South Africa striker Benni McCarthy received a furious farewell from Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce after the club confirmed Tuesday they have agreed a fee for his transfer with West Ham.
McCarthy has missed training sessions this week, in what has been seen as a bid to force through a move away from Ewood Park, but his controversial action may not have been necessary after the Premier League clubs agreed a fee reported to be 2.25 million pounds.
The 32-year-old striker has grown disillusioned with his lack of first-team starts under Allardyce and has been seeking a move to ensure regular football in the run-up to the World Cup finals in his home country in June and July.
But Allardyce said there was no excuse for McCarthy not turning up at training, branding his conduct “unprofessional” and saying it was symptomatic of too many players in the modern game.
“What he’s done is unprofessional. It shows you that the only loyalty a player has got is to himself,” Allardyce said.
“This is what we deal with today in football, there’s not such a thing as loyalty as there used to be in the older days when I was a player.
“It’s a selfish attitude they have and that’s not just about Benni, that’s all players today. If they want something they do anything to try and get it.”
Allardyce added: “If he is trying to manipulate a move by staying away it’s not the right thing to do.
“Sometimes players will get advised wrongly and I think whoever is advising him to stay away is very wrong as he’s done himself no favours.”
The Hammers are only presently above the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference while Blackburn are five points clear of the bottom three.
BLACKBURN, England (AFP)
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Gianfranco Zola believes his struggling West Ham side can pull away from the relegation zone after claiming their first victory since the opening day of the season.
A 2-1 defeat of Aston Villa on Wednesday evening was also the Hammers’ first home win of the season and Zola believes the gutsy performance from his players could represent a turning point in what has been a tough campaign so far.
An injury-time winner from substitute Zavon Hines sealed the points after Villa’s Ashley Young had cancelled out a Mark Noble penalty.
“The team is playing better and this may well be the turning point,” Zola said. “We demonstrated desire and belief and that’s what we wanted. Everything else is there. It was a fantastic game to win.”
As well as firing the winner, England under-21 striker Hines won the penalty that allowed his side to take the lead and he could now be be set for a run in the team after England striker Carlton Cole suffered a hamstring strain.
“Every time I play Hines he’s been very good,” Zola enthused. “He just needs to keep working the way he is doing. I am very pleased for him and for us. But he deserves to be in the spotlight.”
Villa boss Martin O’Neill was bitterly disappointed by the manner of a defeat which cost the Birmingham club the chance to move into the top four in the Premier League.
“I think we did enough to get something out of the game,” the Villa boss said. “We were in the ascendancy in the first half and their goalkeeper made some good saves.
“We looked a very good threat and thought we would go on to win it. You can lose a goal at any stage but it is disappointing to lose at that stage.
“We looked tired in the last 15 minutes but it is not an excuse.”
LONDON (AFP)
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Thomas Hitzlsperger says Germany travel to Moscow on Saturday determined to close down Russian play-maker Andrei Arshavin in order to get the win which will send them to the 2010 World Cup.
The rivals meet at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium with Germany leading Group Four by just one point from second-placed Russia with only the winner of the qualification pool guaranteed a place in South Africa next June.
Stuttgart midfielder Hitzlsperger says the Germans will allow neither Moscow’s artificial pitch nor Arsenal play-maker Arshavin to hinder their quest to leave Moscow with all three points from the World Cup qualifier.
“Our goal is to decide the World Cup qualification places for ourselves on Saturday,” said ex-Aston Villa player Hitzlsperger before his team flew to Russia.
“We are all united on that: We travel to Moscow in order to win.
“We know Russia has an extremely strong team and we respect them.
“But we have already beaten the Russians and to go there standing tall as table leaders.
“We have every reason to be self-confident.”
Germany beat Russia 2-1 in Dortmund last October to take control of their World Cup qualification group, but Loew’s side knows they have to shut down Arshavin to keep the home side at bay.
“He is not the sort of player you can ever really feel is under control with just a single marker,” said Hitzlsperger.
“He would pull you all over the pitch and as we saw in Dortmund, if the whole team is organised then there is little room for him to operate.
“Arshavin can pop up in so many different positions and if we do the same in Moscow as we did in Dortmund, we have a chance.”
The Germany squad spent this week training on an artificial pitch in Mainz to get used to the surface, but Hitzlsperger says it must not become an excuse.
“We naturally talked about it, and our coach Joachim Loew has also addressed the topic,” said the 27-year-old.
“But we have said that it can not become a big topic for us and will not be an excuse.
“The ball bounces higher than on a grass pitch and travels much faster when it is wet.
“We have now trained on the surface several times and we are using each training session to improve, we know its advantages and disadvantages.”
Hitzlsperger is expected to be up against his Stuttgart team-mate and Russia striker Pavel Pobrebnyak on Saturday and the Russian has warned of the “cauldron” atmosphere expected in the stadium.
Having won 49 caps, Hitzlsperger has scored six times for his country and each time Germany has won.
“It would be fantastic if I played in Moscow, scored and we won, I can’t imagine a better outcome on Saturday – that would be a dream!”
Some 5,000 police officers have been called in to keep order at the World Cup qualifier and German police have offered their assistance and provided Moscow with information about travelling supporters.
Both teams have one more World Cup qualifier after Saturday’s game when Germany host Finland in Hamburg next Wednesday the same night Russia play Azerbaijan in Baku.
BERLIN (AFP)
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Everton manager David Moyes admitted his side’s uninspiring 1-1 draw against Stoke was due to their midweek Europa League travels.
