O’Neill angry at Wenger

January 30, 2010


Aston Villa boss Marton O’Neill is angry at Arsene Wenger and blames the Arsenal boss of getting “carried away with his own importance”. O’Neill has been left fuming by Wenger’s criticism of his team following their goalless draw between the sides at Villa Park on Wednesday.

Wenger labelled Villa a a long ball team, something which has infuriated O’Neill who has attacked Wenger accusing the French tactician of being “on another planet”.

“Wenger has an opinion on everything,” O’Neill told The Sun. “There is not a subject in this world at this minute – whether it is political, religious, anything – that he does not have an opinion on.

“He does say things for effect. You can get carried away with your own importance, you really can. Sometimes he does.

“After what he said about my team on Wednesday, I did go looking for him. I told him what I thought about what he had said.

“He has made a great contribution to the game here but he is not on a different planet.

“What he wants to do is try and point out to everyone who is under his spell that Arsenal are the only delightful team around.”

O’Neill says Wenger’s touch-line antics can have an influence on games.

“There is a plan throughout. If he puts his hands in the air enough times, they (officials) will probably accept the fact he can see it from that distance, that Sol Campbell hadn’t fouled Richard Dunne, and the referee obviously agrees with him,” added O’Neill.

“He’s a very skilful manager but he has another record, like he has had something like 99 sendings off this year – and 98 of them weren’t his fault. That is the problem.

O’Neill also says that Wenger does not acknowledge when his players behave in a nasty manner.

“There are things that happen in the game you cannot always be fantastically proud of your team. There can be some nasty challenges made by Arsenal players – you cannot condone everything.

“William Gallas is just one the other week. You cannot condone everything. You have to say ‘On reflection, I’ve seen it again and it’s a nasty challenge’.”

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Crunch time looms in EPL title race

January 27, 2010


The English Premier League title battle enters a potentially decisive phase on Wednesday as Arsenal and Chelsea go into tough fixtures aiming to replace Manchester United at the top of the table.

United claimed top spot at the weekend with a Wayne Rooney-inspired 4-0 demolition of Hull, but Arsenal will move back above them and into pole position if they can take all three points from their trip to Aston Villa, a side chasing a top four finish themselves.

Chelsea, who are level on points with the Gunners but have played a game less, entertain Birmingham, who have put together an impressive 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Wednesday’s programme also sees Blackburn entertain Lancashire neighbours Wigan with both clubs uncomfortably close to the relegation zone, while Everton will seek to bounce back from the disappointment of their weekend FA Cup exit at the hands of Birmingham when they take on Steve Bruce’s Sunderland.

With Manchester United due at the Emirates on Sunday, it is arguably Arsenal who have most to lose on Wednesday with Arsene Wenger’s men starting a run of matches which also includes clashes with Chelsea and Liverpool.

The importance Wenger attaches to that sequence of fixtures was reflected in his making nine changes from the side that beat Bolton last Wednesday for the FA Cup tie at Stoke at the weekend.

The likes of William Gallas were sorely missed as the Gunners went out of the Cup but Wenger will regard that as a bearable setback if his squad are still in contention for their first league title since 2004 in a month’s time.

“Our selection at Stoke was simple,” the Frenchman said. “Take a look at our schedule and you must see we cannot play the same 11 every time. That is for sure.”

Birmingham defender Roger Johnson will realise a lifelong dream when he plays at Chelsea for the first time.

The former Cardiff player was brought up a Chelsea fan and while he will be trying his hardest to put a dent in their campaign, he expects Carlo Ancelotti’s men to go on and lift the title.

“I still get to watch as many Chelsea games as I can, mainly mid-week when Birmingham are not playing, and John Terry is a player I look up to,” Johnson said.

“I think they’ll win the league. They have been better than most sides this season. Manchester United haven’t been quite as good as in previous seasons. Arsenal have come up on the rails in recent weeks but Chelsea have that strength to grind results out.

