It's in the game.......

Manchester City has a dream

2008-12-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

After the derby match with United, it seems that Manchester City is even more determine to make it BIG this time around, by bringing in superstars.
And if the rumours were indeed real, then it indeed spell danger for the rest of the giants. While Red Devils manage to keep City at their place, it is only a matter of time before the new boss of City splash his cash to make a big impact on the Premier League.

The Independent says the Abu Dhabu United Group are determined to land a "world superstar" by the time January finishes. Kaka and Lionel Messi lead the list, closely followed by Fernando Torres, Carlos Tevez, Samuel Eto'o and even Cristiano Ronaldo.

It is suggested that the new proprietors would be willing to pay upwards of £70m for a new star to play alongside Robinho, who they signed for £32m in September.

This free-spending policy will be the next stage in a bid to establish City as a suitable destination for the game's top names.

A source, supposedly close to the discussions, said: ""They are going for a big player. If they really want to be a big club and move to a new level they need to get a big player in and that would mean one of Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo or Tevez, because of his availability. Unless a player like that can be signed then it will be a struggle and the sooner it is done the better, which means trying to do so in January. Then others will follow."

Manager Mark Hughes also has a wish-list for less starred names, which include Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge, Lassana Diarra and Benfica's Luisao. Other big-name targets are Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Valencia striker David Villa but these are believed to be assigned as summer purchases.

The owners have looked at how Chelsea, in the early years of Roman Abramovich's purchase, went about signing players such as Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo and Adrian Mutu rather than concentrating on one or two superstars. City believe that strategy has, ultimately, proved wasteful and sense they can make a bigger impact by signing a big name.

Liverpool wasted it...good for Manchester United and the Gunners...

2008-12-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

Liverpool again wasted a chance to take a commanding lead at the top of the Premier League as brave West Ham forced a goalless draw at Anfield.

It is 45 years since they have won at this stadium, so this first point in nine years at Liverpool was a fine achievement.

West Ham have never been known for their defensive reliability at Liverpool, but they were magnificent as they stretched an unbeaten run to three games.

At the back goalkeeper Robert Green, England defender Matthew Upson and Welshman James Collins stood defiant.

And another Welshman, former Liverpool man Craig Bellamy, came close to breaking the deadlock with a 30-yard shot which crashed against a post.

Liverpool are back on top of the table, but by only one point, and this disappointing display follows hot on the heels of an identical result achieved by Fulham here in the previous home league game.

Liverpool dominated, but West Ham repelled the waves of attacks as they grabbed a crucial point in their own battle for survival.

Liverpool called in veteran defender Sami Hyypia and former West Ham winger Yossi Benayoun, keen to take advantage of Chelsea's defeat by Arsenal 24 hours earlier.

Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena replaced the injured pair Fernando Torres and Fabio Aurelio, with Daniel Agger and Javier Mascherano rested to the bench.

West Ham, without a win at Anfield since 1963, brought in Hayden Mullins in midfield for ankle injury victim Lee Bowyer, in the only change from the side that won at Sunderland last time out.

Mark Noble returned to the Hammers bench after a knee injury, while Diego Tristan made his first appearance in the squad since he joined on trial two months ago.

Liverpool had two early penalty appeals turned down by referee Peter Walton when both Benayoun and then Dirk Kuyt drove the ball at Herita Ilunga from close range.

West Ham had looked nervy, and after 14 minutes Green raced from his line to punch weakly away. The ball fell to Albert Riera whose shot was blocked in the six-yard box by James Collins.

Then from a right-wing corner, Hyypia rose to head narrowly over the bar. The Liverpool pressure increased and Mullins was booked after 19 minutes when he tripped Benayoun in full flow.

Two minutes later another header from Hyypia was kicked off the line by Ilunga.

West Ham's only shot until this point had been a weak long-range effort from Julien Faubert, scooped up by Jose Reina.

But Liverpool kept plugging away, showing the sort of patience in such situations that Benitez called for after the stalemate against Fulham nine days earlier.

Steven Gerrard worked his way in from the right and fired into the sidenetting, before Bellamy - on his return to Anfield after moving to West Ham 17 months ago - almost broke the deadlock.

Bellamy picked up possession and unleashed a fine, swerving drive which crashed against Reina's right-hand post and bounced across goal to safety.

Then Green made a fine point-blank save from Kuyt's header following Xabi Alonso's corner, two minutes from the break.

Kuyt and Keane both saw shots go wide as Liverpool opened the second half on the attack. But Bellamy was still a danger for West Ham, and after running past Hyypia he was body-checked by Alonso, the Spaniard being booked.

Then Green produced a stunning save to turn over a Benayoun drive, before Alonso volleyed fiercely over from a squared Gerrard free-kick.

Four minutes later the ineffective Keane was replaced by French striker David Ngog.

West Ham fancied their chances, breaking out of defence after 67 minutes and winning a corner. And when Bellamy curled it towards the near post, Carlton Cole headed inches wide.

Liverpool then sent on Ryan Babel for Riera after 78 minutes, with West Ham by that stage hanging on as the pressure mounted.

Hyypia headed just wide from a Gerrard corner, the Kop behind Green's goal demanding that Liverpool attack more.

West Ham sent on Luis Boa Morte for Faubert with six minutes of regulation time left.

