Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was relieved to see his side end a run of five straight defeats with a hard-fought 3-2 win at home to Birmingham City.
Goals from Robert Huth and Ricardo Fuller put the hosts 2-0 up with 19 minutes to play at the Britannia Stadium, before the Blues scored twice in four minutes to level the scores, only for Dean Whitehead to bundle home a winner five minutes from time.
Pulis said afterwards:"When they got the second goal it was very deflating.
"But I thought in the first half it was as good as we have played, getting the ball wide nice and early and we caused them lots of problems.
"The big disappointment was that we weren't coming in at half-time more than one goal up.
"We started the second half well and then had a mad 15 minutes where, after Ricardo's fantastic goal, they pressed on and had nothing to lose.
"After the previous 70 minutes, we started to take a step back and fair play to Birmingham, they kept going and they nearly nicked something.
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"But we've got a great group of players who never give up and they are resilient.
"What we needed was a win, which we have got and it has lifted us a little bit."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal have had some great players from The Netherlands over the years; Marc Overmars, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the like, but they don’t get much better than Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie. Bergkamp was one of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League, and although van Persie might not quite be of that ilk, he’s not too far off. RVP was in fantastic form in the second half of last season, and if he can stay injury free in the next campaign, he might just fire Arsene Wenger’s men to the title. Here are Bergkamp and van Persie having a chuckle, but what’s making them laugh?
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This week you can win a copy of Arsenal: The Double 70/71 on DVD!
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970/71 Double winning Arsenal team and to celebrate a special DVD is being released so that you can relive that season in all its glory, or see it for the first time if you’re a young Gunner. Arsenal: The Double 70/71 allows you to take a trip back to the days before the Premier League and relive the season that has gone down in Arsenal’s history and will always be remembered.
Click here to read our review of Arsenal: The Double 70/71
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Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last week by beating fourth bottom Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The pressure on boss Andre Villas-Boas cranked up another notch after Glen Johnson’s well taken goal in the dying embers decided a game that the Blues never looked like winning. It’s been rumoured that the former Porto coaches job is on the line after he reportedly fell out with owner Roman Abramovic despite the Russian spending £13 million on him as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement. A decent, if uninspiring, start to the season hasn’t helped Villas-Boas’ cause although it would be unfair to criticise him just 12 games into his managerial career at Chelsea. The fact of the matter is that he hasn’t had nearly enough time to construct his own squad and implement his own ideas to full effect. Fans and pundit’s who likened him to former boss Jose Mourinho are now comparing their style’s and tactics to one another. One of the biggest criticisms of the Portuguese coach’s reign to date is his preference to play a high defensive line which is something that has come undone in the last couple of home games against Arsenal and Chelsea. John Terry’s lack of pace and David Luiz’s positional problems have been exploited time and time again this season and it’s no surprise to see they’ve conceded 19 goals league goals already with 11 coming at home. That is in stark contrast to Mourinho’s double winning debut season where the Blues conceded only 15 during the entire campaign. Under the ‘Special One’ Chelsea had a settled back four that was rarely altered and was the cornerstone of their success. Villas-Boas, on the other hand, can’t seem to make his mind up regarding a consistent for Terry with Luiz, Alex and Branislav Ivanovic all taking turns. Finding the right formula up front has also been a problem with the constant chopping and changing leaving players unable to build up any momentum. The form of Fernando Torres remains a worry whilst Daniel Sturridge staked his claim for the ‘number nine’ role coming off the bench to equalise last week. Villas-Boas will need to get his team selection and tactics spot this time around if he is to alleviate the pressure on his shoulders with a win against Wolves.
Mick McCarthy is another boss feeling the pinch of a poor start to the season with his Wanderer’s side now sitting fourth bottom after a run of one win in their last 10 games. That victory over Wigan before the international break was their first since beating Fulham at the end of August with the Midlanders taking two points from a possible 24 in between. Normal service was resumed last week as they were easily beaten by Everton at Goodison Park despite taking the lead through a Stephen Hunt penalty. McCarthy has been the subject of numerous moans and groans from sections of Molineux supporters with his team selection and substitutions all coming under fire in recent weeks. In fact the Wolves supremo has a similar sort of issue to his opposite number in the Chelsea dugout with his back four currently under pressure to stop leaking goals at such a rapid rate. Summer signing Roger Johnson was supposed to be the man to tighten up the back line and initially it looked like he had done just that. Unfortunately since the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on 27th August they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet conceding 19 goals in just nine games. As an ex-defender himself McCarthy will surely be doing all he can to get his rearguard securely bolted before they make the less than daunting trip to West London.
