After waking up to the news of the crippling weather conditions and all but two Premier league games being called off over Saturday and Sunday, nobody could have been too pumped up for Sunderland versus Bolton. To be fair, the game was decent, but Craig Gordon’s save from Zat Knight was truly unbelievable. It was an instinctive save, requiring razor sharp reflexes which defied the normal laws of physics. It was a save that young goalkeepers dream of making. Craig Gordon’s save will be remembered for years to come, but what about some other great saves? It is impossible to say one save is better than another – games are different, circumstances differ in games. We have found five truly great saves, made by goalkeepers playing in the Premier League. Watch, admire and if you so wish, practice in the snow.

Click on gloves below to see 5 great saves

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Like what you read? Follow me on twitter for some more outstanding saves.

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is expected to recall his rested stars for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Fulham.

After making 10 changes for Tuesday’s FA Cup replay victory at Cardiff, Pulis was accused of devaluing the competition, claims which he later rejected.

Only Danny Higginbotham, who lasted just nine minutes before limping off with a hamstring injury, survived from the team which beat Bolton in the Premiership last Saturday.

Danny Collins is likely to be recalled for the injured Higginbotham at left-back in the only probable change to the team which beat Bolton to lift Stoke to an impressive eighth place in the table.

“We lost at home against Fulham over the busy Christmas period and would love to get a result down there,” said assistant manager Dave Kemp.

“We got caught cold in the early stages at our place, but there is no chance of that happening at Fulham where we will be ready. The manager is meticulous in how we prepare and we will be travelling by train on Friday to avoid a long bus journey.”

Kemp confirmed Stoke had held talks with Aston Villa’s out of favour striker John Carew and were continuing to pursue several other targets as the January transfer window enters its last 10 days.

“We’ve spoken to Carew and there are a lot of other possibilities. We could also be selling one or two players because everyone has their price, but we won’t be doing that unless we can bring better players in.”

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Stoke pulled out of a six-million-pound deal for Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba last week after he failed a medical because of a knee problem but Kemp refused to rule the deal out.

“That looks dead unless we can sort out a loan and then see how he goes on.”

Alan Pardew has denied the claims of fan favourite Andy Carroll that the striker was forced out of Newcastle United.

Carroll, who joined Liverpool for a club-record 35 million pounds on Monday, had been quoted as saying he was given no choice by the St James’ Park hierarchy but to agree to the transfer.

The 22-year-old striker also claims he was coerced into handing in a formal transfer request.

But Newcastle manager Pardew insists that Liverpool’s offer was only accepted after Carroll decided he wanted to leave.

“We turned down a big offer, and they came back with a second big offer,” Pardew said.

“We were having a discussion about what we were going to do with that offer when Andy requested to see me.”

“I went to see Andy face-to-face. I asked him what he wanted, and I went to the board. We had a discussion about what the ramifications would be for the whole club.”

Carroll signed a new five-year deal with Newcastle in October 2010.

But Pardew claimed that despite the extended contract being in place, the club had little option but to accept the substantial offer from Liverpool if Carroll wanted to leave.

“We took the view, with him signing a contract in October, that this would cause us all sorts of problems,” he said.

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“We decided that we needed the conversation confirmed, and (that) he put in a transfer request, which he did.”

“He spoke to his agent, and between them they put the request in. We decided with the size of the offer, and what it meant to us, that we would accept.”

“But no club is about one player. We’re absolutely gutted that he’s gone. It’s disappointing, but we’re not in a financial position like Liverpool.”

Manchester City talisman Carlos Tevez is among a host of star names who will miss Argentina’s friendly against Portugal next month.

Argentina boss Sergio Batista has named his 24-man squad for the friendly in Geneva on February 9, with Tevez and Marseille defender Gabrielle Heinze topping the list of omissions.

Malaga centre-back Martin Demichelis and Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero are also out, while injured Real Madrid attacker Gonzalo Higuain is unavailable.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who was crowned the World Player of the Year for the second year running earlier this month, has been named.

He joins team-mate Javier Mascherano and Inter Milan trio Javier Zanetti, Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso.

Batista was quick to point out that the absence of Tevez and the others bears no weight towards their selection for Argentina’s Copa America campaign.

“Neither Tevez nor any of the lads who were left off this list are out of the national team,” Batista told Argentine radio station La Red.

