Archive for September, 2008

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Ashley puts Newcastle on sale

September 15th, 2008

The situation at St. James Park went from bad to worse, as their billionaire owner, Mike Ashley, has confirmed that he will be selling Newcastle United for the best available price.

Ashley took over the club less than two years back for a US $268 million deal and has been under the hammer along with CEO Dennis Wise in the recent past.

Ashley and Wise were on the receiving ends of furious backlash from Newcastle supporters in a period of 10 days, after Kevin Keegan left his post of managing the club due to differences with the owner over transfer policy.

On Saturday, there was a massive demonstration staged outside St. James Park before the game started and after it ended with a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Hull. All of them had a single demand that Ashley should sell the club and Wise should be removed from his job.

After months of speculation, the owner has finally decided to sell his asset. According to him, fan’s reaction was disappointing.

While speaking to a reporter, Ashley said ‘If they think that I am not dedicated towards the club, they are wrong’.

‘I have always been on the move with the club and with my kids attended all the games at St. James Park sitting alongside passionate fans.’

‘However now, I’m not allowed to do the same by my guards, as they feel that I might be on the receiving end of a hostile response from the fans.’

‘This is primarily the reason behind me selling the club to someone else.’

With such a situation prevailing at St. James Park, Magpies will need a determined performance from all their players to get them through to a respectable position in the BPL table.

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Everton Vs Stoke City: Everton scraps through for a 2-1 win

September 15th, 2008

Everton played their second away match of the season against Stoke City, after having won the previous one by defeating West Brom 2-1.

It was a match that could have gone either way, as the newly promoted Stoke City has been showing promise after defeating Aston Villa by 3-2.

The match took place in the Britannia Stadium, home turf for the Potters, where they have got their only victory of the season.

The game seemed to be poised until Yakubu scored the opening goal for Everton at the 41st minute, making the balance drift towards Everton.

However, the second half was a seesaw ride for both the sides, as Anichebe got another goal for the Toffees at the 51st minute to make the score 2-0.

It seemed that the match was already won by the visitors, but little did the crowd imagine a comeback goal by Olofinjana at the 55th minute that changed the tempo.

The hope of the home audience was renewed further when Jagielka scored the equalizer on the 63rd minute posing threat to David Moyes’ boys. From then onwards, the game play was attacking without compromising the defense.

In the due course, players got booked for the challenges made in the next few minutes in the process of counter-attacks.

Finally, Cahill hit the hammer on the head at the 77th minute to make it 3-2 for Everton, which in the end crushed the hopes of the home crowd.

The match ended in a 3-2 win for Everton, who will be having sigh of relief after performing very poorly in their home games.

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Posted in Everton, Premier League

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Liverpool Vs Manchester United: Rafa’s men finally get the better of Devils

September 14th, 2008

After a thrilling game at Anfield, it was the home side, Liverpool that prevailed over the current Champions Manchester United in a 2-1 win. It was the first time that Rafael Benitez’s led Liverpool scored a victory over Ferguson’s men in the Premier League.

From the kick-off, the game showed the signs, which was expected of it by experts.

The first goal came in the 3rd minute of the game, as new draftee Dimitar Berbatov’s pass found Carlos Tevez, whose fierce shot got no reaction from Riena.

There were many chances in the first twenty minutes of the game for both the sides. However, a combined mistake in the 27th minutes from Van Der Sar and Wes Brown led to an own goal.

37-year old Devils goalie tried to deflect a Carragher shot but found his defender in the way. The ball deflected off Brown’s feet into the net.

The game could have gone either way till the last 15 minutes of the game, when substitute Ryan Babel scored in the 77th minute to make it 2-1 for the home side and script a record victory for his coach Rafael Benitez.

Vidic added to the woes of Manchester United, as he was shown a red card in the final stages of the game. He will miss the coming Chelsea game.

Meanwhile, Chelsea won the ‘clash of the cash’, as they defeated City 3-1. Another encounter saw Newcastle United upset from Hull City at St. James Park 2-1 with King scoring the two goals for the away side.

Again, Arsenal’s Adebayor scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 demolition of Blackburn Rovers at Emirates Stadium. Portsmouth also scored a much needed 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at Fratton Park.

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Posted in Liverpool, Man U

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Manchester City Vs Chelsea: City goes down 1-3 to Chelsea

September 14th, 2008

Manchester City today went down 1-3 to Chelsea at City of Manchester Stadium with new record signing, Brazilian Robinho, scoring the only goal for City.

