Archive for December, 2007

Redknapp Troubled With Audience Behavior

December 21st, 2007

Harry Redknapp is worried of the verbal abuses that the audiences throw at players. He considers it a growing problem in matches. In fact, Sol Campbell even complained on the behavior he received from fans during Saturday’s 1-0 rout to Tottenham, while Redknapp himself was subjected to mistreatment at Aston Villa the week prior to that.

Redknapp admittedly said that such manners from the fans can be very hard for authorities to deal with, but is nonetheless troubled about what it may bring in future matches. He has been concerned with the players and fans who might get themselves into trouble in case things get out of hand.

He was greatly affected with how supporters shouted foul things at Sol and thinks that it has gone out of bounds, especially because these behaviors are done in the presence of children. He wants to do something about it, but nevertheless does not know how, and that although these people pay for the matches, he deems foul behaviors to be completely unacceptable.

On another note, Tottenham striker Keane believes that players should not get themselves too affected with what people say about them, especially if it comes from fans from other teams. He believes that we all do it once in a while, and that we do it out of frustration. It is something uncontrollable and undeniably natural. He thinks that players shouldn’t over react about something that happens almost every match, perhaps due to frustration and disappointment. Players even curse at each other at times, which just goes to show that foul words do not come and go to upset anyone. Most of the time, it comes out due to aggravation.

Evans Released On Bail

December 20th, 2007

The police attention was called to the Great John Street Hotel early Tuesday after information of a 26-year old woman who claimed of being raped. 19-year old Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has been released on bail after being questioned today over the suspected rape of a woman at the club’s Christmas party.

Manchester United refused to remark on the case. The hotel was hosting a hush-hush party attended by members of the Manchester United squad and other guests on Tuesday. The police are still studying and investigating about the case, though Evans has been released on bail.

Evans, making it to three appearances this season, is a rising star of the club. He does not pay regularly for Alex Ferguson’s first team though but was given a Champions League start a week before at AS Roma with succession to the next round already assured.

Evans is remembered to have made his Manchester United debut on September 2007 in opposition to Coventry City in the Football League Cup. But not with much luck, his debut finished in a 2-0 rout. He then came into sight as a late replacement for Gerard Pique in a UEFA Champions League game at home to Dynamo Kyiv early November of 2007 to assure Manchester United’s qualification to the knockout stages of the friendship. He then made his first Champions League launch on December 12, 2007 against Roma.

Though he did not make it to his debut for the senior Manchester United club, Evans was asked to the Northern Ireland team for the first time early September 2006. He made his debut memorable with a 3-2 triumph against Spain. Evans has been with the team ever since.

Spurs Petition Red Card Against Zokora

December 20th, 2007

Tottenham petitioned against the Didier Zokora’s receiving a red card due to serious foul play during Tuesday’s Carling Cup win over Manchester City. 20 minutes prior to the 2-0 win, the Ivorian football international was asked to be sent off by referee Steve Bennett while FA officials will try to study the situation until Thursday. If proven “guilty”, Zokora is to face a ban in three consecutive matches which will certainly give Spurs larger problems.

Nevertheless, the Hot Spurs recently had not had much luck with FA petitions and actually got livid earlier this month when a red card for Robbie Keane was sustained. Spurs coach Juande Ramos believes the incident was not worthy of a red card as it was “undeserved and unjust”.

On another note, Didier has turned out to be a solid favorite amid the Tottenham Hotspur fans especially after it was asserted that he had turned down a deal to move to the local opponents Arsenal to unite with Spurs, in spite of the fact that Arsenal had bought Abou Diaby and had openly affirmed that moving for another defensive midfielder is unneeded in the short span of time that he has played at the club most remarkably for his powerful aggressive runs as well as his keen revels of goals and his contact with the fans after each game.

Arsenal 3-2 Blackburn

December 19th, 2007

After beating Chelsea Sunday, 10-man Arsenal proved their young international talents’ worth after a 3-2 win against Blackburn. Arsenal boss Wenger is extremely happy about the club’s performance this week and is looking forward for the better.

29 minutes after the start of the match Abou Diaby and Eduardo who was considered the man of the match placed the gunners with a 2-0 lead.

Tension erupted during the last minute of normal time when Denilson was substituted by David Dunn. As spectators describe it, Arsenal’s performance was “cool, careless, cruel and clinical”.  Arsenal’s feat was streaking and absorbing during the quarter-final. Hughes had noted ahead of time that Wenger does not acquire edging players but a fearsome second team, and it was a visionary analysis as Arsenal’s Carling Cup assembled initially exploited Blackburn’s flimsy buoyancy after a run of one win in seven matches.

Arsenal sustained to excel on the counterattack but was now facing a side not recognizable from the first-half lesson. It was extremely inattentive by the Brazilian, and when the replacement Nacer Barazite disjointed a shoulder on a nasty fall, Wenger was deeply troubled. Santa Cruz missed a supposed great chance to close victory in the last minute before Denilson’s ferocious two-footed attack on Dunn sparked and brought an acceptable red card.

