Football news round-up 21-27 Sep

Sunday 27 September 2009

Carlo Ancelotti suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager after his side were beaten 3-1 at Wigan.  The Blues had keeper Petr Cech sent off in the second half as goals from Titus Bramble, Hugo Rodallega and Paul Scharner sealed the points for Roberto Martinez's men. Didier Drogba’s 100th Chelsea goal proved a mere consolation.

Manchester United went top of the Premier League table following a 2-0 win at Stoke.  Dimitar Berbatov and John O’Shea were on the scoresheet for United, who sit above Chelsea on goal difference.

Fernando Torres scored a stunning hat-trick as Liverpool romped to a 6-1 win over Hull at Anfield. Ryan Babel grabbed a double and Steven Gerrard also netted with Geovanni registering for Phil Brown’s side.

Robbie Keane hit four as Spurs cruised to a 5-0 win over Burnley. Elsewhere, there were wins for Everton, Blackburn, Arsenal and Bolton.

Newcastle went top of the Championship with a comfortable 4-0 win over winless Ipswich. Kevin Nolan’s hat-trick inspired the visitors, who leapfrogged West Brom following the Baggies’ home defeat by Crystal Palace.

Robert Snodgrass smashed home a late winner to give Leeds a precious 1-0 victory over the MK Dons. Simon Grayson’s side remain two points clear at the top with nearest rivals Charlton beating Exeter 2-1 at The Valley. Elsewhere, Leyton Orient won for the first time since the opening day of the season following a hard-fought 1-0 win over Millwall.

Bournemouth moved four points clear at the top of League Two following a 1-0 win over Burton Albion. Brett Pitman’s late strike proved crucial, while second placed Dagenham and Redbridge could only muster a 1-1 home draw with Morecambe.

Matthew Green scored the only goal of the game as Conference leaders Oxford claimed a narrow 1-0 at Gateshead. Elsewhere, ten-man Luton grabbed a thrilling 4-3 win at Cambridge United.

Colin Todd has quit as manager of League Two Darlington.  Todd resigned following yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Grimsby after a difficult four month stay with the Quakers.

Derby have signed Fulham’s Swedish defender Fredrik Stoor on a month’s loan. "He is international quality and will certainly improve our squad,” said Derby boss Nigel Clough.

Saturday 26 September 2009

Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung is a step closer to a takeover at Birmingham City after passing the Premier League's fit and proper persons test.

UEFA says it is investigating 40 matches in the Champions League and UEFA Cup for suspected match-fixing. Most of the games are early qualifying matches involving teams from eastern Europe.

England goalkeeper Ben Foster is to retain his place in Manchester United's team to face Stoke City this weekend despite conceding three goals in the Manchester derby a week earlier. "Ben will play on Saturday against Stoke," confirmed United boss Ferguson. Ben has not had a lot of game experience but he will be OK."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti says he has no plans to remain in football beyond 2015. He said: "thought I'd finish in 2005 but after the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool, I thought it was better to continue. Now, my stop is 2015."
 
Hull City midfielder Geovanni, has signed a new two-year contract at the club. "It's fantastic, great news for me and great news for the club," said Tigers boss Phil Brown.

Ipswich Town manager Roy Keane has revealed he would be interested in signing Sol Campbell, depending on his contract situation after the defender left League Two side Notts County. West Ham's Gianfranco Zola has said the same.
 
Joe Cole is being tipped to win his place back in the England squad after returning from a nine-month long injury lay-off. Cole, who played against QPR in the League Cup in midweek, is included in Chelsea's squad to face Wigan today. Manager Carlo Ancelotti said: "I'm sure Joe can do good things for the England team. He had great matches in the past for England and I think he can return and put his quality on the pitch for the national team."
 
Ronnie Moore said it was like 'coming home' after being appointed manager of Rotherham for the second time. Moore, who bossed the club from 1997 to 2005, replaces Mark Robins. He said: "It's just like coming home, that's the feeling I have got for the place. I have always loved Rotherham through good times and bad times."
 
Mansfield Town`s midfielder Jonathan D'Laryea has had his loan spell with Conference North side Northwich Victoria extended until Christmas.

French legend Zinedine Zidane hopes his 'advisory' role at Real Madrid will eventually lead to a chance to become a manager. He said: "I know that I will have the opportunity to take charge of a club one day - why not?"
 
