Monthly Archives: October 2010

Cole eyes Liverpool upturn

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Joe Cole is hoping Liverpool put the false start under the control of New England Sports Ventures (NESV) behind them and get on with the business of restoring the club to its former glories (Liverpool 9/1 – Top Four Finish).

Boston Red Sox supremo John W Henry took over at Anfield last week, after a turbulent few days in court, only for the turmoil to continue on the pitch at Everton with a 2-0 defeat in Sunday’s Merseyside derby.

But Cole, who joined the club on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer, wants the players to reward the new owners for providing some much needed stability after the reign of George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

The  28-year-old told Liverpool’s website: “We’re happy that it’s all sorted out and the club’s got some direction again. I know the fans are happy.

“They (NESV) seem genuine and they seem like they are doing it through passion. Everything seems great.

“I definitely think they can help us get back up there.”

Liverpool’s first attempt to bounce back comes at Serie A outfit Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday night although they will have to do it without captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres (Napoli 10/11, draw 5/2, Liverpool 3/1).

Boss Roy Hodgson has elected to leave his two best players behind as he juggles European commitments with the Premier League.

Liverpool (7/10 to win the game) entertain Blackburn Rovers (4/1) at Anfield on Sunday which is a crucial game given a domestic run of one win in eight league games.

Hodgson has also left out midfielders Lucas and Raul Meireles for the trip to Italy while Glen Johnson and Dirk Kuyt are injured and Daniel Agger is now suffering with illness.

“Some of the more important senior players won’t travel because their participation on Sunday is going to be so important to us,” said Hodgson.

“It’s not just a question of playing three matches in a week it’s also a question of injury.

“I don’t think our squad is so strong that I can afford to risk them.

“But it’ll still be a strong team we put out there and I think it’s a chance for some players who have been on the fringes, like David Ngog and others like Ryan Babel who has had very few chances.

“It’s yet another opportunity for these players to blast their way into the team and force me to look at them in a different light, to make sure they are players that are first on the list and not down the pecking order.”

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We can earn our Spurs – Redknapp

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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp reckons his side can challenge for the Premier League title in a couple of seasons – providing he can add two world-class players to his White Hart Lane ranks (Spurs 80/1 – Premier League 2010/2011).

The 63-year-old is preparing to lead Spurs into battle against European champions Inter Milan on Wednesday in the Champions League at the San Siro – a fixture the north Londoners’ fans could only dream about given their failure to crack the top four domestically until last term (Inter 8/13, draw 14/5, Spurs 9/2).

Redknapp has selection problems for the Italian job with Rafael van der Vaart banned and Sandro ineligible, while the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Dawson (both knee) and Jamie O’Hara (back) are still sidelined.

In addition, Younes Kaboul (hamstring) remains a doubt for the Group A encounter with the Serie A giants as Tottenham look to build on their unbeaten start in Europe.

And while the Champions League looks to be a long shot for Spurs at their first attempt (33/1 Outright), Redknapp is in no mood to take the foot off the pedal at home as he looks for the funds to compete with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal.

He said: “I think Tottenham may be one or two big signings away from being a team that could win the championship.

“One or two players in the right positions – and I’m talking about two top, top players in the right positions. If we could go and do that I think Tottenham are a team that could win the championship in a couple of years.”

Redknapp added: “This squad is just so full of talent anyway, players who have made their mark and (chairman) Daniel Levy has done a great job backing my judgment and improving the squad and the club, that I really believe we’re not far away from that level.”

“We’ve got a lot of players here who could play for any club.?

Group A’s other fixture tonight sees Dutch champions FC Twente (13/10 to win the game) entertain Werder Bremen (19/10) of Germany.

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Mancini – We can cope without Carlos

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has revealed he will rest Carlos Tevez for either the Europa League tie against Lech Poznan on Thursday or Sunday’s showdown with title rivals Arsenal (City 11/2 – Premier League outright).

The Argentine striker has been the focal point of Mancini’s attack this season, with seven league goals so far, and has played in all but two of City’s fixtures to date but the Italian boss believes his squad can cope without the talismanic presence of Tevez.