“They’ve done that for most of the season and, if they have a good second half, they should easily win the title.”

Wednesday’s fixtures

Aston Villa v Arsenal (1945 GMT), Blackburn v Wigan (2000 GMT), Chelsea v Birmingham (1945 GMT), Everton v Sunderland (2000 GMT)

LONDON (AFP)

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Wenger defends selection policy as Arsenal crash out

January 25, 2010


Arsene Wenger defended his right to field a weakened team in Arsenal’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth round defeat at Stoke and insisted his desire to lift the Premier League title had been behind his decision.

Wenger made nine changes at the Britannia Stadium but will recall the likes of William Gallas, Thomas Vermalaen, Gael Clichy, Andrey Arshavin and Eduardo for the crucial league trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday.

This disappointing defeat leaves Wenger still waiting for his first trophy since 2005 but the Frenchman places far more importance on the league.

After the visit to Villa Park, the Gunners – currently two points behind leaders Manchester United with a game in hand – face three more crunch encounters against Sir Alex Ferguson’s champions, then Chelsea and Liverpool.

And Wenger insisted injuries left him with no alternative but to operate a rotation policy ahead of those matches.

He said: “I wanted to win this game and I don’t regret the team I picked, I did not have much choice.

“If you look at our schedule it’s simply that you cannot always play with the same eleven.

“If you rotate and you don’t win it’s your fault. I can only stand up and say that’s the team that I picked.

“It’s unfortunate but we had 10 injuries and we’re going into a period where we cannot rotate a lot in the big games.

“We’ve got to focus on those games because we are in an interesting position. We didn’t want to go out of the competition. If we’d been at home we could have got away with it.

“You get no surprise when you come here. We weakened the more the game went on and they were more dangerous than us.”

The one highlight on an otherwise dismal afternoon for Wenger was an impressive ’second debut’ for Sol Campbell.

The former England defender – whose last appearance was at Morecambe in his ill-fated spell at Notts County – is likely to be replaced by Gallas for the Villa game but did enough to prove he still has a Premier League future.

Wenger added: “Sol did very well for a guy who’s not played for five months. He was tired for the last 20 minutes but he looked very fit.

“It was an encouraging performance. I believe he is motivated, he works hard in training and he’s been rewarded for that commitment here.”

Even with Campbell in the team, Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller proved the scourge of Wenger’s men.

Arsenal couldn’t handle the first exocet throw from Stoke’s Rory Delap and when Lukasz Fabianski flapped, Fuller stole ahead of the Poland international to find the net with a close-range header in the second minute.

The Gunners levelled in the 42nd minute through Denilson. Cesc Fabregas played a free kick outside the box across to the Brazilian midfielder and he arrowed a low drive past Thomas Sorensen, with the aid of two deflections.

But Fuller headed in Mamady Sidibe’s cross in the closing stages before Dean Whitehead grabbed the third goal four minutes from time to leave Stoke manager Tony Pulis hoping for a home tie in the fifth round.

Pulis said: “We’ve picked a strong side and I don’t think anybody can question the spirit and togetherness in the dressing room.

“I’m proud of the players and the supporters should be too. We’ve given it a right tilt and it’s gone for us.

“The last thing we wanted was a draw. We’ve got seven games in February so it was very important to get a result.”

STOKE, England (AFP)

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PENDING Gunners face another physical test

January 24, 2010


With the fall-out from William Gallas’s tackle on Bolton’s Mark Davies having barely subsided, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are bracing themselves for another bruising confrontation with Stoke.

The Gunners face Tony Pulis’s side at the Britannia Stadium in the fourth round of the FA Cup, buoyed by their success in knocking Chelsea off the top of the Premier League following the 4-2 victory over Bolton in midweek.

But Arsenal’s achievement in finally reining in the eleven-point deficit that had opened up between themselves and their title rivals at the end of November was overshadowed by Gallas?s ill-judged challenge.