“I have to see players, lots, and I do that in matches. I have to see if they can wear the national team shirt but I haven’t punished anyone.”

“This doesn’t mean that the players left out now are out of the Copa America. This is a good moment to try out some youngsters.”

Batista has handed uncapped trio Enzo Perez, Juan Manuel Martinez and Marcos Rojo call-ups to the squad after strong seasons in the Primera Division.

Winger Perez was instrumental in Estudiantes’ Apertura triumph, as was former team-mate Rojo, who has since departed to Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow.

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Martinez scored 10 times in 19 appearances for Apertura runners-up Velez Sarsfield.

Batista, having taken over from Diego Maradona, is also tasked with building a side capable of ending Argentina’s 28-year World Cup title drought in Brazil in 2014.

The selection of 37-year-old Zanetti seems contrary to Batista’s desire to blood youngsters, and while the Argentina boss did not guarantee the future of the veteran defender he said: “If he carries on (playing) the way he is, at the same level, he’ll surely be at the Copa America.”

Liverpool’s new signing Luis Suarez marked his debut with a goal as the Reds beat a well-organised Stoke side 2-0 at Anfield.

Raul Meireles opened the scoring before the Uruguayan came off the bench to seal all three points for Kenny Dalglish’s side, making it three wins from as many games for the Merseysiders.

The home crowd thought they had taken the lead within the first ten minutes after Reds defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos’s glancing header from a corner looked to be heading in, however Salif Diao was on hand to hook the ball off the line.

Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic pulled off a wonder save moments later to keep the visitors on level terms as he clawed Glen Johnson’s header to safety from Martin Kelly’s cross.

But while there was plenty of pressure applied on the Stoke goal, a combination of poor finishing and the inspired form of Begovic kept the visitors in the game as the first half came to a close.

Liverpool’s persistence paid off as soon as the second half kicked off.

Steven Gerrard’s deflected shot caused panic in the Stoke area as their backline failed to clear the ball, and midfielder Meireles made the most of the scramble by slamming the ball into the net from 12 yards for his second goal in three Premier League games.

The goal seemed to spring Stoke into life, and they almost drew level after John Carew’s shot flew inches wide of Pepe Reina’s upright.

Liverpool were looking to kill the game off, and with Andy Carroll’s thigh injury preventing him from making his debut, it was left to Suarez, Dalglish’s other new multi-million pound signing, to make his bow.

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The forward, signed last week from Ajax for 23 million pounds, was greeted by rapturous applause as he made his way onto the pitch after 63 minutes in place of Fabio Aurelio, and marked his debut with a goal.

It took only sixteen minutes for the striker to make his mark, calmly rounding Begovic and slotting home after a neat through ball by Dirk Kuyt.

Jon Walters’s snap-shot was well saved by Reina in the dying moments as Stoke looked for a consolation, but Liverpool’s resurgence continued with a well-deserved win.

League leaders Borussia Dortmund may blood Mitchell Langerak for their away trip to Bayern Munich on Saturday in the Bundesliga.Australian goalkeeper Langerak, 22, is in line for his German top flight debut after first-choice gloveman Roman Weidenfeller suffered a knee injury at training, with the club to make a decision on Friday on who will stand in goal at the Allianz Arena.The first-versus-third battle is deemed to be the final chance for Bayern to make inroads into Dortmund’s seemingly unstoppable surge towards the Bundesliga crown. The reigning champions, who trail Juergen Klopp’s side by 13 points in the league standings, will be keen to use the momentum from a midweek Champions League victory over Inter Milan to halt the Dortmund juggernaut.Borussia Monchengladbach have a chance to climb off the bottom of the standings when they travel to fellow strugglers Wolfsburg on Friday.Monchengladbach racked up a confidence-building 2-1 victory over mid-table Schalke over the weekend and take their battle for survival to the Volkswagen Arena.Wolfsburg are in freefall having lost their past four in the league to sit level on points with relegation-placed Kaiserslautern and just four above Monchengladbach.Caretaker manager Pierre Littbarski has overseen his side score once in the 180 minutes he has been in charge since former boss Steve McLaren’s sacking.Kaiserslautern welcome seventh-placed Hamburg on Saturday, the hosts desperate for points to hurl them to safety, while the visitors will be looking for a win to maintain their push for a European place.Mainz will be hoping to break a two-game losing streak when they travel to Hoffenheim, while Cologne host Freiburg at the Rhein Energie Stadion.St Pauli welcome fourth-placed Hannover on Saturday, while in-form Schalke 04, chasing a fifth straight league victory, host Nuremberg.On Sunday, Eintracht Frankfurt host fellow strugglers Stuttgart, and Werder Bremen look to shoot clear of the relegation zone when they welcome second-placed Bayer Leverkusen to the Weserstadion.