The 26-year-old came to City’s rescue last weekend with a brace as the Eastlands side recorded a 3-2 victory over Blackpool despite a below-par performance but Mancini is confident the likes of David Silva, who also netted in the victory over the Seasiders, and former Arsenal frontman Emmanuel Adebayor can step up and fill the void left by Tevez.

“I will probably rest Carlos on Thursday or Sunday,” Mancini told the Daily Mirror.

“I will speak with Carlos and we will decide. Out of the games, there will probably be one for which Carlos will stay on the bench, because he needs to recover.

“Carlos is a key player for us, but then for us all the players did well at Blackpool. There were other good performances as well as Carlos.

“Manu Adebayor worked so hard, probably the defenders were tired by the time Silva came on. Silva is also very important for us. He’s a fantastic player.”

Mancini claims he could rest the striker in Sunday’s crucial Premier League encounter with Arsenal at Eastlands but it would appear more likely Tevez will sit out on Thursday against Lech Poznan (Match Betting – City 2/9, draw 5/1, Lech Poznan 12/1).

The Italian tactician has named strong starting line-ups for both the Europa League group fixtures his side have played so far, against Juventus and SV Salzburg, but the Polish outfit are perhaps the weakest team in Group A and Mancini may decide to hand some of his fringe players the chance to shine on Thursday.

City currently lie second in the Europa League Group A table, level on four points with current leaders Lech Poznan who have drawn with Italian giants Juventus and beaten SV Salzburg in their two European encounters so far (City 5/1f – Europa League outright).

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Totti ready to end goal drought

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Roma (8/13 – 90 minutes) coach Claudio Ranieri says Francesco Totti’s five-month goal drought is not a concern going into tonight’s Champions League Group E clash with FC Basel (9/2) at the Olympic Stadium.

Roma hailed the performance of  the Roma captain who was instrumental in the Giallorossi’s crucial 2-1 victory over Genoa at the weekend.

Totti has not scored since May, a run of 10 matches spanning the close season, and some critics had even suggested he may have been unhappy with his role in the line-up.

But, following his display against Genoa, Ranieri again refuted rumours concerning the pair’s apparently deteriorating relationship.

“He always trains to the limit. He’s missing a goal… but I’m very happy with him,” said the ex-Chelsea coach.

“I read that Totti was against me. You can’t write anything more absurd.

“I have a loyal relationship with all the players, particularly with my captain, who has spent his life here and who has suffered a thousand wrongs for his team.

“As a Roman and a Romanista (Roma fan), I don’t understand it.”

Ranieri is aware of the difficulty his side may face against Basel, who stuned the Serie A side 2-0 in last season’s Europa League clash at St Jakob Park (1/6 Roma – Group E To Qualify).

“They are a side that defend well, and are good on the counter-attack – they came close to getting a result against Bayern Munich,” he said.

“We know their strong and weak points, but I’d prefer to go into those with my players, not here.”

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City set for titanic Rooney bid

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Manchester City (11/2 – Premier League Outright 2010/11) have admitted they are interested in Wayne Rooney and will monitor his situation closely after Sir Alex Ferguson revealed his star striker has asked for a move from Manchester United.

The mega-rich Manchester club are believed to be the favourites to sign the 24-year-old whose agent told United chief executive David Gill he would not be extending his contract at Old Trafford this summer (Man Utd 4/1 – Premier League Outright 2010/11).

Reds manager Sir Alex Ferguson kept the news in-house in the hope that the player might undergo a change of heart, but has now been forced to go public after a week of speculation leading up to Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Bursaspor.

Rooney, who memorably scored a hat-trick against another Turkish outfit – Fenerbahce – in 2004, will not be in United’s line-up this week after Ferguson declared he has an ankle injury.

“It was terribly disappointing that he wanted to leave. We just couldn’t understand it,” said the Scottish boss.

“We have to keep the door open because he is such a good player.

“We have done nothing but help him since he came to this club, that is why this is such a mystery to us. We’ve helped him with his private life and other matters.

“So we’re as bemused as anyone can be because we can’t understand why he would want to leave a club that is successful as we are in British football.”

City, who have ambitions to become the biggest club in world football, are the obvious candidates to make the highest bid (Man City Multiple Trophies).

