Monthly Archives: July 2010

Rodwell hoping for England call

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Highly-rated Everton youngster Jack Rodwell says he is hoping to improve his goalscoring record next season when he aims to catch the eye of England coach Fabio Capello (Everton 150/1 – Premier League outright).

The 19-year-old has impressed in recent seasons for the Toffees and established himself in the Everton line-up towards the end of the last season.

England coach Capello has been widely tipped to introduce a new generation of stars with many believing Rodwell should be the man the side is built around.

Alongside the Everton youngster, Arsenal pair Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott and Manchester City’s Adam Johnson and Joe Hart are all tipped as the players to take England forward to the European Champions in 2012.

Rodwell scored four times for the Toffees last year and says he is hoping that scoring more goals from midfield could be the key to catching Capello’s eye.

Rodwell has been one of the stars of Everton’s recent tour to Australia and opened the goalscoring in their final match against Brisbane Roar.

“It was a nice way to sign off the tour,” said Rodwell. “It was good to get another win and to be on the scoresheet, which is my main aim for next season – to get more goals.

“Any goal counts but obviously it was a bit special to get a goal like that. The top players in the world, the Gerrards and the Kakas, score from long distance and that is something I am aiming to work on in my game. I am still young so hopefully I can keep improving.”

Another England hopeful Leighton Baines also commented that the tour had been a satisfying exercise for his side.

“It was a good tour for us and the teams we have beaten have been of a decent standard,” said Baines.

“We played some decent stuff and there are still plenty of top players to come back. The three victories were good and overall we are pretty pleased.”

Tim Cahill was the only player who played in the World Cup to take part in the tour of his homeland with Steven Pienaar, Tim Howard, Joseph Yobo, Yakubu, Jan Mucha and John Hetinga all due to meet up with the squad in the next few days.

Everton start their Premier League campaign on Saturday 14 August against Blackburn and Rodwell is hoping this will be the season where he becomes a key component in manager David Moyes’ side (Everton 8/5 to beat Blackburn).

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O’Shea looking for fitness

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Fit-again defender John O’Shea says Manchester United will be hoping to avoid the injury problems that cost them their Premier League title to Chelsea last year (United 5/2 – Premier League outright).

O’Shea missed much of the last season with a thigh problem and was one of a number of defensive injuries that affected United during a dark December month which saw them lose to both Aston Villa and Fulham, two defeats that eventually proved crucial at the end of the season.

During that time, Sir Alex Ferguson was without key men Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic as well as Wes Brown, Jonny Evans and the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio.

This crisis also coincided with an injury to goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar which meant he was forced to pair midfielders Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in the heart of the defence with the unfortunate Ben Foster between the sticks.

O’Shea said: “Injuries were a key factor last season and we hope to avoid them this time around. I can never remember so many defenders being injured.

“But we still got so close to retaining the title – only a few lapses of concentration let us down in the end. Now we are all hungry to succeed again.”

United are currently on tour in America and have been regularly training in heat of 30 degrees Celsius. However, O’Shea is not fazed by the heat and insists it will benefit the side come the first weekend of the season.

“It is hard but not as hard as it was in years gone by, mind you,” said the Republic of Ireland international.

“It is more personalised now, which is down to the sports science staff. A good pre-season is so important.”

The Red Devils are currently stationed in Pennsylvania and are due to face a new MLS side on Wednesday night.

Ferguson will have to decide whether or not to risk winger Nani in the match and is expected to field a similar side to the one which won 3-1 against Celtic on Saturday due to the continued absence of a number of first-team regulars because of the extended break after the World Cup.

United start their campaign on Monday 16 August at home against Newcastle as they aim to achieve their fourth title in five years (United 1/5 – 90 minutes).

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Gerrard now likely to stay

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Steven Gerrard appears likely to stay at Liverpool – on offer at 12/1 with Totesport to win the Premier League – after manager Roy Hodgson revealed the skipper played a key role in persuading Joe Cole to move to Anfield.

Gerrard’s future has been the subject of plenty of speculation this summer following Liverpool’s disappointing campaign last season and the subsequent departure of boss Rafa Benitez to Internazionale.

