Monthly Archives: October 2010

Owen’s future doubts

Posted on by
Reply

Michael Owen has hinted that Manchester United could be the last team he plays for because he has no intention of dropping into the lower divisions as he gets older (United 4/7 – 90 minutes betting v Tottenham).

The 30-year-old began his career at Liverpool and scored 158 goals from 297 appearances in all competitions while at Anfield but was sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2004 when seemingly still at the peak of his career.

The Chester-born hit-man managed to bag 13 goals in 35 league appearances for the Bernabeu giants, despite coming off the bench in a number of games and only having the last 30 minutes or so in which to make his mark.

Despite becoming a fans’ favourite with the Spaniards he joined Newcastle after just one term in Madrid and spent four injury-plagued seasons at St James’ Park, scoring 30 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions for the Magpies.

With Newcastle slipping into the Championship for the 2009-2010 campaign, Owen was snapped up by Sir Alex Ferguson but scored just three Premier League goals in 19 appearances – many from the bench – for the Red Devils last season.

Owen has only started six top-flight matches since arriving at Old Trafford and has scored just one goal from four appearances in the current campaign.

He has now been ruled out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury and appears way down the United strikers pecking order, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Federico Macheda all seemingly ahead of him in Ferguson’s thoughts (United 9/2 to win Premier League).

Owen’s current United deal runs out next summer and it is open to question as to whether or not he will be offered new terms and the former England international admits he would love to stay at the club while hinting that he would rather hang up his boots than move to a lesser club.

“I would honestly love to stay but you will have to ask the manager about the long term,” he told the Sun. “I could score at this level for many years and would love it to be at a top club like United.

“Whether I would want to be dropping down to a poorer Premier League team, I don’t know. Yes I could score goals but I would probably get less opportunities and less enjoyment. I just don’t feel my game is suited to a team that is really struggling. I won’t drop down leagues.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Hughton reacts to job ‘threat’

Posted on by
Reply

Newcastle (9/2 to be relegated) have done their best to quell speculation over the future of their manager Chris Hughton by issuing a statement saying that they will be renegotiating his contract.

Hughton’s current deal at St James’ Park runs out at the end of the season and as yet there is no conclusion to any negotiations, which has put the rumour-mill into overdrive about his immediate future and the fact that he could be on his way beforehand.

Despite suffering a 4-0 defeat at home to Arsenal (2/1 – outright betting) in the Carling Cup, Newcastle released a statement backing the manager and insist that the club plans to retain Hughton’s services.

The statement said: “Chris is our manager and will remain our manager, and it is our intention to re-negotiate his contract at the end of the year.”

For his part, Hughton has also insisted that he intends to stay at the club but has admitted that ongoing speculation is becoming a bit of a distraction.

“It’s difficult not to [notice the speculation] but I can’t do anything about that apart from the best job possible,” said Hughton. “I had a remit last season to get into the Premier League and this season it is to keep us in the division. So far, we’ve had our ups and downs but done OK.

“I can’t affect anything that is said but I think it is unfair. As far as I am concerned I’m a very strong character and have to work around these situations.

“I have a job to do and a group of players that have been wonderful for me. We have a focus and nothing will detract from that.

“I’ve been at this club for two and a half years and have thoroughly enjoyed it and I would like to stay here as long as possible.”

Newcastle have enjoyed a mixed season so far but Saturday’s come-from-behind win at West Ham saw the club climb up to ninth in the table, above Aston Villa on 11 points due to a better goal difference.

Next up for the Magpies (11/10 90 minutes betting) is the derby clash at home to Sunderland (23/10 to win, 23/10 the draw) in Sunday’s early kick-off and Hughton is expected to recall the big guns after fielding his fringe players against the Gunners on Wednesday night.

Sunderland are just one point above Newcastle in the table but have yet to win on the road in the Premier League this season, although they have only lost once with three draws from four games.