Green then produced another fine save from a close-range Kuyt effort following Gerrard's deep cross.

Bellamy and Parker created a chance for Boa Morte on the break, but he sliced his effort wide. Babel then broke to see a shot deflected over.

Upson pleased for Zola Matthew Upson believed Gianfranco Zola was beginning to get his rewards after West Ham ground out a 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.He told Setanta Sport: "It's a massive result: it's another clean sheet and perhaps at the end we could have nicked something."He (Zola) stuck to his beliefs: he had had a bit of pressure to change things."He has got us more organised and drilled and started to change things."I'm very happy here at the moment, the team are doing well, I've just got to take each game as it comes."Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy hit the post with a long-range shot in the first half and he also rued the side's inability to convert their chances."I'd love to see Liverpool win every game for the rest of the season apart from when we play them. I'm West Ham now," he said."We tried to make it frustrating for them and also had decent opportunities."It's very difficult to get a result here because they have great players. But maybe we could have got a goal at the end."

Berbatov is back?

2008-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Berbatov has returned to training after a hamstring injury but Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is still to decide how to use him in Sunday's derby clash with Manchester City.

The Red Devils' record £30.75million signing has missed the last two games after reporting back from international duty with a minor problem picked up against Serbia.

He was able to join his team-mates for the latter part of the training session on Thursday morning, putting him in contention to face Mark Hughes' side at Eastlands.

But Ferguson has vowed not to take any chances with the former Spurs striker and will assess his fitness over the next 72 hours.

''Dimitar started training today but hamstring injuries are never easy to deal with,'' said the United boss. ''We have to be careful because he has never had one before.

''We will have to gauge whether it is wise to use him from the start on Sunday or better to have him on the bench. It really depends how he comes through the next couple of days.''

Ferguson also confirmed veteran duo Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were back in training.

Neville has been struggling with a groin injury, although he might face City, but Scholes - who had a knee operation after the Champions League trip to Aalborg on September 29 - is more likely to be held back until the return meeting with the Danes in a fortnight.

Meanwhile, Ferguson has insisted Manchester United are ready to tackle head on any challenge from their super-rich neighbours.

After buying Brazilian forward Robinho for a British record transfer fee of 32.5 million pounds ($50.18 million) in August, City are poised to try and make more major signings in the January transfer window, but the United boss is ready for the challenge.

"It was an immediate impact and what we had to do was sit back and accept this challenge," Ferguson said.

"We experienced it with Chelsea when (Roman) Abramovich came in and bought all those players that summer and they won the league in the next two years," Ferguson told reporters.

"The one thing you can say about this club is that it can accept a challenge and do something about it and we had to do something about it or we would be second for ever more.

"We accepted it and fortunately we have won the last two leagues."

Ferguson also said his major focus remained on Chelsea and leaders Liverpool as third-placed United look to make up an eight-point deficit and stay in contention for a hat-trick of titles.

"There may be a different focus (on the derby) this time with the prospect Mark Hughes has got of money available and buying so many players in January, but that doesn't change our side of it," he said.

"That's the future: how Mark Hughes uses the money and how he shapes his team. At the moment our threats are still Chelsea and Liverpool, who are sitting above us."

Good news for Azzurris....

2008-11-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

will there be a repeat of such triumph?

Italy coach Marcello Lippi claims his record-equalling run of results would be meaningless if he had not won the World Cup two years ago.

The Azzurri's 1-1 draw in Greece on wednesday saw Lippi equal the world record of 31 consecutive international games without defeat set by former Spain coach Javier Clemente and ex-Argentina boss Alfio Basile.

Lippi also bettered Vittorio Pozzo's unbeaten run, but the 60-year-old has his eyes set on one of the former Italy coach's other records - leading Italy to back-to-back World Cups.

"Let it be clear," said Lippi. "Pozzo did something incomparable by winning two World Cups. Or should I say, we can equal him if a miracle happens. There, now that would be a record.

Such joy back then....will the Azzurris be strong enough to maintain their title....Lippi certainly wants to achieve that success!!

"I'll continue my run of unbeaten results, but I am happy to have won the World Cup, to have achieved 30 or 31 results without having won anything wouldn't have mattered.

"Among that run there is a World Cup won and and an attempt to build a squad which seems to me to be going well."

But recently, the Italian isn't as promising as they did two years back. And they certainly need fresh blood!!

Arsenal, uncertainty!!

2008-11-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

Arsenal has been one of the most interesting football side last season, with their fashionable style and youngsters all out to wrestle the League title from the Red Devils and yet it seem while they were so close, they don't have the enough momentum to keep going until the end of the season. As usual, a new season means a new hope for the Gunners but with Arsene Wenger sticking to his youngsters, it seems that there need to be more changes with the Gunners struggling this season to be consistent.
And now the latest news: William Gallas yet again prove to be a doubt as a leader for Arsenal.
Arsenal skipper William Gallas has revealed rifts in the dressing room undermining the club's current campaign and has suggested his team-mates have been unsettled by one member of the squad.

Gallas has called Arsene Wenger's side ''not brave enough in battle'' and has urged them to fight to revive a season that has already included four Premier League defeats.

The 31-year-old also claims that some of his team-mates have approached him to complain about one member of the squad. Gallas would not reveal the player's identity but revealed the team-mate to be six years younger than him.

