Just 180 minutes of football separate England from a place at the Brazil 2014 World Cup but if Roy Hodgson’s side are to stand a chance of qualifying they have to get past Montenegro tonight.
As it stands England are just one point ahead of Ukraine and Montenegro in Group H but will be buoyed by their 4-0 win over Moldova last month, in which Steven Gerrard, Rickie Lambert and Danny Welbeck all made it onto the score sheet. Montenegro drew with Poland 1-1 in early September but if the broadsheets are to be believed, Branko Brnovic’s side are viewing Friday’s game as a potential giant killing.
First time round England could only muster a 1-1 draw with Montenegro away in Podgorica after a late goal from Dejan Damjanovic, and Hodgson is well aware of the dangers posed by the opposition.
“They’re well organised and a tough team to play, they’re dangerous from set-plays and a big and strong team,” Hodgson told the FA.
“They’re a team that knows how to defend and a team that will ask questions of us too.
“They will expect us to take the game to them and take the initiative and they’ll be trying to use the counter-attacking opportunities. So we can’t throw players forward to try and score goals and leave ourselves exposed. We know the task ahead and we can’t criticise Montenegro for that.”
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Liverpool have taken the first steps towards offering Luis Suarez a new contract that would see him become the club’s highest paid player of all time, according to the Daily Mail.
Reds managing director Ian Ayre flew to Barcelona yesterday to meet Suarez’s agent, Pere Guardiola – the brother of Bayern Munich boss Pep – to open discussions on a new deal that would see Suarez improve his current wages of £100,000 a week.
Suarez extended his current deal in the summer of 2012, and is set to see it expire in 2016.
The Uruguayan international has proved his worth to the club once again this season, scoring a staggering 17 goals in just 11 league games.
Suarez’s goals have helped fire the Reds to second place in the Premier League table, just two points behind current leaders Arsenal.
The Reds are anxious to reward him with a contract that would see the striker surpass Steven Gerrard in Liverpool’s earning list, and complete a remarkable turnaround.
Suarez spent the summer attempting to engineer a move to Premier League rivals Arsenal, claiming manager Brendan Rodgers had ‘broken promises’ by not allowing him to leave.
Suarez, 26, was made to train on his own by Rodgers while he continued to serve his 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last April.
But since returning to the starting line up against Sunderland on September 29, Suarez has not put a foot wrong.
He was named Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year on Monday, 24 hours after captaining Liverpool to a 5-0 win at Tottenham, and said: “It’s important that we stay together, we keep going. It’s important for me, but more important for the club.”
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It should already be accepted that Arsenal don’t have the squad to challenge on three fronts until the end of the season. Arsene Wenger has been down this path on more than one occasion in the recent past, stretching a thin squad to its limits and subsequently facing ultimate defeat.
On the face of it, with Arsenal still in contention for the Premier League title, a loss to Bayern Munich wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to Wenger’s side. Look to the consistency Liverpool showed during the first half of the season when they weren’t burdened with midweek excursions across the continent.
Brendan Rodgers’ side is also short on quality throughout, but they’ve been able to get where they are now because they’ve been able to properly recuperate between weekend games.
But it isn’t as clear cut as that for Arsenal. The club should be in a position to offer maximum effort in all three competitions they’re still in. Wenger had a month to strengthen the squad properly and chose to stand still, thus increasing the likelihood of burnout.
It also doesn’t set a good mood around the club if supporters are being asked to fork out even more cash in line with the club’s three per cent increase in tickets. What are fans paying for if Arsenal are unable to field strong enough squads throughout the campaign?
A loss to Bayern could be terrible for morale, and that’s what the manager is currently gambling on. Taking away the emotional aspect of it, however, Arsenal would be better suited knowing that the rest of the season is confined to just domestic games; that’s how far this Arsenal squad can exert themselves without falling into that now infamous ‘red zone.’
