Hughton reacts to job ‘threat’

Posted on October 28, 2010 by SoccerCapper

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.

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Reina reacts to Torres slump

Posted on October 27, 2010 by SoccerCapper

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.

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Hodgson reacts to Blackpool shock

Posted on October 5, 2010 by SoccerCapper

Liverpool are 18/1 to be playing Championship football next season and boss Roy Hodgson admits the Reds are in a Premier League relegation battle.

Hodgson watched on as his side slumped to an embarrassing Anfield defeat to new boys Blackpool on Sunday, to leave them in the bottom three on goal difference.

Liverpool have won just once in the league so far this season, with seven games gone, and they are already a massive 12 points behind leaders Chelsea (Liverpool 7/1 – Top Four Finish).

But by the same token, Hodgson’s men are just three points behind his former club Fulham, who sit in mid-table, but the ex-Inter Milan chief is refusing to take anything for granted as fans await an upturn in fortunes.

He said: “It’s seven games gone and there are 31 left, which is an awful lot of games, but the fact is that when you are in the relegation zone you are in a relegation battle.”

Hodgson now has two weeks to stew over his side’s travails as the international break for Euro 2012 qualifiers means Liverpool are not in action until Sunday October 17.

The Reds’ next Premier League game is the small matter of a trip to Goodison Park to face city rivals Everton.

The Blues have also endured a slow start to their campaign, but did sign off before the break with a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Birmingham.

Interestingly, Everton are still searching for their first home win in the league this term while Liverpool have not won away.

Goodison captain Phil Neville admits the shame of starting last weekend at the bottom of the table played a part in the Birmingham victory.

“We were bottom of the league and it was the kick up the backside we needed,” said the former England international.

“We’ve also let the fans down. They have been deflated these last couple of weeks and we have as well.

“I think they saw us get our just rewards at Birmingham for the effort we put in. The pleasing thing is we’ve not lost that self-belief.”

Neville added: “Sometimes when you have bad defeats, you can revert back to safety first and playing with fear. I don’t think we’ve done that and everybody needs applauding for that.”

Everton can be backed at 12/1 to finish in the top four of the Premier League.