A fine strike from Leon Osman salvaged a point for Everton after Robert Huth’s header had looked like helping Stoke to their first away win of the season at Goodison Park on Sunday.
But it was a poor display from the hosts and Moyes pointed the finger at Everton’s trip to Minsk to play BATE Borisov on Thursday as a reason why they failed to fire.
Eight of Sunday’s starting XI also featured in the 2-1 win in Belarus.
“I think seven or eight of them played on Thursday,” Moyes said before insisting that it should not be allowed to become an excuse.
“But that is going to happen if we want to be successful. I think more importantly we have lost a little bit of flair.”
Despite creating precious few opportunities, the Everton manager was satisfied with his side’s persistence against a side keen to do little but neutralise their threat.
“We kept knocking on the door and kept trying to go forward,” Moyes added.
“It certainly was not for lack of effort or commitment and I think at times we played as well as we have done all season.
“I didn’t expect Stoke to come here and make it easy and it was tough to try and break them down but they have done that at a few clubs away from home.
“I thought we created good opportunities in good areas and though we did what we could with finishing it off.”
Stoke regularly got all their men behind the ball on Sunday.
It was in stark contrast to last season when they lost 3-1 at the same venue and indicates that although they will never be one of the Premier League’s more entertaining sides, they are becoming increasingly difficult to beat.
“I thought we did well,” Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. “I think Everton are a good team and mix it up very well and they test you as well.
“It was a much better performance than it was last week against Manchester United.
“The players were more committed and we defended very well when we had to.”
Stoke provided very little offensive threat and although this result moves them up to 11th in the Premier League, they will need to start offering more up front if they are to reach their stated aim of avoiding relegation.
“We have to improve on our passes,” Pulis added. “There were four or five opportunities when we could have passed someone in.”
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)
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Germany captain Michael Ballack insists his team will give everything they have to beat Russia in Moscow on October 10 and earn themselves an automatic place at the 2010 World Cup.
Germany are just one point clear at the top of the Group Four table ahead of deadly rivals Russia, but should Ballack’s team beat the home side at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium they will be uncatchable.
“We are devoting all our focus, energy and commitment to the match,” said the Chelsea star.
“We can’t let the artificial pitch be an excuse for us – we’ll just have to adapt to the conditions.
“Russia have got a strong team and they have got results in the past, so we will have to be at our very best if we are to get something out of our trip to Moscow.
“We’re confident that we will qualify directly for the World Cup, because we’re totally motivated for this match, well prepared and we know that we can get the right result.”
Having turned 33 last week, Ballack has said he will consider retiring after next June’s World Cup and is eager to finish on a high having finished as runner-up in 2002 and then Germany came third in 2006.
“Both World Cups were really tough for me emotionally as a player,” said the former Bayern Munich star.
“In 2002, we amazed everybody by getting to the final, and I scored the winners in the 1-0 victories in the quarter and semi-finals, only to be suspended for the final.
“That was a bitter pill, it really was.
“The atmosphere in 2006 was sensational.
“For us players it was a unique experience, and I don’t think that the fans ever will forget that World Cup either.
“Germany showed that we are a friendly nation who like to receive guests, and that was very important for our country’s international image.
“It was a great World Cup, both on the pitch and in terms of the atmosphere all around the country and among football fans in particular.”
Germany have a habit of turning on the style for the big tournaments and despite a poor start at Euro 2008 when they lost in the group stages to Croatia, they went on to lose 1-0 to Spain in the final.
Coach Joachim Loew is set to announce his squad for the trip to Moscow and the game against Finland in Hamburg on October 14 later this week.
BERLIN (AFP)
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Oh you’ve got to love Coleen Rooney and her WAGness!!
She is certainly the down to earth girl who loves to shop, shop, shop!!
Judging by this picture Coleen could have done with a hand carrying all her Cricket shopping bags, oh how lovely it would be to be able to buy that many designer clothes!
Did you see Coleen’s Real Women last night?? I think it was my favourite episode of the series so far, I really liked the girls and Coleen came across even more real than usual (excuse the pun)!!
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Don’t you just hate daft excuses?
Soccer is riddled with them. The manager who can’t comment on his player being sent off because he didn’t see it – despite having the best seat in the stadium – is perhpas the most common, but a different example caught my attention this week.
Everton assistant manager Steve Round believes the club’s record signing Marouane Fellaini is being booked unfairly by referees in England because of his size.
The gangly Belgian midfielder, 1.94 metres tall, joined from Standard Liege in September and has collected eight yellow cards in just 12 appearances. Many would say the player nicknamed “Screech” commits too many fouls, although Round offers a different explanation:
“He’s disappointed with how many bookings he’s had and has put that down to inexperience. But we’ve also put it down to the fact he’s quite recognisable. I think referees need to book him on merit rather than because it’s ‘big’ Fellaini.
“There was a recent game when one player from the opposition did six consecutive fouls and didn’t get booked. Fellaini made one foul and got a yellow card.
“It was pointed out to the officials and they’ve taken that on board. Hopefully we’ll start seeing him getting fair treatment.”
However, a delve into the Premier League stats offers a different view.
Heading into the latest round of matches Fellaini, according to official Premier League statistics, had committed the most fouls in the league at 53.
A further look at the stats shows that Fulham defender Brede Hangeland has been booked twice in 17 appearances this season, committing only 14 fouls. Oh and he is 1.94 metres – the same size as Fellaini.
Any other excuses from coaches or players caught your eye this season? Let us know in the comments.
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