Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Hughes is confident he will be given a chance to turn things around at Loftus Road after a miserable start to the season.

Just two points in six games leaves Rangers rock bottom of the Premier League, despite the London club being the most active, in the summer transfer window.

Hughes is confident he’ll be given time to get things right and has the backing of his owners he said to SkySports: “I would think so. We have had a big investment and we’re looking to improve this year and will.

“It is very, very early days, but until we get positive results on the board ten obviously everything is up for debate and a focus begins to come as a whole.

“We just need to start winning football matches. If we do that, it goes away.”

Hughes was brought in as manager when Neil Warnock was dismissed by the club in January. The Welshman conjured up a last day escape from relegation, despite his side bowing down famously to Premier League champions Manchester City that day. Following a host of summer arrivals Rangers ambition’s this term were expected to be more than just surviving.

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Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis believes other Premier League clubs should use the Gunners as the perfect model as they prepare for financial regulation.

As of next season, UEFA want clubs to start balancing their books in an attempt to minimise deficits by 2018 and Gazidis believes Arsenal is the perfect club for others to take inspiration from.

He told Sky Sports: “Arsenal

 were operating this way a long time before football looked at it and decided it would be a good path for football to move into.

“I think people believe money can be spent without consequence and if we learnt anything from the financial crisis the world has had over the last few years it has to be unsustainable spending and unsustainable environments don’t last forever.

“I think football is in a fantastic position to address this because we are in a position where I am very optimistic for the future of football. The revenues the game generates, particularly the Premier League’s position, is fantastic.

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“The Premier League owners are coming together: I think there is a developing consensus around the fact we need some form of tighter financial regulations to make sure as we look forward that the interest of the Premier League, its clubs and the fans are well protected.”

The Gunners recently announced a healthy pre-tax profit and have a reputation of making large profits from player transfers.

The Premier League is arguably the greatest league in the world. Not many leagues has been blessed with such incredible talents such as, Thierry Henry, Gianfranco Zola, Eric Cantona, the list goes on. Even today, some of the world’s greatest such as Sergio Aguero and Robin van Persie all congregate to play in England’s elite league. Unfortunately, you won’t find any of those players on this list.

These are the players that have been accustomed to warming the substitute’s bench, playing in pre-season friendlies with no realistic expectation of playing in the league opener, and getting the dreaded inclusion in the early rounds of the League Cup.

Yes it is those players who have either fallen from glory or are not good enough to make their first eleven. Either way, here are the guys who are ultimately surplus to requirements and wasting their careers in remaining at their clubs.

Click on Simon Davies to unveil the top 15

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Zenit Saint Petersburg are set to rival Liverpool in their pursuit of Genoa star Andreas Granqvist, according to reports from talkSPORT.

The Premier League side were linked with the Swedish international over the summer, with Brendan Rodgers rumoured to be keen on strengthening his defensive options.

However, reports have emerged that the big spending Russians are now keen on the centre-back and could make a swoop during the January transfer window.

The Italians are believed to value their man at around £6.5m, which would be small change for Zenit who splashed a combined £70m to bring former Chelsea target Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel to the club earlier this year.

The 27-year-old is rumoured to be keen on a switch to Anfield, but the Saint Petersburg-based outfit are likely to offer him a very lucrative deal to swap Serie A life for the Russian Premier League.

Granqvist spent the 2008/09 season with Wigan, moving to the DW Stadium from Helsingborgs in his homeland.

He failed to hold down a starting berth with the Latics, making just over ten appearances before moving to Eredivisie outfit Groningen.

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Since his forgettable spell in the Premier League the Swede has forged a reputation as tough-tackling, reliable defender and made almost 30 appearances for his national team.

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Mikel Arteta missed an injury time penalty to deny Arsenal a win against Fulham in a six-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium.

The draw means it is now the Gunners’ worst start to a Premier League season since Arsene Wenger arrived in North London 16 years ago and leaves them four points shy of a Champions League spot.

Much like their Champions League draw with Schalke in midweek the hosts seized the initiative early in the game and raced into a two goal lead inside the first 25 minutes.

Oliver Giroud was on target first heading in a cross from a revitalised Theo Walcott after 11 minutes before Lukas Podolski converted Arteta’s cut back from six-yards to double Arsenal’s advantage.

But the Cottagers are made of sterner stuff these days and hauled themselves back into the game courtesy of Dimitar Berbatov’s close range header from Bryan Ruiz’s corner in the 29th minute. The comeback was complete just before the break as Berbatov turned provider, setting up Alex Kacaniklic to nod past Vito Mannone.

Martin Jol’s men took their foot off the gas after the break but were gifted a third goal as Arteta had his pocket picked by Ruiz before hauling down the Costa Rican in the penalty area. Berbatov stepped up to covert from the spot and put the visitors within sight of their first win at Arsenal in 108 years.

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But barely two minutes later their hopes of an historic triumph were dashed as Giroud’s shot bounced off the post to Walcott, who crossed for the French striker to beat Mark Schwarzer.

But that wasn’t the end of the drama as referee Phil Dowd harshly punished Sascha Riether for handball only for Arteta to fluff his lines from 12-yards, seeing his spot kick kept out by a full stretch save from Schwarzer.

Manchester United currently sit at the top of the Premier League table, with neighbours Man City breathing down their neck.

