Hat-trick hero Anelka given Roma mission
November 2, 2008
LONDON (AFP) – Nicolas Anelka has been guaranteed a starting berth in Chelsea’s Champions League encounter with Roma after his hat-trick helped sink Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
The treble was Anelka’s first for the Blues since signing from Bolton back in January and the French striker will feel it has come at the perfect time as Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba is now back to fitness following knee and ankle problems.
Drogba was given a 25-minute run-out during the 5-0 rout of the Black Cats but it was Anelka, together with fellow goalscorers Alex and Frank Lampard, who stole the show and secured his place for Tuesday’s trip to the Italian capital.
"Anelka has the number nine shirt here and tries his best always," Blues manager Luiz Felipe Scolari explained. "He has more chances now in this side.
"Drogba is back but my decision against Roma is easy. Anelka is in better condition so he plays."
One man who will not be involved in the European encounter is likely to be Ashley Cole. The England international full-back limped off during the first half on Saturday with a calf problem. He was set for scans on Sunday at Chelsea’s Surrey training base.
"It’s difficult to see him playing against Roma," admitted Scolari. "The game is only two days away now, but we will see.
"I’m pleased with this performance. Not just because we scored five goals, but because we played good football. We had about eight good chances today and I was pleased to see us take plenty of them."
Chelsea proved far too potent for Roy Keane’s Sunderland outfit as the Blues continue to push Liverpool for top spot.
Brazilian Alex opened the scoring from close range on 27 minutes, converting after goalkeeper Marton Fulop had parried a Joe Cole shot.
Anelka poked into an empty net three minutes later, following a cross from Lampard. And the points were virtually secured in injury-time as Anelka scored his second from inside the area.
Lampard added the 100th goal of his league career after the break, before Anelka completed his treble on 52 minutes.
"That is a fantastic record for a midfield player," said Scolari as he praised Lampard. "We need to think about who is the best in the world in that position, and maybe it is him."
Sunderland manager Keane was sent off at half-time and will now wait to discover whether he faces any further disciplinary action.
He made his feelings known towards referee Martin Atkinson in light of a challenge by Joe Cole on Pascal Chimbonda, which he felt was a foul.
"I’m not sure if I was officially sent off, the referee just told me not to go back to the dug-out," Keane said. "I think I was most disappointed with their third goal because we felt there was a foul on Pascal.
"I’m not saying we would have come back to win the game but it was a hammer blow. I’ve played for one of the big teams and I know that when we come up against the big boys we just want a bit of fairness.
"Chelsea were outstanding though – and there is no shame in this."
The Sunderland manager is now backing Chelsea to go on to win the league title.
"It’s going to be close but Manchester United have won it for the past two years and it is difficult to win three in a row," he said.
"Not many teams have done it and it makes youn wonder if United will have that edge that they have in the last few years, when they have been brilliant.
"I’m not saying Chelsea will walk it, but when you lose it a couple of times you get the eye of the tiger back. They have a new manager too, and that can help develop a championship winning team."
Written by: AFP
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Arsenal manager sweats on injured trio after Stoke misery
November 2, 2008
STOKE, England (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admitted that Arsenal are waiting on news of three ‘very bad injuries’ to Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Bacary Sagna after a disastrous 2-1 defeat at Stoke City.
Having thrown away a two-goal lead to draw 4-4 with Spurs in midweek, Arsenal suffered their third league loss of the season as goals from Ricardo Fuller and Seyi Olofinjana sealed the points for Stoke before Gael Clichy’s injury-time consolation goal.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Dutch striker Robin van Persie faces a suspension after being sent off for throwing Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to the turf.
But with Sagna and Adebayor both limping off with ankle knocks before England winger Theo Walcott was stretchered off with a suspected shoulder injury, Wenger conceded his main concern ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Fenerbahce was the status of his injured trio.
"We have very bad injuries with Adebayor, Walcott and Sagna. One or two others have knocks, but it’s the kind of thing that happens when you are less sharp. You become less agile and can get out of tackles less quickly," he said.
