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Poulsen still adapting to Liverpool life

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Summer signing Christian Poulsen has admitted it will take him a while to settle into life at Liverpool and adapt to the hectic pace of the Premier League (6/4 – top-4 finish).

The Denmark international joined from Juventus before the transfer window closed and the midfielder featured from the start against West Brom last Sunday in what was his first full league appearance for the Reds.

It was also the first time he had started a game alongside star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and the experienced former FC Copenhagen player admitted it could take him a bit longer to gel with his team-mates.

“I feel comfortable here. The match against West Brom was the first game with Fernando and the captain so you have to learn how they want the ball,” said Poulsen.

“Fernando is a strong player and can do things at speed and can do things one against one.

“You also feel Steven and Fernando have a good eye for each other and you saw that against West Brom – I hope it will get even better.”

Poulsen did play in the two-legged Europa League play-off win over Trabzonspor and, after a busy summer with Denmark at the World Cup, he admits he is still scratching around for his full fitness and match sharpness (Liverpool 7/2 – to win a major trophy this season).

“When I came here I had not played since the World Cup so I feel I need some time to get into the rhythm,” added the 30-year-old.

“But last Thursday (in the second leg against Trabzonspor) I did better than in the first game.

“We have a lot of games so with Javier Mascherano and Alberto Aquilani leaving we need quality players for the team because for the next six months we will have a game every four days.

“I hope after the international break we can come strong again and pick up a lot of points up in the coming months.”

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Curbs emerges as top Villa candidate

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Former Aston Villa player Alan Curbishley appears to be in the frame for the vacant manager’s job amid reports he is to be interviewed for the post (Villa 9/1 – top four finish).

Villa are taking their time to name a replacement for Martin O’Neill, who left Villa Park a week before the season got underway, but former West Ham and Charlton boss Curbishley has emerged as a frontrunner.

The 52-year-old has not had a managerial job since leaving Upton Park two years ago, but has been linked with several roles since and could well be very tempted by the Villa post.

Curbs, who joined Villa as a player from Birmingham in 1983 and went on to make 36 appearances for the club, is set to be among up to five men interviewed by the Villa board for the job this week.

Current caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald, who declared his interest in the permanent job earlier this week, is also expected to be considered for the post while the likes of former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, ex-Liverpool chief Gerard Houllier and former Dutch international Ronald Koeman are also in the frame.

Villa (2/1 – top six finish) have said they ideally want to appoint someone with previous experience of managing in the Premier League, so that would give Curbishley, Houllier and Eriksson a distinct advantage although MacDonald is highly thought-of by the board and is a well-respected coach in his own right.

He also appears to have the backing of several first-team players despite the fact his side were humiliated 6-0 at Newcastle a couple of weeks ago and were then dumped out of the Europa League by Rapid Vienna last Thursday.

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Blues clarify McLeish deal stance

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Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish with goalkeeper Ben FosterBirmingham fans worried over the future of boss Alex McLeish have now been told the Scot is “perhaps inches away” from agreeing a new deal (Birmingham 1/18 – To Stay Up).

Blues supporters woke up on Thursday morning to comments from acting chairman Peter Pannu over McLeish’s demands – described as “a very large amount of money” – and the former Scotland boss’ status in the game when his name was compared with that of Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho.

But fast-forward to early afternoon and Pannu told the Birmingham Mail that fresh terms could be agreed before the Blues’ next game on Sunday September 12 when Liverpool make the trip down the M6 for a St Andrew’s showdown (Birmingham 50/1 – Top Four Finish).

“This is all nonsense,( said Pannu. “We are just perhaps inches away from Alex signing a contract, possibly by next week.

“Our relationship is phenomenal, we are very strong and close, and I want to dispel this notion that there is anything wrong.

“In fact, I spoke to Alex about the Mourinho reference and we laughed about it. In the whole context of the interview I did, it would not have had a sting to it. But to take out the extract like that made it look worse than it was.

“Mourinho came up because I mentioned that the agent who made the initial approach to me about Alex and his contract represents Mourinho.

“Nothing was meant as a slight to Alex in the context of the conversation I had.”

McLeish appears to have been happy to keep a dignified silence over the issue after refusing to be drawn when unveiling latest signings Alexander Hleb, Martin Jiranek and Jean Beausejour.

Birmingham enjoyed a fantastic run under McLeish last season after setting a new club record of 12 games without defeat in the top flight.