Eduardo, the Arsenal striker and his excellent execution into the bottom corner thumped them out. Wenger said they’ve got a taste of the final last year and now they are “determined to finishing the job.”

Castillo With Man City on a One-Year Loan

December 19th, 2007

After playing with Ukraine early this summer and Olympiacos prior to that, 23-year old Mexican international forward Nery Castillo has agreed with a one-year contract with Manchester United and is to join the club on January 1. Castillo played only four matches for Shaktar since transferring from the Olympiacos on a deal of 20 million euro.

According to chief executive Alistair Mackintosh, Castillo’s desire towards making the deal happen was amazing since he has made a noteworthy financial input in order to complete his move by paying most of the loan fee himself. He was amazed with the international’s desire to play for Manchester City in the Premier League. Because of this, he is looking forward to another new talent for the team.

Castillo became a customary starter in both the home and European friendships and started to shine thanks to his atypical attributes that lets him play on any offensive position, three years subsequent to his joining the Olympiacos. Nery is equipped with an implausible speed and stamina and he is also a very aggressive player often resulting in creating chances out of steals. Those exceptional attributes and his performance were witnessed in the UEFA Champions League.

It can be remembered that last July 31, 2007, Castillo penned a five year contract with the Ukrainian side FC Shaktar Donetsk from Olympiacos. The transfer was noted to be the most expensive transfer to date, between the Greek and Ukrainian clubs. His shift was to be short though. Castillo only played in eight official games for Shakhtar and in his most recent game, a league match versus FC Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka.

Mehdi Nafti Assures His Contract With The Blues

December 18th, 2007

As Birmingham midfielder’s contract with the Blues expires this summer, Mehdi Nafti is ardent to prolong his career with the midlands club. He already talked to new Blues boss Alex McLeish because he won’t be around during African Nations Cup duty with his country starting next month so he would like matters settled before he leaves.

Fortunately for the 29-year old Tunisian international, the manager’s reaction was optimistic about what he expects from Nafti before he does go to Africa. He wanted things to be completed sooner rather than later, since he is determined to pursue his contract with the Blues.

Nafti is remembered to have signed on loan by Birmingham City during the January transfer window of 2005. He has had his “Nasty” code name ever since, due to his scorching personality and an inclination for cautions. He was mainly appointed to reinstate the outgoing Robbie Savage, whose bitter exit exasperated Birmingham fans. Nafti ended the season powerfully leading to many fans looking for an enduring achievement. This happened in the closed season with Nafti signing a permanent contract with the club.

Nafti said “he is ready to fight for his place” if McLeish includes him at the January transfer window. He had suffered a very bad knee injury before and he considers it the worst injury he has ever had with the Blues. He believes that when he comes back from his country for the Nations Cup, he will still have his place with the club and that his only wish for the team is to win more games while he is away.

Liverpool Changes Stadium Plans Again

December 18th, 2007

Liverpool confirmed that their planned stadium will not be as ‘spectacular’ as originally proclaimed, although the changes will bring an immense improvement and probably be as impressive as it is expected, the Premier League Team announced on Monday.

Last July, the five-time European champions revealed an amazing 70,000 seater home stadium and an 18,000 single tier Kop to complete it, which is to be a replica of their famous Anfield stadium.

The original plans for the stadium can be remembered to be initiated by Liverpool to replace their Anfield in May 2002. During that time, the projected capacity was 55,000 and was later modified to 61,000. 18 months prior to that, the club announced its plan to build a new home stadium. The original preparation called for a 70,000 seat stadium which would cost around £200 million. Plans to begin with the new stadium was postponed early 2007. Around May 2007, the possibility of an 80,000 was reported to have been planned. Just recently, Liverpool confirmed that the plan of making it 70,000 seater is being immensely considered.

Chief executive Rick Parry said that although two new plans are now being well thought of, the 70,000 seater plan and the tier Kop will remain. He assured the fans that the changes will be a significant part of a great dream for the much-awaited stadium. Changes are actually being made to upgrade, and not to downgrade the quality of the stadium as others claim. The stadium is still likely to be on schedule by 2011 as originally announced.

 

Big Four Match Review

December 17th, 2007

ARSENAL 1, CHELSEA 0

Arsenal again proved their club’s worth when ex-Chelsea William Gallas striked against his former side at the end of the first half with Arsenal regaining the top rank at the Premier League with a 1-0 triumph against Chelsea. The team conquered Chelsea for the first time since February 2004 to regain top spot.

