Monthly Archives: September 2010

Harry Happy with Euro start

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Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was pleased with his side’s start to their first-ever Champions League campaign despite seeing a 2-0 lead slip away (Spurs 33/1 to win the Champions League).

The Londoners started brightly and were ahead after just 12 minutes when Werder Bremen’s Petri Pasanen scored an own goal under pressure from Peter Crouch.

The England international then doubled Spurs’ lead just six minutes later with a headed goal and Redknapp’s men dominated the opening exchanges.

However, Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida managed to reduce the deficit with two minutes of the first half remaining as he headed past Carlo Cudicini after the Spurs defence had switched off.

The German outfit were level moments after the restart when Marko Marin launched a fantastic effort past Cudicini from 20 yards as Spurs relinquished their lead.

Both sides had chances to win the game, with Werder Bremen perhaps enjoying the better opportunities, but neither could find the breakthrough to take all three points.

Redknapp was pleased with his side’s display, despite seeing a two-goal lead slip away, and praised the first-half performance.

“I think that first 42 minutes was as good as you could ever see us play, we were fantastic,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“We came out, passed the ball as I’d asked them to do. We kept the ball and opened them up time and time again.

“The second goal – what a great header,” Redknapp added. “It was great play and a fantastic finish by Crouchy, and overall I was delighted with how we played.

“We’d have taken a point before we came but being 2-0 up and in complete control, as we were, obviously it’s disappointing not to have won.”

Inter Milan and Dutch side FC Twente are the other two teams in Spurs’ Group A and the reigning champions could only manage a 2-2 draw with FC Twente in Holland.

FC Twente had managed to take a 2-1 lead over Rafael Benitez’s men – thanks to a 31st minute own goal from Inter’s Diego Milito – but Samuel Eto’o came to the Nerrazurri’s rescue with an equaliser just before half time.

Elsewhere, Spanish duo Barcelona and Valenica were both in fine form.

Barca secured a 3-1 win at the Nou Camp over Panathinaikos and Valenica ran riot with a 4-0 win over Bursaspor in Turkey, while Portuguese side Benfica secured a 2-0 victory over Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

Arsenal take on Portuguese outfit Braga at the Emirates tonight (Arsenal 1/4, draw 9/2, Braga 11/1), while Chelsea travel to Slovakia to face minnows MSK Zilina (Zilina 12/1, draw 5/1, Chelsea 2/9).

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Petrov wants Houllier situation resolved

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Stiliyan Petrov has called for the Aston Villa (12/1 to finish in the Premier League top four) board to resolve the complications surrounding the appointment of new manager Gerard Houllier – but he is confident the Frenchman can bring success to the club.

The Bulgarian star was brought to Villa Park by former manager Martin O’Neill, but was as shocked as anyone when the former boss walked out only five days before the start of the Premier League campaign.

Kevin MacDonald acted as caretaker manager for the opening weeks of the season, but the Villa board have now announced Houllier as the new permanent manager.

Despite Houllier being given the job last week, MacDonald had to take charge for Villa’s defeat to Stoke City on Monday as the Frenchman’s move has been held up due to prior commitments from his role as technical director with the French Football Federation.

Petrov is hoping the new manager can bring some stability back to the club, although it is unlikely that Houllier will be sat on the bench when Villa take on Bolton at home on Saturday as he is still unable to state a definite starting date at the club (Villa 4/5 to win, Bolton 10/3, draw 12/5 Match Betting).

That means MacDonald is set to take charge again, and Petrov has told the Birmingham Mail he thinks the caretaker boss has done a “tremendous job” at the start of this season and the entire Villa side will try to win “for him”.

“It is complicated. Complicated for the new manager, complicated for Kev as well, but there is a solution and we will see the new manager soon,” said Petrov.

“He has been at the top level for a long time. He managed Liverpool, had success and has been manager of Lyon. He has knowledge of football. He knows what he needs to do. We wait to see how we can improve.

“We try to do our best for Kev because he has been at this club for a long time and we don’t want to see him putting his head down,” he added.