Barrow of the Conference Premier have made two signings in the space of a day, bringing in former Huddersfield midfielder Malvin Kamara and Morecambe midfielder Neil Wainwright. They could both make their debuts at Salisbury City today.

Terry Yorath has resigned as manager of Isthmian Premier League side Margate, who are fourth from bottom in the league.

Friday 25 September 2009

Aston Villa forward Marlon Harewood is joining Newcastle United on a three-month loan deal. The former Hammer should be in the squad for this weekend’s match at Ipswich.

Ronnie Moore has replaced Mark Robins as manager of Rotherham United. Moore was previously manager of the club from 1997 to 2005 and is expected to take charge after Saturday’s match against Barnet. Jimmy Mullen is tipped to be named his assistant.

While Sven-Goran Eriksson says he feels let down by Sol Campbell's decision to leave Notts County after only one game, his former colleagues are tipping him for a Premier League return. Terry Venables, his first manager for both club and country, said: "He can still play at the highest level. You don't know what he is thinking, but he could certainly come back." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has also verbalised his support while former Tottenham manager Ossie Ardiles added: "Sol could still play in the Premiership."

Police have confirmed there will be no charges against Manchester City’s Craig Bellamy following a clash with a supporter who ran onto the pitch at the end of their defeat at Manchester United. The supporter is due in court later this month for his solo pitch invasion, but a police spokesman said: "We have received no complaints about this incident and are currently not investigating the matter."

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is one week away from returning after a hand injury, but will announce in December if he plans to retire at the end of the season. The Dutchman, 38, said: “I've said for a few years that it sometimes may be my last season. Six months before my contract with Manchester United ended in December 2006, we extended for one year and so far it has been the same every time.”

England and Tottenham forward Peter Crouch hopes his midweek hat-trick at Preston will earn him a starting place against Burnley on Saturday. Harry Redknapp’s summer signing from Portsmouth said: "When I'm given chances, I can only produce and try to stake a claim for a starting place. I would be disappointed to be on the bench against Burnley, because I want to play every game. We've done pretty well this season, so I can't argue too much, but hopefully I've done enough."

England and Everton defender Phil Jagielka was confronted by burglars at his home on Wednesday night. The defender was threatened with a knife and forced to hand over jewellery and his car keys. A police spokeswoman said: "Three men gained entry to a house in Knutsford. The homeowner was threatened with a knife and forced to hand over jewellery and the keys to his Range Rover car. Fortunately nobody was hurt during the incident."

Ezequiel Lavezzi's agent has stated the Napoli striker is happy to stay in Italy after press reports linking him with a move to Liverpool. Agent Alejandro Mazzoni, talking about the Argentine player's future, said: "Lavezzi doesn't have any problem with staying at Napoli because he is part of the project of the team."

Rangers manager Walter Smith has until September 30 to appeal against a four-match touchline ban for his sending-off at Kilmarnock. An SFA spokesman said Smith had been charged with "adopting a threatening and aggressive attitude."

Reports in Spain suggest Arsenal’s Carlos Vela is wanted by struggling Spanish club Xerez, when the January transfer window re-opens in January. Xerez president Joaquin Morales said: "We are looking to bring in a forward who can stop the lack of goals in the team. We are looking at a number of options in the European and Spanish market and it is possible that Carlos will arrive in the winter market."

Thursday 24 September 2009

England internationals impressed in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday night. Under-21 star, Danny Welbeck, netted the only goal as Manchester United beat Wolves 1-0 and Three Lions striker, Peter Crouch, bagged a hat-trick in Tottenham's 5-1 win away at Preston. Jermain Defoe was another England forward on the scoresheet. Elsewhere, Gabriel Agbonlahor was on target as Aston Villa beat Cardiff 1-0 while Everton thumped Hull City 4-0. Joining all those teams in the fourth round are Chelsea, courtesy of a 1-0 win at home to QPR, and Manchester City, who needed extra time to beat Fulham 2-1.

Former England defender, Sol Campbell, has left Notts County, 30 days into a five-year contract. The 35-year-old played in County's defeat to Morecambe on Saturday and ahead of his move to the League Two club, he said he wanted to play for England again. But Campbell cancelled his contract by mutual consent and Notts County chairman Peter Trembling said:"Sol, I think, has still got one eye on the 2010 World Cup squad. Maybe he just wants to ply his trade elsewhere."