"There are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated," Gallas said on the Times website. "When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player ... complaining about him ... and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us.

"There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen. I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking all the blame. It's very frustrating. I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me.

"There was a problem at half-time at Tottenham.The only thing that I could say at half-time was 'Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.'"

Gallas also believes the youngsters emerging into Arsene Wenger's team lack the stomach required to cope with physical matches and fears that lack of fortitude could shatter their already faint title hopes.

"We are not brave enough in battle," Gallas said. "I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors. There are teams who can do it well against us, and we have to be able to face up to these attacks.

"We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal."

Gallas has yet to win a trophy since moving to Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea in 2006 and the Gunners are nine points behind league leaders Chelsea are losing four matches already this season.

The centre-back is growing increasingly frustrated by the team's failure to challenge for silverware.

"I have to win something this year. I have to win something, Arsenal has to win something," Gallas said. "It's four or five years since Arsenal won anything. That's nearly five years, and that's not good.

"For me the title is not over, it's true that we are nine points behind Chelsea, but you have to be optimistic and you can't give up.

"Four defeats is a lot, but it's a long season. I think it will be very tight this year and we will have to hope that Chelsea draw a few games and have a few defeats."

I think this is definitely a bad news for Arsene Wenger to hear this from the captain at this point of time....

Oops...times up!!

2008-11-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

Real Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic has issued a vote of confidence to embattled coach Bernd Schuster

Speculation over the future of coach Schuster had intensified after a 1-0 to Real Valladolid at the weekend - their third loss in four games - as arch-rivals Barcelona opened up a three-point gap at the top of La Liga.

Mijatovic, whose own relationship with Schuster has been the subject of tittle-tattle among the Spanish press, sought to head the rumours off at the pass as the nine-time European champions struggle for form.

The Serbian former striker rubbished the speculation, saying he was "fully confident" in his coach. "We have one of the best squads in the world and I am convinced that we can finish the year with a title," he said.

"We have only played 11 games in the league and we are close to the top. We have total faith in our coach. We are all very happy with him. In recent games we have done as we have wished. Not only us, but him as well.

"We want to transmit calm and confidence to the fans."

After being beaten home and away by Juventus in the Champions League, last week saw the Primera Liga champions suffering an embarrassing exit from the Copa del Rey at the hands of Segunda B's Real Union and Spanish media claimed he could well be sacked if Madrid lost against Valladolid.

Spanish daily AS claimed that Schuster's decision to give his players two days off after the defeat at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla has infuriated club president Ramon Calderon, who has detailed Real chiefs Mijatovic and Miguel Angel Portugal to seek out potential replacements.

Roberto Mancini, Victor Fernandez or Real Madrid youth team coach Michel were all supposed to be in the frame should Schuster be given his cards.

Club captain Raul Gonzalez had insisted that all the club's players are 100 per cent behind their under-fire manager but rumours of unrest have been rife for a number weeks.

"It is a lie to say that we are not behind the coach," said Raul. "Of course we are all with him. There is no problem there."

However, Madrid golden-boy Guti and defender Sergio Ramos have been critical of the abrasive German in recent interviews.

Schuster, who represented Barcelona and Real Madrid as a player, won the Primera Liga title in his first season at Los Blancos last term.

Beckham short term in Milan

2008-11-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

David Beckham has no intentions of staying at AC Milan beyond his agreed two-month loan deal, his spokesman has said.

Reacting to a report that Beckham was in talks about staying at the Italian club until the end of the season, his spokesman Simon Oliveira said the England midfielder would be returning to Los Angeles Galaxy as agreed in March.

Oliveira said: "As highlighted last week David has signed a loan agreement with Milan for a two-month period and no discussions have taken place with regard to extending that deal."

A statement by LA Galaxy was reported on Sky Sports News, claiming: "Reports that David Beckham is in advanced talks to extend his loan move beyond March are untrue.

"We look forward to having David back with us for the start of the 2009 MLS season."

Beckham will work with a personal fitness coach for the rest of the year to ensure he hits the ground running when he joins up with AC Milan.

The midfielder is determined to play at least some matches for the Italian giants rather than viewing his two-month loan spell as a mere training exercise and is likely to join up with AC Milan at their post-Christmas training camp in Dubai 10 days before he was originally expected to arrive at the club.

The change to his itinerary needs to be given the green light by the Los Angeles Galaxy, but it is expected to happen, while in the weeks before that, he will work with his personal fitness trainer to ensure that he does not arrive in Italy out of condition.

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand says he would love Beckham to break Peter Shilton's record of 125 caps for England.

Beckham will equal Bobby Moore's mark of 108 appearances for the Three Lions if he plays some part in next week's friendly with Germany in Berlin.

He would then be 17 behind Shilton, knowing if he keeps his place in an England side that makes significant inroads in the next World Cup in South Africa, he would have a chance of becoming the most capped England player of all-time.

"He would be going some if he could do that," admitted Ferdinand. "But if he does it then it will mean we've had a good tournament - so I'd love him to do it."

"In an England shirt he's always put in 100 per cent and was probably one of the main reasons we got to the 2002 World Cup after that win in Munich - especially when you remember the game against Greece when he scored in the last minute.

"People keep saying 'does he deserve this or that?' but they forget what he did at Man United before he even went to Real Madrid.

