Archive for September, 2008

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David Moyes acknowledges FA charge

September 30th, 2008

David Moyes, Everton Manager, acknowledged an FA charge of inappropriate conduct during a Premier League match, as confirmed by the officials of Merseyside club.

The charge associated with Moyes reactions were regarding a decision made by Alan Wiley, who refereed their Premier League encounter against Stoke City on September 14.

Scot was angry with the referee’s decision for not awarding a penalty, which according to him was a clear handball in the box by Leon Cort, Stoke’s defender.

The same event occurred during Merseyside derby, when Everton faced Liverpool at Goodison Park. The referee’s decision was again not in favor of Moyes side.

Moyes has been requested for a private hearing by FA officials. However, there is no confirmed date for the hearing till date.

Everton has lodged a request to the FA in regards to their midfielder, Tim Cahill, getting a red card against Liverpool.

On the 80th minute of Saturday’s match, referee Mike Riley, who has been making headlines lately for controversial decisions, sent Cahill out of the ground by showing a direct red card for tackling Xabi Alonso.

Everton’s appeal is mainly based on the issue that the referee showed a direct red card instead of a warning yellow. The hearing may take place at the end of this week and the club will have to submit a written document.

Things went from bad to worse for Toffees, as their midfielder Steven Pienaar was arrested by police for allegedly striking a woman in Liverpool.

The incident took place in Sefton Park. However, 26-year-old South African has been presently released on bail.

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Arsene Wenger tired of underperforming Gunners

September 30th, 2008

Following the unbelievable 1-2 loss to Hull City this Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has stated that he is tired of the performance given by his players.

This defeat meant that the Gunners slipped to the fourth spot with 12 points following a weak at the top of the table. Arsenal has already lost twice in their first six games of the Premiership with their first defeat coming against Fulham.

English Premier League newcomers Hull City defeated Arsenal, contenders for this year’s Premiership, after trailing by a Paul McShane’s own goal.

Wenger went ahead to say ‘What the Gunners delivered on Saturday was not enough to impress, and that is known to all players and fans!

He remarked that there will be changes in the squad for the Arsenal squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Porto.

Arsenal’s last match against Porto was a 1-1 draw, a lucky one, because the point saving goal for Gunners came in the dying moments of the match.

‘For the club having all the ingredients to be at the top of the Premiership, a tame submission to a newly promoted team is nothing less than shame.’

The Frenchman, while talking of Hull said that the Tigers were technically the weaker team, but showed the heart and commitment to play in front of a much better team in their den where they were undefeated for more than 15 months.

Captain William Gallas has warned the players about a downfall, if the recent trend continues of loosing in dull encounters primarily due to overconfidence amongst players of taming their opponents.

According to Gallas, ‘Club needs to avoid giving chances like those that went to Geovinni and Cousin on Saturday, and has to be more attacking, rather than possessive’.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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Portsmouth Vs Tottenham Hotspurs: Spurs woeful run continues with 2-0 defeat

September 29th, 2008

After being on the receiving end of 10 goals in the previous two games that they played against Manchester City and Chelsea, Portsmouth defeated a hopeless Tottenham Hotspurs 2-0 to get back to winning ways.

Former Spurs forward Jermaine Defoe and England International Peter Crouch scored for the home side at Fratton Park, as Juande Ramos’ Spurs continued to stay at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table.

With Spurs fans continuing to chant ‘You don’t know what you are doing’ in protest against Ramos’ decision to bring in Darren Bent in the final stages of the game when it was all lost, it was another dismal performance from the away side.

Defoe was on a mission in the game and could have scored during the first two minutes when he directed a Crouch’s through pass into the net only to be disallowed by an offside flag.

Former Spurs man finally scored in the 34th minute through a penalty given for a handball off Jermaine Jenas. After striking it past keeper Gomes, Defoe decided not to celebrate, as Milton End of Fratton Park had its share of the fans, which cheered for him in the past.

Former Liverpool star, Crouch scored the second goal through a header after Gomes parried a Traore shot in the way of the tall lanky.

Though Pompey came out victorious 2-0, it was tarnished by the exit of Frenchman Lassana Diarra. He got his second yellow card of the game just two minutes from time after tackling fellow countrymen Assou-Ekotto.

Meanwhile at JJB Stadium, Manchester City tasted a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic. A controversial decision coming from referee Steve Bernett resulted in a Wigan penalty, which proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

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Posted in Portsmouth, Tottenham

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Manchester City Vs Wigan Athletic: Debatable penalty wins it for Lactics

September 29th, 2008

Manchester City, club with a recent windfall that is expected to blast into the top four of the Premiership, today lost 2-1 to Wigan Athletic at JJB Stadium with one of the two goals being a controversial penalty.

In spite of fielding Kompany, Jo, Phillips and Robinho, City failed to impress against a side that was on the verge of relegation last season.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce made two changes in the squad that won against Ipswich 4-1 in the Carling Cup with Maynor Figueora and Mario Melchoit coming in for Kevin Kilbane and Paul Scharner.