"At this stage, we don’t know how long they will be out. But Robin van Persie’s red card was very, very harsh. If (Stoke defender) Andy Griffin does not get a yellow card in the game and Van Persie gets a red, then I have to review my rule book.
"He should not have done what he did, but I don’t think it was a red card."
Arsenal’s failure to cope with Stoke’s physical approach and the incredible throw-ins of midfielder Rory Delap, which led to both Stoke goals, contributed to their downfall.
And Wenger admitted that Tony Pulis’s team were worthy winners at the Britannia Stadium.
"We were not sharp enough to create chances with the possession that we had, but they scored from two throw-ins and that was basically the game," he said.
"They fought for every ball and were organised defensively. They waited for their set-pieces and, in the end, they won because we didn’t create enough chances to score.
"Of course we had a plan to deal with the throw-ins, but when these balls come into the box, there is 20 people in there and it is difficult.
"It is not our greatest strength to deal with that and we were punished, but I feel that we were a bit unlucky as well.
"People who love the traditional English game must be very happy because they got what they like. It was a typical, traditional English game with a lot of fight and commitment on one side and, at the end of the day, Stoke deserved to win the game."
Stoke, promoted last season, have now won three of their last four games — with all of the victories coming at the hostile Britannia Stadium — and Pulis admits that Delap’s throw-ins are proving impossible for opponents to deal with.
Pulis said: "Delap’s throws are so flat. They’re not lofted in the air, so it’s very difficult for the defenders to pick the ball up.
"It has caused all sorts of trouble. The publicity about them has helped because people are now worried to death even before he throws them in!
"Although teams are aware of it, we have scored a lot of goals from it and we still look dangerous, but that’s because it is very difficult to stop them.
"Beating a big four team does give you a huge lift, but we play Wigan next week and that will be tough as well.
"We are playing against great players every week, so are on a different level, but the players have been brilliant."
Written by: AFP
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Manchester United manager embarrassed despite victory
November 2, 2008
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) – Sir Alex Ferguson insisted he was embarrassed by Manchester United’s failings in front of goal despite his side’s 4-3 victory over Hull City.
The United manager had been highly critical of the number of chances his strikers missed during a routine victory over West Ham and, after seeing his side almost throw away a 4-1 lead against Hull on Saturday, Ferguson was again angry at United’s failure to kill off the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo took his United tally to 99 goals after adding to his West Ham double with two more strikes while Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidic completed the home side’s haul.
But what should have been a second half stroll turned into an anxious wait for the final whistle for the reigning champions after Bernard Mendy and Geovanni added to Daniel Cousin’s first half header as the visitors fought back bravely.
"It was incredible. We should have won by ten and we ended up scrambling a victory," Ferguson said.
"The annoying thing is that we’ve not taken our chances, we should have scored ten or eleven there. We had clear chances. But you don’t put them away and then you are left embarrassed.
"The general feeling is a bit low because we should have won the game by more."
Ferguson had claimed last week that Ronaldo can match his 42-goal return of last season despite missing the start of the season with an ankle injury and the Portugese winger’s brace took his total to seven, including six in six league appearances.
"His goals were fantastic. He could have scored four or five. And I don’t know how many chances Dimitar Berbatov made," Ferguson said.
"Credit to Ronaldo, he’s got two more goals and there was some fantastic football. On the plus side the thing that we can take out of today is that we are creating some good chances and playing some great stuff at times, but we just got ourselves in an embarrassing situation."
Hull have made a habit of upsetting bigger names away from home in their first season in the top-flight with wins at Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle already under their belts.
Their early-season run has already accumulated 20 points and Phil Brown’s side came into this game two points ahead of United.
United’s win reversed that position but Brown drew pride from the fact Hull became the first team since Chelsea three years ago to score three at Old Trafford and believes this display should increase his players belief they can compete at the higher level.
"We haven’t got anything from the game which is the disappointment of it all, but what we did get from the game is pride," he said. "I think we restored it in the second half.
"I was disappointed with the players in the first half because I think we are capable of playing better.
"I’ve got more belief in them than they have and if they started believing in themselves the way I do, that they are good players and can compete at this level, then hopefully we’ll start showing it on a more regular basis."