"He won five or six championships, FA Cups, European Cup, League Cups, Charity Shields - so he can't be that bad a player. He's won more trophies than probably Bobby Moore did.

"Of course, Bobby Moore won the World Cup, which is the ultimate trophy. But domestically Becks has won everything. He has warranted being in England squads and England teams.

"In my eyes if you get to 108 caps you deserve to be there."

Now Drogba is in shits....

2008-11-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba should be banned for three-matches for throwing a coin back into the Burnley fans during Wednesday night's Carling Cup tie, according to Professional Fotballers' Association (PFA) chief Gordon Taylor.

The forward was prevented from celebrating his first goal of the season when an object was thrown on to the pitch at Stamford Bridge and despite apologising for throwing it back Drogba is facing a police investigation and an FA charge.

PFA chief executive Taylor believes the precedent for Drogba's misdemeanour is already there, and that a similar punishment should be expected.

"He's done something that's against the rules required of players, and a similar situation resulted in a three-match ban for Jamie Carragher," he said.

"So it would be very difficult to avoid an accusation that the FA are inconsistent if they don't follow that line."

In 2002, Liverpool defender Carragher was sent off in an FA Cup tie against Arsenal at Highbury after throwing a coin back into the crowd. He received a mandatory three-match ban and was also interviewed by police; but no further action was taken other than a verbal warning.

A spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police has confirmed that the Football Unit at Fulham police station is investigating the Drogba incident but added that no-one has been arrested.

The Ivory Coast international was shown the yellow card for his actions during the game and was contrite in his post-match interview. He said: "This is something I want to make clear. I tried to celebrate the goal and I received some things at me.

"The big mistake I did was to throw it back so if someone was hurt, I just want to apologise for it. This is not something I should show in a football match and I want to apologise.

"It was an incident in the heat of the moment and I regret it. It was just a mistake and nothing more."

Drogba had put Chelsea ahead in their Carling Cup fourth-round tie against the Championship side with a superb curling effort into the bottom corner. A shock equaliser 20 minutes from time through Burnley's veteran striker Ade Akinbiyi stunned last season's Champions League finalists.

Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen saved in a penalty shoot-out from Wayne Bridge and John Mikel Obi to send Chelsea crashing out of the competition.

Chelsea chose to await referee Keith Stroud's report before commenting further but Burnley manager Owen Coyle and Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari both denied seeing the incident.

Scolari said: "I have not spoken with Didier about any problem. The referee gave him a yellow card but I did not see what happened."

In a statement Burnley said: "[We are] proud of the 6,100 supporters who made the trip to Stamford Bridge and offered magnificent vocal backing.

"However, the club does not condone any misbehaviour from supporters and we will gladly co-operate with any inquiry into the incident, either from the FA or Chelsea Football Club. [But] we do not believe this matter should detract from one of the club's most memorable nights in recent times."

Ronaldinho happy with Beckham's arrival at Milan

2008-11-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Ronaldinho has welcomed David Beckham to AC Milan and says he is excited at the prospect of a link-up at the San Siro.

Ronaldinho: No arguments over who will take the free-kicks.

"I am very happy to know that he's coming," Ronaldinho said of Beckham's arrival in Milan in January to Setanta Sports News.

"He's going to help us a lot and I'm looking forward to helping him be the great player he is as well.

"I always like the way he plays. I always admired him and it's very cool to play with important people. It's always very motivating."

With Ronaldinho and Beckham being two of the world's finest free-kick takers, the Brazilian refused to speculate on who will be handed set-piece duties with the Rossoneri.

He added: "That's not a problem, (although) it could be a problem for the team we're playing against. I hope to learn a lot with David Beckham."

Ronaldinho remains focused on success in the future with both club and country. "The main target for me is to win trophies with AC Milan and also titles for myself," he said.

"The Champions League is very important. It's a great competition and everyone wants to be a part of it.

"I hope I can play for many years to come. I don't think about the end of my career.

"I've already played in two World Cups and I feel very fortunate for that. I hope to play at the next two World Cups. Brazil can always win. Brazil are always one of the favourites. I believe we can do it."

A funny truth when it comes to football

2008-11-12T17:48:00.001-08:00

Isn't it funny when it comes to football? The best team normally play their best games at crucial matches. For example, Manchester United were at their best last year when games against Chelsea in the Final. But just a few days, the champions were struggling against a team known not to many.
If that is not enough, Chelsea were beaten in the penalty 4-5 to Burnley....and have you ever heard of that team actually?

Well, Drogba help the Blues to be ahead before Burnley brought Chelsea back to Earth with an equalizer and eventually emerge as the winner in the penalty kick.

If you think that's all, think again. Just a month ago, Spurs were nothing but a team going down for relegation. But with Harry "POTTER" Redknapp as the coach, Tottenham has another victory against Liverpool, who has been in excellent form at the start of this season.

Well, football has its' ups and downs, but the funny truth is that sometimes the best team might just not be the winner at the final 90 minutes

Galaxy boss happy of Beckahms' short term loan

2008-10-31T02:18:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena has backed David Beckham's loan move to AC Milan as being beneficial to the Major League Soccer club.

Arena said the Galaxy had insisted the England midfielder return from Italy to begin the 2009 league campaign in March.

