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Barclays Premier League Review

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:46:00 +0000

The Premier League did not disappoint for drama in its first weekend back. The latest Soccer News of this week is that the Big Four all created some intrigue and raised more questions about themselves than a summer of speculation ever could. But the most surprising result of the weekend was certainly Arsenal’s, a 6-1 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park.

Playing the type of beautiful soccer we knew they were capable of, the Gunners ran riot through the Everton back line and never looked troubled by a side that finished fifth in the league last season. Does it mean that the pundits have badly underestimated Arsenal? Not necessarily. Arsenal’s problems usually come later on, when the long season ravages the squad and weaker sides begin to prey in November and December. Still, Arsene Wenger could not ask for much more to start to the season than a morale-boosting victory like that one. This season, in the Football Betting world, Arsenal's rating has gone down.

After Manchester United edged out Birmingham, 1-0, the questions about how much they will miss Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez followed close behind. But with his first goal of the season, Wayne Rooney showed that he is prepared to shoulder the burden. It may have only been 1-0, but the Reds had a slew of opportunities and are not always known for winning pretty. The way Alex Ferguson saw it, a win was a win. And whether you win 1-0 or 6-1, you get the same three points.

It took Chelsea until the second minute of stoppage time to sneak past Hull 2-1 and it left people still wondering what to make of this team. How long will it take new manager Carlo Ancelotti to really get used to the Premier League? And is this a team that is well enough put together to last the full season?

But perhaps the most shocking result of the weekend was Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat against Tottenham. Liverpool made very few changes to its squad over the summer — the most notable being the offloading of Xabi Alonso — and it could soon come back to bite them. Impressively or not, the rest of the Big Four all did what was required in the first week. Liverpool really can’t afford to start by spotting them all a three-point lead in a season that promises to be highly competitive at the top.

Another result worth noting was Wigan’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, not so much for Wigan’s accomplishment, but rather for a return of harsh reality to Martin O’Neill’s squad. Villa sat in fourth place for much of last season, hoping to edge Arsenal out of the top four, but faded badly down the stretch. Have they still not broken out of that slump?

The beauty of the season’s returning is that we only have to wait until next weekend for the next set of answers but still I can enjoy Fantasy Football for more coming days.

England Is Confident Against Croatia

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:57:00 +0000

Fabio Capello remains full of confidence that England will get a result in Croatia on Wednesday.The Three Lions opened their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with an uninspiring 2-0 win over Andorra, while Croatia were a lot more comfortable as they overcame Kazakhstan 3-0.Now England travel to Zagreb looking to avenge their two defeats against Croatia from the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign."Wednesday will be a difficult game but more exciting. I prefer the difficult games. Saturday against Andorra was a very dangerous game but I like the bigger challenges," said a confident Capello.

"Croatia are playing at home and they have to play forward. They have to try and score goals. They will be strong and the level of the quality of the players will be better and more dangerous."I followed Croatia a lot in the European Championships. They are a good team and, when they play at home, the fans help the players a lot. Their fans are very strong in terms of emotion and passion."But we are good enough to get a result and I have confidence in my team."

Gerrard Will Miss United Clash

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:52:00 +0000

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has ruled himself out of Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester United, live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1.The talismanic midfielder is recovering from a double groin operation which forced him to withdraw from Fabio Capello's squad for England's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia.Having played through the pain barrier as Rafa Benitez's side scraped into the UEFA Champions League group stages with a hard-fought victory over Standard Liege, Gerrard is eager to be 100 per cent fit when he returns.With star striker Fernando Torres also a major doubt for the Anfield encounter after suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa, Benitez could be without two of his key men.

Gerrard told the Liverpool Daily Post: "The United game is too soon."I've a decent chance for the Champions League game in Marseille (on 16th September) but I've spoken to the manager and told him I'd like to do a certain amount of training before I come back."I don't want to go into a big game only having had one session with the boys."There has been criticism from some quarters over the timing of Gerrard's decision, given the impact on the England team, but he is adamant there was no other option as he was in such severe pain.

