Everton’s 3-0 home defeat against Manchester United yesterday was overshadowed by the sad passing of Toffees legend Howard Kendall at the age of 69.

The clubs former-player and manager passed on Saturday morning in a Southport hospital surrounded by his loved ones.

Kendall is regarded as Everton’s best ever manager, having guided the Toffees to two top-flight titles in the 1980’s, an FA Cup triumph and a European Cup Winners Cup victory.

However, older fans will remember him from his playing days in the 1960’s, as one of the Toffees famous Holy Trinity, which also consisted of Colin Harvey and Alan Ball.

Alongside his two friends and colleagues he won the English top-flight title in 1969 in what is still regarded as one of the finest Everton teams.

Kendall also represented the likes of Preston, Birmingham, Blackburn and Stoke in his playing days.

Kendall will be mourned by fans of his former-clubs, but his personality and character transcended the football barriers, with even fans and former-players of Liverpool expressing their sadness at his passing.

Not only has football lost a great former-player and manager, but the world has lost a great man. He always had time for fans and a friendly world. Quite simply Howard Kendall was a legend and will never be forgotten by the peoples whose lives he touched.

I speak for everybody at Footynews365 when I say RIP Howard and would like to send our condolences to his friends and family at this sad time.

What was your favourite moment involving Howard Kendall?

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Arsenal retained the FA Cup after hammering Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley on Saturday. In truth it was a convincing display from the Gunners against a poor Aston Villa team.

The Gunners played some good football in the first half, as Villa struggled to get hold of the ball. However, the breakthrough did not arrive until five minutes before the break.

Alexis Sanchez headed the ball down into the penalty area and Theo Walcott proceeded to hit a superb half-volley past Shay Given in the Villa goal.

The Gunners doubled their lead five minutes into the second period. Alexis Sanchez picked-up the ball 30 yards out and unleashed a brilliant, unstoppable swerving effort that bounced in off Shay Given’s bar.

Arsenal continued to dominate a Villa side that posed very little threat to their backline, despite striker Christian Benteke being in red hot form. The 24-year-old was starved of chances in this game though.

Arsenal’s third goal arrived just after the hour mark. Santi Cazorla’s corner kick was met by the head and shoulder of Per Mertesacker, but the effort left Given with no chance of saving it.

Villa had claims for a penalty kick turned down on 85 minutes, as Hector Bellerin looked to have had his arms around Villa starlet Jack Grealish in the penalty area, but referee Jon Moss waved away the claims.

The Gunners rounded-off their victory with a fourth goal in stoppage-time. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed for fellow substitute Olivier Giroud to fire home at the near post.

The victory means that Arsenal are now the most successful club in the history of the FA Cup and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is the most successful post-war boss in the competition, having now won the trophy six times.

Who was your FA Cup final man of the match?

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Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has admitted that the Villans will be powerless to stop star striker Christian Benteke leaving this summer, as the Belgian has a £32.5million release clause in his contract with the Midlanders.

Benteke will lead the Villans attack in the FA Cup final against Arsenal on Saturday. The 24-year-old has been in superb form in recent months, having registered nine goals in his last ten Premier League appearances.

Villa boss Tim Sherwood seems to have brought the best out of the former-Genk striker since his arrival in the Midlands.

Prior to the former-Spurs bosses’ arrival in the Midlands Benteke was struggling to find the net, as the whole Villans team found it hard to score goals.

However, his recent form is reminiscent of the form he produced in his debut season in the Premier League campaign, which attracted the attention of some of the richer clubs in the top-flight.

The likes of Liverpool and Chelsea have been linked with big money moves for the striker and the FA Cup final could be the perfect occasion to display his abilities.

Liverpool have already seen at first hand the damage Benteke can do in the semi-finals of the cup, as the Belgian scored in a 2-1 Villa victory over the Reds.

The FA Cup final is a game for big players to prove that they can deliver on the big stage. Saturday will be the perfect opportunity for Benteke to show that he can do it on the big stage and earn a big money move this summer.