MacDonald is reported to have turned down an offer from Houllier to take the role of his assistant at Villa Park when he finally starts his new role.

The Frenchman is now expected to offer the position to Gary McAllister, who he signed when in charge at Liverpool (13/8 for a Premier League top four finish) over a decade ago.

The former Leeds boss is currently holding a similar position under Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough and the Riverside boss has admitted to Sky Sports there has “been contact” between the two clubs.

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Torres targets United scalp

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Liverpool star Fernando Torres has admitted he is desperate to secure a victory over Manchester United this weekend to kick start the Anfield side’s season (Match Betting – United 7/10, draw 5/2, Liverpool 19/5).

The Spanish striker has admitted he would love to come away from Old Trafford with all three points as he knows how much the fixture means to the fans (Torres 7/1 to score the first goal).

“It means everything to them [the fans],” explained Torres.

“We are the two most successful teams in England but it has not been nice  for the Liverpool fans to watch Manchester United  have so much success over the recent years.”

Liverpool have managed to pick up just five points from their opening four games but Torres is confident the Reds can win on Sunday.

The Spanish international was quick to praise new boss Roy Hodgson and the Liverpool squad, and Torres remains hopeful the club can pick up some silverware this season.

He added: “We have a great squad and a great manager, and we really hope to give the fans a trophy this season, as well as beating Manchester United for them.

“The Liverpool fans are great, when you play well they are behind you and when you are not playing the best they are still behind you.

“I walk my dogs round the city, and before matches like Manchester United the fans will tell you good luck and things like that. It’s clear how much the Manchester United games means to them.”

Torres’ new strike partner, Milan Jovanovic, is also confident his side can climb the table after a slow start.

The Serbian international, a summer signing from Standard Liege, admits he is yet to find his best form since his move to Anfield but hopes he will adapt to the Premier League soon and believes Liverpool can mount a title challenge.

“It is going to take time because there are a lot of new players,” said Jovanovic. “But if we keep getting the ball to Stevie (Gerrard), we will be much better.

“I have no doubts that we will climb the table.

“The Premier League is tough but we are Liverpool. That is what matters.”

Torres may have his sights set on United but Liverpool are in Europa League action tomorrow night as they welcome Romanian side Steaua Bucharest to Anfield, although Hodgson may chose to rest Torres or hand him a place on the bench due to Sunday’s showdown at Old Trafford (Liverpool 1/4, draw 9/2, Steaua Bucuresti 11/1).

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Ferguson on future spending

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Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Manchester United may well have to dig deep to replace the players who are coming to the end of their careers at Old Trafford (United 1/6 – 90 minutes v Rangers).

United have never been shy to spend big and land quality players, with £29m spent on the acquisition of Rio Ferdinand from Leeds back in 2002, but they have also brought a number of quality players up through the ranks over the past 15 years.

The likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, were all nurtured by Ferguson, who was blessed with an incredible pool of home-grown talent developing at pretty much the same time.

Gary Neville, Giggs and Scholes are still playing their trade at the Theatre of Dreams in the mid-30s, but Ferguson is aware that they will not go on forever, and it may be that transfer fees will have to be paid to replace the legends of United’s golden era.

“There may be a time in the next couple of years where we have to stretch ourselves, particularly when Ryan, Paul and Gary retire,” he said. “Then, it is a possibility we would need to get really top players in to galvanise the younger ones coming through.

“But at the moment we have the experience. We have players who have been through the whole gamut of emotions at this club and know how to deal with it.”

Whether or not funds will be available to buy the best players in the world is open to question as doubts surround the long-term involvement of the Glazer family amid rumours of huge debts at the club.

But the 68-year-old tactician was quick to point out that he had money to spend in the transfer window but preferred, by and large, to keep his power dry and trust the current crop of players at his disposal.

“We have no financial restrictions,” he added. “If I hadn’t been confident maybe we would have done something. But there was only one player I would have brought here and that move was sealed off quite early by the club he went to.”