While Robinho scored a well deserved goal from a free kick, the match basically looked like a club playing against their own reserves.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side literally showed the Eastlands Club what a big four club is, and made them realize that they are still a side under reconstruction.

Robinho went on from the beginning of the game to prove why he was the center of the transfer season, along with other City players. He was rewarded with a 20 yard free kick that he took when Jo was fouled by Ricardo Carvalho.

This lead seemed to have blown Chelsea away, but they equalized just after three minutes, when a corner by Frank Lampard met a number of deflections before meeting Carvalho, who struck an unstoppable shot beyond goalie Joe Hart.

After this, both teams got chances, but a goal was to come only in the second half, when Frank Lampard ran past Richard Dunne before putting the ball in the bottom corner.

Then, in the 69th minute, again Carvalho made a great tackle, and Anelka scored the third goal effectively, sealing the match for the blues.

The only thing that went bad for Chelsea, except the three minute period when they were behind, was the first straight red card of John Terry’s career, which rules him out of the game against Manchester United next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Roy Keane’s Sunderland secured a point against Wigan at JJB Stadium. Another important game of the day saw Arsenal thrash Blackburn Rovers 4-0 at Ewood Park.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Manchester City

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Torres and Gerrard fit for the game against Red Devils

September 13th, 2008

Liverpool stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres has been declared fit for their side’s crucial game against Manchester United at Anfield.

This news will bring relief to the home side along with their manager Rafael Benitez.

Rafael Benitez’s dream of fielding his best side against the current Premier League Champions has come true and it might make the game all the more interesting.

A delighted Benitez said ‘Both of them are feeling much better.’

‘They went through a complete training session without much difficulty. Even though it was not a difficult training session, I feel that they will be fit to play the game and yes, they will be a part of the squad.’

‘Although I have several quality players in my squad, yet the impact these two have (especially Gerrard) is simply unmatchable. They have the potential to change the course of the game in a matter of seconds.’

Benitez praised his medical staff, who worked day and night to get his side back on their fit.

‘If it wouldn’t have been the effort of my medical staff, there was no chance of these players to make a quick recovery.’

Meanwhile, Manchester United Boss Sir Alex Ferguson has given a warning to Manchester City Boss Mark Hughes, after the latter said that City-Chelsea clash will be bigger than Man U-Liverpool.

Ferguson said ‘The passion and adrenaline rush seen before the North West Derby clash is unmatchable. Mark must have been dreaming when he felt that his side could take the limelight at any given stage.’

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Posted in Liverpool, Man U

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Scholes: Man U vs. Liverpool to be an unpredictable clash

September 13th, 2008

Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes has stated that the coming Northwest Derby fixture against Liverpool is a game that can go either way with the World Cup qualification coming in between the preparations for the match.

Manchester United is to face Liverpool tomorrow at Anfield in a game, which will be the first of the ‘big four’ clashes this year. Looking at the league standings, things could not be more exciting.

Scholes has said that due to international matches being held as a part of World Cup 2010 qualifications, Manchester United had barely a chance to practice together as a squad with most of the players gone out to represent their countries including Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, and the recent transfer, Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov.

Scholes has added that only four or five first team players were attending practice with the rest gone out for international duty. This interrupted the side’s practice in a massive manner.

Man U have won against Liverpool four of the last five times the clubs have met, and the last clash ended in a 3-0 beating of the Reds at Old Trafford.

The previous time Liverpool registered a win against United was on 18 Feb 2006 (quite some time before), and that too with a narrow margin of 1 goal.

This match may see the much awaited Man U debut for Berbatov, provided he surpasses stiff competition from Rooney and Tevez.

Meanwhile, Liverpool Boss Rafael Benitez will have a sigh of relief as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have been declared fit for the game.

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Cech: We will be proving a point to Robinho

September 12th, 2008

Chelsea will be looking forward to prove a point to the new draftee of Manchester City, Robinho, when they will be traveling to Eastlands for their away game.

24-year-old Brazilian Star was a target for the London Club throughout the transfer season. However, he opted for a shock switch to unpredictable City outfit, which is currently backed by Abu Dhabi United’s billions.

It will be a clash of the two leading spenders of the Barclays Premier League on Saturday afternoon kickoff.

Petr Cech said that the side was ready to show Robinho what he has missed out on by declining Stamford Bridge’s sides offer for the Eastlands Club.