West Ham Impressed By Italians

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:49:00 +0000

West Ham United non-executive director Mike Lee has revealed that Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Donadoni both 'shone' in interviews for the vacant managerial post at the club.The Hammers are in the process of identifying a new boss following Alan Curbishley's resignation on Wednesday, and have so far whittled their shortlist down to four potential candidates.Zola and Donadoni both impressed club officials while Michael Laudrup, who is reportedly set to be interviewed on Monday, and Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic are among the other contenders for the role.Lee confirmed West Ham hope to make an appointment before next week's trip to the Hawthorns, telling the BBC: "There's no favourite at the moment, we have set up a proper selection process."We have been surprised and pleased by the number of applications we have had and we are moving towards a short shortlist and ideally have a manager in place in time for the West Brom match next week.

Rovers Looking For Dutch Winger

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:47:00 +0000

Blackburn Rovers have handed a trial to Dutch winger Kiran Bechan, skysports.com understands.The 25-year-old is a free agent after leaving Spanish side Hercules in the summer and he has been trying to seal a move to Britain ever since.He has trained with Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Leeds United over the past few weeks, but is now trying his luck with Rovers.Bechan was a free agent before the transfer window closed, meaning he is allowed to seal a permanent deal with any club interested in his services.Ince will now check on Bechan, who began his career with Dutch giants Ajax.

European Giants Looked Flat in First World Cup Qualifiers

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:36:00 +0000

Unconvincing wins for Italy, England, Spain and Portugal were all overshadowed Saturday when France started its attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup with a humbling 3-1 defeat at Austria.While Italy won 2-1 at Cyprus and European Champion Spain beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0, France continued to show the same poor form that brought a surprise first-round exit from Euro 2008 by losing to a team 91 places below it in FIFA's world rankings."Like every other loss, this one hurts," France coach Raymond Domenech said. "We built up lots of pressure but did not convert our chances. It just wasn't going to be today.Philippe Mexes, with an own goal, Rene Aufhauser and Andreas Ivanschitz scored for the home side in Vienna to deal a heavy blow to a France team that faces a tough Serbia team in its next match on Wednesday.

Lithuania took an early lead in Group 7 following a 3-0 win at Romania, while Serbia beat visiting Faeroe Islands 2-0.Italy escaped with victory following an injury-time goal from Antonio Di Natale, while England needed two second-half goals from substitute Joe Cole to earn a 2-0 win at Andorra in Group 6 and end the jeers from their own supporters at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium.Spain, playing its first competitive match since hoisting the European Championship trophy, beat Bosnia through David Villa's 58th-minute strike to extend its unbeaten run to 24 games.

Portugal did better with a 4-0 win at Malta, but that came only after it added three goals in the last 29 minutes after clinging to a first-half own goal for much of the match.Sweden slipped behind Portugal in the race for one of the World Cup places available to the winners of Europe's nine qualifying groups after a disappointing 0-0 draw at Group 1 rival Albania, and Hungary held visiting Denmark to a 0-0 draw.Lukas Podolski scored twice to lead Euro 2008 runner-up Germany to a 6-0 rout of Liechtenstein and the top of Group 4. Wales beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in the other group match.

In the other Group 6 games, England's next foe, Croatia, beat Kazakhstan 3-0 and Ukraine beat Belarus 1-0.Belgium beat Estonia 3-2 in Spain's Group 5, and Turkey won 2-0 at lowly Armenia with second-half goals from Tuncay Sanli and Semih Senturk.Greece took early charge of Group 2 when Vasileios Torosidis, Fanis Gekas and Angelos Charisteas scored in an easy 3-0 win at tiny Luxembourg, while Latvia won 2-1 at Moldova, and Israel rallied from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with visiting Switzerland.Montenegro was denied victory in its first ever World Cup qualifier when Bulgaria substitute Blagoi Georgiev scored in the final minute to earn his team a 2-2 draw, while Ireland won 2-1 at Georgia in Group 8.

The Netherlands lost a friendly 2-1 to visiting Australia but Scotland missed a valuable opportunity to put early pressure on the Group 9 favourites when it lost 1-0 at Macedonia. Iceland twice rallied to draw 2-2 at Norway in the same group.In Group 3, Slovakia beat Northern Ireland 2-1 and Poland drew 1-1 with Slovenia.In South America, Paraguay held Argentina 1-1 to stay on top of qualifying with 14 points, two ahead of Argentina.