Newcastle have hardly made St James’ Park a fortress on their return to the top-flight with just one win – albeit a 6-0 hammering of Aston Villa, having lost to Blackpool and Stoke.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Owen faces new injury setback

Posted on by
Reply

Manchester United (9/2 to win the Premier League) striker Michael Owen is set to spend yet more time on the sidelines after picking up another hamstring injury in training.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward was due to play for United in their Carling Cup clash against Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

However Owen was withdrawn from the match not long before kick-off as the defending champions beat Wolves 3-2.

The 30-year-old was disappointed to pick up yet another injury after struggling with muscle problems throughout his career.

He said: “I’ve trained for a week and had a setback with another muscle injury.

“I’ve got some damage in my hamstring and will be out for the next few weeks unfortunately,” he added.

Owen has only started one Premier League match for United this season after he took the field at the Stadium Light for the Red Devil’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

However the former England striker has looked good when he has had an opportunity by Sir Alex Ferguson scoring two goals in the Carling Cup and a goal at the Reebok Stadium after coming on as a substitute against Bolton in the Premier League.

Ferguson has been hoping that Owen and fellow front man Wayne Rooney could rekindle their partnership when the pair played together for the Three Lions.

However it has been rare that the two players have been in the same United (11/2 to win the FA Cup)  line-up and currently both players are on the sidelines.

Revelations about Rooney’s private life and more recently contract issues have meant it has been a difficult time for the former Everton player but Owen believes hype surrounding the player has not affected his team-mates at Old Trafford.

He said: “I don’t think (there was) any (affect), really.

“Everyone seems to be happy now. The club have got a world-class player signed for five years and obviously Wayne’s happy and the manager’s happy.

“Wayne is obviously ambitious and the club’s ambitious. He wouldn’t have signed if he had any doubts,” he added.

United will be hoping that Rooney will return to the form that saw him ranked as one of the best players in the world after scoring 34 goals in 44 appearances for the Old Trafford side last season.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Wenger desperate to end drought

Posted on by
Reply

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has sent a clear message to his Gunners stars – go for everything this season (Arsenal 11/2 to win the Premier League).

The Emirates side have not managed to pick up any silverware for five-years and Wenger is desperate for his side to end their trophy drought.

Arsenal take on Newcastle in the Carling Cup at St James’ Park tonight and Wenger has insisted the competition is an important one.

In previous seasons the Frenchman has allowed his younger players the chance to impress in the Carling Cup, but Wenger has now admitted he sees the Carling Cup as a great opportunity to end their barren run (Arsenal 3/1 to win the Carling Cup).

The Premier League and Champions League have been Arsenal’s priorities over the last few years, with both domestic cup competitions used as opportunities to hand chances to his fringe players, but Wenger admits that may not be the case this season.

“I said to the players we will go for everything we can, as simple as that,” revealed the Arsenal boss.

“And not really specifying one more than the other one that’s why I believe we are on a good run and we want to keep that going.

“It’s important to keep it moving no matter what competition it is. That’s what we want to do.”

Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Manchester City at Eastlands on Sunday has led many pundits to suggest the north London outfit could mount a serious title challenge this season.  The Gunners have also enjoyed a fantastic start to their Champions League campaign and top the Group H table with nine points from three games, scoring 14 goals in the process.

Wenger believes this season could be a successful one for his Arsenal side and has called upon his squad to fight for every trophy they can.

He added: “We are doing well in the Champions League and we have done well so far in the Carling Cup and we are back on track in the championship so it’s just all movement.

“I believe we have a squad good enough to go forward with trophies, that’s why I think: ‘OK let’s go as far as we can’. If needed we can still always choose later but at the moment it is important for everybody to think we go for everything we can.”

Wenger is expected to name a virtually full strength starting XI when Arsenal take on Newcastle later this evening.  The north east side saw off Chelsea in the last round and boss Chris Hughton may hand his youth and fringe players the chance to shine against Arsenal after their exploits against the league leaders in their last Carling Cup fixture (Match Betting – Newcastle 3/1, draw 11/4, Arsenal 5/6).

