his career at Juventus so far this campaign at the grand old age of 32 and I very much doubt whether any club given half the chance would turn down the services of Samuel Eto’o at 30 years of age.

Germany’s strong showing at the last World Cup was, in the main, built around the fluid attacking play of a younger generation. Brazil are currently going through a rebuilding process of their own which has thus far been built around the mercurial talents of both Henrique Ganso and Neymar at just 21 and 19 years of age respectively.

While the age of the golden oldie is far from over, as Ryan Giggs demonstrated on Wednesday, there has certainly been a noticeable shift. Certain positions will always suit players with more experience, such as centre half or goalkeeper, but on the whole, the sides that have proved the most successful over the past 3-4 years or so on both the domestic and national stage have revolved around the individual talents of players around or under the age of 25 years young.

Football is a game that deals in cycles, and this article may be entirely redundant by this time next year, but the financial fair play rules that FIFA are looking to enforce, helping to bring the larger clubs into check, could not only promote competitiveness in the long-run, they could also have a lasting effect on the ages of the talent within those squads. The age structure looks to be shifting with an emphasis now placed on youth; it would be surprising if this concerted move was reversed any time soon.

You can follow me on Twitter at – http://twitter.com/#!/JamesMcManus1

Inter have confirmed that they have ended their interest in signing Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, as transfer negotiations have broken down.

The Argentina international is on his way out of the Etihad Stadium after numerous controversies and disciplinary actions, with both Inter, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain eager to sign the attacker.

Milan walked away from negotiations recently after failing to meet City’s £30million-plus valuation, and Inter now appear to have followed suit.

“Now we’re no longer interested in Tevez. He is following a different path,” board member Marco Tronchetti Provera told Ansa.

“Inter have recovered their champions and there is no need to have him or another, even if Tevez remains a great champion.”

With less than a week left in the transfer window Tevez’s options are running out, as PSG are the only known bidder left for the South American’s services.

The inability to find a solution is also hurting Tevez personally, as City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has also confirmed that the player is not being paid whilst he is AWOL back in his homeland.

By Gareth McKnight

The grass isn't always greener

Being stuck in the reserves whilst Michael Carrick continues to get a game in the first team is enough to test anybody’s patience and if rumours emanating from the Paul Pogba camp are to be believed, the talented 18-year-old is set to call time on his Manchester United career when his contract expires next summer.

Despite being lauded as one answer to the Red Devils’ midfield problems, Pogba has found appearances at Old Trafford hard to come by this term. A pair of substitute run-outs in the Carling Cup is all the former Le Havre trainee has been granted so far and with further chances looking sparse a number of suitors are said to be waiting in the wings.

Nostradamus never did try his hand at writing football gossip columns so take what you will from various sources suggesting Arsenal, Juventus, AC and Inter Milan are all keen to add the French under-19 international to their squads.

Given the nominal fee Pogba’s signature would cost and relatively cheap wages he could command, his acquisition would be a low-risk bit of business for anybody so it’s no wonder the midfielder is being courted across the continent.

The conundrum player and club must get right though, is would Pogba be better off remaining at Manchester United?

Even given his limited exposure to first-team football there would be few at Old Trafford prepared to let him go. Pogba was instrumental in helping United’s youth team win the FA youth cup last season and he has long established himself as a key member of the second string.

During the summer Sir Alex Ferguson overtly mentioned Pogba as one of the latest batch of academy graduates he was seeking to integrate into the side, and although that promotion has hardly been forthcoming, all involved recognise Pogba’s natural talent and athleticism mark him out as a potential incumbent into the United side.

Whilst United are not generally in the habit of stockpiling resource for the sake of it, they have been scorched on a number of occasions in the past when letting players go prematurely.

Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique would both arguably get in the team now but both would cost tenfold the fees they were released for. A Hat-trick with Pogba would not go down well.

Of course, the party line from Carrington would be that a player who does not turn nineteen until next March should bide his time and serve his apprenticeship with an institute who have a long and proven track record of developing from within – and they’d be right.

Pogba’s head may have already been turned by the lure of match minutes and money but if he had the inclination to ask Phil Jones, Chris Smalling Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez or Wayne Rooney what to do, he’d still be a red this time next year.

Tales of how Sir Alex Ferguson develops young players is well trodden and one which doesn’t need retelling in the aftermath of his silver jubilee celebrations, but there is a reason the Scot has continually evolved side after side, and that is because he frequently gets the blend right within his squad of youth and experience.

The expectations placed upon the next big things can be overwhelming and often misguided – especially at clubs of the size and stature of United – yet Ferguson has the experience and understanding of how, when and where to involve players for future gains.

Simply playing as much football as you can, as soon as you can is a methodology which has more failure’s than successes and Pogba would be unwise to think that this approach would automatically suit him in the long run.

The number of starlet’s who break into established teams at such tender ages are increasingly rare and more players are now going through and induction progress of lesser cup ties and league games mixed in with loan spells in order to evolve to the the nuances of senior football regardless of any inherent technical skills.

At United, Pogba is cherished within such an environment and personnel around him to inch out his maturity for maximum benefit over a slightly more prolonged period of time.