The centre-back escaped punishment during the game but referee Alan Wiley was widely criticised for failing to issue a red card to the defender.

Wenger, though, is anxious to put the matter to rest ahead of the meeting the trip to Stoke where the Frenchman’s side can expect to face another full-on physical test.

“I do not want to develop any paranoia,” said Wenger. “But there was too much made about this incident.

“It was a mistimed challenge but without any intention to harm the player. What is more funny is that, when we get kicked, some people say before the game ‘we know how to play Arsenal, we have to kick them’ and nobody in the whole country is upset by that.

“I am always absolutely amazed that people get away with it. When we get kicked and lose the game, the question I get from the press is ‘oh, you did not fancy that?. But nobody is upset or shocked by it. When we are kicked they find that it is absolutely all right.”

Wenger’s concerns appear to be vindicated by the comments of Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller who made no attempt to disguise the tactics likely to employed by the home side as they attempt to reach the last 16 of the tournament.

“It couldn?t be a better draw, because we did well against them here last year,” said Fuller.

“The Britannia, it’s a like a fortress, and if we do play to our strengths, I don’t think Arsenal can deal with the aggressive play.

“It’s been proved in the past that Chelsea and Bolton have roughed them up and tried to bully them.

“We can also be rough and aggressive when we need to, but we have quality too, and so we can mix it up.”

With Arsenal set to enter the most important phase of their league campaign, Wenger will be extremely cautious about fielding some of his key players.

After this meeting the Gunners face a quartet of fixtures – against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool – that will go a long way towards determining whether they can last the pace in the title race.

Yet while Wenger has no doubt about which is the most important prize at stake, he is also anxious not to suffer a confidence-sapping defeat.

“The Premier League is a priority,” he added. “But to win is the first priority and we want to keep the positive momentum by beating Stoke.

“They are a very difficult side to play against. We need a team that is ready to fight and to play over there so that is why we need some experience in the side.

“We will certainly use the squad. It’s fair to see we will put a team that can get a result but won’t harm our chances at Aston Villa.”

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England (AFP)

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Coyle: ‘I have seen red cards for less’

January 21, 2010


Arsenal defender William Gallas will not face retrospective disciplinary action from the English Football Association following his late tackle on Bolton Wanderers’ Mark Davies.

As the referee Alan Wiley viewed the challenge as two players coming together at the time and so allowed play to continue, no separate disciplinary proceedings can be implemented, as the FA does not re-officiate matches.

Bolton coach Owen Coyle completely disagrees with the FA. “The second goal was the big turning point,” Coyle said. Bolton were 2-1 up when the incident occured. Directly after Gallas’ tackle, Fabregas produced the equaliser. Arsenal then went on to win 4-2.

“Clearly it was a foul, and closer to a red card. It was akin to assault and it changed the game,” the Bolton manager added.

“However, the fact is the referee has not seen it, and the lad is prostrate on the ground, and Arsenal being full of fair play, as we keep hearing, have carried on and scored an equaliser.

“That is hard to take. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses, but I have seen red cards for less.”

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Campbell clears way to Arsenal comeback

January 13, 2010


Sol Campbell is set to complete a surprise return to Arsenal by the end of the week after impressing the club’s backroom staff in a 45-minute runout for the Gunners second string.

Campbell, 35, played the first half of the Arsenal reserves match at West Ham on Tuesday evening and afterwards revealed that he was on the verge of signing until the end of the season for the club he played for between 2001 and 2006, winning two Premier League and three FA Cup trophies.

“I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed playing after being out for so long,” the former England centreback told reporters.

“There are still a few technicalities to iron out but I’m signing for Arsenal until the end of the season and it is fantastic, marvellous.”

Campbell, who has been training at Arsenal for nearly two months, has barely played since the end of last season following his departure from Portsmouth and a subsequent, ill-fated brief stint with fourth tier outfit Notts County.