An own-goal by Gabriel Heinze in the 11th minute put Argentina in a hole early, and the home side was forced to play a man down for the last hour when striker Carlos Tevez was expelled for a hard foul on Dario Veron.In CONCACAF qualifying, the United States hung on to win its first soccer game in Cuba since 1947, beating the hosts 1-0 in a sloppy, sleepy World Cup qualifier in Havana.Clint Dempsey scored late in the second half and Tim Howard made two key saves to give the United States its third straight road win in qualifying from the North and Central American and Caribbean region.Guatemala scored late to draw with Trinidad and Tobago, and Ramon Nunez scored twice for Honduras in a 2-1 victory over Canada.El Salvador beat Haiti 5-0, and Costa Rica routed Suriname 7-0.

In Asian qualifying, Japan held on to beat host Bahrain 3-2 in Manama after leading by three goals in its opening match of Asia's final round of World Cup qualifying on Saturday.Japan is one of the favourites to advance from Group A, which also contains Australia, Qatar and Uzbekistan. The top two from each group gain automatic berths to the World Cup, while the two third-place finishers face off for the right to meet the Oceania winner for one spot.In other Asian games, it was North Korea 2, United Arab Emirates 1; Iran 1, Saudi Arabia 1; and Qatar 3, Uzbekistan 0.

In African qualifying, Chad beat Sudan 2-1 in a match scheduled for May 31 but postponed after an attack on the Sudanese capital of Khartoum by a Darfur rebel group. Sudan severed diplomatic relations with Chad briefly, but the countries resumed relations at the end of July and FIFA arranged for both qualifiers to be played in Cairo, Egypt.Nigeria beat South Africa 1-0 in a 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier Saturday, with Ike Uche scoring in the 69th minute.South Africa, which as host automatically gets a berth in the World Cup in 2010, needed a win to qualify for the African Nations Cup. The continental tournament will be played in 2010 in Angola without Bafana Bafana.In other African qualifiers it was: Cameroon 2, Cape Verde Islands 1; Rwanda 1, Mauritania 0; Kenya 1, Namibia 0; Sierra Leone 2, Equatorial Guinea 1; and Gambia 3, Liberia 0; and Burkina Faso 0, Tunisia 0.

Brazil Beat Chile By 3-0

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:31:00 +0000

Brazil eased the pressure on coach Dunga and boosted their World Cup qualifying hopes with a 3-0 win over Chile.Two goals from Luis Fabiano and another from Manchester City new boy Robinho gave Brazil a morale-boosting victory and move them into second spot in qualifying level with Argentina.Brazil broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when Fabiano headed home Ronaldinho's free-kick.Ronaldinho wasted a great chance to double Brazil's lead soon after when he saw his penalty superbly saved by Chile keeper Claudio Bravo.

Brazil did grab a second a minute before the break when Robinho collected a pass from Fabiano and beat Bravo with a shot from the edge of the box.The visitors suffered a blow two minutes after the break when Kleber was sent off for a second bookable offence.However, Chile were reduced to 10 men just past the hour mark when midfielder Jorge Valdivia was dismissed for a dangerous tackle on Fabiano.Brazil wrapped the game up seven minutes from time when Fabiano turned Gary Medel inside the box and squeezed his shot through the legs of Bravo.

Manchester City Clinch Robinho Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:56:00 +0000

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £32.5million.Robinho has accepted a move to the City of Manchester Stadium having previously expressed a wish to join Chelsea.The Brazilian had been looking to leave Real Madrid after being disappointed by the lack of a new contract at the Bernabeu.At a press conference held in Madrid on Sunday, Robinho reiterated his desire to leave Real in order to sign for Chelsea.

Real, who had rejected several bids from Chelsea over the summer, were reluctant to allow the forward to move to Stamford Bridge.However, City's record-breaking offer persuaded Real to sell and Robinho has signed a four-year contract with the cash-rich club.City boss Mark Hughes, who had also been trying to sign Dimitar Berbatov, could not contain his delight at clinching a swoop for the 24-year-old.