Can Christian Benteke help Villa shock Arsenal?

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Aston Villa have signed former-Swansea winger Scott Sinclair on a permanent deal for £2.5million from Manchester City.

Sinclair had joined the Villans from the Citizens on-loan in the January transfer window.

Prior to his move to Villa, his career at City had stalled and he endured an unsuccessful loan spell at West Brom last season. The 26-year-old joined City in 2012 from Swansea after making a big splash in his debut campaign in the top-flight with Swansea.

However, since then his relationship with former-Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan has gained more press headlines than his formerly-promising football career.

Sinclair endured a bright start to his career. He started out at Bristol Rovers, before making a big move to Chelsea where he was highly-regarded. However, he did not quite make the grade and after a series of loan moves eventually joined Swansea City.

It was with the Welsh club that Sinclair came to prominence, helping the Swans to promotion and then helping them maintain their top-flight status.

His form for Swansea lead to the ill-fated £6million move to Manchester City, were he made just 13 leagues appearances.

His move to Villa looks to have revitalised his career though, as he has made 11 appearances for the Villans, scoring three goals and helped the side from the Midlands to the FA Cup final.

Sinclair will be hoping that the permanent move and the potential of regular first team football will help him fulfil some of the potential that he was once believed to have had.

Tim Sherwood’s side were waiting to secure their top-flight status before sealing a permanent deal for the winger and have now officially signed the winger on a four-year deal.

Will Scott Sinclair be a good signing for Villa?

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The 24-year-old has rediscovered his goalscoring in recent weeks and scored the equaliser in yesterday’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool.

Form

Christian Benteke found the net 16 times in the Premier League in his debut campaign, but his development has been hampered by injuries since then.

Benteke has scored 12 times this season in all competitions this season, but nine of those goals have come in his last seven appearances for the club.

The Belgium international has scored eight goals in his last six Premier League appearances and has helped the Villans break clear of the relegation zone.

Doubts

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal may look to strengthen his strike-force with doubts over the futures of both Robin van Persie and on-loan Radamel Falcao.

Falcao has failed to impress during his spell on-loan from Monaco and it is doubtful that the Red Devils will make the Colombian’s loan deal a permanent one in the summer.

Van Persie has struggled to rediscover the form which helped United win the Premier League title in his first season with the club, as injuries have hampered his form. The Dutch star has been linked with a move to join Turkish giants Fenerbache this summer.

Potential

Christian Benteke has all the attributes to be a world-class striker and United look to be in need of a striker with his assets. The move could be a good one for both parties, but Villa would be losing their most dangerous attacking player.

Will Christian Benteke be joining Manchester United this summer?

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The contrast in form between the two teams could not be greater. The Gunners are on fire at the moment, having won their last eight Premier League games and 12 of their last 14 games in all competitions.

Reading on the other hand are in 18^th position in the second tier and have failed to win in their last five games. In fact their last victory came in their 3-0 quarter-final victory over Bradford.

Royals boss Steve Clarke decided to rest some of his key players in Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat against Bournemouth, but is still sweating on the fitness of Russian international striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and Chelsea loanee Nathanial Chalobah ahead of this clash.

The Gunners will be highly confident of seeing off their Championship opponents, as they have beaten the Royals in seven out of the last eight meetings in all competitions. Arsene Wenger’s side have also scored at least four goals in the last three meetings between the two.

The Gunners made it through to the semi-final with a narrow 2-1 victory over Manchester United and were immediately installed as favourites to lift the trophy.

The Arsenal treatment room has emptied out in recent weeks and a number of previously injured players have returned to training. Their only injury concerns are surrounding midfielders Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with neither likely to feature.

French full-back Mathieu Debuchy, keeper Wojciech Szczesny and winger Theo Walcott may just be handed rare starts as Arsene Wenger looks to rotate his squad.

Will Arsenal record a comfortable victory over Reading?

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