The latest football news from around the country.
Sunday 20 September 2009
Aston Villa moved into the Premier League's top six with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth, consigning Paul Hart's club to their six successive defeat leaving them rock bottom of the table. A James Milner penalty and Gabby Agbonlor's strike just before the break were enough for Martin O'Neill's team. "Overall I'm just really pleased with the team, there's a great spirit in the dressing room and I'm delighted to have got off to a reasonable start."
Meanwhile Arsenal hit Wigan for four without reply. One in each half from Vermaelen, with Eduardo and Fabregas scoring the other two. David Nugent was the hero for Burnley, coming off the bench to score twice in the final 21 minutes to grab the three points in a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
Fernando Torres was the difference for Liverpool at Upton Park. West Ham came from behind twice in the first half as first Torres then Dirk Kuyt scored for the reds. Alessandro Diamanti's penalty and another from Carlton Cole before the break weren't enough as the Spanish striker nodded the winner in the 75th minute to put Rafa Benitez's outfit in third spot. Birmingham beat Hull 1-0 away from home, while Bolton and Stoke drew 1-1.
The mind games are well underway ahead of Sudnay afternoon's Manchester derby. City head to Old Trafford for the 1.30pm showdown on the same points as United, but with a game in hand. Mark Hughes's side are yet to suffer defeat this season and the former United forward believes the Champions are not as strong as they were last year, since the departure of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, with the Argentinian joining Hughes at Eastlands. "They've lost two significant players. You can't afford to lose players of that standard and not replace them and I don't think they have," he said.
A win for either side in the Manchester derby will see them draw level with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, if maybe only for a couple of hours. Carlo Ancellotti's Blues welcome London rivals Tottenham to Stamford Bridge for the 4pm kick off. Everton take on Blackburn and Wolves meet Fulham in the other Sunday games
West Brom stayed on top of the Championship in impressive style winning 5-0 away at third-placed Middlesbrough. Roberto Di Matteo's men were in front on 17 minutes thanks to the first of a Chris Brunt brace Mulunbu, Bednar and Thomas added to the tally. Newcastle United kept hold of second place with a 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle at St James Park.Steven Taylor, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll were all on target.
Leeds United remain at the summit in League One, following their 4-1 home win over Gillingham. Charlton in second place dropped points at Norwich, as their game ended 2-2. Bottom club Southampton grabbed all three points for the first time this campaign at home to Yeovil, Rickie Lambert scoring both from the penalty spot. And it was a similar story for Colchester United as U's striker Kevin Lisbie also fired in two penalties in the 2-0 defeat of Hartlepool at the Weston Homes Community Stadium. Adie Bothroyd's Essex club are now in fifth spot.
Bournemouth are still on top of League Two after their 2-0 win at the League's bottom club Darlington. Dagenham & Redbridge kept up the pressure though, with a 1-0 win at Burton Albion.
Saturday 19 September 2009 Sheffield United beat their arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 in a five goal thriller at Bramall Lane on Friday night. United raced into a 3-0 lead at half-time, but Wednesday hit back in the second half, but failed to find the crucial equaliser and the home side came away with the bragging rights in the Steel City derby.
Lionel Messi has signed a new contract with Barcelona until 2016 which makes him the best paid player at the Nou Camp. The Argentine playmaker has seen his release clause increased from 150 million Euros to 250 million.
Chelsea have reached an agreement with Croatian club Inter Zapresic to sign goalkeeper Matej Delac in 2011. Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti said: "He is a young goalkeeper getting very good experience in his country and we think that he can be very good in the future. He will stay in Croatia to play next season and then come to play with us."
Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung has signed a two-year contract extension. The South Korean international said: "I am so pleased to have a new contract. We have achieved great success over the last four years and won many trophies."
Derby County have signed Everton striker James Vaughan on a three-month loan deal. Vaughan has struggled with injury over the last 12 months but Derby boss Nigel Clough believes he can become a major player for the Midlands club. Clough said: "This is a terrific bit of business for us. James is a good player with an excellent attitude and tons of ability."
Sir Alex Ferguson has played down the importance of Sunday's big game against Manchester City saying that Liverpool will always remain their true local rivals. Ferguson said: "To me Liverpool will always be the derby game. It is just because of the history. When I came down here they were the king-pins of England. They had won four European Cups and quite a few league titles."
Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker was sent home from training for disciplinary reasons following a disagreement with manager Martin O'Neill. Reo-Coker will miss the Premier League game against Portsmouth on Saturday.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he could renew his attempts to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh when the transfer window re-opens in January. Wenger said: "He is a player we were close to signing, but at the moment we have lost a little bit of touch with him because there is no transfer period now. We might reconsider the position if it is needed in January."
Friday 18 September 2009English teams scored encouraging results in the opening group games of UEFA’s new Europa League. Everton beat AEK Athens 4-0 at Goodison Park thanks to goals from Joseph Yobo, Sylvain Distin, Stephen Pienaar and Jo. The only disappointment was a red card for Louis Saha. Meanwhile Fulham drew 1-1 at CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria thanks to a goal from Diomansy Kamara.