But he appeared sharp as he made a series of important interventions and his performance earned him an enthusiastic review from Arsenal reserve-team manager Neil Banfield.

“Sol is a fantastic professional,” Banfield said. “He came in and said it was great to be out there playing.

“He’s played with these youngsters before and I’ve got to say he is a first-class professional.”

Banfield said he had never expected Campbell to last longer than 45 minutes. “That was planned to give him a run-out as he hasn’t played in five months,” he said. “We may try and get another fixture for him in the coming weeks so he can get another game.”

With William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen performing well this season, Campbell is being brought back essentially as cover for Arsene Wenger’s first-choice centrebacks.

But his former team-mate, Martin Keown, believes the veteran could play a much more central role in Arsenal’s push to land their first trophy since 2004.

“Without a doubt if he had not shown the right signs, that he was fit and sharp enough, there is no way that Arsenal would have considered it,” Keown said.

“What would have been a concern for them is whether Sol still has the hunger to get back into top level football and he has obviously proved that.”

Keown admitted he was surprised that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had decided to resign a player who left the club under something of a cloud in the wake of his half-time substitution and subsequent walkout in a match against West Ham in February 2006.

The Gunners boss has passed on opportunities to re-sign the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira in the past but Keown believes Campbell can have a significant influence on an Arsenal squad that is short on the experience of winning things.

“I think it is as much to do with what he wants in the dressing room,” Keown added.

“As a young player you need those senior players to help drag you over the line. When you have not won something for a number of years, as is the case for most of that group, you just need to be nurtured. Sol is very good at that.

“And he is very strong and powerful in the air which is maybe something that is missing from the two current central defenders.

“Gallas and Vermaelen are playing very well but without a doubt if you are going to win a championship you need three or four good, top central defenders.

“Sol is a bit like a train: once you start him up and fire him in the right direction he takes a hell of a lot of stopping. They will have a job to get him out of the team if he gets into it.”

LONDON (AFP)

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French Federation backs Domenech

December 19, 2009


The French Football Federation (FFF) on Saturday backed coach Raymond Domenech, shoring up the position of a man decried by many fans after the squad only just crept into the World Cup finals.

“Thank you to Domenech, here present, as in June we would have been in a dreadful state had we not been there (at the World Cup),” said Fernand Duchaussoy, chairman of the amateur league (LFA), at a general assembly meeting.

FFF chairman Jean-Pierre Escalettes insinuated that Domenech had been unfairly targeted after France nudged Ireland out in the play-offs following Thierry Henry’s handball exploits in setting up William Gallas’ winner.

“They slaughtered Thierry Henry and the federation but their target was in fact someone else (Domenech),” asserted Escalettes.

But Domenech remains a controversial figure, who has already survived one vote of confidence following France’s poor showing at Euro 2008.

“There is a time for everything,” said French Professional League (LFP) chairman Frederic Thiriez, after another official, Guy Chambilly, had called for Domenech to go.

“The debate is over – this is the time for unconditional support for the French team,” Thiriez added, with the World Cup now looming.

Escalettes commented laconically that “everyone is free to voice an opinion”.

Domenech is regularly booed when he appears at league games and was in the line of fire once again when it was reported he had received an 826,222-euro bonus for leading the team to South Africa.

The FFF says the actual qualification bonus was only 220,000 euros, with the remainder comprising various match bonuses and image rights.

“The only question is what is the level of this team – good on Saturday then dreadful the following Wednesday (in the two games against the Irish),” Escalettes said.

“Qualification was chaotic but we will not be going to South Africa as victims. I believe in this team, its talented players and its staff.”

PARIS (AFP)

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Handball row left Henry devastated

November 23, 2009


Thierry Henry considered ending his international career following the furore that surrounded his handball against Ireland in the World Cup playoff in Paris last Wednesday.