"I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho," Hughes told the club's official website."I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world."I am really looking forward to introducing him to the rest of the squad, and to the City fans at the earliest opportunity."This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City Football Club."

Xisco and Gonzalez Move to St James' Park

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:51:00 +0000

Newcastle United have confirmed the double signing of striker Xisco and midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez.Xisco has arrived at St James' Park from Deportivo La Coruna and Gonzalez has pitched up on Tyneside from Valencia.Spain Under 21 international Xisco has agreed a five-year contract at Newcastle to boost Kevin Keegan's attacking options.He impressed for Deportivo last season, having spent the previous campaign on loan at UC Vecindario in the second division.Uruguay international Gonzalez has moved to Newcastle just weeks after linking up with Valencia from Danubio.Gonzalez had signed a four-year contract with Valencia, but has been allowed to spend the season in the Premier League.Magpies boss Keegan had been hoping to add to his squad before the transfer window closed, with Xisco the second Deportivo player to join the club following the capture of Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini.

Man United Gets Dimitar Berbatov at Last

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:49:00 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson admits Manchester United tried to sign Dimitar Berbatov two years ago.Berbatov completed an expected move to Old Trafford from Tottenham Hotspur just before the close of the transfer window on Monday.The Bulgarian has signed a four-year contract with the champions and admits his switch to United is 'a dream come true'.However, he could have become a United player in 2006 after Ferguson confirmed he rivalled Spurs for his signature from Bayer Leverkusen.

Spurs stumped up almost £11million to snare Berbatov from Bayer, with Ferguson admitting the Red Devils moved too late for the 27-year-old.Ferguson is now delighted to have landed the striker and is confident he will justify the £30.75million United have paid to Tottenham.
"We tried to get him when he was at Bayer Leverkusen, but we only had a few days to get the deal done," Ferguson told MUTV."Tottenham had already made a bid. Unfortunately, we hadn't moved at the right time two years ago."Now we've managed to get him. It's cost us a bit more money, but he's worth it."

Premier League :Everton Hammered By Portsmouth

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:28:00 +0000

Portsmouth picked up their first win of the season against Everton, while Arsenal beat Newcastle and Hull suffered their first defeat at home to Wigan.Blackburn also lost their unbeaten record against West Ham, Middlesbrough saw off Stoke and Bolton played out a goalless draw with West Brom.Arsenal turned in a disappointing display as they lost to Fulham last week but they bounced back in style with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle.Robin van Persie was the star of the show in the first half as he scored from the penalty spot after Charles N'Zogbia's handball and then added a second just before the break to round off a flowing move.The Gunners continued to sparkle after the interval and Denilson struck in the 59th minute to take Arsene Wenger's men to second in the table behind Chelsea.

Portsmouth ended a run of six successive defeats stretching back to last season as they defeated Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park.Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe's partnership clicked for the first time as the former Liverpool striker headed on a long throw after 12 minutes and his diminutive team-mate turned expertly before firing past Tim Howard.Everton threatened a comeback before Defoe turned provider for Glen Johnson five minutes before the break, the right-back showing great composure to score with the outside of his boot.Everton had an opportunity to reduce their deficit early in the second half when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Johnson on James Vaughan, but David James saved Yakubu Aiyegbeni's spot-kick magnificently.

Pompey secured all three points with a third goal on 69 minutes as Defoe netted with a delightful chip.Hull were brought back down to earth after a bright start to the season as Wigan turned in an impressive performance to crush them 5-0 at the KC Stadium.Wigan were gifted their first goal after just five minutes when Kevin Kilbane's corner was sliced into his own net by Sam Ricketts.Hull managed to battle back after falling behind in their opening two matches, but they found themselves 2-0down after just 13 minutes when the Latics launched a swift counter-attack resulting in a cool finish from Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia.Steve Bruce's side had to wait until the second half to add to their lead, with Amr Zaki scoring from the edge of the area on 63 minutes and Emile Heskey then seizing on a mistake by Wayne Brown four minutes later.