The key here is mentality and how much a loss to Bayern can take out of the players. It’s nothing new that some supporters may feel liberated from the burden of Champions League football; when the prize is so high domestically, why wouldn’t the focus be on what can be achieved in the Premier League?
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But it’s precisely that knock-on effect that could damage the club’s chances of winning a trophy this season. The gamble is whether defeat in Europe will have a lasting effect on what the team do for the remainder of the campaign.
With such a thin squad, one already weakened by injury, it’s a difficult call for Wenger to make.
Following Premier League referee Andre Marriner’s inexplicable confusion between Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs during the Chelsea vs Arsenal, we felt it was worth a look at some other memorable refereeing cock-ups.
Most people are appreciative of the pressure referees are put under during the heat of the game, but some of these are just inexcusable.
Graham Poll’s triple yellow
Where better to begin than Graham Poll’s moment of stardom in the 2006 World Cup. England’s number one referee (or so according to FIFA) took charge of the Group F tie between Croatia and Australia. An hour in and Poll chose to book Croatian Josep Simunic, following that up in the 90th minute with a second yellow card.
However, Poll failed to implement the rules by forgetting to send the Croatian off for his second bookable offence. Poll did go on to dismiss Simunic, but not until he issued him with a third sanction. Sepp Blatter later confirmed that had Croatia gone on to claim victory, Australia would have had grounds for appeal. Luckily for Poll, the game finished 2-2. The Englishman was sent home from the tournament in shame, and became a laughing stock worldwide.
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“I don’t find you funny, Gazza”
Anyone who says that referees have no sense of humour need only cite this to make their point. Referee Dougie Smith was officiating Rangers’ final home game of the 1994-95 season, and he didn’t take kindly to Paul Gascoigne’s antics. 7-0 up and the England star handed the referee back his cards after dropping them by brandishing the yellow card in the fashion of the official.
As opposed to laughing it off as any self-deprecating person would do, Smith stopped Gazza in his tracks and showed him a yellow card in return. Congrats to Smith for taking the pressure of the Hibs players though.
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Watford vs Reading – ‘Ghost goal’
This Championship tie in 2008 saw one of the most bizarre incidents in the history of English football. 13 minutes into the match and Reading were awarded a goal, courtesy of Watford defender John Eustace. A brief goal-mouth scramble following a Reading corner was eventually cleared out of the box only for referee Stuart Attwell to blow for a goal.
After a consultation with linesman Neil Bannister, the goal was given, seemingly after the first touch from the Watford defender. Despite a lack of acknowledgement from any player on the field, the referee allowed the goal to stand.
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Australia vs Equitorial Guinea – Women’s World Cup
This particular incident is the kind of thing you may see down the park with seven-year-olds when the manager screams ‘pick the ball up’ at his kids. Australia, already 1-0 up, hit the post after a cross.
Instead of taking possession of the ball, or simply clearing it, Equitorial Guinea defender Bruna catches the ball and turns towards the referee before dropping it and running off. You can only assume the ref was as confused as everyone observing the game was and somehow allowed play to resume.
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Crystal Palace vs Bristol City – Freddy Sears disallowed goal
The introduction of goal-line technology means that this type of controversy will likely never occur again in at top-level football. Frank Lampard vs England was bad. Pedro Mendes vs Manchester United was worse.
But Freddy Sears vs Bristol City is quite literally unbelievable. Neil Warnock has never been one to shy away from public criticism of anyone, but he was fully justified in his outrage after his on-loan striker had the ball practically hit the back of the net. In bundling the ball over the line Sears managed to hit the stanchion resulting in the ball rebounding straight back out of the goal.
Crystal Palace players wheeled away in jubilation while Bristol’s defenders trudged away in disappointment, only to find out that the referee, on advice from his linesman, disallowed the goal.
With all of the talk leading up to yesterday’s match focused upon whether Roy Hodgson should persevere with Wayne Rooney, the pressure was on for the 28 year old to deliver. After spurning a glorious opportunity in the first half, the Manchester United forward delivered the perfect riposte to his critics by grabbing the equaliser, his FIRST ever goal at a World Cup.