Owen Hargreaves, another player looking to get back into Fabio Capello's World Cup plans, has returned to Manchester United following knee surgery in America. The midfielder has been plagued by injury following his £18m move from Bayern Munich in 2007 and Sir Alex Ferguson hopes to have him back by November.

Whoever does make it to the World Cup will be part of a 'phenomenal' tournament. That is the verdict of Mark Fish, the former South Africa international. Fish, who also played for Bolton, Charlton and Ipswich, played in the 1998 World Cup and he said: "I don't think the fever has really hit South Africa just yet, but slowly things are changing as we get closer. The Confederations Cup showed everyone what is possible and I think it is going to be a phenomenal tournament."

Sheikh Mansour is now the sole owner of Manchester City. The Arab billionaire has bought the remaining 10 per cent stake, previously held by Thaksin Shinawatra, and a City statement said: "As a result of the transaction, Manchester City is now 100
per cent owned by his highness Sheikh Mansour."

Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has been ruled out for two weeks after injuring himself in training. The former Liverpool star clashed with Mahamadou Diarra during a session earlier this week and Diarra said: "I am sad because it was only a normal part of our work."

Barcelona forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, sustained an ankle sprain during Barca's win over Racing Santander on Tuesday. The Swede striker opened the scoring in the 4-1 win with his fourth goal in successive La Liga games but he could be out of Barcelona's Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev next week.

Arsenal youngster, Sanchez Watt, has taken tips from Gunners idol Thierry Henry. The 17-year-old Londoner, who netted in Arsenal's 2-0 League Cup win over West Brom on Tuesday, said: "I was not nervous because when we were growing up, our manager told us you can ask them questions. Thierry said: 'Be calm in front of goal and when the ball is moving, you don't have to keep making long runs. Make it short and sharp and just take it from there'."

Bryan Robson, the former England and Manchester United captain, is the new manager of Thailand. "He's agreed to become coach, he's very happy with what we've offered him," said Thai FA chief Worawi Makudi. "It's a four-year deal. The plan is he'll coach Thailand for the Asian Cup, the Olympics and hopefully the World Cup too."

David Ngog can play a pivotal role in Liverpool's season, according to manager Rafael Benitez. The Frenchman netted the only goal in Liverpool's third round League Cup win over Leeds on Tuesday and Benitez said: "He is a young player, but he has quality. That is something we knew. He showed character and although the Premier League is tough, he can cope with it."

Former Leeds, Everton and Fulham midfielder, Olivier Dacourt, has joined Standard Liege until the end of the season;  Colchester have parted company with 36-year-old player-coach Gary Holt and Martin O'Neill has given Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood permission to talk to Newcastle regarding a possible loan switch.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Barnsley provided the biggest upset of the evening as they beat Burnley 3-2 in the third round of the League Cup. Stoke produced an amazing comeback as they came from two goals down to beat Blackpool 4-3 in a seven goal thriller. Portsmouth also came from a goal down against Carlisle to record only their second victory of the season with a 3-1 victory.

Elsewhere in the competition, Arsenal’s youngsters once again showed their quality as they beat West Brom 2-0. Liverpool avoided a major cup upset with a 1-0 win over Leeds, while Sunderland came out 2-0 winners in their top-flight battle with Birmingham and Bolton recorded a 3-1 victory over West Ham.

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole is set to make his first appearance of the season against QPR in the League Cup on Wednesday night. The England midfielder has been sidelined for the last nine months with a knee injury, but has finally made a full recovery. Summer signing Yuri Zhirkov will also make his debut for the club following his summer move from CSKA Moscow.

Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha has been ruled out of action for three weeks with a calf injury. Onuoha picked up the knock in a reserve game against Wigan last week and will be missing until the middle of October.

Tottenham’s defensive worries have been eased by the timely return of Michael Dawson. Dawson has been sidelined since April with an Achilles injury, but has been included in the squad for the League Cup tie against Preston on Wednesday night. Harry Redknapp is already missing Ledley King, Sebastien Bassong and Jonathan Woodgate through injury.

Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing has moved a step closer to making a full recovery from a broken foot after having a pin removed from his right foot. Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill said: “The specialist is particularly pleased with him, which is great news. It is just a matter now of that wound healing and Stewart taking his time.”