"If the players keep believing what I am telling them then who knows how far we can take this thing. And that’s a collective thing, not an individual thing.
"As far as I’m concerned I believe these players are capable of competing at this level and hopefully come the end of the season I’ll have been proved right."
Written by: AFP
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Coppell relieved by Royals ascent
November 2, 2008
LONDON (AFP) – Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted his promotion-chasing side’s 4-1 win at Bristol City had been a long time coming.
The Royals moved to within three points of second-placed Birmingham thanks to Kevin Doyle’s double and goals from Noel Hunt and Kalifa Cisse.
Coppell’s team, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, took the lead in the 14th minute through Doyle and Hunt slammed home the second two minutes later.
Doyle added his 11th goal of the season in the 47th minute before Cisse made it four. Stern John’s last-minute goal was no consolation for City.
"One of my favourite sayings is that when you work hard in football rewards don’t come in equal instalments," Coppell said.
"We were by far the better side in our previous game at Burnley and came away with nothing. I am a firm believer that if you keep producing good performances results will come."
Wolverhampton extended their lead at the top of the table to four points – ahead of Birmingham’s clash against Coventry on Monday – with a 2-1 win at Cardiff.
Goals in the first eight minutes from Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake established Wolverhampton’s dominance before Ross McCormack got one back for the hosts.
Burnley moved up to fourth place as Chris Eagles scored twice to secure a 2-0 home win over Norwich.
Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell believes James Beattie can fire his side to promotion after his double helped the Blades consolidate their position in the play-off places with a 2-0 win against Plymouth at Bramall Lane.
Former Everton striker Beattie struck with a penalty in the 48th minute and added another from a free-kick eight minutes later.
"We are hoping Beattie’s goals will be the difference in getting us promoted, and that’s why that club has gambled in that department," Blackwell said.
"We’re fortunate to have him. He’s a great team player, he’s a great lad in the dressing room, the players love him to bits and the staff love working with him and long may that continue."
Charlton manager Alan Pardew vowed to fight on after fans called for him to be sacked during their 3-1 home defeat against Barnsley.
Pardew’s side, who were playing in the Premier League two years ago, have won only one of their last nine games and were completely outplayed by a side struggling alongside them at the foot of the table.
Jon Macken opened the scoring in the third minute and grabbed his second 14 minutes later to trigger a chorus of disapproval around the Valley.
"Sometimes in a season there are certain benchmarks when you have to make decisions and this is a tough week for me," Pardew said. "I need to make some big decisions because that’s where we are now.
"It’s no good crawling under a stone and hiding. You have to stand and face criticism if it comes your way. I have to look within the squad, and maybe get a loan in."
Darren Moore’s 39th minute goal sent the home fans heading for the exits and Mark Hudson’s late goal offered no respite for Pardew.
Southampton climbed out of the relegation zone after a superb fightback to win 3-2 at Preston.
The visitors had looked dead and buried at half-time after Billy Jones and Stephen Elliott helped Preston to a comfortable two-goal lead, but Alex Pearce’s 64th-minute header sparked a thrilling Saints response.
Andrew Surman grabbed the equaliser moments later before David McGoldrick’s late effort completed the revival by Jan Poortvliet’s side.
Elsewhere, Blackpool scored twice in the final minutes to beat Watford 4-3, Ipswich won 2-0 against QPR, Crystal Palace were held to a 1-1 draw by Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster drew 0-0 with Swansea.
Written by: AFP
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No need to rush back Ferguson says Smith
November 2, 2008
GLASGOW, (AFP) – Rangers manager Walter Smith says he must ease club captain Barry Ferguson back into his side after he returned from injury as a substitute in the club’s 5-0 rout of Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
Ferguson made his first appearance of the season as a second-half sub with the home side already cruising to victory.
Rangers have a busy schedule coming up with four games in two weeks, including Dundee United at Ibrox on Tuesday, and the midfielder is desperate to play a part as he bids to regain full match fitness.
But Ibrox gaffer Smith says the form and size of his current squad means he doesn’t need to rush his captain back into action.