Wigan’s Ecuadorian International Antonia Valencia provided the first breakthrough of the game in the 16th minute. He turned against Stephen Ireland and had a shot past City keeper Joe Hart from outside the box into the top right corner of the goal.

After Shawn Wright Philips had been fouled in the 21st minute by Figueora, the free kick resulted in the only City goal during the match. Vincent Kompany whipped the ball into the net from Blumer Elano’s free kick.

The controversial moment of the game came in the 34th minute when referee Steve Bennett gave a penalty to Wigan, after Javier Garrido deemed to have fouled Wilson Palacios. Amr Zaki came to the spot and sent Hart in the wrong way giving Wigan a 2-1 lead.

Given the debatable nature of the decision for minimal contact and excessive appealing by Robinho, the Brazilian earned his first booking in England.

The rest of the match went rather eventless and the score ended 2-1 much to the disappointment of Manchester City.

In another match, Portsmouth defeated Tottenham 2-0 at Fratton Park with Defoe and Crouch being Pompey scorers. Spurs with this loss has remained at the bottom of the table still to register a win in the season.

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Posted in Manchester City, Premier League

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Liverpool Vs Everton: Torres strikes twice in a 2-0 win

September 28th, 2008

A full strength Liverpool side today clearly proved that when it comes to winning rival matches, there’s none better than them.

They defeated Everton 2 – 0 at Goodison Park in the Merseyrside Derby that witnessed this year’s Euro Cup hero Fernando Torres come back to goal scoring ways.

Liverpool started with the same side that drew against Stoke City last week. Tony Hibbert, who had a knee ligament operation last season, was back for the Toffees, and so was Mikel Arteta, who had recovered from flu just in time.

Everton almost capitalized in the fourteenth minute when a Mikel Arteta corner failed to get inside after getting headed by Tim Cahill.

Just after the second half, Yakubu was booked, and it was Torres, who continuously appealed to the referee about tough defending in the Everton box.

Torres answered the tough Everton defending by scoring two goals within 3 minutes and breaking his season’s goal drought.

It could have been much worse for the home side, if two more goals from Torres would have been allowed by referee Mike Riley: One was disallowed for a foul and the other due to the ball going out of bounds before the goal was scored.

After a 2-0 win, Benitez was all praise for Torres and said that his efforts in the 10-minute period of the second half won the game for Liverpool.

Meanwhile at Riverside Stadium, West Bromwich Albion won 1-0 against Middlesbrough as Jonas Olsson scored in the 53rd minute. Again, Zola’s West Ham scored a 2-1 victory over a 10-men Fulham at Cravens Cottage.

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Posted in Everton, Liverpool

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Manchester United Vs Bolton Wanderers: Ronaldo and Rooney score in United win

September 28th, 2008

Defending Champions Manchester United finally registered their first home win of the season with a 2-0 over Bolton Wanderers.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a controversial penalty in the 60th minute and substitute Wayne Rooney scored in the 77th minute, as Red Devils proved to be too much to handle for the away side.

Bolton had very few chances in the game. However, they kept holding United till a controversial penalty was given by Referee Rob Styles.

Television replay showed that the ball was clearly played by Jlloyd Samuels before he went sliding into Ronaldo. Portuguese Star sent Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen on the wrong side and broke the deadlock for the home team.

Rooney, who came in as a substitute for Carlos Tevez, scored the second goal, which was his first of the season, for United after exchanging several passes with Ronaldo.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are currently on the ninth position in the Barclays Premier League table with eight points from 5 games.

Meanwhile, even the arrival of Joe Kinnear to St. James Park failed to create an impact, as Blackburn Rovers defeated Newcastle United 2-1.

Britannia Stadium saw goals from Jose Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka that allowed Chelsea to register a 2-0 win over Stoke and regain the top spot in the table.

The biggest shock of the day came at the Emirates Stadium, as Hull scored a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. It was the first defeat for the Gunners at their home ground in 17 months and allowed Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa to go past them in the table.

Aston Villa also continued their great run in the premier League with a 2-1 over Keane’s Sunderland at Villa Park. They are currently third in the table.

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Posted in Man U, Premier League

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Evans assured of a great future by Ferguson

September 27th, 2008

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has assured central defender Jonny Evans that he has got a great future at the club.

Ferguson said that the only thing required from him at this time is a constant learning attitude and patience.

20-year old Evans was spotted while playing for Greenisland FC by Man U scouts, and was admitted into their world famous academy from where he rose through the ranks.

Evans played a great game against Villarreal and then against Chelsea last week, but is now likely to be back on the sidelines as Nemanja Vidic is back from suspension and Ferguson is expected to go with a Vidic-Ferdinand paired central defense.

Ferguson gave his assurances to the youngster saying that the club had a difficult time denying his transfer to many clubs this transfer window. This clearly shows how much Devils are interested in keeping him.