In the last week Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have picked up six points at Old Trafford in the league, beating West Ham 1-0 after a 3-1 victory over QPR at the weekend.

In that comeback win, the final goal was scored by Mexican Javier Hernandez and provided by Brazilian Anderson.

Here are Man Utd duo Anderson and Chicharito celebrating the goal, but can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?

Leave your suggestions below…

[divider]

This week you can win a copy of the Manchester United: Greatest Ever XI DVD!

As voted for by the fans, this is Manchester United’s greatest ever XI.

A unique, fan-driven project, MANCHESTER UNITED: GREATEST EVER XI sets out to select a definitive team of the greatest players ever to pull on the famous red shirt.

Across 4 DVDs and more than over 130 players, fans make the case for their picks and relive memories of mighty performances on the pitch highlighting the club’s most memorable players.

For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here

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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.

Last week’s winner: tremorman – click here to see all entries

AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has warned Manchester City that Stephan El Shaarawy will not be leaving the club, report talkSPORT.

The Sky Blues’ manager Roberto Mancini is believed to be interested in the 20-year-old, who he sees as an ideal addition to his attacking armoury in the fight for the Premier League title.

A possible swap deal involving controversial striker Mario Balotelli has been mooted, with the Italian failing to meet expectations at the Etihad Stadium.

However, Galliani is insistent that El Shaarawy will not be leaving the Rossoneri:

“El Shaarawy to swap with Balotelli at City? I swear that will end with El Shaarawy at Milan.” He said.

The AC Milan youngster has been a success since joining the club in 2011 from Genoa.

His eye for goal has seen him hit 13 efforts in his last 16 Serie A appearances, in which the team have struggled on field.

This form has alerted a number of top sides, but Manchester City are thought to be in pole position for his signature should a move occur.

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El Shaarawy is of Egyptian decent, but has represented the Italy at international level on three occasions, finding the net once.

A low centre of gravity and explosive pace make the forward a handful for opposing defenders and have seen him heralded as one of the finest talents Italian football.

The teams involved in this fixture both have pressing needs to grab all three points in this fixture at opposite ends of the table.

Reading will be desperate to try and find a 3 points from anywhere so they don’t lose touch with the chasing pack as they try and stave off relegation.

Manchester City will be under slightly more pressure you suspect though with the fans expectant of a win and a goal glut against an indifferent Reading side.

Roberto Mancini’s men still lie six points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester United and will be looking to close that gap wherever possible.

They surrendered their long unbeaten record at the Etihad Stadium to United a few weekends ago but firmly got themselves back on track at St. James’s Park last time out.

An impressive display and a 3-1 fixture ensured that they regained the momentum they had before their derby day loss.

The Royals sit rock bottom at the foot of the Premier League and haven’t won in six matches and a trip to Manchester would not have been on their Christmas wish list. McDermott as a consequence remains the favourite with the bookies to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked.

Vincent Kompany the club captain for City is expected to massively lift the side return from injury. Mario Balotelli may have taken the headlines midweek over his wage docking but misses out on this one with a virus. Samir Nasri (hamstring) has been ruled out and full-back Aleksandar Kolarov (knee) is unavailable too.

Reading look set to be without striker Jason Roberts for the trip to the Etihad stadium. Jem Karacan (knee), Jimmy Kebe (groin) and Danny Guthrie (thigh) all come back at a crucial time as options for the Royals. Sean Morrison and Alex McCarthy remain out for a significant period of time.

Reading have faced more shots than any other side in the top five European leagues this season and can expect more of the same in this fixture.

Prediction: Man City 3-0 Reading

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Check the odds ahead of the game at the City of Manchester Stadium with William Hill here

You can also Get a Free £25 Bet on the game by clicking here

Liverpool right back Martin Kelly has demanded £45,000 a week in his new Liverpool contract according to the Daily Mail.

Kelly has missed the majority of this season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and may not play again until the start of next season in August.

The England international may struggle to get back into the Liverpool side with Andre Wisdom taking his chance at the back for the Reds as well as Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique coming into form.

The Merseyside club were shocked at the demands of the young defender and have asked him to deeply reconsider his demands as they are only willing to offer him around £25,000 a week.

Youngsters such as Raheem Sterling have set a bad example from the club as they have been granted a large wedge of money each week in order to keep them happy but Kelly is unlikely to get the same treatment.

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West Ham United protracted negotiations to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium are set to take longer than expected, The Guardian reports.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) was set to approve the bid this Tuesday after the Hammers upped their annual rent offer to £2.5 million.

However, the two-year talks are yet to come to an end as, after LLDC ratifies the move, Newham’s council will have also to formally confirm the part-fund of the £160m-plus conversion costs of a new cantilevered roof and retractable seats.

The LLCD chairman, London Mayor Boris Johnson, has negotiated the cut of any profits made if the Premier League club decided a sale to a new owner.

But it is believed that David Gold and David Sullivan, co-owners of 65% of the shares of the club, have no intention of selling up.

West Ham, expected to be playing at the stadium from the 2016-2017 season, earned the “highest-bidder” status despite the LLDC pretensions of obtaining more than the £15 million the club was willing to offer towards the conversion costs.

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The Hammers have since promised to pay any additional costs for the roof and seats to the LLDC within the next ten years.

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