Stiliyan Petrov is going to enlist the help of Geoff Thomas as he looks to overcome Acute Leukaemia. The former England and Palace midfielder was diagnosed with the disease back in 2003 and has successfully fought the illness in the past nine years and can provide the Bulgarian with all the advice he needs to overcome what will be a tough six months ahead with various treatments.
Elsewhere in the news Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the influence of Wayne Rooney on this United team; Jamie Carragher has called for more time for Kenny Dalglish to turn things round, while Juan Mata is convinced that silverware is in the offing for Chelsea.
Headlines
Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the growing maturity and influence that Wayne Rooney is having on the Manchester United side – Guardian
Stiliyan Petrov has revealed that Fabrice Muamba has become a source of inspiration to him as he looks to fight Acute Leukaemia – Guardian
Arsene Wenger has accused some of his players for showing a poor attitude and hopes the defeat at Loftus Rd will serve as a wake-up call for his Arsenal team – Guardian
Jamie Carragher has pleaded with the Liverpool doubters to give Kenny Dalglish time to turn around the football club – Daily Telegraph
Juan Mata is convinced that Chelsea can win some silverware this season after an upturn in performances in recent weeks – Daily Telegraph
Harry Redknapp hopes the likes of Swansea aren’t a passing fancy and other clubs will continue to follow their style – Independent
Mario Balotelli was booed by his own supporters as he clashed with teammates at the Etihad Stadium – Daily Mail
Gary Neville has revealed that titles are won in the head at this stage of the season – Daily Mail
Tottenham are favourites to land Argentinian defender Julian Velazquez from Independiente – Metro
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Lukas Podolski has reportedly turned down Manchester United in favour of £11m move to Arsenal – Sun
Sir Alex Ferguson is fearful of Lionel Messi given the Argentine will only get better in the future – Mirror
Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has admitted that his side are in danger of being dragged into a relegation scrap.
The Midlands club are currently sitting in 15th, five points above the bottom three, and the Scottish coach is concerned that like the team could be pulled back into the relegation battle.
“I don’t think I have ever not been worried this season,” he told Mirror Football.
“We have to look to get to at least 40 points. That is the target I’d be giving to the players and get to that target as quickly as possible.
“I think we could have been better with some of the points we have thrown away.
“But we have been weakened by injuries. Birmingham were also definitely significantly weakened after winning the Cup final – losing about five or six key players.
“That does make your job much harder without doubt. But I care, I am conscientious and try and leave no stone unturned.
“I am a deep thinker about things. I am concentrating on winning enough games to make sure Villa is OK,” he concluded.
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Villa are currently without long-term absentees Richard Dunne, Darren Bent and now captain Stiliyan Petrov.
Newcastle have kept their dreams of a top-four finish alive by beating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Two wonderstrikes from in-form striker Papiss Cisse sealed victory for the Tyneside visitors, with the second being a contender for goal of the season.
The win opens up a four-point gap between the sides, with Newcastle equal with Tottenham on 65 points and only one behind Arsenal.
Alan Pardew spoke of his pride at winning in west London, and praised his goalscoring hero.
“Actually I did think we were going to win the game 1-0 today because we’ve defended so well,” he confessed to Sky Sports.
“But the goal was special and that just sums him up. He just feels he’s going to score every time he gets near the goal.
“He took a chance, obviously it’s near the end of the game and it’s probably the goal of the season, it was just absolutely brilliant.
“It was an absolutely brilliant effort by the players and the reaction to the Wigan defeat.
“We decided to tactically set ourselves up a little differently and it kind of unsettled Chelsea a little bit.
“But you’ve still got to score goals and we’ve scored two great goals. We’ve also hit the bar and the keeper’s made a great save.
“We’ve threatened the goal enough tonight and defensively we’ve been sound. It was a great performance,” he concluded.
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Newcastle host Manchester City next in a crunch clash at the Sports Direct Arena on Sunday.
Barcelona are thought to be weighing up a move for Manchester City right-back Pablo Zabaleta, according to The Sun.
The Catalan giants may need a replacement for Dani Alves, who has emerged as a potential target for big-spending French side Paris Saint-Germain, and could be set for an exit from the Camp Nou this summer.
Zabaleta has impressed in the Etihad Stadium outfit’s title charge, adding an attacking facet to his game alongside strong positional sense.
Barcelona are thought to be ready to make a £10 million bid for the Argentina international, who knows the city well after playing for Espanyol for three seasons before his move to England.
Zabaleta currently competes with Micah Richards for a place on the right side of City’s defence, but as yet there has been no inclination whether the newly-crowned English champions would consider selling the South American.
