Toyota Football Fever Show 23
What the UK papers said this week?
1) He could be £35m El Ron
CRISTIANO RONALDO’S agent insists he
could still be heading for Spain this summer.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are ready to pay
£35million for the Portuguese winger — even
though Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson insists he is
not for sale.
Ron’s agent Sergio Alves said: “When
Real and Barca are involved the future is always open, not
closed. Given a little bit of time the situation may change
— let’s see.”
Fergie will be fuming at Alves’ comments
because he has already banned Ronaldo, 21, from talking
about a move.
Alves added: “There is not much we
can do at the moment because United are making their position
very clear.” "But you never know in these matters.”
2) Sheikh rattled by the Kop
FUMING Sheikh Mohammed has called off plans
to take over Liverpool.
The sheikh’s Dubai International Capital company had
submitted a £450million offer which would have given
Anfield boss Rafa Benitez a bumper cash kitty for transfers.
DIC were also prepared to fund a brand new
stadium for the Reds at Stanley Park and also wipe out debts
totalling around £80m. An Arab takeover would have
seen the club scheduled to move into the new ground for
the start of the 2009-10 season.
But last night DIC dramatically withdrew
their bid, amid growing claims that they are furious at
being messed around by the Kop giants.
3) Matt is a £7.5m Hammer
ALAN CURBISHLEY finally got his man last night
when he signed Matthew Upson from Birmingham.
The West Ham boss has been relentless in his
pursuit of the defender, who joins in a deal that could
eventually be worth around £7.5million.
Upson, 27, will add experience to an Upton
Park squad battling the drop.
He has signed a 4½-year deal, thought to be worth
£35,000-a-week in wages and including a get-out clause
should the Hammers lose their relegation fight.
4) “I’m not a coward Roeder”
MARTIN O’NEILL has told Glenn Roeder
to get his facts right after being labelled a coward by
the Newcastle boss.
Aston Villa manager O’Neill was accused
of not having the bottle to take over at Tyneside last year.
Caretaker Roeder was finally installed as
the long-term successor to Graeme Souness despite suggestions
the job was O’Neill’s if he wanted it.
And that sparked an extraordinary suggestion
that the Irishman was too frightened to step into the Toon
hot-seat. Roeder taunted O’Neill: “If a person
doesn't want this job, then I think you have to question
his courage.”
O’Neill, choosing his words carefully,
admitted: “What Glenn said has been brought to my
attention. Whatever was said was full of great imagination
and not much fact behind it.
5) Bale to United in the Summer
WHIZKID Gareth Bale snubbed a £10milllion
move to Tottenham in order to join Manchester United in
the summer.
The Southampton starlet visited Tottenham
after the clubs agreed a fee.
But Bale, 17, decided to delay making a decision on his
future until the end of the season.
The teenager, who faced Sheffield Wednesday
last night, is keen to go to Old Trafford and United boss
Alex Ferguson sees him as a long-term successor to Ryan
Giggs.
Quotes of the Week
"I don't think so, he is just sturdy
and has an imposing figure." Carlo Ancelotti, AC Milan
coach, bends the truth a little when asked if he thinks
Ronaldo is a little on the large side.
"We're in the sh*t" Wigan manager
Paul Jewell sums up his side’s position perfectly,
in under five words.
"If he had a role where he didn't have
a big, long speech, maybe a silent role, I think he'd be
wonderful" – British Actress Helen Mirren on
the possibility that David Beckham will become a professional
actor. Translated - means Beckham: looks good, sounds like
a five year old.
“I'm the prince, and I'm sort of slaying
a dragon, which is something I've never done before, obviously"
David Beckham, trying hard to prove that he can act, shares
with us that he’s never slayed a dragon before. Lightweight…
"He has a glittering career ahead of
him and he has the capacity to deal with all of that, I
have doubt even though he only looks about 12 years old"
Martin O’Neill, proving that Ashley Young is as good
as his name.
Last Weeks F.A. Cup Results
| Portsmouth 0 |
Middlesbrough 0 |
| |
|
Report: Portsmouth missed
the chance to move fifth in the Barclays Premiership as
a Jonathan Woodgate-inspired Middlesbrough held firm at
Fratton Park for a 0-0 draw. The often-injured on-loan Real
Madrid defender underlined what a class act he is when fit
as he outshone Pompey's Sol Campbell and Linvoy Primus.
| Sheff Utd 2 |
Fulham 0 |
Stead (23)
Tonge (28) |
|
Report: Jon Stead and Michael
Tonge ended personal goal droughts to lift Sheffield United
seven points clear of the Premiership relegation zone after
a 2-0 defeat of Fulham.
| West Ham 1 |
Liverpool 2 |
| Blanco (77) |
Kuyt (46)
Crouch (53) |
Report: Dirk Kuyt and Peter
Crouch scored the goals for Liverpool at Upton Park as West
Ham failed to find the spark to breathe life into their
Premiership relegation battle. Kuyt stunned the hosts with
a spectacular strike 12 seconds into the second half and
Crouch then celebrated his 26th birthday by finding the
top corner and sealing the points.
| Reading 3 |
Wigan 2 |
Ingimarsson (31)
Long (51)
Lita (88) |
Heskey (3)
Landzaat (90) |
Report: Wigan's woes continued
after Reading came back from behind to inflict a ninth successive
defeat on Paul Jewell's side - an unwanted new club record.