‘It was only in the morning that he showed his desires of joining Chelsea, before he chose another club. However, it’s his decision.’ said Cech.

‘We will be playing at our best to show the player that his decision might not be perfect after all.’

‘I know he is a good player. A talent meant for entertaining packed crowds of Premier League. However, I would be eager to see, how he copes this immense pressure to perform in front of his new home ground, City of Manchester Stadium.’

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, is happy that Joe Cole was not seriously injured after getting stitches in the head during England’s 4-1 thrashing of Croatia on Wednesday.

With Essien unavailable for best part of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament, Scolari will be hoping for no more injuries during the coming weeks of the Premier League.

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Zola: My experience will work for Hammers

September 12th, 2008

Players from West Ham United have been given a reassurance by Gianfranco Zola that his inexperience in managing a club will not contain him from being a success in Upton Park.

Zola was one of the stars of the Premier League during his 7-year stint with Chelsea, which saw him score 80 goals.

The managerial CV of 42-year-old player might be too little for West Ham. However, he is continually insisting that his approach for coaching will be based upon his exploits of a career in the game, which lasted 2 decades.

Zola said ‘I know that I lack experience, but I will use the ideas, which allowed me to become a successful player for 20 years’.

‘I know the game and I will give something to the side – the end result is what only time will tell.’

Appointment of former Chelsea player for three years by Hammers officials has got the fans excited. They will be hoping that the attacking genius will pass his features to the players.

Meanwhile, media has criticized the board of taking a cheaper option, when there were big names available for the job.

In their defense, Chief Executive Scott Duxbury has said ‘His inexperience is a thing, which you can put your finger on. However, there is no denying the fact that his knowledge of the game was better than the rest.’

‘During our conversation with Zola, we found that his football philosophy was adequate for the team. He was not a cheap option, but the best available in the lot. His interview made us all have a unanimous decision on him.’

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Scolari hoping for fit key players before City clash

September 11th, 2008

Scolari, the current Chelsea boss, has been keeping his fingers crossed so that no more players of his team reports of being injured (in the process become unavailable) after their international duty. In fact, Chelsea has an all important match against Manchester City within a few days.

In recent times, the London based club have been rocked by a series of injuries from its key players including midfielder Michael Essien, who has been ruled out for six months after suffering from a ruptured anterior ligament while he was away with Ghana.

With no immediate replacement available for Essien, who needs an extensive period of rehabilitation after a surgery and the transfer window closed till the month of January, the plans of Chelsea’s manager has taken some serious blows.

The only good news lies in the fact that John Obi Mikel from Nigeria is expected to be fully fit after he was suffering from a leg problem and is likely to face City.

Luiz Felipe Scolari also hopes for an injury free John Terry, Ashley Cole, Wayne bridge, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, when they return to Cobham shortly.

Michael Ballack from Germany still remains troubled by his foot injury adding to Scolari’s woes.

With the likely return of key striker Didier Drogba on Saturday, Chelsea is expected to receive a welcome boost.

Drogba has been out too with a knee problem and failed to feature in any of the matches this season. But, the coach expects him to play only 45 minutes against Manchester City, as he is still yet to recover fully.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Injury troubles at Villa Park

September 11th, 2008

Aston Villa, who is currently in the middle of the table in the Premiership with four points from two games, has once again got an injury to add to their ongoing woes.

The player out injured this time is none other than the ever (read ‘over’) enthusiastic Steve Sidwell, who was signed in just concluded transfer window from Chelsea. He is out due to a knee injury obtained while playing for the Villa reserve team.

He had earlier got a calf setback, but was nonetheless deemed a starter for the away match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Villa medical staffs are having this injury as a tough nut to crack. Having a good performer always keeps the team management thinking about the chances of the player in any match, and this one is no exception.

The only on-field action, which Sidwell has witnessed while playing for Villa, is two games in the Intertoto Cup against Odenese.

According to Martin o’Neill, this injury could be quite disappointing in case Sidwell has to miss the match.

Meanwhile, Holland international Wilfred Bouma has revealed that he will be able to get to action in January. It can even be December. However, he has to be very lucky for that.

The defender, though, insists that it is the first time he is having such a long injury spell, and has got improved patience as a result.

Carlos Cuellar, another draftee, is ready to play in the first team after performing in two reserve games, thus providing some relief to o’Neill.

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Posted in Aston Villa, Premier League

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