And the former USA national team coach told reporters on Thursday he was happy to let Beckham go to the Serie A club, who have also agreed to enter into a ''technical relationship'' with the MLS outfit, the details of which have yet to be disclosed.

''I'm fine with everything,'' Arena said. ''I have a very good feel for the situation. We've been in, and we'll continue to be in contact with AC Milan and we have a technical relationship with them as well.

''We're all agreed in principle and everybody's happy. A short-term loan works,'' Arena added. ''I did this at DC United with Marco Etcheverry, with Jaime Moreno, with Ben Olsen - I don't have a problem with it. He's going to be back in March and we believe it's going to be around March 1 and he will be available for our opening game.

''I haven't seen the exact details of the loan agreement yet but we fully anticipate that this loan is for approximately two months although there is a possibility he could go in December.The most important aspect of this loan in our view is that he is back here early March.''

Arena said the length of Beckham's loan spell had been the only sticking point in negotiations between the two clubs as he bids to turn the Galaxy around after they missed out on the post-season MLS Cup play-offs for the second year in a row.

''We have a couple of objectives here. We are absolutely adamant about the fact that the club has not played well over the last couple of years,'' Arena continued.

''We think it's critical that we start 2009 the right way and that we place an improved team on the field because we have great fans and great support here.

''In order to do that we need David Beckham on the field and we need to have all of our key players here as we open our 2009 season if we're going to move forward and that was the critical aspect in this loan, there's no question about that.''

Arena also said he was pleased to have forged a technical partnership with the Italian club.

''I'm prepared to tell you how we're going to benefit from this but I think it's just a positive that we are working with a club of this stature.''

Arena added that the cancellation of the Galaxy's tour game in Australia against the Queensland Roar on December 11 in Brisbane had been as a precaution against Beckham being unavailable.

''We were hesitant to go ahead and commit without knowing whether David would be there or not,'' he explained.

''I imagine this allows David to have a little bit of a break before he heads over to Italy.''

United hit 3 against Celtic, as a goal scoring spree in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

2008-10-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

The Red Devils are in red hot form now...

Berbatov double and Wayne Rooney continue his on form in front of goal has put United at the top with a solid 3 - 0 against Celtic. And although both goals from Berbatov seem to be coming from the offside position, there is no denying the fact that Manchester United deserve the victory.

Another one going in...

Meanwhile, another English side, Arsenal prove to be still a threat in the Europe with their stunning form, thrashing Fenerbahce 5 -2 with Adebayor, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby, Alexandre Song and Aaron Ramsey all hitting the target. In fact, within the first hour, 4 goals has already come from Arsenal.
This could probably be a sign that the English side might still rule Europe for this season.

This could be the winner, a relief for the coach, Ranieri.

Meanwhile, in Italy, with tragedy happening outside of the game, the Italian legendary football club, Juventus prove to still be a strong challenger for the title when they get a deserving victory against nine time European champions, Real Madrid. Del Piero hit the target in 5 minutes while Amauri double the lead. And although Ruud van Nistelrooy managed to reduce the loss, it seems that Juventus indeed deserve this victory, after not winning in their last 5 games in all competition. Indeed a relief for Ranieri.

The other results are as follow:

Villareal 6 - 3 AaB

Zenit St Petersburg 1 - 1 BATE Borisov

Bayern Munich 3 - 0 Fiorentina

FC Porto 0 - 1 Dynamo Kiev

Steaua Bucuresti 3 - 5 Lyon

Rooney goal scoring spree thanks to teammates....

2008-10-16T02:49:00.001-07:00

England striker Wayne Rooney paid tribute to his team-mates after scoring another two goals in tonight's 3-1 win in Belarus.Rooney's second double for the team in four days, following a brace against Kazakhstan, helped maintain England's 100% start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Yet the in-form Manchester United star, who also scored against Croatia last month, was modest about his efforts.

He told Setanta Sports: "I think I owe a lot of credit to my team-mates - great individual work by Emile for the first goal and a great pass by Stevie.''

With 12 points from their four games, England have now made their best-ever start in World Cup qualifying and Rooney felt tonight's win was thoroughly deserved.

He added: "I think it was really good, we had to work really hard.

"Belarus are a good football team, they pass the ball well, similar to Arsenal.

"We worked hard - I think we deserved three points.

"To get three points and 12 from four games is a great boost.''

England captain Rio Ferdinand was pleased with the performance but insisted the job was still far from done.

"It's good but still there is much to improve. It doesn't make us qualify because we have won four on the bounce - it puts us in a good position.

"We are happy with where we are but we want to keep going in the right direction and winning games.

"We made sure we were a tight unit and not easy to get through. The one time they got the ball behind us they scored.

"We are disappointed in that aspect but we managed to score some good goals.''

Ferdinand also praised the efforts of Steven Gerrard, who after criticising his own performances earlier this week, opened the scoring in Minsk.

"I am delighted,'' he said. "Maybe he was a little over-critical of himself. You can't always be superman for every game you play.

"He does it a lot for Liverpool and he has done it a couple of times for England.

"He is his own worst critic because you want to do it all the time for England. Tonight was a step in the right direction, it was a great finish."

Gerrard admitted he was happy to put all the debate about his role within the England side behind him after starring in the win.

The Liverpool midfielder set England on their way to victory with a long-range effort after 11 minutes.