Everton have been further boosted by news that former West Ham defender Lucas Neill has signed on a one-year deal. The 31-year-old was a free agent after leaving Upton Park during the close season.
John Terry has revealed he would volunteer to take a penalty if England take part in a World Cup shoot-out in South Africa next summer.
Chelsea have named Ron Gourlay, 46, as their new chief executive. The former chief operating officer replaces Peter Kenyon.
Steven Gerrard believes the title race could be seriously shaken up over the next three days. Liverpool go into the weekend in fifth place, six points adrift of leaders Chelsea. But with second-placed Manchester United taking on third-placed Manchester City and Chelsea hosting fourth-placed Spurs on Sunday, Gerrard says anything could happen. "If we can get a win at West Ham on Saturday it will be interesting," he said. "Hopefully the table will look very different for us on Monday."
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has insited the club’s new £350m stadium will eventually be built despite the current economic climate. He said: “We've spent lots of money and we have a fully designed stadium. We have every permit in place, the council's approval, everything is done. Certainly it will happen."
Championship front-runners Middlesbrough have signed striker Caleb Folan on loan from Hull City on a three-month deal.
Emmanuel Adebayor of Manchester City has been banned for three games after admitting a charge of violent conduct, brought after he stamped on former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie. He will be unavailable for this weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford and will also miss home games in the Carling Cup against Fulham and then the visit of West Ham in the Premier League.
Thursday 17 September 2009
Arsenal suffered a huge scare in their Champions League opener, before coming from behind to win 3-2 at Standard Liege. Arsene Wenger’s men were two goals down after just five minutes but strikes from Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Vermaelen and Eduardo sealed the points for the Gunners.
Liverpool edged out Hungarian minnows Debrecen 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a Dirk Kuyt strike. The Dutch international scored on the stroke of half-time to give the Red’s the perfect start to their Champions League campaign.
Madjid Bougherra struck a second-half equaliser to give Rangers a precious point following a 1-1 draw at Stuttgart. Elsewhere, European Champions Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at Inter Milan, while there were wins for Lyon, Sevilla, Olympiakos and Dynamo Kiev.
Newcastle fell to their first league defeat of the season after losing 2-1 at Blackpool. Despite going in front through Andy Carroll, the visitors were unable to hold on with Brett Ormerod and Jason Euell doing the damage.
Ten-man Cardiff grabbed a 1-0 win over Reading thanks to Chris Burke’s 58th minute strike. Stephen McPhail was given his marching orders following a foul on Reading’s Jem Karacan with 15 minutes to go.
Manchester City have 'reluctantly accepted' Emmanuel Adebayor’s charge of violent conduct following his alleged stamp on Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie. The 25-year-old forward will face a three-match ban if he is found guilty at today’s hearing.
Chelsea have confirmed that Peter Kenyon will relinquish his role as chief executive at the end of October. The 55-year-old, who left Manchester United to join Chelsea in 2003, will continue at the club as a non-executive director.
Former Norwich and England Under-21 striker Darren Huckerby is poised to announce his retirement from international football. The 33-year-old, who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in the USA, has struggled to recover from hip surgery.
Julian Dicks has been named as the new manager of Conference Premier side Grays Athletic. The former West Ham and Liverpool defender becomes the club’s 14th boss in the past three seasons.
The Premier League has made a £1m payment to the 68 Conference football clubs to help ease the financial pressure since the collapse of the Setanta television deal. Premier League chief Richard Scudamore said: "The Conference is an integral part of the football pyramid. It was absolutely the right thing to do."
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Manchester United and Chelsea kicked off their Champions League campaigns with victories as they both won 1-0 on Wednesday. Paul Scholes scored the only goal as 2008 champions United beat Besiktas away while Nicolas Anelka netted as Chelsea won 1-0 against Porto at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat FC Zurich 5-2 away from home.
Ipswich have now endured their worst league start for 40 years. Roy Keane's men could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest while Roberto Martinez's West Brom surged to the top of the Championship table with a 3-1 victory at home to Doncaster. Middlesbrough are hot on their heels - Gareth Southgate's side won 3-1 away at Sheffield Wednesday. Scunthorpe won by the same scoreline at home to Preston, while Coventry beat Sheffield United 3-2.
George Burley will remain the manager of Scotland. The former Ipswich boss failed in his quest to get the Tartan Army to the World Cup in South Africa but the Scottish Football Association has kept faith with him.
Former Newcastle midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia has been sacked as Olympiakos manager. The Greek team face AZ Alkmaar in the Champions League tonight but Ketsbaia will not be in the dugout after his four-month stint in charge ended on Tuesday.
Gerry Sutcliffe, the sports minister, has backed the new rules on home-grown players in the Premier League. The 20 clubs will name 25-man squads including at least eight home-grown players (trained for three years under the age of 21 in England or Wales) from next season and Sutcliffe said: "These moves will encourage clubs to develop and bring through young talent and help ensure clubs are financially stable."