Ronaldinho has hit back at reports that he plans to announce his retirement at the end of the season. The Brazilian star has not featured in the last two games for AC Milan, but he has no intentions of hanging up his boots. Ronaldinho said: "I have never considered the possibility of retiring from football. The source of my happiness has always been to play football. I am happy at Milan and I will remain here until the end of my contract."

Chelsea forward Didier Drogba will be able to resume training on Thursday after being carried off against Tottenham with a calf injury. Chelsea assistant boss Ray Wilkins said: "Didier had a scan and there's no problem with his calf. It was just the most horrendous bout of cramp. We thought he couldn't release the muscle and it might be something more nasty but he'll be able to take part on Saturday.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

QPR are awaiting news of their fate relating to Flavio Briatore. The club’s Italian co-owner was given an indefinite ban from FIA events after his team Renault were found guilty of race-fixing. The ban could mean Briatore fails the Football League’s ‘fit and proper person’s test’ and has to step down as a director or sell his shares in the club. The League have asked to see the FIA’s report into the Renault affair.

Burnley midfielder Chris McCann could be out until Christmas after damaging knee ligaments at the weekend. McCann had been ever present for the Clarets but is likely to miss the next three months.

Gary McAllister has been asked by the Scottish Football Association to join George Burley’s coaching staff. The former Leeds and Scotland midfielder is in line to replace Stephen Pressley, who resigned his post last week.

Tottenham and England defender Ledley King could also be out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, but team-mate Sebastien Bassong will be back sooner. The Cameroon defender was taken off on a stretcher and with a neck brace after being fouled by Chelsea’s Nicholas Anelka, but scans have showed no serious damage.

Charlton Athletic have been boosted by a £7million cash injection and restructuring of their board that sees Richard Murray take over as chairman of the club’s parent company.

Yeovil have re-signed  Shaun MacDonald on a three month loan from Swansea City. The Wales Under-21 captain spent a month on loan at Huish Park towards the end of last season.

Ruud van Nistelrooy injured a thigh muscle at the weekend and could be out of action for six weeks. The injury-plagued Dutch striker has only recently returned to the Real Madrid side after recovering from a long-term knee injury.

Aston Villa’s Marlon Harewood is likely to join Newcastle on loan this week. The former West Ham striker has recovered from a foot injury and is wanted on Tynside to replace the injured Shola Ameobi.

Monday 21 September 2009

Didier Drogba has been sent for scans on a calf injury sustained during Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Drogba scored one and set up two goals to send Chelsea back to the top of the table but was carried off injured after 85 minutes.
 
Tottenham and England defender Ledley King also sustained an injury in the same match, limping off with a hamstring problem while fellow defender Sebastien Bassong had to be substituted with a head and neck injury, leaving Spurs with severe problems at the back. England duo Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate are also injured at present.

Michael Owen scored a dramatic late winner for Manchester United, his first at Old Trafford since a summer move from Newcastle United, as the Red Devils beat Manchester City 4-3 in a pulsating derby match. Earlier United had led three times, first through Wayne Rooney and twice through Darren Fletcher headers, but City pegged them back through Gareth Barry and twice more through Craig Bellamy.

Sir Alex Ferguson described his side’s 4-3 victory as “the best derby game of all time” and believes United have made a big statement in the battle to be kings of Manchester.  He said: "Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder. Today the players showed their form. That is the best answer of all."

Louis Saha scored twice to help Everton to a much-needed 3-0 victory over Blackburn at Goodison Park while Wolves gained their first home league victory of the season by beating Fulham 2-1. Kevin Doyle and David Edwards scored the goals.

In Italy, Sampdoria went top of Serie A with a 4-1 thrashing of Siena, just ahead of Juventus. Jose Mourinho’s Inter are third after beating Cagliari 2-1. 

Meanwhile Barcelona are still top in La Liga in Spain after thrashing Atletico Madrid 5-2 with Lionel Messi scoring twice. And Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Real Madrid as they crushed Xerez.  In Scotland, Celtic beat Hearts 2-1 to go top of the SPL thanks to an injury-time winner from Glenn Loovens.

Nicolas Anelka says he wants to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career and would be willing to sign a new deal. His current contract runs out in 2011.