"Playing for England you always have a point to prove,'' he told Setanta Sports.

"You are fighting for the shirt every game and it's always nice to score and win.

"A lot of people have been talking about me and Frank Lampard and where I'm going to play all week but as long as I am in this team and we are winning football matches then I'm happy.

"I thought I played well tonight. But every game I play for club or country I try and play the best I can do.

"Sometimes I haven't always hit the heights I would have liked to but I'm moving forward now and I'll continue to work hard and give everything I have got for the country.''

The 28-year-old said he was relishing his next game in an England shirt.

"When you are winning you want the next game to be around the corner, but it's nice to be top of the league going into the end of the year,'' said Gerrard.

"We have got a couple of friendlies before the next match where we can try different things and by the time the next qualifier comes around I'm sure we'll be even better again.''

Rooney received special praise for his performance from Gerrard.

"When Wayne's in this type of form he's up there with the best players in the world,'' said Gerrard.

"He's a special talent and the understanding and awareness he has is fantastic. It's a pleasure to play with him.

He did warn, however, that despite the win, England will still have to improve if they are to become world-beaters.

"We are slowly building into a good team but there's a long way to go yet before we get to where we want to be,'' he said.

England manager Fabio Capello was quick to stress the importance of team unity in his side's victory.

Tonight's win means England have got off to their best start in a World Cup qualifying campaign and Capello said he was delighted with the win, which he saw as a superb team effort.

"I'm very happy, it was a very important game for us,'' the Italian told Setanta Sports.

"Belarus are a good team. We played well in the first half but in the second half we played better.

"Gerrard played well but all the players did. It is very important for us if we want to play well we have to play like a team and not as single players.

"Tonight I saw one team and that was very important for us.

"Wayne Rooney is on good form at the moment and worked hard for the team tonight, but it wasn't just him. All the players played fantastic tonight.''

Capello urged caution, however, when asked whether England's fourth consecutive qualifying campaign win marked the start of a new era of success for the Three Lions.

"It is only one step. It was an important victory but we have to play more games before we get to South Africa,'' he added.

Tevez story of his lack of GOALS this season....

2008-10-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez believes the demands of English football have lessened his threat in front of goal.

The Argentina international has scored just once this season and he feels his form has been affected because of the work he has to do for the team in a highly-competitive Premier League.

"I'm not as dangerous. I'm not as effective in the penalty area any more," he said.

"That is something I have lost and I have to get that back. I used to score better goals, great goals.

"But something strange has happened. I think it has to do with the fact that the person up front has to do a lot more for the team than just score goals.

"They have to play more for the team and I think I have sacrificed myself recently with regards to that aspect."

Champions League starts off in style for some...

2008-09-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Under Felipe Scolari, Chelsea prove to be a threat once again when they thrash Bordeaux with 4 goals to nil. With such superb form, they will be on a high morale against United this week.
Liverpool meanwhile has Steven Gerrard showing off his quality as he scored both goals to help the Reds win 2-1. Barcelona also seem to be back on form with a win, as well as the other giants. Only AS Roma suffered a shock defeat.
Manchester United, although with Cristiano Ronaldo back in the team, failed to break the dead lock against Villareal and the Devils' fan will bear in mind that two years ago when the team drew with Villareal, they never even surpassed the group stage. Although it is not likely to happen this time around, United will need to bounce back as soon as possible for their next rival match in the domestic league against Chelsea.

Short updates from EPL

2008-09-15T05:32:00.002-07:00

The English Premiership reigning champion, the Red Devils suffer a dent in defending the Premiership title when they lost 1-2 to Liverpool. After getting off a perfect start by scoring goal as early as 3 minutes, United played like a shadow of themselves throughout the game and conceded 2 goals and doomed to a first defeat of the season. Vidic was sent off in the closing minutes of the game. Liverpool has not beaten the Red Devils for the last eight league games, with United won five of them. With the defeat, Sir Alex will have to do a lot of thinking in their next league games. Arsenal continue their impressive form by defeating Blackburn 4-0 while Chelsea beat Manchester City 3-1 at Manchester, by coming from behind with a goal down. Newcastle continue their misery with a 2-1 lost to Hull. Chelsea is now edging Liverpool in the Premier League table with 10 points but on better goal difference and Arsenal third with 9 points. Hull surprises everyone else by getting into top 4 early of the season. The reigning champion now at the bottom half of the table with 4 points from 3 matches.

Last minute transfer...

2008-09-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

The EPL becomes even more interesting at the very last minute just before the close of the transfer season as Robinho move to Manchester City instead of Chelsea. (Oops! Sorry for Scolari!)
And as expected, Berbatov is going to Old Trafford to join the Red Devils.
These piece of news seem to shaken the fans a bit especially now City is claiming to challenge the Big Four in the EPL, with their new owner.
It seems the departure of Thaksin is bringing good news to Mark Hughes. With their performance lately plus the additional striker, Robinho who was once compared to Pele, Manchester City looks to be finally able to challenge their neighbour, United. While good news spring out in Manchester, it spell bad news for the Londoners as Chelsea failure to buy Robinho, while Tottenham losing some of the key players.
Maybe instead of Spurs, it will be another Manchester club that will burst into the Big Four. A warning for the Blues, Gunners, Reds and the Devils as well.