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has warned the rest of the world that Ghana are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers. The Black Stars became the first African country to qualify for the tournament last week and Essien said: "We have also qualified for the African Cup in Angola and we will be heading there full of confidence, hoping to win the tournament."
Arsenal playmaker Andrey Arshavin has allayed fears over his fitness. The Russian star missed Arsenal's 4-2 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday with groin and knee problems but he won't be out for too long. "Everything is normal with my groin and knee so by the end of the week the plan is to attend training," he said.
Gianfranco Zola has paid tribute to West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury for keeping his best players at Upton Park. Despite financial insecurity at the club, manager Zola has been able to hold on to the likes of Matthew Upson and Robert Green and after celebrating a year as Hammers manager, Zola said: "Technical director Gianluca Nani and Scott Duxbury have never gave up on the idea of keeping the best players."
Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar insists the team are capable of breaking into the top four this season. Spurs' sobering defeat at the hands of Premier League champions, Manchester United, last Saturday shot down some early-season optimism but Kranjcar, who made his debut in the 3-1 loss, said: "One game doesn't tell everything, we have to keep working hard and hopefully we'll achieve top four towards the end of the season."
Glenn Whelan has signed a new four-year contract at Stoke. The 25-year-old has established himself as a first-team regular following his move from Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 and Whelan said: "I'm obviously delighted to have secured my future here with the club."
Tuesday 15 September 2009
The Premier League have introduced new regulations on home-grown players that will come into force from next season. Under the new rules, each club must register a squad of no more than 25 players, of which at least eight must be under the age of 21 and home-grown.
Arsenal forward Eduardo has seen his two-match ban for simulation overturned by UEFA. The Croatian was banned for allegedly deceiving the referee to win a penalty in Arsenal's Champions League qualifier against Celtic, but Europe's governing body have now reversed their decision and he can play against Standard Liege on Wednesday night.
Scotland manager George Burley will meet SFA bosses on Tuesday to discuss his future after his side missed out on qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Everton's poor start to the season has suffered another blow after it was revealed captain Phil Neville will be out for 'a lengthy period of time' after damaging knee ligaments against Fulham.
Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung has reportedly signed a new contract that will keep him with the Premier League champions until 2012. The South Korean moved to Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
Liverpool have signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank. Reports suggest the deal will be worth around £80m to the Anfield club.
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland is fully confident of shaking off an ankle injury to play in Sunday's mouth-watering Premier League clash with local rivals Manchester United. "I can't wait for the match and I am confident that I will be fine," said the Irishman.
Fulham winger Damien Duff is adamant his side can cope with the rigours of competing in both the Premier League and the Europa League. "We're not planning on letting Europe become a major negative factor," he said.
MK Dons have moved into the play-off spots in League Two after coming from behind to beat Norwich 2-1. Jason Puncheon and Peter Levin scored second-half goals after Chris Martin had given the visitors the lead after just 17 seconds.
West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo has eased the pressure on striker Simon Cox by saying he is prepared to be patient with the £2.5m summer signing from Swindon. "We need to be patient with him. It's a big jump from League One to the Championship," said Di Matteo.
Salisbury City's prospective new owners are confident they can buy the club within the next month. Businessman William Harrison-Allan said: I am confident we'll get solidarity at the club."
Monday 14 September 2009
Aston Villa are up to sixth in the Premier League following their 1-0 win over city rivals Birmingham at St Andrews. Gabriel Agbonlhaor scored the only goal of the game to give Martin O’Neill’s men all three points.
Fulham came from behind to secure their first home win of the season after goals from Paul Konchesky and Damien Duff saw off Everton 2-1 at Craven Cottage. Tim Cahill headed Everton in front before the break before the home side roared back in the second half.
Newcastle sit two points clear at the top of the Championship after claiming a 1-0 win at promotion rivals Cardiff City. Argentina defender Fabricio Coloccini headed home on 18 minutes to seal the points for the visitors.
Manchester City forward Robinho has been ruled out for up to four weeks after suffering a stress fracture to his ankle while on international duty with Brazil. The talented forward will miss the Manchester derby on 20 September.
Salisbury City could be in the hands of new owners within a month as they look to climb out of administration. The Conference side currently owe HM Revenue and Customs £200,000.
Tony Pulis is waiting to find out whether James Beattie will return to action in the near future after being forced to limp out of Stoke’s 2-1 defeat by Chelsea on Saturday. The forward fell awkwardly on his ankle and boss Pulis said: “James has rocked his ankle but we're not sure how long he'll be out."
Former Chelsea manager, Claudio Ranieri, led Roma to victory in his first match in charge. His team came from a goal down to beat Siena 2-1 courtesy of goals from Phillippe Mexes and John Arne Riise's late free-kick. Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season and Genoa beat Napoli 4-1 to take top spot in Serie A.
In Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Real Madrid as they ran out 3-0 winners againt Espanyol, while reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona, beat Getafe 2-0 away from home. Valencia beat Real Valladolid 4-2 with David Villa scoring twice.
