Tag Archives: players

5 Championship players to watch

Posted on by
Reply

Bet on the ChampionshipAfter the opening weekend of the Championship season, punters will already have made notes on which teams look like promotion and relegation candidates. We’ve decided to take a look at some of the players who could have a big season in the English second tier.

1) Michael Chopra (Ipswich)

A brace on his debut for Ipswich (12/1 Championship Outright) showed once again that the former Newcastle frontman is one of the best finishers in the division. The 27-year-old has been a prolific goalscorer at this level, consistently finding his name at the top of the scoring charts.

A transfer fee of £1.5million looks a good deal for a proven goal poacher and the Tractorboys indicated that they could be a threat this season with an impressive 3-0 success at Bristol City on the opening day. Paul Jewell’s men now have back-to-back home league fixtures and will have their sights set on an unbeaten August.

2) Matt Mills (Leicester)

The Foxes have spent big this summer with a number of new faces arriving at the club, but Matt Mills looks the best of the arrivals. The former Reading centre-back made an instant impact in the opening day win at Coventry, with Leicester (7/2f for promotion) keeping an impressive clean sheet and limiting the Sky Blues to half chances.

With many Championship teams looking leaky at the back, a solid defensive foundation could prove vital in Leicester’s push for the Premier League.

3) Luke Varney (Portsmouth)

A goal on his debut highlighted Varney’s likely importance to Pompey this season, with the forward salvaging a late draw at Middlesbrough. The ex-Crewe man showed his quality in the top flight whilst on loan at Blackpool last term and he will surely cause defences problems this season.

Steve Cotterill was delighted with the £750,000 capture of Varney and the 28-year-old could prove a crucial addition to a squad that may challenge for a play-off spot.

4) Adam Lallana (Southampton)

The England Under-21 international is looking to take the next step in his career and the way he tore into Leeds on the opening day suggests he will be a star of the Championship this term.

Lallana scored the second goal in a 3-1 success and with fears that Alex Chamberlain may leave in the summer transfer window, he could have a major role to play for the Saints.

5) Anthony Gerrard (Cardiff)

The Liverpudlian has been given a second chance at Cardiff (14/1 Championship Outright) following the arrival of Malky Mackay and he has the desire to play at the top level. The cousin of Liverpool star Steven spent much of last season on loan at Hull City, after falling out of favour under Dave Jones.

The 25-year-old showed in his time with the Tigers that he is commanding at this level and should be key for Cardiff this season. Gerrard and co started solidly as well with a 0-1 win at West Ham on Sunday.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Players must ignore criticism – Hodgson

Posted on by
Reply

Roy Hodgson has urged his Liverpool players to rise above the criticism and concentrate on turning around the season over the remaining seven months (Liverpool 13/10 in the match betting to beat Bolton).

The Reds have suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and currently sit in 18th place in the table with just nine points from their first nine games played.

The boardroom battle for ownership of the club has hardly helped matters but, with John Henry now in charge, the financial side of affairs at Anfield appear to be sorting themselves out (Liverpool 11/1 to win Europa League).

The low point came in the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat to Everton, which left Liverpool staring up at all but two teams in the top-flight table, while last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers gave the club a boost and ensured that they are now only in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Such is the current state of the standings that one win from a team in the lower reaches could propel them into the top half and Hodgson’s men will have a chance at moving in the right direction when they face Owen Coyle’s side at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The former Fulham tactician admits that the early part of the campaign has been one to forget but believes that it is how the players react to adversity that will ultimately determine if they come out of the season with any credit.

“It is quite easy to kick people when they are down,” he said. “We are down at the moment so the kicks are going to rain down on us. We just have to deal with it.

“The first quarter of the season has not been a good one for us in terms of league form. The next three quarters is going to be very important.

“At the moment we are still in a poor position as far as our league position is concerned. We need to get a result in every game to get out of it.”

The 63-year-old is determined not to get carried away with things, after the successful takeover and the Blackburn victory, but he is confident that there is enough quality in his squad to improve their league position over the next couple of months.

“I am a bit wary of saying the problems are over, we have turned the corner, but I believe in the team and I believe we are capable of doing a lot better in the next quarter of the season than we have in the first quarter,” he added.

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

Players still behind Capello – Barry

Posted on by
Reply

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).

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

Ghana’s players have differing expectations

Posted on by
Reply

Ghana and Fulham defender John PantsilGhana’s players have differing expectations of their side going into the World Cup, but right-back John Pantsil said a semi-final place was within their grasp (Ghana 22/1 to be eliminated in semi-finals).

The Fulham defender told the BBC: “An African country can lift the cup.

“In Germany in 2006 we reached the last 16 but now, with Africa hosting and a stronger squad, I have full confidence of us being in the semi-finals.

“It is a big chance for Africa to achieve,” he added.

Ghana reached the second phase in the 2006 World Cup before being knocked out by Brazil.

“Our group is very tricky but we have to focus on doing better than before,” Pantsil said.

“We are not lacking in any area. We have a good first 11 and a good bench so that will help the team progress to a better level than 2006,” he added.

Pantsil is also looking forward to having the full support of not only his home country Ghana, but the rest of the continent, too.

“All the African countries will get great support from South Africa. African fans will not support one country but will support Africa,” Pantsil said. “In Africa we love football.”

Fellow defender John Mensah, however, has warned against those who think African nations have a World Cup advantage because the tournament is being held in the continent.

Mensah says that Ghana must determine their own fate.

“I’m glad to play in it as it’s the first time the World Cup has come to Africa,” the Lyon defender told The Journal .

“But just because it’s in Africa doesn’t mean an African team is going to win it.

“We don’t need to think that because it’s in Africa we’ll have things our own way. We need to determine that ourselves.”

Sulley Muntari believes his compatriots can reach the World Cup semi-finals despite the absence of injured Michael Essien.

“After what we did in 2006 (when the Africans reached the second phase), expectations are sky-high and we will try to satisfy our supporters by giving it our absolute best shot,” said the Inter Milan star.

Muntari is coming back from injury but still hopes to play a big part in his country’s campaign as they go up against Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D.

“We want to get out of our group and get to the semi-finals or even further,” said Muntari.

“Germany are the group favourites and so it will doubtless come down to Serbia — we don’t know quite what to expect against them, but we know they are a good team.

“Our goal is to produce good football,” said Muntari, who is coming back from a thigh injury but expects to be fit to feature against the Serbs on Sunday.

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