United begin their Champions League campaign with the visit of Rangers on Tuesday evening and are strong favourites to take all three points (Rangers 18/1 – 90 minutes v Man United).

Star striker Wayne Rooney looks set to play some part in the match after missing United’s weekend trip to Goodison Park as the manager opted to protect him from the spotlight due to his current off-field problems.

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Crouch reveals final ambition

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Peter Crouch says there is no doubt in his mind that Tottenham have what it takes to reach the Champions League final at Wembley this year ahead of their first group game against Werder Bremen (11/10 Werder Bremen – 90 minutes).

The north London outfit are entering their first-ever Champions League campaign having defied the odds to secure fourth place last season ahead of mega-rich Manchester City.

Their finish in the Premier League table made sure of a spot in the last round of qualifying for the tournament and after a slight hiccup in the first leg they eventually turned over Youngs Boys of Berne, thanks in part to a Crouch hat-trick.

Spurs have now headed out to Germany for their first European Cup game since they were dumped out at the semi-final stage in 1962 by Benfica.

Just less than half a century later and Tottenham have returned to Europe’s top club competition with confidence high they can go on a decent run.

They have been drawn in Group A alongside last season’s winners Inter Milan (1/6 to qualify from Group A), Werder Bremen (20/21) and FC Twente (9/2).

Despite having been paired with Inter Spurs certainly fancy their chances of progressing to the knockouts stages ahead of Werder and Twente.

Tuesday’s game against Werder will be good test of Tottenham’s European credentials as they take on the four-time Bundesliga champions.

Despite the nature of the occasion Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has seemingly headed out to Germany with other things on his mind having been heavily linked with the England manager’s post after current boss Fabio Capello announced he would leave in 2012.

Redknapp has said he isn’t looking that far ahead and claims he is totally focused on the job in hand.

The former West Ham, Portsmouth and Southampton boss will certainly have injuries on his mind having lost Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe to ligament damage before the game.

However, some good news came on Monday after it was revealed Luka Modric could be fit after badly bruising his leg in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.

Despite potentially missing three key players Crouch has backed the Tottenham (40/1 – Champions League outright) squad to come good and get off to a winning start in their Champions League campaign as he aims for an appearances in the final at Wembley in May.

“I was a part of Liverpool side that got to the 2007 Champions League final and the quality in the Tottenham dressing room right now is a match for the team we had at Anfield three years ago,” said Crouch.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves by saying we can get to the final or anything like that because we have only just qualified for the group stages for the first time, but I firmly believe we are good enough to enjoy a good run in this competition. We just have to believe in ourselves if we are to make the most of this opportunity.

“With the final being held at Wembley this season, it would be great for an English team to get there and there’s no reason why Spurs cannot have a good go at making it happen. We have plenty of players in our squad who are capable of doing some damage in this competition.”

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Wengers warns European rivals

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Arsenal (12/1 to win the Champions League) boss Arsene Wenger has warned other side’s in the Champions League that his squad are full of confidence as they once again begin their campaign in Europe.

The North London club play Braga in the opening Group H game on Wednesday with the Gunners hoping to get off to a flying start in the competition (Arsenal 1/4, draw 9/2, Braga 11/1).

Arsenal have had a strong start to the Premier League season picking up 10 points from a possible 12. The Gunners scored late on against Liverpool in the opening match of the season to come away from Anfield with a draw but since then the side have won three consecutive matches.

Wenger will be hoping that his squad will take their excellent domestic form into the Champions League and the Frenchman has warned his team?s potential opponents that his team are ready.

He said: “For us the confidence is high enough. We have to show we can focus every three or four days now, keep our flow going.

“To play well, you need to be happy and enthusiastic.”

“Normally if you love football you enjoy to play with a lot of drive going forwards and we always try to cultivate that,” he added.

Arsenal are one of only three teams that have consecutively come through the group stages in the last decade despite spending far less than many big clubs from across Europe.