However, the differences in mentality of player and manager only serves as a metaphor between generation and tradition with Pogba wanting cash and a quick fix whilst Ferguson is religiously well versed in the virtues of patience.

Pogba can sign a pre-contract agreement from January onwards so time is not on United’s side to convince their starlet to stay, but no convincing should need to be done – with only a handful of exceptions they say the only way is down after leaving Manchester United.

Follow John Baines on twitter @bainesyDiego10

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Newcastle United will face stiff competition from Italian giants Roma to sign Manchester United’s highly rated, wantaway midfielder Ravel Morrison according to talkSPORT.

The Magpies had a £500,000 bid rejected by the English champions last week and are set to increase their offer in order to bring one of the hottest prospects in European football to the North East. But Serie A club Roma have been informed that Morrison would be open to a switch to Italy and are set to approach him and his representatives this month.

The 18-year-old is out of contract in the summer and Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that the player demanded ‘unrealistic’ contract demands and although Morrison claims otherwise, the two parties are still miles apart. With the player’s contract expiring in six months, clubs are allowed to discuss a possible move in the summer with the player on a free but Sir Alex is confident it won’t come to that.

Morrison has made just three first team appearances for United; all in the League Cup; and is growing more and more concerned with his lack of action, even though Sir Alex has had horrific selection problems in the centre of midfield, it seems he feels the England-under 19 playmaker is not ready.

In just one 80 minute match a constant stream of changes that need making to football will run through your head and it will almost certainly be detrimental to your enjoyment of our national sport once the rose-tinted football glasses are removed to show the games’ ugly head. Even those that don’t appreciate rugby will begin to realise that rather than a brutal, uneducated game there is intelligence, respect and an ability to change within the sport that further highlights the problems we face.

People will say that this argument is completely flawed because the sports are inherently different in every way: the shape of the ball, the amount of players, the scoring, the breaks in play and the basic rules and more. But ignoring this, the conduct of the players, the use of video technology and the quality of officiating is far superior in rugby, and that’s the problem for football that needs to be addressed.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the conduct of the players that we pay to see represent our clubs. Every week there is a player that attempts to deceive the referee by diving. It is one of the most frustrating facets of the game to see somebody going to ground as if they have been shot when a member of the opposition gets within touching distance. There is no glossing over the fact that this happens and affects most games, whether it earns their team a penalty or gets them out of a difficult situation near their own goal. Players are hardly ever punished and even receiving a yellow card isn’t going to affect them so for the likes of Nani and Sergio Busquets the reward outways the punishment and even if a referee decided to tackle the problem by booking everybody that dived then there would be a record number of cards handed out and they would be chastised by managers, pundits and fans alike.

While in rugby, feigning injuries and diving is extremely rare. It is a brutal, full-blooded game where tough tackles are par for the course but there are strict parameters that are heavily enforced on players that break the rules with high and dangerous tackles. For a player to pretend that they were a victim of a dangerous challenge in order to gain an advantage is unheard of and ridiculous. In 2009, the sport was embroiled in the Bloodgate scandal where a player feigned an injury so his team could make a blood substitution. When the cheating was found out those who created the incident were banned from the game and since then the incident hasn’t been repeated. If footballers decided to obey the rules rather than manipulate them, maybe games would be won by the better side rather than the team that included the good actor.

In football, players treat officials like verbal punch bags, hurling abuse in their direction for daring to give a decision against a multi-million pound star. The sight of players surrounding the referee is all too common (particularly at Old Trafford) and is a slap in the face to the failing Respect campaign set up by the FA. Players swearing, shouting, pushing and harassing referees are disgraceful and the respect that these stars have for the man in charge is minimal if it exists at all. Even though the referee will not change his decision once it’s made it doesn’t stop them venting their anger.

Instead, rugby players learn from an early age to call the referee “Sir” and only speak to him when he addresses you first. It is only the captain that can question a referees’ decision but that is done in a respectful way and there is no chance they would get away with using foul and abusive language towards the official. Having watched football for so many years, to begin watching a different sport and seeing the referee spoken to as if he was the school headmaster was a shock, especially when you see the considerable difference in size between player and ref, so why can’t that same rule be taken into football? Swearing isn’t the problem here, it’s the lack of respect. Players are ruining matches by intimidating officials into giving the decisions there way and if they continue to do their job then teams criticise them after the game. Like diving it is something that we know is a problem but until you watch a game of rugby it is difficult to comprehend just how bad the problem is.

Milan and Inter have been locked in a tug-of-war for the controversial Argentina international, with the stage set for the Scudetto holders to sign him after their rivals admitted defeat in their efforts on Thursday.

However, Italian news agency ANSA have reported that due to City’s stubbornness over the financial aspects of the deal, the Serie A champions have now walked away from negotiations.

Tevez was ready to replace Alexandre Pato at the San Siro, but the Brazilian attacker committed his future to Milan and the Italian giants are now thought to be happy to keep Pato rather than sign Tevez.

Pato had been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain to link up with former bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Leonardo, but instead has opted to stay with his current employers.

The news means that Tevez is running out of options of potential destinations, as there are a limited amount of suitors who could meet City’s asking price for the forward.

By Gareth McKnight