However, Rooney’s strike was not enough to prevent the Three Lions slipping to a second consecutive defeat. The brace from Luis Suarez leaves England’s hopes of qualifying hanging by a thread as Hodgson’s men now have to rely upon Italy to emerge victorious in both of their remaining fixtures.
Moved to his preferred central role, many fans commended Rooney for delivering an improved performance to his showing in Manaus.
But in a team display characterised by nervousness and defensive weakness, some supporters still argued that the 28 year old had failed to deliver once again.
Despite having a goal and an assist from two matches, there are clearly those that feel we should expect more from Rooney. But is the forward just a convenient scapegoat for England’s current woes?
It was revealed this week that Angel Di Maria has an unusual add-on in his Manchester United contract.
The Argentine signed to the Red Devils from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window for a fee of £59.7 million, the fifth most expensive transfer of all time and the highest fee ever paid by a British club. This transfer fee could rise to £70m with the add-ons in his contract. One of the add-ons includes a bonus for Real Madrid if the 26-year-old wins the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Considering only two players (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) have won the FIFA Ballon d’Or since its creation when the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged together in 2010, this might be a big ask for Di Maria to achieve. No one has won the award whilst playing in the Premier League either since the combing of the two awards.
It’s understood that the extra clause in the contract was added during discussion between Real Madrid’s negotiators, and representatives of Di Maria during talks with the United hierarchy.
United were open to having this add-on in di Maria’s contract because winning the award would justify his £59.7m price tag and it will likely be accompanied by team success as well. If di Maria does win the FIFA Ballon d’Or, Real Madrid will receive another £4m.
This revelation comes after Di Maria claimed Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez sent a letter to him on the day of the World Cup final which asked him not to play against Germany because they thought he might get injured.
Di Maria said in a recent interview that he had his leg on ice whilst reading the letter in the morning preparing for the game in the afternoon, and he tore up the letter straight away.
He said: “I tore up the letter as soon as it was given to me and didn’t take any notice of it, I didn’t care what might happen, but it was (coach) Alejandro’s (Sabella) decision,”
“I didn’t want to make any demands of him but I also didn’t want to leave the team a man short five minutes from a very important match.”
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Can Angel Di Maria really win a FIFA Ballon d’Or with Man United, or is it an ambitious clause in his contract that may never be activated? Leave your comments below.
The international break (or the UEFA-endorsed ‘Week of Football’ as it is now known) is over, and the domestic game has returned to these shores.
The simplified qualification process has virtually guaranteed England a straightforward passage to the European Championship finals in 2016 already following their away victory against toughest group opponents Switzerland, which means that most followers of the Premier League will be looking forward to enjoying football which bears some relevance this weekend, especially as it is the first round of fixtures following the closing of the summer transfer window.
Even in these early stages of the season, there is much to digest from an attractive set of fixtures which should easily restore our ample appetite for Premier League football, including a top-of-the-table clash, a bottom-of-the-table double header and an encounter between two Champions League heavyweights. With matches scheduled for Saturday lunchtime through to Monday night, here are six things you may want to look out for in the Premier League this weekend.
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New-look United
Manchester United stole the show on transfer deadline day with their sensational loan signing of Radamel Falcao from Monaco. As well as the Colombian hitman, Louis van Gaal is likely to field a further three debutants in Sunday’s clash against QPR, with Daley Blind, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo all in line to make their first competitive starts.
Though the trio can all play as left-sided defenders, van Gaal is expected to persist with his preferred 3-5-2 formation, which may see Rojo lining up as the left component of a central defensive trio, Shaw in the left wing-back berth and the flexible Blind partnering Ander Herrera in central midfield. The briefing for United will be simple – win at all cost.