The club eventually finished in ninth spot – their best season in some 51 years – to mark their return to the big time in style after a one-year exile in the Championship.

This time around the Blues have started well and are unbeaten in three games, although they let a 2-0 lead slip against 10-man Bolton at the Reebok last weekend (Bolton 13/2 – Relegation).

Such failure to close out a game will not be lost on McLeish who made 77 appearances for Scotland as a central defender between 1980 and 1993.

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Campbell makes England pitch

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Newcastle defender Sol Campbell admits he still feels he is capable of featuring for England during the qualification campaign for Euro 2012 which starts on Friday night against Bulgaria (England 3/10, draw 4/1, Bulgaria 10/1 – 90 Minutes).

The former Tottenham and Arsenal star has won 73 caps for the Three Lions but the last of them came under former coach Steve McClaren with his form overlooked by Fabio Capello ever since the Italian took charge.

Thirty-six later in September, Campbell thinks he can cut it on the big stage although the likes of John Terry, Matthew Upson, Matthew Dawson, Joleon Lescott and Gary Cahill are ahead of him in the pecking order.

“You go to Italy and defenders and goalkeepers can go on and on and on really,” argued Campbell.

“You can roll the names off of the guys who have played well into their late 30s at international level so I think it sometimes goes down to mentality.

“It doesn’t matter where you are at with your age, if you are fit and you are strong and you are physically there and you want it, then you have got the experience so I think there should be no problem really.”

Campbell’s cause has not been helped by the fact he is yet to pull on a Newcastle shirt in anger so far this season.

He did not join up with the Magpies until late in the summer after leaving Arsenal on a free transfer at the end of last season.

But Campbell had a run out for the Magpies’ second string in midweek as he looks to put himself in contention for the home clash with Ian Holloway’s Blackpool on Saturday September 11.

Chris Hughton’s men have made a solid start to the season since the opening defeat at Manchester United while they are also through to the second round of the Carling Cup (Newcastle 50/1 – Carling Cup Outright).

But the Seasiders have also taken the step up from the Championship in their stride and currently sit in mid-table after three games of the campaign (Blackpool 2/7 – To Be Relegated).

Holloway has signed over 10 players since winning promotion via the play-offs with the likes of Luke Varney, DJ Campbell and David Carney late additions to his squad.

Aussie midfielder Carney and former loan striker Campbell were only confirmed by the club on deadline day and both have made Blackpool?s 23-man Premier League squad which leaves room for two free agents.

Under-21 players can also be selected as they do not need to be declared by a club.

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Robinho reveals Milan delight

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Brazilian playmaker Robinho finally managed to put an end to his spell with Manchester City yesterday by completing a move to Italian giants AC Milan – where he hopes to get his hands on some silverware (AC Milan 2/1 to win the Serie A).

The Rossoneri have been overshadowed in recent years by city rivals Inter Milan, with the Nerazzurri securing the Serie A title for the last five consecutive seasons – although their success in 2006 was due to the Calciopoli Scandal, with Juventus stripped of the title – as well as picking up the Champions League and Coppa Italia titles in the last campaign (Inter 14/1 to retain their Champions League title).

In contrast AC Milan have endured somewhat of a trophy drought by their own standards of late, the San Siro side last won the Champions League in 2007, their last Scudetto triumph came in 2004 and the Coppa Italia has eluded them since 2003.

However, Robinho has promised to help the side get back to winning ways and is confident he can secure some silverware during his stay in Milan.

“I hope with the rest of my team-mates to be able to contribute to hand many titles to this club,” he told the club’s official website.

“Milan has great players and it’s a fantastic side with a very important history.

“Kaka has always spoken to me very well about Milan and now I know that the Brazilian players in the team will give me a great hand in adapting to the team.

“I will work very hard to make the fans very happy. I want to bring so much joy to them.”

AC Milan have already made a fine start to their Serie A campaign and have seen their odds shorten after the opening weekend fixtures in Italy.

Inter Milan remain the 6/5 favourites with Totesport but AC Milan are now priced at 2/1 following their opening day 4-0 mauling of Lecce, with Robinho’s compatriots Alexandre Pato (2) and Thiago Silva netting in the victory (Pato 33/1 to be the top goalscorer in the Champions League).

Reigning champions Inter, now under the guidance of former Liverpool and Valencia boss Rafael Benitez, could only manage a goalless draw at Bologna in their first fixture.

Juventus and Roma are seen as the other contenders who could challenge for the Serie A title this season but neither managed to pick up three points in their respective openers.