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Reina reacts to Torres slump

Posted on by
Reply

Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina believes criticism of his team-mate Fernando Torres (14/1 to be Premier League Top Goalscorer) has been unfair and has blamed the rest of the team for his lack of goals.

Torres scored just his second goal of the season as Liverpool eased the pressure with a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday, a result which still sees them languishing in the relegation zone.

The Spain international has been a peripheral figure so far this term and has been unable to replicate his previous goal-scoring feats for the Anfield club, which have seen him garner 74 goals in 127 appearances in all competitions since moving from Atletico Madrid in 2007.

With the off-field problems now seemingly sorted out, Liverpool can concentrate on the task of climbing away from the drop zone and making a move to the right end of the table and Sunday’s much-improved display will have given the Reds fans and management renewed hope.

A fit and firing Torres will be central to Liverpool’s resurgence and Reina believes that the end to the striker’s goal-scoring drought can be a catalyst for the player to make a regular appearance on the score sheet.

“All strikers are about the goals,” he said. “They want to score them and they want to score the winners like Fernando did against Blackburn. I think he can build up now to what he was like of old.”

The Reds shot-stopper drew a comparison with another high-profile Spaniard, David Villa, who has struggled to find the back of the net for Barcelona in La Liga, after moving from Valencia in the summer.

Reina believes the fault does not always lie with the striker but with those who provide the service.

“They are both great players but when strikers are not scoring people are always disappointed in them,” he added. “It’s not fair. I don’t think we have been assisting him like we should, particularly in the last few weeks.

“He has not been able to do anything at all. We know he is the type of player that can win a game just like that, but we can’t expect him to keep doing it on his own. We have to feed him in. That’s the point.”

Liverpool’s next outing is a trip to the Reebok Stadium to pay Bolton on Sunday and another three points could see Roy Hodgson’s side (8/5 to finish in top six) make a significant move up the table, with so many clubs separated by just a few points.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Capello tells Rooney to step up

Posted on by
Reply

England boss Fabio Capello has told striker Wayne Rooney if he does not rediscover his form, his place in the national side is under threat (England 8/1 to win 2012 European Championships).

The Manchester United star caused a storm last week by stating he was ready to call time on his Old Trafford career, but then had a change of heart and agreed a contract extension with United to keep him at the club until 2015 (Manchester United 9/2 to win the 2010-11 Premier League).

The 25-year-old’s private life has also dominated the front and back pages in recent weeks, but Capello claims the only thing that counts for him is the striker’s actions on the pitch. With just one league goal to his name this season, a penalty against West Ham, Capello has told Rooney he needs to find his form or risk losing his place in the England side.

“If he’s (in form) I’ll play him, otherwise no,” Capello told RAI. “For anything else, you’ve got to ask (Manchester United boss Sir Alex) Ferguson.”

Rooney has struggled for form since the end of last season and failed to deliver for England at the World Cup in South Africa during the summer.

Ferguson stated earlier in the campaign the striker was suffering with an ankle problem, which Rooney later denied, although he is now sidelined with an ankle injury which will see him miss Tuesday’s Carling Cup showdown with Wolves at Old Trafford.

Mexican striker Javier Hernandez is expected to be rested, after hitting a brace against Stoke on Sunday, and Ferguson could hand Michael Owen the chance to impress against Mick McCarthy’s men.

The United boss set to make plenty of changes to his starting XI in order to give his first choice players a rest ahead of a crucial Premier League showdown with Spurs on Saturday (Manchester United 2/7, Draw 4/1, Wolves 11/1 – Match Betting).

Rooney could possibly return to action on November 10 when United make the short trip across Manchester to face fierce rivals Manchester City at Eastlands, despite initial reports suggesting he could be out of action for over three weeks.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Only way is up for Mowbray

Posted on by
Reply

New Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray says he remains confident he can turn around the club’s terrible start to the season and get the Teessiders (10/1 to be promoted) up through the Championship play-offs.