Following an unimpressive start to the campaign, the pressure will be on for the Red Devils to record a first win of the season, and a home fixture against newly promoted QPR presents a great opportunity to do just that. There will be an air of expectation and excitement around Old Trafford, and with a strikeforce of Falcao, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, not to mention the attacking midfield options of Angel di Maria, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj, there should only be one winner.
Fail to gain the three points, however, and things may begin to look strangely similar to last season’s memorable campaign.
Arsenal’s title credentials put to the test
Arsenal’s record against last season’s top five teams was nothing short of atrocious. Their solitary victory came against Liverpool at home in November, and their heavy losses to Chelsea and Liverpool in the return fixture at Anfield made for half of the 22 goals conceded against their top-of-the-table rivals. To put this into context, Chelsea conceded just 27 goals during the course of the whole season.
If the Gunners are to mount a serious challenge this season, they must drastically improve their performances against their fellow title contenders, and Manchester City’s visit to the Emirates on Saturday will provide Arsene Wenger with a fitting test of his side’s credentials. The champions scored six against Arsenal at the Etihad last season, and after a shock home defeat to Stoke City at home a fortnight ago will be determined to get back to winning ways.
If the Gunners have learnt anything from last season’s batterings, we should see a closer game this time around. The added intrigue of Danny Welbeck making his Arsenal debut following his deadline day switch from Manchester United makes this the game of the weekend.
Top of the table clash at Stamford Bridge
Whilst the fourth and seventh-placed sides will be battling it out in North London, over in the western side of the capital the top two go head-to-head. Chelsea are expected to remain at the top end of the table for the duration of the season, while visitors Swansea are not; nevertheless, the South Wales side have enjoyed a perfect winning start to the campaign, and will be tough opponents for Jose Mourinho’s men.
The Blues were unconvincing in their first home fixture of the season against Leicester City, so an improved performance will be demanded by Mourinho. Meanwhile, morale in the Swansea camp is high; manager Garry Monk has recently been awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month for August, and his new signings, especially the returning Gylfi Sigurdsson, have made a solid early impact. A point would be much welcomed by the Swans, as well as a return to goalscoring ways for Wilfried Bony.
Last year’s standout player has yet to find the net this season; getting his first against Chelsea would certainly be great way to open his account.
Life without Sturridge
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers could barely contain his frustration during Thursday’s press conference when asked about the injury Reds striker Daniel Sturridge sustained whilst on international duty with England. Though his grievances are legitimate, Sturridge’s reported three-week absence will at least give Rodgers an idea of how his side copes without two men whose goals were so integral to Liverpool’s title challenge last season.
With Luis Suarez gone and Sturridge now unavailable, the goalscoring responsibility falls on none other than Mario Balotelli; though the Italian forward impressed on his debut against Tottenham, he was also wasteful, spurning two golden opportunities to bag his first Liverpool goal.
Aston Villa are the visitors to Anfield on Saturday evening, and Paul Lambert’s men represent something of a bogey team at home for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool; last season’s 2-2 draw, a game where the Reds were 2-0 down at one point, was preceded by a shock 3-1 defeat in Rodgers’ inaugural campaign. Daniel Sturridge was on the scoresheet in both encounters between these sides last season, and with Villa in buoyant mood after an unbeaten start, Rodgers will be hoping that Balotelli will render Sturridge’s absence irrelevant.
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All to play for at the Hawthorns
West Bromwich Albion versus Everton is not a game that would normally attract much attention in the Premier League, likely to be shown on the back end of the Match of the Day running order rather than as the headline act. However following both sides’ poor starts to the season, there is much at stake at the Hawthorns this weekend.
Everton occupy 17th position in the league table, with the Baggies directly below them; they are both also winless, having drawn two matches and lost one. For Everton, a win is required to kickstart a campaign in which much was expected of them amongst their fans following last season’s impressive fifth-placed finish.
New West Brom boss Alan Irvine, meanwhile, has yet to win over West Brom supporters; his previous position as the head of Everton’s academy gives this game extra significance.