They have links to Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, through the player’s sponsor Nike and an unnamed official has already spoken about the situation across the city.

“We hadn’t discussed signing Rooney until the last week because we never thought he would be available, just like we have never discussed signing Lionel Messi from Barcelona,” they told the Guardian.

“Now we know he wants to leave United we’re obviously going to monitor it closely.”

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Villarreal expect strong Hercules

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Villarreal (7/5 in Match Betting) coach Juan Carlos Garrido knows the Yellow Submarine will have to play well against Hercules (8/5) tonight to earn their sixth successive Primera Liga victory.

Garrido has warned his in-form squad to expect the newly-promoted team to make it tough and says they will need to give it 100 per cent to take all three points.

The Alicante-based club signed ex-Juventus striker David Trezeguet and Paraguayan hitman Nelson Valdez from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and have scored some impressive results already in the Spanish top flight.

“They’ve made a great investment with the signing of top players,” said Garrido.

“The only way to win on their pitch is by giving a 100 per cent, because they are a good group and have some big stars.”

The coach hinted at an unchanged side, which means strike partners Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi will continue up front.

He said: “It’s important to continue with the group and give a chance to players who have earned it in practice.

“We have a unit that works well, but there are players who can feel entitled to a starting place.”

The front two have combined for 11 goals between them this season and both names were on the scoresheet in Villarreal’s 2-0 win over racing Santander before the international break.

Hercules have managed only five goals this season, but did pull off a shock 2-0 win away to Barcelona and a 2-0 home win over Sevilla recently (4/5 Yes – Both Teams To Score).

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Henry faces up to Liverpool task

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New Liverpool owner John W Henry has admitted he faces a tough task in reviving the club’s fortunes but is confident the Reds will again be able to compete with the best soon (Liverpool 11/1 to be relegated).

Henry’s NESV group finally became the new owners of the Merseysiders on Friday following several nervy days of court battles both in the High Court in London and in Texas as former custodians, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, attempted to block the reported £300m deal.

Henry, who initially said he would not be watching the Merseyside derby at Everton on Sunday but in the end was at Goodison Park for the 2-0 defeat, admitted there is plenty of work to be done to get the club back among the elite – both on and off the pitch.

“What am I thinking? How much work this is going to be. How steep the learning curve is going to be. This is not going to be easy,” he said.

“We realise the challenge that lies ahead if we are going to go toe to toe with the other big clubs.

“We are not asking for a long honeymoon. This is a contact sport we are in and the going can get rough sometimes. We realise that.”

Henry plans to meet Liverpool fans’ groups in the next few days to listen to their concerns but he insisted he has a good track record in reviving sports clubs and hopes the success NESV have enjoyed with the Boston Red Sox can be emulated at Anfield.

“We are not going to make any promises but we are going to listen and consider,” he added in the Liverpool Echo.

“There were big financial issues but in the end we made a decision we really wanted to compete at this level.

“I don’t have ‘Sheikh’ in front of my name but we look at revenues in sports as being the ability to send out a strong team on the field.

“When we arrived at the Red Sox, the New York Yankees were a juggernaut and it wasn’t that much of rivalry.

“I believe we turned it into a rivalry where we have gone toe to toe with the Yankees even though they have got a much higher revenue.

“They keep going up but we have gone up faster. When we looked at Liverpool, the first thing that struck us was there are opportunities here to really build a winner.”

Liverpool’s revival on the pitch cannot come quickly enough following a shocking start that was compounded by the derby defeat on Sunday, but they have a Europa League clash next up on Thursday when they go to Italy to face Napoli (Liverpool 10/1 – Europa League Outright).

Under-pressure boss Roy Hodgson has yet to lose in Europe this term but the Reds’ dismal Premier League form so far has left his side second bottom of the table, ahead of West Ham but only on goal difference.

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Wenger unsure over Fabregas return

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Arsene Wenger says Cesc Fabregas is now fully fit again but the Gunners boss may not risk the Spanish ace against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday (Arsenal 4/6, Shakhtar 4/1, the draw 14/5).

The Arsenal skipper has not played since he picked up a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland last month but has been making good progress in training and could play if required this week.