Zaki completed the rout on 81 minutes with another thunderous strike which crashed in off the underside of the bar.Paul Ince, returning to West Ham for the first time as a manager, tasted defeat for the first time this season as his Blackburn side lost 4-1 at Upton Park.West Ham surged into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes and held off a Blackburn fightback to ease the pressure on manager Alan Curbishley.Callum Davenport rose highest at a corner to head home after 12 minutes and Christopher Samba put through his own net eight minutes later as he attempted to clear Dean Ashton's shot.Jason Roberts kept up his fine early season goal to pull one back for Blackburn just moments later with a neat strike past Robert Green.

The drama continued at the start of the second half as Green pulled off a superb save to deny Roberts from the penalty spot following Carlton Cole's handball.The Hammers were then given an added cushion when substitute Craig Bellamy netted in the 90th minute and Cole gave the scoreline a flattering look with a last-gasp fourth.Middlesbrough returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over ten-man Stoke at The Riverside.The key moment of the game came in the 36th minute when Amdy Faye was given a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Mohamed Shawky.Boro capitalised on their numerical advantage just 60 seconds later when Afonso Alves curled a sublime free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards for his first goal of the season.

The home team began to dominate proceedings but Stewart Downing squandered the chance to make it 2-0 as his penalty hit the crossbar following a foul by Seyi Olofinjana on Alves.Stoke equalised against the run of play on 71 minutes when summer signing Justin Hoyte inadvertently knocked the ball past his own goalkeeper under pressure from Dave Kitson to mark his full debut in the worst possible fashion.Boro snatched a winner five minutes from time when Didier Digard's attempted shot fell into the path of Tuncay Sanli and the Turk stabbed the ball home.

Bolton and West Brom were both humbled by League One sides in the Carling Cup in midweek and neither side showed much form as they drew 0-0 at the Reebok Stadium.James Morrison almost netted for the Baggies in the first half but his curling effort from 20 yards was acrobatically saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen.West Brom also came closest to breaking the deadlock in the second half when Do-Heon Kim rattled the crossbar, while Bolton were denied by the assistant referee's flag when Kevin Davies' goal was correctly disallowed for offside.The result leaves West Brom on one point and one of only two teams in the league yet to win this season.Bottom-of-the-table Tottenham will hope to climb above the Baggies when they take on Chelsea on Sunday.

Pavlyuchenko Completes Spurs Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:25:00 +0000

Russia international striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has signed a five-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur.The 26-year-old jetted in for talks with the White Hart Lane outfit at the weekend after a €17million (£14million) was agreed with Spartak Moscow for his services.Spurs have been keen to bolster their attack following Robbie Keane's exit to Liverpool, although they are likely to still be in the market, possibly for Andrei Arshavin, if Dimitar Berbatov joins Manchester United before the close of the transfer window.

However, they have brought in one new face in the shape of Pavlyuchenko, who could now make his Premier League debut against Aston Villa on 15th September following the upcoming set of World Cup qualifiers.Pavlyuchenko, who has been capped 22 times by Russia, began his career with FC Dinamo Stavropol before moving to FC Rotor Volgograd in the top flight in 2000.He switched to Spartak Moscow in 2003 and topped the goalscoring charts in Russia's Premier League in 2006 and 2007.

Primera Liga :Barcelona Stunned By Numancia

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:19:00 +0000

Barcelona were surprisingly beaten by newly-promoted Numancia and reigning champions Real Madrid slipped up at Deportivo as Spanish football returned in earnest on Sunday.Meanwhile, there were comprehensive victories for Almeria and Atletico Madrid and dropped points by Sevilla and Villarreal.The dismissal of Frank Rijkaard over the summer, coupled with a host of big-money signings, was supposed to signal the start of a new dawn at Barcelona, but that theory came crashing down as the Catalan giants suffered an embarrassing 1-0 reversal at Numancia.

New coach Pep Guardiola fielded his strongest possible side at Los Pajaritos but saw Mario snatch a 13th minute winner for the hosts.Real Madrid looked a shadow of the side which claimed the crown last year as they slumped 2-1 at Deportivo La Coruna.Miguel Mista put the home side ahead on 27 minutes, with Depor holding that slender advantage until shortly after the interval.Deadly Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy then found an equaliser on 47 minutes, but Alberto Lopo broke Real hearts with what proved to be the decider just five minutes later.