However, Hodgson has indicated Gerrard spoke to Cole to convince him to make the move to Anfield while the two were together at the World Cup with England, and it would now come as a major surprise if the 30-year-old opted to leave the club he has served so well for his whole career.

Hodgson’s first major signing since taking over the Reds was a major coup with Spurs, Arsenal and West Ham all keen on signing the free agent following his release from Chelsea and he revealed Gerrard, along with team-mate Jamie Carragher were influential in helping Cole decide where to play his football next season.

“Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard did a good job in selling the club to Joe at the recent World Cup,” said Hodgson.

“He was undecided about what he wanted to do and to be fair it takes a bit more selling to persuade a Londoner who has played all his life in London to move up to Liverpool. The simple solution would have been to stay in the London area.”

Carragher himself is delighted with the capture and says it proves Liverpool (7/4 to finish in the top four) under Hodgson mean business.

“We have signed a top international player who has been really important for Chelsea,” he said on the club’s website.

“A lot of clubs wanted to sign him but it is a real coup that he has chosen to come here and you have got to give the manager and the board a pat on the back for convincing him to come here.

“Every supporter that I have spoken to is absolutely delighted and all the players are the same – it’s given everyone a boost, just at the right time.

“It’s good news again and, hopefully, there will be more to come. It’s the kind of signing that we needed to make.”

Carragher added: “Joe is someone I have known for a long time from playing with England. He is a great lad to have around the squad, he mixes well and is a lively character – he’s also an outstanding footballer.

“In the modern game, you need forwards that can function in two or three different positions and Joe will do that, no problem at all. He can play on the right, through the middle or on the left.”

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Hammers handed Dorrans blow

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West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans has ended speculation over his future by signing a new four-year deal with the Baggies to keep him at the Hawthorns until 2015 (West Brom – 4/5 to be relegated next season).

The Scotland international had been a summer target of West Ham, with Albion turning down three bids from the Londoners for the 23-year-old.

He only agreed a new deal with the Baggies in January but, underlining how desperate Roberto Di Matteo was to hold on to him, Dorrans was offered fresh terms and he has now penned a new four-year contract with the option of a further year after that.

The midfielder scored 18 goals in all competitions to help West Brom (40/1 to be top Midlands club next term) win promotion back up to the Premier League last season and Di Matteo is looking forward to building a team around him in the top flight.

“I’m delighted Graham has signed a new long-term contract, which is fully deserved,” the boss said on the club’s website.

“He made excellent progress last season and we’re now very hopeful he can make the step up to the Premier League.

“There has been a lot of media speculation about Graham’s future, but it hasn’t affected him one bit.

“Ever since he has reported back for pre-season training, his attitude has been as spot on as it always is and I know for a fact how much he’s looking forward to the new season.”

He added: “The exciting thing is that Graham knows he still has a lot of work to do and is yet to reach his full potential.”

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Reds bag Cole deal

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Liverpool are 9/1 to win the Premier League title next season and have boosted their chances of being among the front runners by landing Joe Cole on a four-year deal.

New Reds boss Roy Hodgson has pulled off something of a coup by landing the player as Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and a number of clubs abroad were keen, but the player has opted for Anfield.

Cole has agreed terms and even though the player still has to undergo a medical, which will happen in the next 48 hours, Liverpool do not expect any problems and have announced the deal as done.

The news comes as huge boost to Liverpool, who have had to fend off constant speculation over the future of star players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres all summer.

The positive Liverpool fans will see this as an indication that both players are staying as Cole would surely want assurances that they would not be sold before he signed, while the more cynical may believe he is a replacement for Gerrard.

Time will tell but Hodgson has made it clear that Gerrard and Torres are not for sale and with Cole on board Liverpool should at least be looking at winning their place back in the top four.

They are 7/4 to do so but with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham again looking strong, it will be a tall order even with Cole on board.

Premier League champions Chelsea have revealed they were unwilling to match Cole’s demands and were happy to let him go, obviously believing they can cope without him, but Liverpool are willing to match his demands and think he is worth it.

Yossi Benayoun left Anfield to move to Chelsea in a deal worth £6million in the summer so after the Reds landed Cole for free they will feel they got the best part of the deal.