The Latics - last year's great success story - remain teetering
on the brink of the Premiership drop zone after goals from
Ivar Ingimarsson, Shane Long and Leroy Lita set up a 3-2
win.
| Chelsea 3 |
Blackburn 0 |
Drogba (6)
Lampard (67)
Kalou (90) |
|
Report: Goals from Didier
Drogba, Frank Lampard and substitute Salomon Kalou kept
Chelsea in touch with leaders Manchester United at the top
as they brushed aside Blackburn. Chelsea remain six points
adrift of Sir Alex Ferguson's men after United's 4-0 victory
over struggling Watford at Old Trafford…
| Bolton 1 |
Charlton 1 |
| Pedersen (6) |
El-Karkouri (12) |
Report: Charlton clung on
for a precious point in their fight to beat the drop after
withstanding a sustained second-half assault in a 1-1 draw
with Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
| Man Utd 4 |
Watford 0 |
Ronaldo (pen 20)
Doyley (o.g. 61)
Larsson (70)
Rooney (71)
|
|
Report: Manchester United
guaranteed Sir Alex Ferguson a good night's sleep by maintaining
their six-point lead at the Premiership summit with a 4-0
stroll against rock-bottom Watford.
| Newcastle 3 |
Aston Villa 1 |
Milner (5)
Dyer (7)
Sibierski (90) |
Young (25) |
Report: Newcastle held off
an Aston Villa rally to pick up a 3-1 win at St James' Park
which saw them move into the top half of the Premiership
table.
Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg
| Arsenal 3 |
Tottenham 1 |
Adebayor (77)
Aliadiere (105)
Chimbonda (o.g. 113) |
Mido (85) |
Report: Arsenal's youngsters
proved age is no barrier as they dug deep to see off north
London rivals Tottenham 3-1 - 5-3 on aggregate after extra-time
- at the Emirates Stadium and book a place in next month's
final against Chelsea.
Team of the Week - Liverpool
While Man Utd were thrashing Watford, and
Chelsea were winning at Stamford Bridge once again, Liverpool
had a much tougher looking game against West Ham at Upton
Park. The Hammers are desperate for points at the moment,
and with new signings on board looked hungry. But Liverpool’s
new found resilience, coupled with the goals that their
three pronged strikeforce are bringing won through to make
it 31 points out of the last 36. Next stop the Merseyside
Derby!
Player of the Week - Denilson
Not the old Brazilian midfielder, but the
new Brazilian under-19 captain. Rafa Benitez moaned the
other week how he couldn’t afford to sign players
like him for Liverpool, and on his performance against Spurs
in the Carling Cup, it is easy to see why the Liverpool
manager was so annoyed. He moved to the Gunners for £3.4m
from Sao Paulo, and has had limited chance to impress so
far – but he was at the heart of everything good about
Arsenal’s win, and it shouldn’t be too long
before we see him in the first team.
Donkey of the Week - Jussi Jaaskelainen
Goalkeeping is perhaps the hardest position
mentally for a player. Outfield there are plenty of opportunities
to make mistakes that don’t matter to your teams result,
but between the sticks, one error can turn a win into a
draw, or a draw into a loss. The normally excellent Finn,
Jussi Jaaskelainen will be thinking about this, as he performed
well, but let an easy shot from Talal El-Karkouri through
his fingers to undo all the good work his teammates had
done to get the Trotters in front. At least his manager
was forgiving!
Upcoming FA Cup
FA English Premiership (Saturday
3rd & Sunday 4th)
Liverpool v Everton
Suspensions
Injuries LIV - Garcia, Zenden, Sissoko, Kewell
EVE - McFadden, (Johnson), (Valente)
Prediction 2-1
Reason: Usually Merseyside
Derbies throw the form book out of the window, although
Liverpool have the better of recent history, barring the
3-0 reverse earlier this season. The Reds form over the
last couple of months has been amazing however, and despite
all the hard graft that Everton will no doubt put in, Rafa
Benitez’s boys should take all three points at Anfield.