One of my first articles on Football FanCast was defending Roy Hodgson as a manager after a torrid several months in charge of Liverpool FC. Whilst the article focused more on Hodgson rather than Liverpool, I did have a dig at his successor, Kenny Dalglish. I was sceptical over the hype of ‘King Kenny’ returning to Liverpool, with the optimism that was around the club with the saviour returning to turn fortunes around. Now all my scepticism has lifted after what Kenny has done since he was appointed interim manager at Anfield, but does he deserve the full time job?

When Kenny Dalglish was appointed caretaker manager after Roy Hodgson’s departure, it filled the Liverpool fans with some hope and excitement (which had been missing for a while given the previous year at the club) and raised eyebrows amongst other football supporters. I was excited to see Kenny Dalglish make a return to football management but I couldn’t help think of Kevin Keegan’s return to football at Newcastle United and I started to worry that things may get even worse for the Reds.

However, unlike Keegan who had been focusing on non-football ventures before his return, Dalglish had been keeping up to date with the modern game. The first highlight would have to be employing the now commonly used 4-3-3 formation, along with the pass and move emphasis that’s in Liverpool FC’s DNA. The players certainly responded well to this more positive style of play rather than the rigid 4-4-2 that Hodgson favoured.

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The appointment of coach Steve Clarke actually made me take the appointment of Kenny Dalglish seriously. I highly rate Clarke as a coach and feel that he played significant role in Chelsea’s success under Jose Mourinho, it was unfortunate that Clarke wasn’t able to replicate that with Gianfranco Zola at West Ham. This appointment ensured that the Liverpool players are coached by one of the best in the game, leaving Kenny to focus on other aspects as manager, like the youth development.

What finally made me eat a big piece of humble pie was hearing Kenny’s focus on the youth development at the club. He has shown faith in Martin Kelly with regular starts, whilst also giving a few players from the youth set-up an opporunity to train with the first team. Plus the bold move of adding talented teenager, Raheem Sterling to the Europa League squad showed that Kenny Dalglish is prepared to go the extra mile to turn this club around.

Whilst laying foundations to give the club its identity back and making sure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, Dalglish has been able to record some instant performances and results on the pitch from his players. In the Premier League form table, Liverpool currently sit 3rd behind Arsenal and Chelsea, with 4 Wins, 1 Draw and 1 Loss in their last six games. And despite the blip against West Ham, the Reds have been able to win on the road with victories at Wolves and Chelsea.

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Liverpool are currently 6th in the Premier League table and were able to bounce back from the defeat at Upton Park with a 3-1 victory of their own over Manchester United on Sunday. It made my mind up that Kenny Dalglish has to get the full time job in the Anfield dugout. Although it’s only been 2 months, Kenny has proven that he has what it takes for the club to progress and the thought of the club appointing an outsider in the summer to take over would be a backwards step.

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Chengdu Blades came from behind to draw 3-3 against defending champions Shandong Luneng as the Chinese Super League season began on Friday.The Blades had their Australian contingent to thank as they fought back three times throughout the course of the match.

Hosts Shandong led from the first minute through Han Peng, before Chengdu levelled through former Sydney forward Brendan Santalab in the 11th minute.

Midfielder Wang Yongpo restored Shandong’s shortly before the break, but Santalab was again on hand to level on 65 minutes.

Just three minutes later, Brazilian striker Obina made it 3-2 to Shandong and the champions looked to set to hold on for an opening-round victory.

But Adam Kwasnik – on-loan from A-League grand finalists Central Coast Mariners – notched a 79th-minute equaliser to grab a point for Chengdu in their first outing under new coach Lawrie McKinna.

In other matches, Qingdao Jonoon also came from behind three times to draw 3-3 at Shanghai Shenhua.

Argentine Luis Salmeron struck a brace for Shanghai, but his goals were cancelled out by efforts from Brazilians Eber and Leo San.