Wenger knows what has to be done to progress in the Champions League and he will be hoping his side can go at least a step further than the quarter-final stages that they reached last year before being dumped out of the tournament by Barcelona thanks to an outstanding display from Lionel Messi.

He said: “The mental side is the issue of everybody.

“The problem as well is that the level of competition is high and in the second part of the tournament, it becomes a real cup game, when it is knockout it becomes a different competition.”

“You have to have your best players available, the decisions to go for you and all that,” he added.

The Gunners look like favourites to qualify from their group as they face Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk and Partizan Belgrade.

However Wenger will be hoping the long distances his side will have to travel for away fixtures will not affect their main focus which will be the Premier League.

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Pearce rejects England role

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Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce believes he does not have the experience to take over from Fabio Capello as the hunt for next England manager continues (1/7 Euro 2012 – Group G winner).

Despite the Italian still having just less than two years to see out on his current deal the list of potential candidates to replace him has already begun to take shape.

Capello confirmed last week he would walk away from his role after Euro 2012, stating the need to enjoy his retirement as the reason why he would be quitting.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, Pearce and David Beckham have all been mentioned in connection with the post, although it could be some time before any of them are even scheduled for an interview with the FA.

Redknapp has already said it would be a tough job to turn down, with the FA likely to favour the 63-year-old and Hodgson given their recent success with English clubs.

Should Redknapp build on his reputation at Tottenham (10/1 British team to progress furthest in Champions League) as one of the top English managers he would appear to be the ideal choice, given the FA has said it wants an Englishman to takeover.

Pearce’s name had also been thrown into the hat given his time under Capello as his assistant, as well as his work with the Under-21s.

The former defender’s time with the Under-21 set-up has seen them reach the final of the European Championships and help bring through the likes of Joe Hart, James Milner and Adam Johnson.

Despite his time in the England set-up, along with the two years he managed Manchester City, Pearce still believes he doesn’t have enough experience to take over from Capello and has effectively ruled himself out of the running.

“If you ask me the question today, I’ve not got the experience to do that job, but it’s very flattering for people to mention my name,” said Pearce.

“It’s an honour to be mentioned. Whether I’ve supported the nation as a player, Under 21 coach, or coach with the first team, it’s a massive honour.

“It’s like all people that get mentioned, I’ve got a lot of things going in my favour – I’ve captained England, played in tournaments and coached Under 21 tournaments. This summer I’ve been to a major tournament as a coach.

“I tick a few boxes, but I’ve not got a thousand matches behind me like the Harry Redknapps and Roy Hodgsons of this world.”

Director of Football Development Trevor Brooking has backed Pearce’s decision to step back from the role, claiming the former England international needs to go back to club management in order to establish himself as a potential candidate for the role.

Brooking gave no indication as to who would take over from Capello but hinted the FA would lean towards a more experienced manager to take the England (9/1 – Euro 2012 outright) helm, effectively ruling out the likes of Beckham and Alan Shearer.

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Pulis eyes Stoke evolution

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Stoke boss Tony Pulis has told his side to stay “nice and tight” as he looks to add a cutting edge to their strong defensive qualities in the Premier League (Stoke 1/7 – To Stay Up).

The Potters have defied the odds since their promotion from the Championship in 2008 although their robust approach to the game has often drawn criticism while the long throws of Rory Delap have also played their part in claims of a direct approach.

Pulis could not care less, however, although he is looking to take some of the pressure off his defence by adding more goals to the mix following the summer arrivals of Eidur Gudjohnsen, Jermaine Pennant and Kenwyne Jones, among others.

Gudjohnsen and Pennant could be handed Stoke debuts on Monday night when Aston Villa make the trip to the Britannia Stadium, with the Villans still led by caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald given the delay in new manager Gerard Houllier formally taking charge (Stoke 6/4, draw 9/4, Villa 9/5 – 90 minutes).

“We are looking forward to the game,” said Pulis. “Bringing the new players in has given the place a lift, it has given it the bubble it needs, and what we need now is a good performance and a good result.