"I think we need to ease him back into the team. He has been out for five months or so and we have to make sure everything is right with him," Smith said.
"The team have been doing well and it is not always easy to make changes. The size of the squad now allows us this time to ease him back.
"Last season if we had had the same problem and the same number of players he would have obviously had the opportunity to rest.
"He led from the front for us last season and it will take a few games for him to get back but I look forward to that time when we get him fit and he can play."
And Smith believes his side is now getting the right balance between possession and converting chances.
"I think in some matches we have concentrated a wee bit too much on our possession of the ball and not of turning that into something tangible in terms of goals," Smith said.
"We are maybe getting there now in terms of trying to achieve a proper balance between a good level of possession and goals at the end of it."
On Saturday rampant Rangers returned to the top of the Scottish Premier League on goal difference after a Kris Boyd hat-trick helped them to a 5-0 thrashing of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Rangers took the lead after only six minutes. Boyd thundered in a free-kick from the edge of the box which Michael Fraser couldn’t hold and Novo slid home the rebound from a couple of yards out.
Rangers doubled their lead after 13 minutes. Pedro Mendes intercepted an Inverness clearance on the half-way line and his quick pass sent Miller clear.
The Scottish internationalist then squared the ball to strike partner Boyd who rolled the ball into an open net.
Boyd made it 3-0 just five minutes later after another perfect pass from Mendes. The Portuguese midfielder took the ball off Grant Munro and slipped the ball to Boyd in the box who beat Fraser for the second time.
The Scottish striker completed his hat-trick in the 27th minute after Miller was brought down in the box by David Proctor. Boyd buried the spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner of the net sending the keeper the wrong way.
Miller made it five on the stroke of half-time after he expertly converted Novo’s cross from the by-line.
The striker showed tremendous skill to turn 180 degrees and slam the ball past the helpless Fraser with a terrific first-time volley from the penalty spot.
Boyd had the ball in the net again in the 71st minute when he headed home Kirk Broadfoot’s cross but the goal was chopped off as the big striker was adjudged to have pushed an Inverness defender in the box.
Rangers continued to dominate possession but a lack of urgency meant they didn’t add to their first-half haul.
Written by: AFP
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USA resurrects quarterfinal chances with 3:1 victory over Paraguay at Women’s U-17 World Cup
November 2, 2008
HAMILTON, New Zealand – Vicky DiMartinio and Courtney Verloo both scored in the final 13 minutes to lead the United States to 3:1 victory over Paraguay on Sunday and resurrect its chances of reaching the quarterfinals at the U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The USA, which lost its opener to Japan 3:2, had to rally from a first-half deficit, benefitting from an own-goal, and DiMartino’s goal in the 77th and another by Verloo in the 83rd.
The victory left the USA in second place in Group C with three points, ahead of Paraguay on goal difference and three points behind Japan, which qualified for the quarterfinals Sunday with a 7:1 win over France.
Despite USA coach Kazbek Tambi making seven changes to his team from the side that lost to Japan, the Stars & Stripes fell behind in the 32nd minute when Gloria Villamayor worked her way to the byline before sending a ball back into the path of Rebecca Fernandez for the first goal.
The USA equalized on a pair of mistakes by Paraguay less than three minutes into the second half. Goalkeeper Zulma Orue slid but failed to get to Elizabeth Eddy’s cross, and then Cris Mabuel Flores tried to settle it on her thigh but knocked it into her own net.
Tambi inserted regular strikers DiMartino and Verloo to start the second half, and both delivered. DiMartino beat Paraguay’s offside trap and beat Orue for her second goal in two games and Verloo added the other insurance goal from 25 yards.
“I guess relieved is the right word,” Tambi said. “We had a good gameplan today and were aiming to score a few goals, but unfortunately it took us a while to put away our chances.”
The USA can guarantee itself a place in the quarterfinals with a draw with France on Tuesday. In other games Sunday, England all but mathematically assured itself of a place in the final eight with a 1:0 victory over Nigeria, and Korea defeated Brazil 2:1.
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Ibracadabra – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Ibra…
November 2, 2008
…But were afraid to ask.