Last season's runners-up Villarreal fared marginally better in an action-packed opener against Osasuna.The Yellow Submarines took a point in a 1-1 draw, but the game was marred by a dismissal from both sides.Villarreal took the lead nine minutes into the second half when Marcos Senna grabbed a rare goal, before Manuel Pellegrini's side saw Diego Leal sent-off for a professional foul on 68 minutes.Javad Nekounam levelled the scores with the resulting spot-kick, only to then see their numerical advantage disappear as Bejunartea Miguel Flano saw red 12 minutes from time.

Atletico Madrid were the big winners of the night, easing to comfortable 4-0 victory over Primera Liga new-boys Malaga.Sergio Aguero got the capital club up and running with a 26th minute effort and Diego Forlan doubled their lead 12 minutes later.The Uruguayan striker then grabbed his second of the game from the penalty spot a minute before half-time.With the result never in doubt, former Liverpool front-man Florent Sinama-Pongolle completed the scoring with a fourth nine minutes from time.Sevilla are expected to be among the title challengers this season but got their campaign underway with a 1-1 draw away at Racing Santander.Luis Fabiano put the visitors ahead on 71 minutes but Juan Juanjo grabbed an equaliser five minutes later, having only stepped off the bench 60 seconds earlier.

Almeria cruised to a 3-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao, with the game all but settled inside an hour.Hernan Pellerano (7), Alvaro Negrado (33) and Juan Manuel Ortiz (50) got the goals for Gonzalo Arconada's side.Ion Velez did pull one back for the hosts on 56 minutes but the substitute's strike proved to be no more than a consolation.Recreativo Huelva also began their season with success on the road as they saw off Real Betis 1-0 in Andalucia.Perez Adrian Colunga got the only goal of the game on 36 minutes to hand Recre all three points.Getafe left it late to claim a 2-1 victory at Sporting Gijon, with their winner coming just four minutes before the end.Juan Albin gave the Madrid-based outfit a 14th minute lead, only to see Gimenez Diego Castro level matters 10 minutes before the break.However, it would Javier Casquero who had the last word as he struck with time running out.

Bullard In England Squad

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:18:00 +0000

Fabio Capello has included Fulham's Jimmy Bullard in his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.England are set to begin the road to South Africa with a double-header against Andorra and Croatia on 6th and 10th September respectively.Bullard has never previously been mentioned as an international midfield option but, with established stars such as Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Manchester United duo Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick sidelined, he has been handed a shock opportunity to prove what he is capable of.There is no place in the 23-man party for Newcastle's Michael Owen despite his goal scoring exploits this term, while Portsmouth's Peter Crouch is another who misses out.Wigan's Emile Heskey retains his place in the squad and West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green returns from the international wilderness.

Inter Agree Quaresma Fee

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:15:00 +0000

Porto have announced that they have reached an agreement to sell Ricardo Quaresma to Inter Milan.The deal for Quaresma brings to an end a lengthy transfer saga and the fee could rise to as much as €25million (£20million) depending upon the winger's performances over the next three years.Portugal international Quaresma is to undergo a medical at Giuseppe Meazza on Monday morning before putting pen-to-paper on a reported four-year contract.A statement on Porto's official website read: "Porto has reached an agreement with Inter Milan for the transfer of professional footballer Ricardo Quaresma."Inter's Portuguese midfielder Pele will move in the opposite direction as part of the transfer.Quaresma's switch to Italy had looked in doubt after Inter president Massimo Moratti recently announced the club did not need Quaresma, but it now appears set to be completed.

Newcastle Agree Xisco Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:12:00 +0000

Newcastle are reported to have agreed a deal to sign Deportivo La Coruna striker Xisco.Deportivo have claimed that they have accepted a £5.7million fee with Newcastle for the Spain Under 21 international.Xisco has been linked with Aston Villa, but appears Newcastle have stolen a march on their Premier League rivals by luring the 22-year-old to St James' Park.The highly-rated striker has scored 12 goals in 44 games for Deportivo and he will link up with former team-mate Fabricio Coloccini on Tyneside.Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan has been looking for a new forward to bolster his attack and he will be hoping to tie up a deal for Xisco before the close of the transfer window on midnight on Monday.