“We have more options up front and to score goals, which has always been a major worry for us, but we have to make sure we stay nice and tight as a group.

“Over the two seasons of the Premier League we have had 26 clean sheets and we have to work hard to make sure we maintain that but we now have more quality and cutting edge up front.”

On his marquee signings, Pulis added: “With Pennant and Gudjohnsen we are hoping they will give us that.

“(Marc) Wilson can also score goals from midfield so we are hoping they will be able to add a bit more to us when we have the ball.

“But we won’t play any differently, we will play to win.

“Sometimes the reputation we have for a certain style is unfair but I’m not bringing the players in to change the style or reputation or curry favour with people outside who say we do this or that.

“I will always do it the way I think is right and how it suits this club.”

Villa also have big ambition for the future when Houllier does finally arrive after freeing himself from his commitments as technical director of the French Football Federation.

The former Liverpool boss wants to win trophies, break into the top four and also help his players improve their game.

The 63-year-old said: “I’m hoping to be here for the Bolton game (on September 18) or right after the Bolton game.

“I’ll attend the Bolton game and maybe we will start from after there.”

Villa can be backed at 9/1 to finish in the top four this season while they are 16/1 shots for FA Cup glory.

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Downing hands Houllier backing

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Aston Villa midfielder Stewart Downing believes new boss Gerard Houllier will do well at the club and says his past record proves he is a top manager (Villa 9/1 – top four finish).

The former Liverpool and Lyon boss is hoping to officially take charge of Villa this week and his first game in charge could be against Bolton at home on Saturday.

Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald will remain in control for Monday’s Premier League trip to Stoke City (Stoke 6/4, draw 9/4, Villa 9/5 – 90 minutes) as Houllier finalises his departure from his role with the French Football Federation, where he was technical director.

Houllier guided Liverpool to second in the Premiership in 2002 and also famously won the FA Cup, Worthington Cup and Uefa Cup with the Reds in 2001 before then guiding Lyon to the French title in 2006 and 2007.

Some Villa fans have questioned whether the 63-year-old was the right choice to succeed Martin O’Neill but winger Downing has backed him to do well.

“If you look at what he did at Lyon and Liverpool he’s got a good record,” the former Middlesbrough star said.

“It’s a great club, with good players and great facilities, so everything is in place for him to do very well.”

Downing was impressed by Houllier’s press conference last week and believes he can improve Villa’s fortunes.

“I saw his press conference when it got announced that he was the new manager and he came across very well,” he added.

“If you look at his past record as a manager, you don’t get jobs like that if you’re not very good.”

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Reina calls for patience

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Liverpool goalkeeper Jose ReinaJose Reina has asked for patience in Liverpool’s pursuit of a top-four finish this season (13/8 with totesport) following their disappointing start to the Premier League campaign.

The Reds’ goalkeeper was outstanding on Sunday – making two wonderful first-half saves as Roy Hodgson’s side were held to a goalless draw by Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

That result means the Merseysiders have won one, drawn two and lost one of their first four games and it appears they will face a real battle to finish in the top four once again this season.

However, Reina says the club needs to be “realistic” in their aims and has called for patience as they try and compete at the top of the table.

Reina said: “We have to make sure that people don’t think of winning the league or being in the top four already at this moment.

“It is going to take a while. We have got to get used to the new players and then the system.

“There are many good teams and our target is to be up there but we have to be realistic.”

Next up for Liverpool in the league is a trip to arch rivals Manchester United and a defeat there would leave them seriously trailing other clubs in the race for a top-four place (Liverpool 1/3 to secure a top-six finish).

However, they will welcome back influential attacking midfielder Joe Cole for the game following his three match suspension for being sent off against Arsenal. This will provide a significant boost to the Reds’ aspirations but Reina has urged caution over his side’s chances.

“Is a Champions League spot realistic this season? I don’t know,” Reina added.

“We will find out at the end of the season what we can achieve. No-one has patience nowadays. We are just asking for a little bit.”

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