A day of misery for some of the ELITE

2008-08-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

It was a surprising season when while Chelsea seem to be unbeatable, the team who was struggling at their beginning of the season, Spurs manage to held the league leader at the moment. To make it even more damaging for the Blues, the game was held in Stamford Bridge, the stronghold of the Blues. Scolari might has an impressive start but the previous game has yet to prove his commanding power in Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Liverpool who might already splurge lots on the transfer season might end the season the same as their struggling performance has seen them held to a 0-0 draw. The addition of Robbie Keane into the Reds might not be good enough.
As for City, they seem to fired up again as they thrash Sunderland 3 goals to nil.
Meanwhile, in Spanish Liga, both Barcelona and Real Madrid were forced to start the season with a rather embarrassing moment as the Catalan lost 1-0 while Madrid lost to Deportivo La Coruna 2-1.
The other results in the league were as follow:

Athletic Bilbao 1 - 3 Almeria
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Sevilla FC
Athletico Madrid 4 - 0 Malaga
Real Betis 0 - 1 Recreativo Huelva
Sporting Gijon 1 - 2 Getafe
Osasuna 1 - 1 Villareal

In Serie A, AC Milan once again show their performance despite having Ronaldinho in the team. Losing 1-2 at home to Bologna seem to suggest their season might just be as bad as the previous one. As for Juventus, they were held 1-1 by Fiorentina in the away game. Roma too suffered the same feat when they were held 1-1 at home to Napoli.

The results for the day might suggest that the season does not just belong to the ELITE. Football isn't that predictable after all...

Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool win, Arsenal lost to Fulham

2008-08-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Arsenal seems to be stuttering after the 1st EPL match as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Arsenal became the 1st Big Four to lose 1st EPL match this season, although Man Utd dropped points against Newcastle last week. Chelsea struggle to maintain their blazing performance with a 1-0 win against Wigan the following day. And after that Man Utd beat Portsmouth 1-0, thanks to a first half goal by Darren Fletcher. While it is a norm that Man Utd started slowly in the league every season, it is a surprise for me to see Arsenal losing so early in this season. Liverpool keep up with Chelsea at the top of the league with a 2-1 win over Boro at home. Other matches being played over the weekend are West Brom beaten 1-2 at home by Everton, Newcastle 1-0 win over Bolton, Blackburn and Hull held at 1-1, Stoke defeated Aston Villa 3-2, and Spurs loses 1-2 at home by Sunderland. The Premier League has began with 2 games played but as usual, we can see some of the early invasion by the underdogs. But with 36 games to played for, we can anticipate a very interesting season as usual. Can Chelsea snatch the title from the Red Devils? Can the Red Devils retain the Premiership title? Will Arsenal or Liverpool live up to their prestige and give the Red Devils or Chelsea at a go for the Premiership title? With so many big name at Chelsea, will the team deliver or still short of the champion material? So many questions, but none of the questions will be answered until we reached halfway to the championship, which will happen in about 5-6 months time. But still we can see surprises till the end of the championship - that's what football all about. You never give up until the final whistle blown.

Kick Off

2008-08-19T01:39:00.000-07:00

Under Scolari, Chelsea start the season in a stylish manner by thrashing Portsmouth 4 - 0. To make things more challenging for the Red Devils, Newcastle managed to held the Champions in a 1-1 draw that sees United struggling to hit the target. The champions were left frustrated at Old Trafford, having gone 0-1 down to Obafemi' Martins' opener in the 22nd minute, the Devils need Fletcher to claim the equalizer in the 24th minute. Without the familiar attacking force, United seem to be a shadow of their last season performance. Sir Alex would be seriously looking into the transfer market now that he realize the need for potential goal scorer such as Berbatov. Besides the plea by the player to be allowed to follow his dream in United, it seems that Spurs are more interested in keeping him, or selling him to Barcelona than any United move. This might just make the start of the season worse for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Chelsea need no more convincing proof of their determination to snatch the title away from the Red Devils, at least in the first game of the season. Scolari start the season in style with Joe Cole, Anelka, Lampard and Deco all hitting the target against Portsmouth. With the change of style compared to Jose Mourinho, Scolari seems to show their team capable of good football as well as strong substance.
Meanwhile, Arsenal under Arsene Wenger might has been criticized for their lack of involvement in the transfer market did not disappoint their fans when Nasri put his name in the score sheet in the 4th minute.
The much talked about team, Tottenham failed to perform in their first game, suggesting the departure of Robbie Keane has taken away the team flare in the attacking line up. Against Middlesbrough, Tottenham only managed a consolation goal at the 90th minute to lose out by 2-1. If this were to continue, Spurs look anything but the next team to challenge the Big Four.
Liverpool meanwhile need a 83rd minute goal by Torres to save themselves from any early embarrassment against Sunderland.
Everton too disappoint their fans when they lost out to Blackburn although leading by 2-1 earlier on. The final result 2-3.
The more exciting result in fact come from Hull when they come back against Fulham to win 2-1 in their first game in the Premier League.
Indeed with such score line, one will know what to expect from the Barclay's Premier League for the rest of the season. Will the "Big Four" still dominate the English football? Or will we be seeing some revival among the other English clubs?