The former Celtic, Hibernian and West Brom boss takes over from Gordon Strachan after he resigned following a woeful start to the season.

Despite having started the campaign as heavy favourites to win the Championship, Middlesbrough currently find themselves inside the bottom three and have won just three games all season.

Mowbray takes charge of a team packed with players who use to play in the SPL and will be tasked with turning them into promotion candidates rather than relegation fodder.

Hopes will be high on Teesside that Mowbray has what it takes to save Boro having been a favourite son of theirs during his playing days.

Mowbray made 424 appearances for Middlesbrough after his debut in 1982 before eventually leaving in 1990 to join Celtic having helped his home town club escape liquidation and climb up through the divisions to the top flight.

The 46-year-old arrives back in Middlesbrough having endured a torrid time in charge of Celtic, getting the boot from the Glasgow giants after winning just 17 of 30 league matches in his brief nine month tenure.

Mowbray will hope he can enjoy similar levels of success to the ones he had at Hibernian and West Brom, helping the Baggies gain promotion in his second season in charge.

However, his fourth managerial position could be the toughest of his career with Boro having not won any of their last six matches and having picked up just one point on the road all season.

Despite the club’s current position Mowbray believes he can change Boro’s fortunes and is even talking about promotion.

“The play-off scenario is that your hanging onto the tails, rather than looking at top-two, your looking at the top six and that gives you something to shoot at and we have to start now, and looking at the weekend against Bristol City,” said Mowbray.

Saturday’s game against fellow relegation strugglers Bristol City (11/4 – 90 minutes betting) presents Mowbray with the perfect opportunity to get his first win under his belt.

The Robins have won just twice all season and like Boro aren’t living up to their pre-season billing of being promotion candidates.

Mowbray went on to say that he was realising the chance to manage the club he has supported since he was young and claims to be determine to help them get back into the top flight of English football.

“Since I was six or seven I have been a Middlesbrough fan, so when the opportunity arose – it didn’t take me a moment’s thought,” he added.

“This a club I have been passionate about all my life and I have this opportunity to guide them back where they belong. Our ambition is to get the club moving back in the right direction.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Any one of five for Fergie

Posted on by
Reply

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that five teams will battle it out for the Premier League title this season (United 9/2 Premier League Outright) and expects it to be a roller coaster ride right until May next year.

Manchester United maintained their challenge near the top of the table with a 2-1 victory at Stoke on Saturday and they are one of three teams currently on 17 points – five behind high-flying Chelsea at the summit.

Tottenham occupy fifth spot with 15 points and, while not mentioning the teams by name, it appears that the United boss believes the current top five will be involved in the title race when the business end of the season approaches.

The Wayne Rooney saga has now been cleared up and Ferguson is looking forward to stringing a run of decent results together after coming through a difficult patch, which has seen then club held to four draws away from home already this term, with just one win on their travels.

The boss feels that, despite Chelsea’s superb start to the campaign, there is plenty of time for one of the chasing pack to make a move and throw a spanner in the works as the season progresses, with United having already visited some of the toughest grounds in the top flight.

“I wouldn’t be betting against it being a five-horse race,” he told US radio station Sirius XM. “I think there is a lot of twists and turns in the race.

“The result at Stoke has had a galvanising effect on the club but we have to motor on now.”

Fergie added: “At the moment Chelsea have done very little wrong but if you look at our programme, we have had a much harder programme than the rest.

“We’ve been to Everton, Sunderland, Stoke, Bolton – all these difficult places where nobody enjoys going, but we’ve got them out of the road now.”

United take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night with Ferguson expected to field a virtual second-string side against Mick McCarthy’s men (Man Utd 2/7, Draw 4/1, Wolves 11/1 – Match Betting).

Michael Owen should get a run-out while Javier Hernandez will probably be rested, with Spurs set to visit Old Trafford on Saturday in a mouth-watering clash of two attack-minded teams.