With Manchester United hiking to the top with their 1-0 win over Liverpool earlier in the day, the Gunners had to needed three points to return to the top. William Gallas was commended by former club Chelsea where Arsenal prevailed at 1-0 treat at the Emirates Stadium in the liveliest of London derbies

Prior to the match, Chelsea manager Avram Grant did try to explain to his team the significance of triumph, suggestive that the title would be won and lost by the outcome against teams notwithstanding that of the big four. Since Chelsea had been left unbeatable for 16 matches, they have now lost their track to Manchester United and with Arsenal to Liverpool inflicted eight points against their closest competitors this season.

The finale was truly frenzied. The ball was with Van Persie in the net only to be ruled offside, while a crashing injury-time free-kick from Shevchenko was turned over by Almunia. Then right at the end of the match, Fabregas should have scored but was instantaneously booked for an attack into the back of Ashley Cole.

 

MANCHESTER UNITED 1, LIVERPOOL 0

Carlos Tevez’s 43rd-minute hit gained Manchester United a vital 1-0 win at Liverpool. For the second season running, a close-range goal was enough for them to prove a victory, giving Manchester United their much-awaited win over Liverpool at Anfield.

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager praised the team’s 1-0 win over Liverpool as a major step towards keeping hold of the Premier League title. During an interview he gleefully admitted his team’s massive win. He believes that if his club keeps doing things on the right track, they sure are to win the Premier League title.

Man United’s win is to extend the team’s six-year victorious streak at Anfield. The Argentina forward’s goal from a corner also caused Liverpool’s second straight league rout after an unbeaten start to the season.

Liverpool might disagree that they were unlucky to lose their undefeated home record in the Premier League this season. Anderson had to clear the ball off the line in the 29th minute after Edwin van der Sar made the first of several unimpressive tries to deal with a high ball and Fernando Torres could have done better with a header from the rebound.

At the end, the cheering that welcomed the concluding whistle on the guests’ bench was more than enough to proclaim the victory. At this moment, it’s 18-16 to Liverpool. On this confirmation, observers say the lead is far more likely expected to close than it is to widen this season. With the reaction of the crowd, you can tell that the fans were overwhelmed with the victory.

Wigan 5-3 Blackburn

December 16th, 2007

Wigan dreadfully crushed Blackburn as everyone witnesses the most thrilling Premier league game so far this season as the winning team threw a three-goal lead prior to finally conquering Blackburn with 5-3 to finish the match.

Marcus Bent and Roque Santa Cruz finished the match that showed the best and worst of English football. Wigan ran insurgence in the first half, protecting early goal tries from Denny Landzaat and Bent. The home side lost Emile Heskey after a while and merely fell apart after Paul Scharner went to number three, to what looked like a grave injury.

Wigan’s crumple concurred with the loss of Emile Heskey, who, after the injury was carried on a stretcher with an ankle damage a while after his Blackburn’s third goal, before leaving the stadium on crutches. He will be undergoing scans and x-rays over the next 24-48 hours.

During today’s game, the fourth for Bruce after managing the Latics, saw the home side fritter away a 3-0 lead against the Rovers before as a final point making their numerical lead count. The incensed manager’s first reaction to one of the most breathtaking Barclays Premier League matches of the season was disbelief.

I’ve been feeling negative all week but the win suddenly gave me a touch of hope. Wigan is finally back in touch with other clubs around them. It will give the Wigan lads a boost of confidence to get away from the relegation line. I think it was a massive win, notwithstanding their previous routs. Overall, the match was amazing.

Derby 0-1 Middlesbrough: Tuncay Drops Derby

December 16th, 2007

Middlesbrough managed a huge second straight win against Derby’s seven consecutive rout as Tuncay Sanli scored the only goal during the game giving them a 0-1 triumph at Pride Park on Sunday.

The routed Rams are staring demotion right in the face because they are six points at a loose end of the team unswervingly above them in Jewell’s former club Wigan, and eight off safety.

43-year old Derby manager Paul Jewell should as well initiate preparation for life in the Championship in 2008 after the humiliating Rams defeat at Premier League.

The goal came alongside the run of the play at the time and it was entirely out of keeping with what has happened before, and had beforehand appeared Premier League teams in name alone.

Tuncay, the outstanding Turkey striker scored this goal as his third in straight matches, with this most recent clinical smack enough to wreak upon Derby a seventh consecutive defeat. He kicked home from left-winger Stewart Downing a side-foot volley from 15 yards in meeting a precision first-time cross in the 37th minute giving Boro a second victory within a week.

Jewell couldn’t blame his players for their being deficient of effort, but like former boss Billy Davies before him, he is now intensely attentive of his side’s team’s lack of excellence. Derby’s preeminent chance of gaining a point came a minute before Tuncay’s goal when Kenny Miller clipped a shot at the outside of a post from the edge of the area.

Aside from that, it in the long run proved to be an extra blank day for Derby, whose desolation was coupled by the fact that Wigan, Sunderland and Birmingham, their relegation opponents, all managed to pick up points.