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You often got the impression during Harry Redknapp’s reign as Tottenham manager, that if he’d won the Europa League, he’d use the trophy as a doorstop or an elaborate vase, such was the way in which he valued Europe’s secondary cup competition. The pain of playing league games on a Sunday, the indignity of appearing on Channel Five and the unglamorous Thursday night excursions to Eastern Europe, seemed to be a little too much for the now former Spurs manager.
But for all its misgivings, it still represents the chance to bring some silverware to the club that requires a fair bit of prestige and pedigree to attain it. Considering their last European triumph, in the guise of the Uefa Cup, came in 1984, why shouldn’t Tottenham Hotspur try to win the Europa League next season?
The detractors are probably already reading this aghast with mockery and there can be no denying that the current Europa League format has its fair share of serious faults. The group stage element feels bloated and unnecessary, especially to clubs looking to make a sustainable assault on the Premier League as well.
There are obvious issues in the concept of starting a full-strength XI in Kazan on a Thursday and then expecting them to come out all guns blazing for the league game on the Sunday. Considering you have to play six times before you even reach the knockout stages, then it is understandable that managers and fans have reservations about putting all their resources into the Europa League’s opening phases.
The riches and necessity of the Uefa Champions League , also serve to blur the relevance of it’s little, Europa brother. The swell in Spurs’ revenue to the tune of over £30million during their Champions League season, tells you everything you need to know. Champions League football brings in more money, more money means better players, etc. It’s not rocket science to divulge why everyone around the club wants and needs to get back in there and if that means sacking off a trip to PAOK Salonika, then so be it.
As a footnote too, the opportunity to blood some of Tottenham’s youngsters was a pleasure to see for all involved. Much more could be done to give some of the kids a chance in the Premier League, but credit where it’s due to Redknapp.
But the lampooning of the Europa League feels like it amounts to something of a witch-hunt in the national press. Nobody denies that the riches and grandeur of the Champions League are unrivalled. But there is something quite macabre and depressing about the mockery and devaluation of the Europa League. Football is all about business and balance sheets, but why are we all so keen to dispose with the chance to go to a European Cup final and win some silverware, just so we can attain a fourth or fifth placed league finish? The annuls of history remember the likes of Mark Falco, Graham Roberts and Steve Archibald as they sank Anderlecht in the ’84 Uefa Cup final. Will they really look back so fondly at a team, who say, finished a gallant fifth under the new manager next season?
There is a clear element of romanticism and nostalgia from 1984 that isn’t quite so applicable in today’s footballing landscape- of course, the game has changed immeasurably since then. But look at the teams and the ties that came about once you discount the excessive group phase element last season. Lazio, Porto, Ajax and Valencia are all European teams with pedigree and history; needless to say, they offer some fantastic away-days for supporters.
Some of the football played in the latter stages too, was outstanding. All of the ties in the round of 16 were highly competitive, superb examples of European football. How can fans turn the nose up at the ‘quality’ on show, after the way Athletic Bilbao dismantled Manchester United? Is it that we’re so blinded by the supposed all-conquering Premier League, we’ve lost sight of what genuine quality and achievement is?
The Bilbao tie against United in particular, raised some uncomfortable truths for English football. But the papers had it down as nothing more than a bad day for United. Of course, how could the Europa League, a European cup-competition, offer anything in the way of real quality? But over two-legs, the team that finished second in our domestic league, were completely outmaneuvered by a team that finished 10th in La Liga. We need to take the blinkers off- winning the Europa League is a superb achievement.
Before people point to it’s glaring lack of financial clout too, it should be noted that the Europa League cannot and should not be viewed in the same league as either of the domestic cups- Fulham’s run to the final in 2010 brought them £12million in extra revenue. It’s hardly anything to be laughed at.
Perhaps the problem lies more with the financial pressures of football, than it does with the aspirations of clubs. The fact any club who simply reaches the Uefa Champions League group stage will earn more than the eventual winners of the Europa League is warped and wrong, and it is skewing the priorities of football clubs.
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Of course supporters want a bite of the big apple and the riches that come with it and Spurs fans are no different. Having sampled the tastes of the San Siro and the Santiago Bernabeu, why would you not want more? Maybe it’s because it has been that long since winning a trophy, that we’ve forgot what it feels like.
Watch the scenes at the end of Atletico Madrid’s 3-0 win over Bilbao in the Europa League final. That is what football should be about. Winning trophies, basking in glory and putting your name in the history books. Once we get past the stigma that this country seems to have built up around the Europa League, hopefully we will give it our best shot to try and lift the thing. Winning one European trophy will feel a hell of a lot sweeter than celebrating qualifying for another. For now, anyway.
How does the Europa League make you feel? A worthless obstacle in the way of Champions League riches? Or the chance to bring some silverware to the mantle at White Hart Lane? I want to hear what you think, for all things Spurs, follow @samuel_antrobus
Tottenham have announced that Andre Villas Boas has been appointed as their new manager.