Flair at the KC Stadium
The final game of this week’s round of fixtures sees Sam Allardyce’s West Ham take on Steve Bruce’s Hull City at the KC Stadium. Known for being sides full of grit, industry and physicality, but not much flair, the two teams underwent a radical transformation during the summer, and now boast a number of players who should bring a certain pizzazz and panache to their respective campaigns.
The prospect of Alex Song, Mauro Zaraté, Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez wowing the crowd on Humberside was previously unimaginable in an encounter between these two sides. Messrs Allardyce and Bruce’s newfound penchant for aesthetically pleasing football should see an entertaining game on Monday night.
Everton’s John Stones was not exactly a classic high-profile signing when he arrived at Goodison Park on January Deadline Day 2013, with the transfer pretty much going unnoticed by most.
Now the 20-year-old is one of the most impressive young players in the Premier League and he has the potential to become a future Everton and even England captain. John Stones made his debut for Barnsley aged 17 and made a total of 28 appearances for The Tykes, before The Toffees secured his signature for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around £3m.
Seemingly out of nowhere, and mainly due to injuries to the Everton defence, Stones was given his Premier League debut in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, coming off the bench for the final few moments. Due to an injury to Phil Jagielka, Stones made his first Everton start against Stoke City and he kept his place thanks to a number of impressive performances. In his first full season with Everton, Stones made a total of 21 Premier League appearances and was rewarded with an England call-up for the friendlies against Peru, Ecuador and Norway where he won his first three caps.
A few seasons ago, Stones was trying to break into the Barnsley side. Now he’s a first team regular for Everton in the Premier League. So far this season he has missed only two Premier League fixtures in a struggling Everton side. He has had a few outstanding performances, too, notably against Liverpool and West Brom.
Stones was rewarded with another international call-up last week as he looked to cement his place in the England line-up. But he picked up a bad ankle injury in the defeat to Manchester United and was forced to withdraw.
One thing is for sure is when he’s fit again, he will return to the squad without having to battle for his place in the starting XI again. He is growing as a player very rapidly by getting regular game time in the Premier League and playing alongside the experience of Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka.
He’s working under a creative young manager in Roberto Martinez and the 41-year-old Spaniard has tipped Stones to be a future captain.
“He is a leader. He is born with that quality. He has real high standards in everything he does and for a young man he has always got the right approach on a daily basis,” said Martinez.
“In my eyes he is a potential captain and leader, someone very close to Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry.
Positive comments from the Everton boss and it’s fantastic to see Stones being rated so highly and getting game-time at the top level. It’s relatively easy for managers to give game-time to attacking youngsters because mistakes aren’t always so costly with them. But to give a young defender regular Premier League football? Martinez is helping Stones grow rapidly and he can definitely become Everton’s future captain.
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I’d go one step further and claim that the 20-year-old can be the captain of England in the future. There’s a collection of young Englishmen who are experiencing regular football in the Premier League and those players are the next generation of the national side. It’s great to see the likes Tyler Blackett and Raheem Sterling, along with Stones, getting regular football, and the next generation will need a captain. John Stones fits the bill – he’ll only improve and he’s learning from some highly experienced players.
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Despite a promising opening month to their first season back in the Premier League since 2004, Leicester City have since struggled to cope with the step up in class. Creditable draws against Arsenal and Everton, and of course the famous 5-3 victory over Man Utd, gave Leicester an impressive start. But after just 16 matches it looks like Championship football is looming for the club next season.
The Foxes are currently going through a horror run of form in which they’re without a win in 11 matches, losing nine of those – including their last four on the bounce. Manager Nigel Pearson has come under a large amount of pressure with questions being asked about whether or not he is the right man to try and lead them to safety.
Performances haven’t been up to standard in recent weeks, although they put in a decent display against Man City this past Saturday. The level of performance against Man Utd in September showed what Leicester can do, but with the current run they are on, all confidence has gone and the team lack a leader that is going to get the best out of them on the pitch.