Evans had impressive loan spells at Royal Antwerp, Manchester United’s feeder club and at Sunderland.
He is presently a part of the Northern Ireland national soccer team having played 11 matches for his country.

Evans and Manchester United teammate Danny Simpson, also at loan, were an integral part of the Sunderland side that won promotion to the Premiership at the end of the 2006-07 season.

When Sunderland manager Roy Keane showed interest in retaining his services, Evans denied for trying to push into United’s first team.

On being asked, the center back said that there are a host of good players at United. He feels that it is a great experience to be playing and learning besides players like Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Vidic.

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Moyes: Liverpool will be more attacking in Merseyside derby

September 27th, 2008

Everton boss David Moyes feels that Liverpool will be the one dishing out an attacking mode and not his side during the Merseyside derby on Saturday at Goodison Park.

The Merseyside derby has witnessed 16 red cards till date in Premier League, which is more than other popular encounters.

Despite the fact that Everton has a major contribution (10) in the red cards including dismissals of Phil Neville and Tony Hibbert during a turbulent 2-1 loss to Liverpool last season, Moyes believes that Rafael Benitez’s team are going to be more physical in this game.

Everton manager used recent comments from Sir Alex Ferguson after Red Devils were defeated 2-1 at Anfield.

In a post-match interview, Ferguson claimed that his side was outmuscled by Liverpool. After one goal down, Reds went on to become victorious giving Benitez his maiden win over Manchester United in Barclays Premier League after becoming Liverpool manager.

Fellow Scot, Moyes, backed Ferguson’s comments and accused his Saturday’s opponent of always crying foul over Everton’s aggressive playing style, when it was they, who always looked for getting stuck in.

Moyes said ‘Liverpool and Everton games are hotly contested and this one will not be any different.’

‘It might not have the same temper that was visible in last season’s game, but will not lag behind.’

‘Both sides have a hunger to win. However with an opportunity to reach the top of BPL table, Liverpool will come out more aggressive. Again, our recent poor performance at home might also make them feel that we will be vulnerable to an onslaught.’

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Posted in Everton, Liverpool

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Scolari praises Kalou for splendid performances

September 26th, 2008

Chelsea coach Luiz Filipe Scolari has showered praise on Salomon Kalou for his splendid performance in the Carling Cup game against Portsmouth.

Kalou scored the fourth goal and created two others in the game at Fratton Park, which Chelsea eventually won 4-0.

Kalou had earlier scored the crucial equalizer in the Premiership match against Manchester United and denied the Devils a much-needed victory in the final stages of the game.

Scolari insisted on the fact that Kalou performed under a lesser fitness level because he had gone for Olympics. He was having a different training and diet session with his national team.

The scoring opened in the early part of the first half, when Frank Lampard sent home a spot kick resulting from a carefree tackle on Michael Ballack by Nadri Belhadj.

Florent Malouda then scored the second goal after an assist by Kalou just before the half time.

The third one, again was a Kalou assist when out-of-form goalie David James mishandled Kalou’s cross, giving a chance to Lampard, which he grabbed with a ‘thank you’ to the keeper.

Kalou then scored the last goal of the night, as he got the ball when he was unmarked in the City box.

This was the second ‘big’ defeat in a row for Pompey, the first being the 0-6 snubbing away to Manchester City on Sunday. It means that Portsmouth have conceded ten goals in two matches.

In other matches, Manchester City were defeated by Brighton 3-5 on penalties, Aston Villa lost to QPR 1-0 and Tottenham got their first domestic win of the season over a troubled Newcastle 2-1.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Fabregas: Young Gunners are truly sensational

September 26th, 2008

Cesc Fabregas, who had a wonderful time in EURO 2008 with Spain, hailed his ‘sensational’ young teammates from Arsenal.

According to the midfielder, there is nothing that the young Gunners couldn’t achieve in the coming games.

He came up with the statement after his side romped home for a 6-0 win over Sheffield United in the Carling Cup 3rd game on Tuesday, when the average age of the club playing in that match was 19.

During the launch of the game ‘Real Football 2009’ from Gameloft, Fabregas said ‘Tuesday’s performance was truly sensational.’

‘A 6-0 win can only come when everyone plays their role properly and all of us did. There were 56,000 in attendance to witness the game and I’m sure that none would have been disappointed with our brilliant display.’

Adding to the complement on young Gunners, Fabregas said ‘I and the rest of Arsenal’s squad expected a similar response from these young players, as we have been playing against them. We know what they are made of and now every one of our opponents will also have an idea of the same.’

With the likes of young players like Denilson, Gael Clichy, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas, who is only 21, already having a place in the squad, the future is all bright for Londoners.

Fabregas went on to say that it was an honor playing under current Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger. According to him, Wenger is the only one in the current batch of managers, who selects squads based on current form rather than their past performances.

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Posted in Arsenal, Premier League

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