Everything will become a lot clearer next season but for now Liverpool look to have pulled off one of the transfer coups of the summer so far.

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Cottagers close on Jol

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Fulham are 15/2 to be relegated from the Premier League next season but they should be nowhere near the drop zone as they close in on a deal for Martin Jol.

The Cottagers are stepping up their pursuit of Jol as they try to replace Roy Hodgson, and it looks as though they are closing in on their man after it was revealed the former Tottenham boss is ready to quit Ajax.

Jol has always been high on Fulham’s wanted list but there was always a big question mark over whether he would be willing to walk away from the Dutch giants.

The chance to return to the Premier League would always be tempting to Jol, but it would also take a lot to walk away from a club like Ajax who will be in the Champions League next season.

However it seems as though Ajax are unwilling to give Jol the kind of backing he wants in the transfer market this summer and that could result in him jumping ship to Fulham.

“My understanding is that talks have already begun with Fulham,” Ajax youth coach Arnold Muhren revealed. “I wouldn’t blame him if he left. Fulham is a good club. They play good football and they reached the Europa League final last year.

“Maybe he is thinking that there are better prospects for him at Fulham. If he thinks he can’t win the Dutch league at Ajax then he might leave.”

Replacing Hodgson was always going to be an almost impossible job but Jol could prove to be a very good appointment for Fulham if they can wrap up a deal.

Jol took Spurs to the verge of the Champions League before he was ousted and he has what it takes to continue all the good work that Hodgson did at the Cottage.

If Jol is to take charge he will wants assuarnces over how much money he will have to spend and he will also want to make sure there is no need to cash in on the likes of Brede Hangeland and Bobby Zamora.

Fulham are hoping to land Jol in the next few days and it looks as though he is almost certain to be in charge when the Cottagers kick off the season at Bolton on August 14th. (15/8 to win).

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Capello sorry over player index

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Fabio Capello’s son has moved to lessen the potential damage caused to the England squad’s moral (6/1 to Not Qualify For Euro 2012) by the World Cup player ratings on the Capello Index website after apologising on behalf of his father.

The Italian tactician angrily hit out at the decision to publish the rankings of the England players, and those from other teams, from the tournament in South Africa on the website without his permission.

Capello demanded that the Index be removed from the internet immediately on Saturday, claiming he had not seen or approved any of the material before it was posted.

The results showed Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe with the highest average score of Capello’s squad with 62.47, while goalkeeper Robert Green had the lowest score of 51.67 out of 100 – probably due to his howler to gift the United States an equaliser in the 1-1 Group C draw.

There were no England players in the top 45 and there was a real fear it could affect the squad as they aim to put their World Cup debacle behind them to focus on Euro 2012 (England 9/1 Tournament Winner).

Capello’s son and agent Pierfilippo has now spoken out to confirm that he is ‘very sorry and upset’ about the publication of the Index.

He told The Sun: “We had told the FA there would not be any ratings appearing on any of the England players.

“So to find out that the opposite has happened just a day later was something we were unhappy about.

“There is no commercial value in this to Fabio – he was just interested to see and compare how the statistics would compare with his own evaluations.

“These are not Fabio’s ratings and we are now looking to have his name removed from the title.”

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Milito confident of Masch deal

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Diego Milito believes his Argentinian team-mate Javier Mascherano will leave Liverpool (12/1 to win the Premier League) and join him at Inter Milan.

New Inter boss Rafael Benitez wants Mascherano to follow him from Anfield and the midfielder has yet to speak to new Liverpool chief Roy Hodgson about his future, despite the Reds boss’ attempts to contact him.

That has given Inter, who are the evens favourites with totesport to retain their Serie A title, confidence they will secure the Argentina international and Milito, for one, is sure the 26-year-old will eventually make the move to the San Siro.

“We are very excited about Mascherano joining us at Inter,” he said.

“He has made it clear he wants to be here and it’s just down to the relevant people agreeing the deal now.

“In my view we are getting the very best defensive midfield player in the world and Maradona calls him one of the three most important players in the Argentina squad along with Lionel Messi and (Carlos) Tevez. That’s how highly he is regarded.”