Colombian Duvier Riascos put Shanghai back in front on 70 minutes and they held the lead until the 90th minute, when Zou Zheng levelled to snatch a draw for the visitors.

Serbian defender Marko Zoric was on target for Tianjin Teda in a 1-0 win at home to Shenzhen Ruby.

Goals from Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano and Honduran Luis Ramirez helped Hangzhou Lucheng defeat visitors Nanchang Bayi 2-0.

Slovakia’s Zuzana Kamasova will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Lalla Meryem Cup in Agadir, Morocco.The 32-year-old shot a one-under-par 71 on Saturday to move to six under for the tournament, while France’s Anne-Lise Caudal, with whom Kamasova shared the overnight lead, carded a four-over-par 76 to slip to third.

England’s Kiran Mitharu and Australian Sarah Kemp share second after they shot 70 and 71 respectively at the Soleil Golf Course to be one stroke clear of Caudal.

Australia’s Bree Arthur and German Caroline Masson are the best of the rest on one over, while Italy’s Diana Luna and Australian Kristie Smith are a shot further back on two over.

Swede Caroline Hedwall was the big mover, with a three-under 69 seeing her move to three over – level with Scotland’s Kylie Walker, England’s Florentyna Parker and American Hannah Jun.

Kamasova is bidding to win her maiden Ladies European Tour crown.

Liverpool’s £20 million Xabi Alonso replacement, Alberto Aquilani, started nine Premier League games in his first season at Anfield, was loaned back to Serie A with Juventus for the current campaign and his limp performances when called upon reflected the rapid transition Liverpool were experiencing from title challengers to Europa League drop-outs. Aquilani’s impact at Anfield is generally considered minimal, but imagine how severe an appraisal of him would be if his delayed debut was postponed a total of 15 months, he headed his first goal in front on the Kop against his own goalkeeper and was sent-off for two bookings just after the hour before embarking on a further lengthy injury absence.

That fateful scenario describes Jonathan Woodgate’s first appearance for Real Madrid following a move to Spain that initially seemed to vindicate the maturing career of one of England’s finest defenders. Although Aquilani could soon be returning to Merseyside, principally due to his parent club’s intention to recoup a healthy amount of the Italian’s original fee and a subsequent lack of willing suitors, his once promising career presently hangs in the balance. Woodgate, however, was able to complement his devastating debut with a standing ovation from the Bernabeu crowd at the time of his dismissal. The Middlesbrough born centre-back’s deteriorating physical condition then provoked a return to his home-town club in an effort to rebuild his faltering reputation and he quickly sealed a further move to Tottenham, scoring the decisive goal in a man-of-the-match winning performance against Chelsea in the League Cup Final a month after his arrival.

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Woodgate actually recorded 113 appearances overall between his return to England in 2006 and the culmination of the 2008/2009 season but has featured on just three occasions in the League since, during a period in which Spurs have transformed in to a Champions League outfit. Although he was employed as a late substitute in Spurs’ recent away trip to the San Siro, the former Leeds and Newcastle player’s latest injury setback must surely indicate an impending conclusion to his time at White Hart Lane and encourage him to seriously contemplate retirement, a consideration Harry Redknapp suggested during pre-season.

His wages are believed to be in the region of £3 million a year so a departure would signify a considerable easing of Tottenham’s accounts. What’s more, Spurs have recently strengthened their defence with the January signing of Bongani Khumalo and although the Lilywhites have been unfortunate with injuries this term, they can still boast an expansive, experienced and reliable assemblage of defenders when fit. Ledley King’s frailties are well known, but Harry Redknapp retains the services of William Gallas, Sebastien Bassong, Younes Kaboul, Vedran Corluka and Michael Dawson who each represent a more dependable short, medium and long-term option than Woodgate.

The 8 times capped former England International has been fortunate that the ability he demonstrated at the dawn of his career and his personable attitude have got him this far. The Madrid fans’ encouraging reaction to Woodgate’s debut over five years ago mirrors the support he has received from each manager he has worked under. It is unlikely that Woodgate’s next move will intimate anything other than the overdue acceptance of his career’s twilight, the alternative being the acceptance of his career’s termination. His footballing archive describes a depressing series of events peppered with momentous highlights, but now is a good time for Tottenham to release the player whose days in football are numbered.

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