For instance:
- Want to know what kind of dog Ibra has? (French Bulldog)
- How about who his best friend is on the squad (Maxwell) and just what do they do in those pre-match retreats? (spooning may be involved)
Well all this and more can be found in this wonderful Swedish documentary, Circus Zlatan, about our golden boy. It is largely in Swedish, but some kind YouTuber has added English subtitles.
The film was made last May and takes us from training in Milan to driving around Malmo in a 20-foot long golden stretch hummer (really, isn’t that just what you expected him to drive?). You get to meet Dick, Zlatan’s able-bodied assistant and general whipping boy, plus loads of other characters that shaped Ibra’s young mind. The documentary is long, but has been broken up into five 9-minute segments. This is a must see for any Ibra fan.
Enjoy.
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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
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Saturday update
November 2, 2008
The big news, Tigre lost to Argentinos Juniors 2-0. For San Lorenzo, any results against Boca Juniors puts them alone at the top of the table. A loss and they fall into a three way tie with Tigre and Boca.
River Plate continues on the worst streak in their history with a 2-0 loss away to Lanus. Neither goal by Jose Sand, so he stands pat on 12 for the championship. For those of you keeping track at home, that is 11 straight games without a victory for los Millionarios. The loss also keeps River tied to the foot of the table. You’ve got to wonder how much longer Diego Simeone can continue. My guess is that if River doesn’t advance against Chivas de Guadalajara in the Copa Sudamericana next week, then he is gone. And that will be a tall order, playing in Mexico down by 2 goals (I think).
Independiente drew with Godoy Cruz 1-1 on Friday and Huracan downed Estudiantes 1-0 earlier today.
The big games on tap tomorrow are the clasico rosarino when Newell’s Old Boys hosts Rosario Central. Newell’s is riding a five game unbeaten streak, while Central is coming in off a 3-0 pasting of Gimnasia de Jujuy.
Also, San Lorenzo heads to La Bombonera to face a Boca Juniors team still mourning the unexpected loss of their president, Pedro Pompilio, earlier this week. So a battle for top of the table now has the unknown thrown into it. Will the Xeneize come out and play inspired, looking for a win to honor Pompilio, or will their loss have them out of sync?
It’s been a low scoring start to the round, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.
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Roman Pavlyuchenko Stuns Liverpool
November 2, 2008
Regular readers will know that my predictions so far have been less than successful. So when I predicted a 2-1 win for Spurs over Liverpool this weekend, it should have guaranteed a Reds win. And when Dirk Kuyt put Liverpool ahead in the third minute, it looked even more likely.
But Spurs under Harry Redknapp = drama. So a Jamie Carragher own goal levelled things in the 68th minute and then Russian striker/politician Roman Pavlyuchenko popped up in the 91st (video above) to give Spurs a 2-1 win and finally lift them off the bottom of the table. His constituents will be very proud.
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Eredivisie Highlights
November 2, 2008
Vayrynen of Heerenveen vs Martens of AZ
Another weekend of surprising results, fascinating football and glorious goals…
PSV beat Willem2 and finds it’s way back up the table. An own goal early in the match finished by a wonderful insightful lob by Danny Koevermans and the victory was there: 2-0.
AZ was planning to with the 7th game in a row, further securing the top spot in the standings. Heerenveen proved to be a tougher opponent than the six predecessors. AZ thought it had bagged the three points, but a late equalizer for Heerenveen resulted in the final score: 3-3, after an exciting match. AZ still holds the lead though.
NAC and Groningen both held the top spot in this competition already and the number 4 and 2, respectively, played a tight game. NAC veteran Rob Penders scored the late winner: 1-0.
Ajax went to visit FC Twente and Marco van Basten had forgotten his mantra (dominant, attractive football, remember?). Ajax played counter-attack football and scored both opportunities they created: 2-0. Twente created more than Ajax but other than hitting the cross bar, they ended the match how they started…with naught.
FC Utrecht, graveyard of four assistant trainers, won 2-0 against De Graafschap. Without the stressed Willem van Hanegem on the bench.
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