Spurs Seal Corluka Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:06:00 +0000

Tottenham have announced the signing of Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka.Corluka's move to White Hart Lane has been mooted for some time and now the deal has been finalised.The Croatia international came close to a move to Tottenham last month only for City to call him back to Eastlands at the last minute.Following City's decision to pull the plug on the deal, the right-back handed in a transfer request in a bid to make the move.City's signing of Pablo Zabaleta has enabled them to let Corluka move on and he joins compatriot Luka Modric at Spurs.Corluka admitted he was delighted to be making the move to Tottenham and linking up with his Croatia team-mate."I am delighted to be here because I am coming to a big club with great players, great ambition and also my best friend [Luka Modric] is here so it is a very happy day for me," Corluka told the club's official website.

City Sealed Zabaleta Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Manchester City have completed the signing of Pablo Zabaleta from Espanyol for an undisclosed fee.The Argentine defender has agreed a five-year contract at City after successfully coming through a medical.Zabaleta is delighted to have secured a move to the Premier League and has also been impressed by City boss Mark Hughes."I am very happy to come here and play in the Premier League," Zabaleta told the club's official website."Playing in England has been a lifelong dream which has finally come true by moving to City."

Of Hughes, Zabaleta added: "I'd met him previously and was really impressed with him, but having talked to him about Manchester City I had to come here and be part of his plans. "I'm very confident of helping the first team to achieve their goals for the season and after walking around the stadium I can't wait to play in front of the City fans there. It is very impressive."Zabaleta won a gold medal at the Olympic Games earlier this month and Hughes was happy to follow up the capture of Shaun Wright-Phillips by bringing in the full-back.

Hughes said: "We feel the addition of Pablo is another great signing for Manchester City."He's young and a winner, with an Olympic gold medal to prove that, but more so he will provide us with great balance in the side."I'm very happy to bring him here and hopefully we can get a good result at Sunderland to round off what has been a very satisfactory week indeed for us."

Vidic Backs Strike Duo to Click

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:59:00 +0000

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is tipping Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe to be a potent partnership for Portsmouth this season.Vidic comes up against the pair in Monday's Premier League clash at Fratton Park - a match you can see live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm.Both sides are eager to get back to winning ways with Portsmouth still smarting after a four-goal hammering at Chelsea last weekend while United need a victory after being held at Old Trafford by Newcastle.And Vidic thinks Defoe can strike up a productive partnership with £11million new boy Crouch.

"I have a lot of respect for Crouch and Defoe," he said."They are good players and will score a lot of goals this year, especially at home."Crouch is tall and wins most things in the air and Defoe is very quick around the box. He is a sharp player who makes problems for defenders."But as defenders we are here to deal with situations like that."We know who we are playing against so we need to prepare properly because it is very important we get the three points."Vidic is anxious the champions but the home draw with Newcastle behind them."No-one is happy about last week's result," reflected Vidic."We have started badly but it is a long season and we have plenty of time to put it right."It will not be easy. Portsmouth will want to show they are not as bad as they looked last week. But we will be ready."

Bundesliga : Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt Drawn Their Matches

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:55:00 +0000

Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt battled back for draws against Bochum and Cologne respectively.Wolfsburg could have gone top alongside surprise leaders Hoffenheim with success against Bochum, but will be pleased with a point after claiming a 2-2 draw.Bochum were coasting to victory at one stage courtesy of an early opener from Stanislav Sestak before Christoph Dabrowski added a second shortly after half time.

However, Ricardo Costa pulled one back within minutes with Mahir Saglik completing the comeback with 21 minutes left to play.Elsewhere, Cologne picked up their first point of the season, although they will feel they could and should have picked up all three at home to Frankfurt.Milivoje Novakovic broke the deadlock on 33 minutes and the home side held that lead until nine minutes from time before Martin Fenin snatched a late share of the spoils.Cologne should have doubled their advantage shortly before half-time, but Roda Antar missed from the penalty spot, a goal that may well have dashed Frankfurt's hopes.