The Portuguese trainer has signed a three-year deal at the White Hart Lane club and has brought two members of his backroom staff with him; first-team fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha and Daniel Sousa, head of opposition scouting.
The ex-Chelsea boss is looking forward to getting started with his new team.
“Tottenham Hotspur is a great club with a strong tradition and fantastic support, both at home and throughout the world,” he told the club’s official website.
“I feel privileged to be its coach. For me, this is one of the most exciting coaching positions in the Premier League. I have had several discussions with the chairman and the board and I share their vision for the future progress of the club.
“This is a squad any coach would love to work with and together I believe we can bring success in the seasons ahead,” he revealed.
The likes of David Moyes and Laurent Blanc were also rumoured to be in consideration, but Daniel Levy is glad to have landed his number one choice.
“I am delighted that Andre has agreed to become our new head coach. He has an outstanding reputation for his technical knowledge of the game and for creating well-organised teams capable of playing football in an attractive and attacking style.
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“Andre shares our long-term ambitions and ethos of developing players and nurturing young talent, and he will be able to do so now at a new world class training centre,” he concluded.
After winning their first European Cup last season through what can only be described as eight years of bad luck forming together to make a single cup run of sheer divine intervention, it seems Blues owner Roman Abramovich has got his mojo for the club back.
Big names have not just been linked to Chelsea but have arrived at the club. Eden Hazard and Oscar are the two that have created the most buzz in and around West London, and with the clear backing of the owner again, fans are expecting much better things in the league for their team this season.
There have however been some high profile departures, with the legend that is Didier Drogba being the most noticeable departee – note to AVB, that is how you let a player with multiple goals and years of service leave the club, as a hero, not as someone banned from the first team or Christmas Party.
How far these departures, especially the one of the big Ivorian centre forward, will affect the club remains to be seen, yet it is finally a chance for Fernando Torres to build on the end of last season and the relationship he evidently has with manager Di Matteo and flourish at the Bridge. Should this fail to happen, and another striker not arrive, the club could find themselves wanting in the goal department.
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The club also have to contend with the walking negative press story in the making that is John Terry and a potential FA ban, but Gary Cahill looks more than settled at Stamford Bridge, and whilst he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, David Luiz is growing in stature every game he plays. Likewise in the middle of the park, Ramires will be the one most people are watching and expecting to shine, with the player showing that not only does he have vision, never ending pace and ability, he also has a keen eye for a goal, and an important one at that – which I am sure Barcelona fans will attest to.
One thing that may have surprised a few, especially in the summer that Pep Guardiola departed Barcelona, is the fact that RDM remains in charge of the club. It seems clear that Abramovich tried in vain to persuade Pep to take over the club, and having failed turned to his backup plan of Di Matteo.
What cannot be argued with is the fact that every trophy RDM was able to win after rescuing the club from the dire situation the man more famous for his squat than results during his time at the club created, he did win. The team managed to win the FA Cup and Champions League, and could have made the push for fourth place in the league had they not been so focused on the trophy that had eluded them for so long.
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Yet Chelsea are still a team in transition, that need a huge deal of work and overhaul, and whilst you can be lucky in a cup competition, over 38 games it is always the best team that wins out, and when you cast a glance in the direction of Manchester, it is debatable if Chelsea are this team.
Of course, a club with the pedigree and experience of Chelsea FC can never be ruled out of winning the title, and it is entirely feasible that more players will arrive and the golden oldies will push for one more title to add to the long list. Never say never for the title, but a top four finish is a must for the club, and it is this first and foremost that they must make sure they get.
After 6 months of wondering since a trip to Southend on February 18th, Crewe fans finally experienced once more that empty, helpless frustration that floods through the system after a defeat.
20 matches without loss and Notts County, in the opening game of the two clubs’ respective League One journeys, devoured such a stat with clinical ruthlessness that this inexperienced side will have to adapt themselves to with haste if they are to compete in the third tier.
The learning process now becomes steadfast for Steve Davis and his young side, they were exposed here to the unforgiving side of the league through Keith Curle’s street-wise unit which displayed physicality and measured football in equal measure. Crewe provided the vaguest of answers, one that nearly earned them a point towards the end of a scrappy affair, but upon the final whistle there was an over-riding feeling that a point would have been harsh on the visitors who were not forced to work overly-hard to edge the Railwaymen out.
There will be the inevitable faith in Davis that the failings on show here will be sorted immediately and put into action for the trip to Scunthorpe on Tuesday, for his other record of not losing consecutive matches during his nine month spell in charge still remains intact for now. Perhaps he was the victim of his own success here in that such a convincing thrashing of Hartlepool in the League Cup last weekend resulted in no option but to persist with the same team. Yet that win was not without concern and to lay the same weaknesses at the mercy of a side with the nous and experience of Notts County, it had to be argued, was rather reckless.