Speaking to L’Equipe newspaper, the Barcelona striker said that he felt abandoned and alone in the days after the game which saw the French qualify for South Africa on the back of a goal set up by Henry’s sleight of hand.

Asked if he had considered calling time on his international career Henry replied: “Oh yes. On Friday when everything had gone too far.

“I was really upset, and not for the first time. After the World Cup in 2006, I considered that but it was too early.

“After Euro 2008 also but it was not the right moment. There was a new generation who needed me. It just wasn’t possible.

“Despite everything that happened last week, the way I felt abandoned, I will never let my country down.”

Henry freely admitted at the end of the Ireland game that he had used his hand in setting up the French equaliser for William Gallas which was enough to send the Irish crashing out of the tournament in extra time.

That led to calls from Ireland and from some sectors in France for the game to be replayed, but world governing body FIFA ruled out any such eventuality ahead of the World Cup draw which takes place in Cape Town on December 4.

Henry, who himself said it would be best to replay the game, said that he felt great sympathy for the Irish having suffered a similar fate when playing for Arsenal against Liverpool in 2001 FA Cup final.

He did regret having celebrated the goal but said that he had been taken up by the emotion of the moment in what had been a tense encounter.

“I shouldn’t have done that, but quite honestly it was just out of my control,” he said.

“It’s true I regret it and that is why shortly afterwards I went to each Irish player to speak to them. After that we did not celebrate, not even in the dressing rooms.”

Asked if he thought the incident would leave a lasting stain on his career, Henry said. “Quite honestly no. I don’t think that all I have achieved in my career up until now will be bespoiled by this.”

PARIS (AFP)

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Eight out of 10 French give thumbs down to France team

November 23, 2009


France’s controversial qualification for the 2010 World Cup has hit a sour note with the French public, with over eight out of 10 people disapproving according to a poll televised on France 2.

France beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 on aggregate over two legs of a qualifying playoff last Wednesday however a blatant double handball by French captain Thierry Henry proved decisive in the team going to the World Cup.

In an online poll in which 1003 people representative of the country’s demographics were asked on November 20 and 21 several questions about the qualification, eight out of 10 said the team’s qualification was “undeserved”.

Even worse, 88 percent of those polled said that Henry “was wrong” to have controlled the ball with his hand, which led to France scoring the goal that tied the game in extra time and gave them an aggregate victory.

France coach Raymond Domenech, whose job has been in the balance several times in the past two years, was also given short shrift. Seventy-one percent of people “interested in football” said Domenech should be relieved of his duties.

After his double handball Henry passed to William Gallas, who levelled the scores at 1-1 at the Stade de France on Wednesday, thus sending the Republic crashing out.

Henry admitted the blatant error, but stopped short of calling it cheating. He, and the rest of the French delegation, blamed the referee, Sweden’s Martin Hansson, for not spotting the infraction.

PARIS (AFP)

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Ireland admits defeat in World Cup replay bid

November 21, 2009


Ireland has failed in its bid to have their World Cup play-off against France replayed, the Football Association of Ireland recognised in a statement issued on Saturday.

Ireland had appealed to football’s world governing body FIFA and to the French Football Federation (FFF) to have the second leg of the play-off replayed because of Thierry Henry’s handball in the build-up to William Gallas’s decisive extra-time goal.

Both FIFA and the FFF rejected the appeals and FAI chief executive John Delaney on Saturday acknowledged there was nothing else that could be done.

“We regret that despite our best efforts for a replay, which would have restored the integrity of the game in front of a world-wide audience, our calls appear to have fallen on deaf ears at the French Football Federation.

“Without doubt, the credibility of fair play has been damaged by this incident in front of a worldwide audience.

“Despite our deep disappointment, we thank our players, the wonderful Irish fans and the Irish public at large for their support, as well as the solidarity of the French people.

“We will continue to call on FIFA to take action to ensure that such damaging examples of cheating are not allowed to recur.”

DUBLIN (AFP)

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