City Beats 10-man Hammers

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:52:00 +0000

Manchester City made the most of their numerical advantage as they saw off West Ham 3-0 at Eastlands.Mark Noble saw the first red card of the 2008/09 Premier League season, before Daniel Sturridge and a brace from Elano allowed Mark Hughes' men to ease home.The Hammers rode their luck during an eventful first half, with Calum Davenport slicing onto his own crossbar and Martin Petrov striking the upright with a 25-yard free-kick.However, the major talking of the opening period came eight minutes before the break when Noble was given his marching orders.

A needless handball saw the midfielder shown a yellow card just after the half-hour mark, before a reckless challenge on Michael Johnson saw him dismissed just five minutes later.City felt hard done by after seeing a decent penalty shout waved away as the half drew to a close, while the opening to the second 45 minutes did little to improve their mood.The sight of England international Micah Richards being carried off on a stretcher will concern all connected with the Blues.However, their afternoon came good on 65 minutes when Sturridge made Matthew Upson pay for his sloppy clearance when he fired into the roof of the net.Brazilian playmaker Elano then doubled the advantage when he found the bottom corner five minutes later, before wrapping up the points on 76 minutes when he coolly dispatched Stephen Ireland's pinpoint cross from the right.

Real Close on Musacchio

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:49:00 +0000

Real Madrid are closing on a deal to sign River Plate starlet Mateo Musacchio.The 17-year-old, who is regarded as one of the brightest talents in South America, is keen on plying his trade in Europe.River will meet with Real's officials in Madrid on Monday to thrash out the terms of the deal, believed to be $4million (£2.16m).River's director Hector Grinberg has confirmed Real are leading the chase for the promising defender, although he is reluctant to divulge details until the contracts are signed."The kid wants to play in Europe and Real Madrid is the best offer, but we do not want to reveal any more details until the end of the negotiations," explained Grinberg.

Ramos Urges Berbatov Closure

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:48:00 +0000

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has called for a swift resolution to the uncertainty over Dimitar Berbatov's future.The Bulgaria striker was left out of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sunderland after it was decided he was in the wrong frame of mind to play amid interest from Manchester United.And with just a week to go until the transfer window closes, Ramos has called for the saga to be brought to an end as quickly as possible so that he can bring in a replacement."We need to get this matter resolved before the transfer deadline," he said."If Berbatov goes, we will need time to sign a replacement. We want to have the best centre forward we can possibly get."Spurs have lost both their opening Premier Legaue games while uncertainty surrounds Berbatov's future.

Chelsea Climbs Top Of Premier League Table

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:46:00 +0000

Chelsea climbed to the summit of the Premier League table with a 1-0 victory at Wigan.Deco followed up his supreme performance against Portsmouth last week by scoring the decisive goal with a sublime free-kick after just four minutes.Wigan responded well and Amr Zaki twice forced Petr Cech into action as Luiz Felipe Scolari's side struggled to find their fluency before half-time.Chelsea continued to labour after the break but Wigan tired and could not force an equaliser.

The Latics remain without a point following their defeat to West Ham on the opening day of the season, while the Blues have two wins out of two and are yet to concede a goal.Wigan were forced into a late change after goalkeeper Chris Kirkland injured his back in the pre-match warm-up.Kirkland's late withdrawal saw Mike Pollitt promoted to the starting XI, while Titus Bramble was also handed a recall in place of key defender Paul Scharner who was not in the squad.

An early mix-up between Deco and Michael Ballack gave the hosts a chance to break clear but Wilson Palacios lacked support and the danger soon passed.It was the only chance Wigan got before former Barcelona star Deco fired Chelsea in front with an inch-perfect free-kick.Lee Cattermole was penalised just outside the box and, with just three minutes on the clock, Deco curled the ball past a helpless Pollitt.To their credit, the Latics hit back hard. First Palacios and then Zaki forced Cech into smart saves at his near post, while Antonio Valencia was stretched just too far as he attempted to strike a loose ball from 18 yards.