However, Wenger is keen to protect Fabregas and has hinted he may decide against playing the midfielder against their opponents from Ukraine, with Sunday’s trip to title rivals Manchester City in mind (Arsenal 15/2, City 11/2 – Premier League Outright).

“Cesc is available. He is good and has prepared well. He had a little setback but got over the hurdle and is ready to play at full fitness,” said Wenger.

“I do not know yet whether I start him or not but he is available. It will be (determined by) whether I take a gamble or not, because he has been out for a long time.

“I have to make up my mind but physically he is ready, fit and wanting to play.”

Theo Walcott, meanwhile, picked up a minor knock in training but is expected to be fit to face Shakhtar but Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie and Manuel Almunia are all definitely ruled out of the game.

Arsenal will be hoping to make it three wins out of three in their Champions League group matches on Tuesday following victories so far over Braga and Partizan (Arsenal 10/1 – Champions League Outright).

Wenger is expected to make at least two changes from the side that beat Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday but youngster Jack Wilshere is tipped to start despite his sending off late on at the weekend.

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Braga urged to overcome stage fright

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Braga (4/5) coach Domingos Paciencia has urged his team to break their Champions League duck and record their first Group H win against Partizan Belgrade (7/2) on Tuesday.

The Portuguese club have made a miserable start to their debut season in the competition, following up their 6-0 defeat at Arsenal with a 3-0 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.

But the visit of the Serbian champions to northern Portugal gives Sporting Braga an opportunity to do compete on a level playing field – financially.

“We’re in a competition where we’re up against teams in a different boat to us, teams with a budget ten times the size of ours,” said Pacienca.

“To be able to match teams like that, we will have to see a very different Braga – a Braga side at the top of their game, playing their best.

“It’s our first time in the competition so it’s only natural that it’s tough, but it’s important for us to get second or at least third place to stay in Europe,” added the former FC Porto and Portugal striker.

The 41-year-old coach has been compared to compatriot Jose Mourinho after enjoying success early on in his coaching career, leading Braga to second place in the Portuguese Superliga last term and then knocking Celtic and Sevilla out to hit the European big time.

Braga’s home form was the key to their title challange last season as they dropped only two points at the Municipal, but they have struggled to make an impact in the rarified atmosphere of the Champions League and have only won two corners in two matches.

Partizan could be without Brazilian striker Cleo, recently linked to Liverpool, who missed their 5-3 win over Smederevo at the weekend with a minor knee problem.

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Hodgson gets Henry’s backing

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New Liverpool owner John W Henry has told boss Roy Hodgson and his Liverpool squad that New England Sports Ventures will ’support you and encourage you’ ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Everton (Everton 6/4, Liverpool 11/5, Draw 15/8 90 Minutes).

NESV’s head man Henry has chosen to speak out about the current manager and team following a meeting with them on Saturday, the day after the £300million takeover from former US owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks finally got the go-ahead.

And the current owner of the successful Boston Red Sox baseball team insisted that NESV will give them every opportunity to shake of their disappointing start to the Premier League campaign and begin to climb the table (Liverpool 15/2 Top 4 Finish).

Henry told the News of the World: “I think our message was simple: ‘We’re here to support you and encourage you’.

“Our feeling is we’re here to stabilise and to answer questions that might be lingering, and to just come in and have the same attitude we had in Boston.

“That is to be smart managers and to listen. Our first intention is under-promise but over-deliver.”

Henry claims NESV’s main aim with Liverpool is to get them consistently battling it out with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the same way they managed to get Boston on a par with baseball giants New York Yankees since taking over there.

However, he added: “It’s a huge challenge but we’re aware how much work it’s going to take to do that.”

Meanwhile NESV chairman Thomas Werner showed he is singing from the Henry’s hymn sheet when he pledged his support for Hodgson and the current staff at Liverpool in their pursuit of success (Liverpool 10/1 Europa League Outright).

And Werner also promised the supporters, who he compared to the Boston Red Sox faithful, that they will do all they can to achieve big things on Merseyside.

He added on www.liverpoolfc.tv: “They’re loyal, they’re passionate and it’s our good fortune to be stewards and we hope that we will take care of this extraordinary club and provide it with the resources and the commitment to win in the near future and hopefully restore some of its lustre.”

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