Ireland may come to regret Reid freeze-out

November 14, 2009

Giovanni Trapattoni may have cause to regret his decision to leave Sunderland playmaker Andy Reid out in the cold when Ireland face France on Saturday and next Wednesday in their two-legged World Cup play-off.

Reid has been in sparkling form for his club this season in the Premier League, notching some fantastic goals, notably from free-kicks — an area Ireland need to improve on with the exception of Glenn Whelan’s thunderbolts from long range.

He has a range of passing that can unlock the best defences in the world and Ireland will need somebody with that capability against the more-fancied French at Croke Park and Stade de France over the next week.

But the Dubliner has been overlooked by Trapattoni ever since he fell out with the wily, no-nonsense Italian a year ago in the team’s hotel bar in the German city of Wiesbaden after Ireland’s qualifier with Georgia.

Reid has apologised profusely for failing to go to bed before a 2am curfew and, unlike, say, Manchester City’s Stephen Ireland, he has reiterated on many occasions his commitment to play for his country.

But while Trapattoni and his backroom team continue to court Ireland, Reid remains in exile. Of course with a lack of creativity in Ireland’s central midfield, Ireland would be a welcome addition, but surely his absence only reinforces the need for Reid’s recall?

The former Tottenham player has knuckled down since his move to the north east of England, lost lots of weight, looks fitter than ever, and has become one of the most improved players in the best league in the world.

Is it time Trapattoni swallowed his pride?

PHOTO: Fans of Ireland’s soccer team attend France national soccer team’s training session at Clairefontaine south of Paris on November 11, 2009. France will face Ireland in Dublin on November 14, 2009 in a World Cup 2010 play off qualifying soccer match . REUTERS/Charles Platiau

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Tags: andy reid, central midfield, Charles Platiau, clairefontaine, Croke Park, defences, dubliner, face france, France, free kicks, Georgia, german city, giovanni trapattoni, hotel bar, manchester city, national soccer team, north east of england, PARIS, Reid, s central, Stade, stade de france, Stephen Ireland, thunderbolts, whelan

Premier League trio set for action

April 18, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – With Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in FA Cup semi-final action at Wembley this weekend, the focus in the Premier League turns to the increasingly desperate fight to avoid relegation.

While club chairmen fret over the financial implications of losing their seat on football’s richest gravy train, the annual scrap for survival is developing into a matter of pride rather than pound notes.

Three of the bottom four places are currently occupied by teams from the north-east of England, making the prospect of relegation for Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough particularly painful.

As if going down wouldn’t be devastating enough, there is every possibility that one of their most hated rivals will push them through the trap door.

Middlesbrough are second bottom on 30 points, level with Newcastle, who are also two points behind Sunderland, the team sitting one place above the drop zone.

The club with the most to lose are Newcastle. It is 16 years since St James’ Park last hosted second tier matches and a club who regularly pull in over 50,000 fans cannot contemplate playing the likes of Doncaster and Watford instead of Liverpool and United.

Such was the panic gripping Tyneside as Newcastle slumped into the bottom three while boss Joe Kinnear recouperated from heart surgery, that owner Mike Ashley handed the reins to Alan Shearer on a temporary basis despite his complete lack of managerial experience.

So far Shearer has lost to Chelsea and drawn at Stoke, making Sunday’s trip to Tottenham a must-win match.

Shearer, who is boosted by the return from injury of Australia striker Mark Viduka, said: “Not only did we prove we are up for the battle against Stoke, but that we can also play a little bit, which has given everyone a big, big lift.”

On the other side of the Tyne Bridge, Sunderland fans are terrified by the thought of being relegated by Newcastle.

A dismal run of one win in nine matches, including defeats in their last four matches, has sent the Black Cats plummeting to the brink of the relegation zone.

One glimmer of hope for boss Ricky Sbragia is a fixture list that offers up struggling Hull on Saturday and rock bottom West Brom next weekend.

Hull have won just one of their last 17 games and Sbragia said: “We know how big this game is for us. It’s a must-win situation.

“It’ll be very tense and edgy early doors. We can’t afford to lose it, it’s as simple as that.