With the amount of money available to the club, perhaps Pearson could have spent more than the £11m he did during the summer transfer window. This would have certainly given them a much better chance of survival because their current squad is lacking in Premier League experience.
The big signing was Esteban Cambiasso, who was a coup for the club. The 34-year-old was signed on a free from Inter Milan, where he had gained legendary status. It was thought that the Argentine would play a huge role in the club’s survival but it hasn’t quite gone to plan with Cambiasso not having the impact many thought he would.
£8m was spent on Brighton striker Leonardo Ulloa who has provided a decent return so far with six Premier League goals. Jamie Vardy is another who has looked good in spells, especially against Man Utd where he ran their defence ragged. He has put in fairly consistent displays, and works extremely hard for the side, but only has the one goal to his name so far this season.
The injury to Kasper Schmeichel is another setback in Leicester’s hopes of survival. Second choice goalkeeper Ben Hamer looked good against Man City but his lack of experience of the Premier League is something the club should consider when weighing up the potential of bringing in a temporary replacement in January.
There is certainly talent in the Leicester squad, but it is predominantly a young squad, with the majority having very little experience at this level. This is part of the reason why they are finding it difficult to adjust to life in the Premier League, but with January fast approaching, it gives the manager a chance to add a couple of players to bolster that inexperience.
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Even so, with the gap from safety now five points, it is hard to see Leicester managing to pull off a great escape on this occasion.
Manchester United’s attacking play may well be the subject of a lot of criticism this week but it is important to consider just how much Manchester United have strengthened defensively this season. A few months ago, United looked very leaky at the back as the defence struggled with injuries and took time to adapt to van Gaal’s five-at-the-back formation. However, things have improved in a defensive sense since the season has developed and this is down to a number of factors.
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All good defences need a good goalkeeper to keep them on their toes as well as providing an assured figure in the penalty area. Without a solid goalkeeper, the whole defence will not operate successfully as a unit. This is why David de Gea has been so vital to Manchester United this season. When the Spaniard first arrived at Old Trafford, he looked a flimsy figure, struggling to command his area and gather crosses coming into the box. However, since he has adapted to the English game, he has become more of an imposing presence; he always possessed the excellent athleticism that made him produce excellent reaction-based saves but now he has improved by combining this natural ability with a sense of solidarity. He is not afraid to come and gather crosses, he has adapted well to the physical side of the Premier League. The Spaniard has kept seven clean sheets so far this season, the fourth highest total in the league. This is certainly an encouraging amount considering the often makeshift set-up of the United defence this campaign.
As well as the goalkeeper, defenders at the club have adapted well to van Gaal’s new system. Playing five at the back seemed to cause a lot of confusion at first, especially due to the fact that the three central defenders were changing on a regular basis due to injuries. The likes of Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Paddy McNair have been the best performers at the back for Manchester United this season. According to Squawka data, United actually have the second-highest defence performance score this season with 2,019, second only to Southampton with a defensive score of 2,468. Squawka recognises Phil Jones as United’s best defender this season. The Englishman has made the most interceptions and the most clearances in the team.
Another encouraging stat for United fans is the performance of Paddy McNair; in the 10 Premier League games McNair has featured in so far, United have won eight whilst McNair has a 56% tackle success rate as well as winning 53% of his contested duels. Another encouraging sign for United is the defence form of Antonio Valencia; he has won 58 tackles, 15 more than any other United player, with a success rate of 57%, the highest in the entire squad. The Ecuadorian has shown that he can adapt to Van Gaal’s wing-back role and is another defensive success story for the club.
Although van Gaal may not be entirely pleased with how his team are performing so far this term, they are certainly showing signs of improvement, especially in a defensive capacity. The Dutchman will be encouraged by the fact that the United defence has become more of a solid unit in recent weeks. It is this solidarity that has contributed to the Red Devils losing only once in their last fourteen Premier League matches. It may look like United still have a long way to go if they want to be challenging for trophies next year, but this is an encouraging development nonetheless.
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