For Curle had done his homework and was evidently familiar with the Crewe penchant for attempting to play quick, incisive passing football through the middle. The Magpies’ midfield pressed hard, cut off the short passing streams Crewe usually indulge themselves in, and aside from a few half chances such as Max Clayton’s speculative lob over Bartosz Bialkowski, there was nothing to really report from the home side in a first half that was noted by Francois Zoko’s back-post finish after a right-wing cross. Too many free headers was a negative from the Hartlepool match, yet it was in effect here, Zoko drifted behind the centre-halves and diverted the ball past Alan Martin when completely free. The timing, just before the interval, took any impetus out of what had been a brave first half display from Crewe in the face of some tough tackling that threatened to deviate the game from out of the referee’s control, but it was in microcosm, the difference between the two sides; County seized on the opportunities they grafted out, Crewe did not.
Crewe’s man of the match Mathias Pogba had Crewe’s other notable first half chance, drifting in from the left to take a long ball down in a central area and his turn and shot was well parried by Bialkowski, yet this should have been the plan B that Crewe were forced into by County’s intense pressing that allowed neither Ashley Westwood or Abdul Osman sufficient time on the ball to supply the forwards with cutting through balls. Too often they were going long to a duo of short forwards in Ajay Leitch-Smith and Clayton who were being suffocated by County’s physical centre-halves. Meanwhile, Pogba’s brute force was stuck out on the periphery for too long and when he was positioned centrally with Clayton spared the physical bruising by moving to the left, it was far too late, despite a neatly taken header from a corner that ultimately proved to be a consolation.
It was Yohann Arquin who netted Notts County’s second goal, originating again from Crewe’s left side as a result of Gregor Robertson failing to cut the crossing opportunity off, confusion reigned and Arquin was allowed to stroke the ball home after the ball had broken loose. That, compounded with Arquin’s moment of madness in which he kicked out at Ashley Westwood to earn a red-card, drew a stirring response from Crewe, but it came with the introduction of Luke Murphy for the otherwise flat Abdul Osman and Pogba’s move into the centre, two logical decisions that worryingly came when the deficit was unlikely to be overturned. Westwood had a late shot cleared off the line as Gresty Road collectively held its breath, but an equaliser would have been fortunate from a home side point of view, and harsh on County who had worked hard enough to warrant the three points to be filed under the drawer entitled “deserved”.
Keith Curle punched the air and left to begin a campaign that will probably see them challenge the upper echelons of the division, whilst for Steve Davis it is back to the chalkboard for Tuesday night’s trip to Scunthorpe. The problems were evident and it shall be nothing for the reactionary nature of Davis to fix, but as with all opening day defeats, the next game cannot come quick enough to present the chance to blow it out of the system. If some were still in disbelief over last season’s wonderful climax that ensured League One status, nobody will be in any confusion now of where the club reside. This is League One and Crewe found that out on Saturday; now it is time to take the lessons and improve, on to Glanford Park.
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Martin Jol and Chris Hughton were together at Tottenham Hotspur, but that won’t prevent the new Norwich manager going all out for his first win as Canaries boss.
Despite understanding the relationship between the pair, Hughton is happy with his squad and is confident of stealing the limelight from his former boss.
“There are almost two sides to it, because I am a really good friend of his, but also a rival manager,” Hughton told Sky Sports News .
“When it came out we were playing Fulham on the first day, of course it is something you have a laugh and a quick joke about.
“But just because he is a good friend of mine does not make any difference – we will want to win and do well in the game against them as much as we will in any other game.
“I had three enjoyable years with Martin at Tottenham, working closely with him.
“He was very successful, having two fifth-place finishes.
“I have also learned a lot from him, so he has played a very good part in where I am in this moment.
“You pick up about what it is to be a good manager. Martin is on the training pitch every day, tactically he is very good.
“He is great with the players, has high demands off them and wants to play the game in an attractive manner.
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“Martin is a winner and has been successful wherever he has been.”
The Daily Mail claim that Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli will miss up to four weeks of football after undergoing eye surgery this week.
The controversial forward joins Sergio Aguero on the sidelines for City who now only have Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko as recognised first team strikers going into a crucial period of the season.
Balotelli is short sighted and regularly wears contact lenses to play in games but an allergic reaction has recently prompted the club to send the forward to Italy for laser eye surgery.
Balotelli will certainly miss both of Italy’s opening World Cup qualifiers as well as City’s trip to Stoke in two weeks’ time. The surgery may also rule the striker out of the eagerly anticipated Champions League showdown with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid and the Real boss was at the Etihad Stadium yesterday to scout City for the fixture.
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His off the field antics may have been endeared to by the British public but manager Roberto Mancini will see this unfortunate injury as another negative story surrounding the forward.