Aston Villa v West Ham
Suspensions
Injuries AST - Delaney, (Sutton), (Gardner)
WHM - Neill, Bowyer, Collins, Ashton
Prediction 2-2
Reason: Both these sides
have made some exciting signings in the transfer window,
and Villa would expect to push on now and start to put a
winning run together. However West Ham have to fight, and
fight hard, to stay in the division and I can see a close
game here with the points being split.
Blackburn v Sheff Utd
Suspensions SHF - Gillespie
Injuries BLA - Savage, Ooijer, Reid, (Roberts)
SHF - Bennett, (Kilgallon), (Leigertwood)
Prediction 2-1
Reason: The significance
of the loss of Robbie Savage for Blackburn cannot be understated,
just as they were looking to continue their winning run.
This home game against Sheffield United though, should produce
three points for them, especially as the Blades may now
feel they have some relegation breathing space.
Charlton v Chelsea
Suspensions
Injuries CHA - Gibbs, (Bent), (Reid), (Young)
CHE - Robben, Boulahrouz, J Cole, A Cole, (Terry)
Prediction 1-1
Reason: Chelsea seem to
be back on form with their 3-0 win over mid-table Blackburn,
but they may find life a lot tougher at the valley. Alan
Pardew has his players well drilled and fighting to avoid
the drop, and with Chelsea’s defence still in disarray,
I expect the Addicks to take a point off the Blues here.
Fulham v Newcastle
Suspensions
Injuries FUL - Bullard, Elrich, Pembridge, Elliott, (Bouba
Diop)
NEW - Given, Ramage, Emre, Krul, Babayaro, N’Zogbia,
Moore, Ameobi, Owen
Prediction 2-1
Reason: Fulham are once
again returning to their topsy-turvy form of old, while
Newcastle are slowly returning to strength with injured
players coming back into the team. They are playing some
good football, but home advantage should tell here and I
fancy Fulham to take all three points.
Man City v Reading
Suspensions
Injuries MAC - Dickov, Mills, (Jihai)
REA - Sonko, Doyle, Mate, (Gunnarsson)
Prediction 1-2
Reason: Man City’s
form of late has been poor with goals in short supply, indeed
City have the lowest goals per game ratio in the Premier
League. Reading on the other hand have the second highest
and I fancy Steve Coppell’s boys to get a result at
the City of Manchester Stadium and steal three points.
Watford v Bolton
Suspensions
Injuries WAT - King, (Carlisle), (Chambers)
BOL - O’Brien
Prediction 1-2
Reason: Bolton Wanderers
are currently in a mini-slump, but this game should be the
perfect opportunity for them to get back to winning ways.
Watford are fighting, but don’t seem to have the belief
that they will stay up, and with new signings coming in
and Ashley Young leaving, they will not be as fluent. Bolton
win.
Wigan v Portsmouth
Suspensions
Injuries WIG - de Zeeuw, Scharner
POR - Pamarot, Stefanovic
Prediction 0-1
Reason: Wigan Athletic have
been missing their stalwarts Arjan de Zeeuw, and Paul Scharner.
Scharner indeed has been missing for eight games now –
and it is now eight games without a win. New signing Julius
Aghahowa will be expected to bag some goals, but he will
take time to settle, and I see Wigan’s winless run
continuing.
Middlesbrough v Arsenal
Suspensions
Injuries MID - Huth
ARS - Hleb, van Persie, Gallas, (Ljungberg), (Eboue), (Djourou),
(Baptista)
Prediction 2-3
Reason: Middlesbrough have
a great record against the big teams at the Riverside, and
with Mark Viduka bang in form could be a handful for the
Gunners. I feel however that Arsenal’s class will
manage to win this one, although it could be a close, but
high scoring, game.
Tottenham v Man Utd
Suspensions TOT - Mido
Injuries TOT - Dervite, (King), (Tainio), (Berbatov)
MAN - NONE
Prediction 2-2
Reason: This should be a
great game as Spurs love to attack the big sides coming
to White Hart Lane. Home advantage will be a big bonus for
them, but I think that the Red Devils will do enough to
draw this one, as they are on a rampant run of form at the
minute.
Premiership Actim Index
Barclays
Premier League Top 10 players
|
| No
|
Name |
Team |
Index Score |
1 |
C Ronaldo |
Man Utd |
416 |
2 |
D Drogba |
Chelsea |
415 |
3 |
G Barry |
Aston Villa |
391 |
4 |
F Lampard |
Chelsea |
380 |
5 |
S Finnan |
Liverpool |
378 |
6 |
E Diouf |
Bolton |
365 |
7 |
W Rooney |
Man Utd |
365 |
8 |
B McCarthy |
Blackburn |
360 |
9 |
M Arteta |
Everton |
357 |
10 |
F Fabergas |
Arsenal |
348 |