Roma also drew a blank as they could only manage to pick up a point in their home tie newly promoted AC Cesena, while Juve suffered a 1-0 defeat away at Bari.

The Milan faithful have every reason to be confident this season.

Jose Mourinho is no longer at the helm of their fierce rivals and Inter were left largely frustrated in the transfer market as Javier Mascherano chose to join Barcelona instead of linking up with former boss Benitez for a second spell.

With the £22million arrival of Robinho they have a benchmark signing of their own to welcome to the San Siro and new boss Massimiliano Allegri, although not particularly well known outside of his homeland, is a respected coach in Italy after his exploits with Cagliari, where he implemented an exciting brand of attacking football despite the financial limitations of the Italian minnows.

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Players still behind Capello – Barry

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Gareth Barry insists the England players (1/12 to qualify for Euro 2012) still believe in Fabio Capello, as the squad go into their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

An appalling showing at the World Cup this summer led to many fans and pundits calling for a change at the top.

But Capello, who signed a new deal before the tournament in South Africa, insists he can lead the Three Lions to success and remains intent on reaching the European Championships.

England start their qualifying campaign with a home clash against Bulgaria (England 3/10, Bulgaria 8/1, Draw 10/3 – Match Betting) this Friday, before facing a trip to Switzerland next Tuesday, September 7.

Despite the struggles in South Africa and the major changes made to the squad since then, Barry feels the manager has the full support of the dressing room.

The Manchester City midfielder said: “Everyone is right behind the manager. I firmly believe the players and manager can go on and do great things. He is still the man to take England forward.”

Even though a number of the World Cup squad look to have had their England careers brought to an end, Barry (9/2 to score at anytime v Bulgaria) says nothing has changed in the manager’s demeanour.

The former Aston Villa man added: “He still wants us to play at a high tempo but the whole squad is pretty relaxed. Everything is pretty chilled there so there are not too many changes.”

Capello, though, will be without several key players through injury for the two upcoming fixtures.

Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Bobby Zamora are already absent, and now Peter Crouch has been forced to withdraw.

The Tottenham striker misses out with a back injury, while Capello also has concerns over the fitness of Ben Foster (knee), Scott Carson (back) and Phil Jagielka (ankle).

All three players sat out Tuesday’s training session but the word from the camp is that the trio should be fit for Friday’s game at Wembley (5/4 both teams to score).

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Konchesky wants trophy haul

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Paul Konchesky says he made the move from Fulham to Liverpool to win some silverware and believes the club has what it takes to win a trophy this season (Liverpool 20/1 Premier League outright).

The left-back completed his move to the club on transfer deadline day, signing a four-year contract having enhanced his reputation while at Craven Cottage.

The 29-year-old played a big part in helping Fulham finish seventh the season before last and followed that up by helping the Cottagers reach the first European final in their history.

Konchesky’s move to Liverpool appears to have been on the cards since Roy Hodgson left his post as Fulham manager to takeover at Anfield, with the Reds having been without a left-back for the majority of the summer.

Hodgson had been looking at Aston Villa’s Luke Young but decided to stick with Konchesky after working with him at Fulham.

Konchesky becomes Liverpool’s eighth summer signing after they completed the signings of Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole, Brad Jones, Milan Jovanovic, Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson.

Despite the new arrivals the Reds have got off to a slow start, notching up their first win of the season with an unconvincing 1-0 victory over West Brom (4/5 to be relegated) on Sunday.

While Liverpool are already five points off current league leaders and defending champions Chelsea, Konchesky believes the current squad are capable of challenging for top honours.

“I’m very excited to be here. I can’t wait to get started and I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” he told the club’s official website.

“I want to win silverware. I believe this club is capable of doing that and hopefully we can start this year.”

Having been a beaten finalist in last season’s Europa League Konchesky is eager to right the wrongs of Fulham’s defeat to Athletico Madrid (16/1 Europa League outright) and win the same competition with Liverpool (11/1) this season.

“I am really excited by that. Liverpool have a great tradition in Europe. We got to the final with Fulham last season but hopefully we can go one step further this year and win it with Liverpool,” he added.

Liverpool will fancy their chances of doing well in the Europa League this season having reached the semi-final stage of the competition in the last campaign.

However, the Reds have been drawn in a tough group after being paired with Napoli, Steaua Bucharest and Utrecht.