“We were encouraged by last week’s performance against Manchester United. We did a lot of good things, we worked hard and showed better commitment.

“We now have to do it against Hull, it can’t be just a one-off.”

Middlesbrough have often been overshadowed by their brasher north-east neighbours, but for once they must be grateful for that, as Newcastle’s struggles have distracted attention from the plight of Gareth Southgate’s team.

Last weekend’s home win over Hull was only their second success in 19 league matches and, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa still to play, Southgate knows his side desperately need a home win over Fulham.

“It’s been a difficult period but you are certainly more determined when you have been through a period like we have had,” Southgate said.

“In the next few weeks there will be twists and turns, there’s no doubt about that, but we know we are capable of dealing with whatever is thrown at us and we have just got to make sure we maintain our focus.”

Fixtures (1400GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Aston Villa v West Ham

Middlesbrough v Fulham

Portsmouth v Bolton

Stoke v Blackburn

Sunderland v Hull

Sunday

Man City v West Brom

Tottenham v Newcastle (1230GMT)

Tags: alan shearer, arsenal, Australia, black cats, CHELSEA, club chairmen, desperate fight, dismal run, Doncaster, English Premier League, fulham, gareth southgate, gravy train, hated rivals, heart surgery, joe kinnear, Liverpool, london, man city, managerial experience, Manchester, mark viduka, middlesbrough, mike ashley, NEWCASTLE, newcastle sunderland, north east of england, pound notes, Ricky Sbragia, St James, st james park, Sunderland, United, watford, Wembley, west ham

Barry on the spot as 10-man Villa edge out Sunderland

January 18, 2009

SUNDERLAND (AFP) – Gareth Barry’s controversial late penalty gave 10-man Aston Villa a 2-1 win against Sunderland on Saturday to consolidate their position in the Premier League’s top four.

Martin O’Neill’s side rode their luck at the Stadium of Light after falling behind to an early goal from Danny Collins.

Even when James Milner equalised in the second half, Villa still contrived to surrender the advantage as Ashley Young was sent off for a wild two-footed lunge.

But Barry struck from the spot with 10 minutes to play after Paul McShane was controversially ruled to have fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Villa arrived in the north-east of England hoping to cement their place in the Champions League places, but Sunderland have been revitalised in recent weeks and they threatened first when a Carlos Edwards cross was almost deflected into his own net by Steve Sidwell.

The visitors had a sight of goal when Milner’s pass found Young but the England star’s sliding effort failed to test Marton Fulop.

Just as Villa were starting to hit their stride, Sunderland took the lead with 11 minutes gone.

After Kenwyne Jones had been tripped by Curtis Davies, Edwards curled a free-kick into the box for Collins to power a header past Brad Friedel.

Sunderland went close to increasing their lead as Jones tested Friedel with a well-struck shot on the turn in the 15th minute.

Ricky Sbragia’s side were on the attack again when skipper Dean Whitehead found space in the box and hit a low shot that Friedel saved well.

It was one-way traffic at that point and Black Cats defender Anton Ferdinand got his head to an Edwards cross at the near post and glanced his effort just wide.

Yet Villa almost finished the half on level terms when Young curled a free-kick narrowly past a post.

The second half was a feisty affair as tackles flew in from both sides, with Djibril Cisse booked for a crude challenge.

Sunderland should have added a second goal in the 57th minute when Jones cut in from the right but his scuffed shot was easy for Friedel.

Villa finally got themselves back into the game on the hour with their first cohesive break, although there was a touch of controversy about it.

Barry and Agbonlahor combined to send Young clear and he crossed for Milner, who bundled the ball home with his shoulder as he went to ground under Pascal Chimbonda’s challenge.

Just as Villa looked to be taking control, Young was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute for a two-footed challenge on Whitehead.

But that didn’t rattle Villa and they snatched a dramatic winner in the 80th minute.

Agbonlahor looked to be offside as he chased a long ball over the Sunderland defence and to make matters even worse McShane was adjudged to have fouled him inside the penalty area as he grappled with the England striker.

Barry stepped up to smash the spot-kick high into the net and spark wild celebrations from the travelling fans.

Written by: AFP