It's the new season

2008-08-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

It seems that we stopped before the Euro even ended. Probably the lost of excitement when my favourite team, Italy was beaten by Spain in a penalty shoot out. Nevertheless a new season is coming up and everyone is back to FOOTBALL. Alright, for the transfer season, it must have been a big and intense moment in the Old Trafford until lately when Ronaldo made it clear in the public that his heart and soul is for the Red Devils, at least for another season.
As for the big race for Berbatov in Spurs, it seems that the relations between the two big guns have sunk so low that Spurs would rather sold Berbatov to another team at a lower price than having to see him leave for Manchester United. However the Devils are keeping their option wide open, especially with the interesting forward from Spain, David Villa who has been performing exceedingly well in Euro 2008.
Besides United, it seems that Barcelona is reorganizing their team with Ronaldinho being sold to Milan and Deco leaving as well. The big question mark is on Eto' as his outstanding form lately might just change the perspectives of Barcelona on whether to sell him or not. Their aim for Adebayor also seem to be heading no where with the player committing himself to Arsenal.
The Gunners who are not really investing in the transfer market seem to be quite contended with the squad who have perform exceedingly well yet winning nothing. Will the new season be something refreshing from the Premier League? And not to forget the Italian Serie A, with Mourinho now coaching Inter Milan, it might just seem possible that the Italian champions be on the run for the title in the Champions' League but then again, the pre-season games so far have been less than impressive for Mourinho, in comparison to AC Milan and Juventus. Another interesting story would be on the Juventus new reformed team in the Champions' League. Will they be a title contender or just a participant after missing for two seasons.
Indeed a new season with promising stories...couldn't wait for the first 90 minutes to kick off!!

Germany in Final

2008-06-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

Germany beat Turkey 3-2, thanks to a 89th minute goal by Lahm. While Turkey playing one of their best football, the Germans are lucky enough to escape with a win. Turkey strikes first, goal from Ugur Boral, before Bastian Schweinsteiger equalize for the German side. After that, both side hold on to the same scoreline until 11 minutes from full time. Klose header makes it 2-1 for the German, before Semih Senturk get Turkey back to the game. However during the closing minutes, the Turks lose concentration and Philip Lahm slip in to score the match winner for the German. And so the German in the Final. This edition of Euro is full of surprises as we see a lot of hot favourites like Netherland and Italy KOed in the Q-Final. Spain was the only group winner that manage to pull through the Q-Final. The match between Spain v Russia is expected to be an interesting one, since the Russians are in their peak having lost 4-1 to the Spaniards in the opening match.

Germany in the Semi

2008-06-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

Germany beat Portugal 3-2 in Basle, goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack. This mean German in the Semi while Portugal out of tournament following 2 consecutive lost. The German has been stuttering form since the opening match, but against Portugal, they are like another team.

Other Q-Final Matches:-
Turkey v Croatia
Italy v Spain
Netherland v Russia

Other updates include Italy and Russia pip in to the Q-Final following their convincing win in the final group match. Italy beat France 2-0 while Russia beat one of the tournament favorites, 2-0.

Portugal, Croatia and Netherlands Into the Quarter Final, Switzerland and Greece Out of Euro

2008-06-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

Again, another round of group matches scoreline updates.

Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal
Switzerland 1-2 Turkey
Croatia 2-1 Germany
Austria 1-1 Poland
Italy 1-1 Romania
Netherlands 4-1 France
Sweden 1-2 Spain
Greece 1-2 Russia

The surprise for the match is Croatia beating one of the hot favourite Germany 2-1 and Netherlands trashing France 4-1. The results meaning that France will have to take the tournament to the final group match against Italy where the winner will have the chance to enter the Q-Final, should Netherlands beat Romania. Croatia beating Germany meaning Croatia joining Netherlands and Portugal in the Q-Final. Italy still haunt by bad luck and though they have scored few against Romania, but 2 was disallowed by the referee. Goal scored by Toni was a genuine one but was ruled offside, while Zambrotta has a crossed collected by the Romanian keeper in the goal, but again it was ruled against the Italians. Can the Italians beat France and qualify to the Q-Final? Again, either the Italians and the Frenchmen has solid chances as all still depend on Netherland beating Romania, should either of the side got the match.

Another surprise is that the Turks came from trailing 2 goals to beat Czech 3-2. The Turks were 2 goals down for 73 minutes, before the come back. Czech, having one of the most talented keeper in the world fail them by spilling a cross that was the turnaround of the match. This mean only one thing, Turkey check in, while Czech Republic sent home.

Euro 2008 First Round Scores To Date

2008-06-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

*Current scoreline for Czech v Portugal is 1-1. Deco scores for Portugal and then Sionko equalize. Still five minutes remaining in the first half and Portugal has a corner. *

I am currently watching Czech v Portugal and thought about updating this blog with all the 1st Round scores to date.

Switzerland 0-1 Czech Republic
Portugal 2-0 Turkey

Austria 0-1 Croatia
Germany 2-0 Poland

Romania 0-0 France
Netherlands 3-0 Italy

Spain 4-1 Russia
Greece 0-2 Sweden

Most of the scoreline was predicted, well at least close to prediction except Netherlands giving Italy, one of the most defensive team in the world a bashing 3-0. Could the Italians staring the 1st round exit this Euro? The only hope for Italian is to beat Romania and France to qualify. But the BIG question again is, are they up to it?