Milito added: “I think it’s unrealistic of Liverpool to think they can keep hold of Mascherano when they can’t even offer Champions League football and are not challenging Manchester United and Chelsea for the Premier League title.

“The boss and Mascherano have a good friendship so there were no other clubs on the cards for him after that, including Barcelona. He has wanted to join for a while but when the boss joined Inter I think that sealed the deal.”

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Brown backs goal line technology

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Wes Brown would welcome goal-line technology being introduced into the Premier League (Manchester United 11/2 to win the Premier League).

The issue was reignited at the World Cup when England’s Frank Lampard had a clear goal disallowed against Germany in the second-round tie between the two bitter enemies. The ball crossed the line and the decision arguably affected the destiny of the game.

Had the goal been awarded, England would have clawed the game back to 2-2 at a time when they were in the ascendancy. As it was, Germany eventually ran out 4-1 winners to hand England their heaviest ever World Cup defeat. Now, England need to bounce back by winning Euro 2012 (England 9/1 to win Euro 2012 ).

Speaking about video technology and that specific incident, Brown said; “I think it has to be brought in for the goal line.

“I was as disappointed as everyone else when I saw Frank’s effort disallowed against Germany. The ball was so far over it was incredible.

“It would only take a few seconds to check whether the ball had gone over. It works well in tennis and I think it would be a great addition to our game.”

Brown has been awarded 23 England caps but has fallen out of favour recently, largely due to injury. However, he insists that he is still positive about his prospects, both at international and club level. On the injuries, he admitted he is happy to bow to the expert knowledge of the physios.

Brown was conducting a question and answer session with supporters on manutd.com and also thanked France boss Laurent Blanc for offering him defensive advice during his spell at Old Trafford.

“He gave me lots of advice when he was at the club, just little things here and there, ” said Brown.

“He always talked about the different aspects of defending and really helped me with my game.”

In other United news, Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Dimitar Berbatov, describing the Bulgarian striker as a “class act”.

Berbatov has failed to shine at Old Trafford and has only scored 26 goals in 86 appearances, a dearth when compared to the likes of Wayne Rooney.

However, Ferguson believes that he adds value to the side beyond goalscoring and admits the future at United looks bright (Berbatov 40/1 to be Premier League Top Scorer ).

With Mame Biram Diouf, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda all featuring in their recent friendly against Celtic at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, Ferguson is spoilt for options up front. Add Berbatov, Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen returning to injury and it is clear that United will score goals next season.

Speaking about his strikers, and the 3-1 victory against Celtic, the United boss said; “We are happy with the strikers we have got. You have to decide what is the best combination.

“Berbatov and Diouf in the first half did very well.

“Diouf has got different talents to Macheda and Welbeck. He penetrates, he is quick and aggressive. He is an interesting player and it suited Berbatov.”

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Wenger wants Fabregas talk to end

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Arsene Wenger has called for stories about the future of Cesc Fabregas ‘to stop’ as the Arsenal boss is preparing his side for another assault on the Premier League (13/2 Winner).

The Gunners chief spoke out after watching his side comfortably defeat League Two Barnet 4-0 in their opening pre-season game on Saturday. And he called for questions regarding Barcelona’s summer-long pursuit of his captain to come to an immediate end by stressing for the umpteenth time that he is going nowhere.

“There was a lot of unneeded talk. It is not pleasant to read that every day. Now, the story has to stop,” Wenger said.

“Cesc is our captain, he is so important to us and we want to keep him, that is why we were not listening to any offers.

“It was not a problem of money, just the desire to keep him at the club.”

Barcelona (4/5 La Liga Primera Outright) president Sandro Rosell virtually conceded defeat in his efforts to sign Fabregas at the end of last week by claiming they would not offer silly money to try and land their former youth player after having an initial £30million bid snubbed.

Wenger must wait to see if Fabregas, who is enjoying a break following his World Cup winning exploits, pleads to be allowed to leave on his return to the Arsenal squad for the Emirates Cup on July 31/August 1. However, the Frenchman does not believe the player will cause any problems for him.

Wenger added: “We have shown our love and care for Cesc since the start.

“I believe Cesc loves the club, has shown his attachment to the club many times and I am very confident the story will end there.

“We want Cesc to be part of our club next year, and that is it.”

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