With Liverpool out of the title reckoning, the north Londoners are part of Fergie’s ‘big five’ contenders and victory over Harry Redknapp’s talented outfit would further boost the confidence of a club still coming to terms with the negative publicity surrounding Rooney’s contract negotiations and put down a marker for the rest of the season.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Wenger seeks Arsenal belief

Posted on by
Reply

Arsene Wenger hopes the 3-0 win at Manchester City will give Arsenal (11/2 Premier League Outright) the belief they need to go on and win the Premier League title.

The Gunners showed their title credentials with a strong performance at Eastlands, with goals from Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner.

Although City were down to ten men after just five minutes, following the dismissal of Dedryck Boyata, Wenger was delighted with the way his side took full advantage.

The Frenchman said: “It was important to us to get a win in a big place to strengthen belief and continue our march forward. I think collectively we completely dominated the game.”

The Gunners (1/7 Top Four Finish) have moved up to second in the table, five points behind leaders Chelsea, who are one of two teams to beat Arsenal this season.

One major plus in recent weeks has been the performances of Lukasz Fabianski, following the Gunners’ early-season goalkeeping issues.

The Polish international kept an impressive clean sheet and has conceded just two goals in three games – during which time Arsenal have scored ten.

Fabianski will have to battle to keep his place when Manuel Almunia returns to full fitness, but Wenger is pleased with the form of the 25-year-old.

The manager stated: “From game to game, he shows what we see in training. Sometimes in our job you have to be steady and fight against opinions.

“It is easier when you know a player has the talent and I believe he has the talent.”

Wenger has been known to blood the Gunners’ youngsters in the Carling Cup (Newcastle 14/5, Draw 13/5, Arsenal 10/11 – Match Betting) , but has indicated that he will send a strong side to Newcastle on Wednesday.

England international Theo Walcott is expected to start at St James’ Park, while Nicklas Bendtner could start after scoring as a substitute at Eastlands having recovered from injury.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Fabregas not looking to the future

Posted on by
Reply

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is determined to take the season one game at a time and refuses to get caught up in talk of winning the Premier League title (Arsenal 11/2 to win Premier League).

The 23-year-old was part of the Arsenal side that moved back up to second place with a 3-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday – a result helped by the early sending off of Dedryck Boyata at Eastlands.

The Gunners look back to somewhere near top form, after losing back-to-back Premier League matches against West Brom and Chelsea, with victory over Birmingham City and the weekend triumph over Roberto Mancini’s men.

The north Londoners also hammered Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 in the Champions League last week and are now tied with the two Manchester clubs on 17 points in the race for the English top-flight crown.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that his young side is now beginning to show more maturity after the two set-backs just a couple of weeks ago, but Fabregas prefers just to focus on upcoming events rather than where the club might stand in May.

“It looks like after every win you have to say ‘oh, you are more mature than last year’, but it is just one more game, let’s not get carried away,” he told Arsenal TV Online. “Now we have the (Carling Cup) game against Newcastle, which is the most important one at the moment.

“The time to talk about if we have matured or are better than before will be at the end of the season.”

Wenger has always cut his cloth according to the club’s finances and prefers to bring young players through rather than spend vast sums of money on expensive transfers.

Fabregas is still only 23 and is part of a group of youngsters that, Wenger believes, will bring silverware back to the club in the coming years.

Whether or not the Spaniard is part of that group in the future is open to question as rumours of a move to Barcelona will not go away.

But the World Cup-winning midfielder is determined to let his football do the talking this season and strive to turn the potential of the team into a successful unit who are capable of challenging on all fronts (Fabregas 18/1 to be Champions League top scorer).

“In football, you know what people will say when you win, and you know what people will say when you lose,” he said. “You just have to keep focused on what you do, in training and in the game, give everything for the team and the rest is not up to you.

“We have a very good team, with lots of young players. We have to make it a great time by winning things.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.