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Mascherano ends Barca spree

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Barcelona’s sporting vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed that Javier Mascherano’s ‘dream’ move to the Nou Camp completes their transfer dealings for this season (Barcelona 13/5 Champions League Outright).

The Spanish champions swooped to bolster their already impressive midfield options by snapping up Argentina international captain, Mascherano, from Liverpool for a reported £18million on a four-year contract on Monday evening following his five-hour medical.

The Catalan giants, who are aiming to secure the Champions League title this season after failing to emulate their May 2009 success last term, have already snapped up David Villa (11/2f Champions League Top Goalscorer) and Adriano to help them do that.

Bartomeu has now spoken out to reveal that they feel Pep Guardiola’s squad has enough strength in depth to fight it out for the Primera Liga and Champions League.

He said: “The squad is now complete and we will not sign anyone else. We have reached the decision that there is no need to strengthen the team any further.”

Meanwhile Mascherano, who took a pay cut to join Barcelona, could not hide his delight at finally joining the club.

“When I landed I said that I was achieving a dream. At last I will be able to say that I play for Barcelona, the team who I wanted to play for.”

The 26-year-old must now fight it out with some quality players to get into a Barca side that consists of eight of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad.

“It would be stupid if I thought I was going to play all the time. You need to respect the people here who have been doing so well,” he added.

“In my position there are three world champions who have won everything (Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta). For me it is a dream to grow, learn and enjoy playing next to them.”

He added: “I know that they’ve won everything, it’s a team full of great players, with a base of world champions and I will try to be humble and help the team continue winning things.

“I’m going to have the chance to play with players who I admire and I will able to say that I’ve grown and that I’ve been a better player at this club.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime. I will train to be ready when I’m needed.”

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Royal Blues spend big in pursuit of Bayern

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Schalke (11/1 Bundesliga Outright 2010/2011 Outright) have bolstered their title chances with a double deadline day swoop for Dutch international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Mexican midfielder Jose Manuel Jurardo for a combined £21million.

Former Ajax and Real Madrid hitman Huntelaar scored seven goals in Serie A last season, but admitted he had to leave AC Milan after they brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic in on a season-long loan.

Huntelaar said: “It is true I never wanted to leave Milan but that changed when Zlatan Ibrahimovic came from Barcelona.”

Schalke boss Felix Magath told Bild: “Negotiations were tougher than expected. I am happy to have Klaas-Jan. He will help us.”

The Gelsenkirchen outfit were pipped to the Bundesliga trophy last term by Bayern Munich and are desperate to end a 52-year wait for the title, having finished runners-up previously in 2001, 2005 and 2007. But Magath’s side have made a poor start to the season and sit in 15th place after two matches of the season.

After defensive blunders cost the Royal Blues dearly in the 2-1 home defeat to Hannover on Saturday, Magath has been forced into the transfer market for a third time before the deadline.

Despite previously stating that he didn’t need any defenders, he is splashing out on Lille centre back Nicolas Plestan. Schalke had already invested heavily in signing Christophe Metzelder and Raul from Real Madrid.

Bayern (1/2) have been relatively quiet in the transfer market, concentrating on keeping together the squad that reached the Champions League final and claimed the domestic double.

Hamburg (9/1) have started the season well, despite losing defender Jerome Boateng to Manchester City, while Werder Bremen (11/1) could not hold onto playmaker Mesut Ozil.

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Sunderland snap up Gyan

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Sunderland boss Steve Bruce said he was delighted to pull off a club record £13million deal to sign Ghana World Cup star Asamoah Gyan from Rennes, because he thought he was heading to Turkey (16/1 Sunderland – Premiership Top 6 Finish 2010/2011).

Gyan signed a four-year deal after chairman Niall Quinn flew out to France to table Sunderland’s offer at the weekend, accelerating two days of negotiations.

Black Cats boss Bruce revealed he had almost given up on the 24-year-old striker – who he believed was on his way to Fenerbahce for £17million.

“I love his enthusiasm,” he said.

“I tried to sign him last summer. He’s got a huge appetite for the game, he’ll give us something extra. He can lead the line, he’s a traditional number nine.

“It’s a great piece of business for us. We’re all delighted. We are making huge strides.”

Gyan scored three goals in South Africa but missed the extra-time penalty that would have put the Black Stars through to the semi-finals.

He joins Ghana team-mate John Mensah at the Stadium of Light, with Bruce happy that the former Lyon man will be able to help him settle in on Wearside.

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