Chelsea – 5th
Last Five: Lost 2-1 v Liverpool (H), Won 1-0 v Blackburn (A), Lost 5-3 v Arsenal (H), Lost 1-0 v QPR (A), Won 3-1 v Everton (H)
Potential Starting X11: 1. P. Cech 2. B. Ivanovic 26. J. Terry [C] 4. D. Luiz 3. A. Cole 12. J. Obi Mikel 7. Ramires 8. F. Lampard 10. J. Mata 15. F. Malouda 23. D. Sturridge*
Injury News: Villas Boas has no new injury concerns with Michael Essien the only long-term absentee.
Key Player: Daniel Sturridge
You’d have to say that last week was rather special for the strike after he won his first England cap and came off the bench to score Chelsea’s equaliser against Liverpool. Whilst the Blues went on to lose the impact Sturridge had was evident with his energy, strength and desire up front giving his side an extra dimension in the final third. He’s already stated he want’s to be the number one striker at Stamford Bridge and it’s likely Villas-Boas will heed that request.
Match Fact: Chelsea’s record against Wolves at Stamford Bridge is an impressive one and they are currently unbeaten in the Premier League against the Midland side. The Blues have won all three top flight games scoring 11 goals and conceding only two.
Wolves – 13th
Last Five
Lost 2-1 v Everton (A)Won 3-1 v Wigan (H), Lost 3-1 v Manchester City (A), Drew 2-2 v Swansea (H), Lost 2-0 v West Brom (A)
Potential Starting X11
1. W. Hennessey 5. R. Stearman 14. R. Johnson [C] 16. C. Berra 3. G Elokobi 11. S. Ward 8. K. Henry 4. D. Edwards 20. N. Milijas 17. M. Jarvis 29. K. Doyle*
Injury News: Ronald Zubar is still out with a groin strain whilst Kevin Foley has been ruled out until Janaury with an ankle injury. Other than that McCarthy has no fresh injury concerns.
Key Player: Kevin Doyle
Goals haven’t flowed as regularly as usual for the Republic of Ireland striker despite his effort and commitment soaring to new levels this season. Playing up front on his own has seen Doyle take on extra responsibility and his constant running and closing down of defences will be a key part of Wolves’ game plan up against Chelsea’s weak defensive partnership of Terry and Luiz.
Match Fact
Wolves have failed to claim a league victory at Stamford Bridge for over 30-years with their last West London win coming in an Old Division One clash on 24 March 1979.
Last Time at Stamford Bridge
Premier League, 23 October 2010
Chelsea 2-0 Wolves
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Malouda, 23. Kalou, 81
Attendance: 41,752
Referee: Lee Probert
PREDICTION
Chelsea are continuing their transitional period under Villas-Boas and the constant comparisons with Mourinho and his title winning team aren’t doing them any favours. True, five of the starting line up against Liverpool were part of the 2004/05 title winning side but they are all seven years older and their new coach has identified the need for new blood. The likes of Sturridge and Juan Mata have performed admirably in amongst the experienced heads and those two should be the bright sparks against Wolves on Saturday. McCarthy’s side are desperately in need of a win to haul themselves away from danger with the dreaded festive period looming.
Manchester United are likely to be without key defender Rio Ferdinand for the rest of the season.
The England captain has been struggling with a calf injury since the beginning of February, and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the 32-year-old centre-back could be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
The English Premier League leaders will be also without defenders Rafael and John O’Shea for the visit of Bolton Wanderers to Old Trafford on Saturday.
“Rio has been out for a few weeks now and we are not looking at this as a short-term situation,” Ferguson said.
“He has not started training yet. We will be lucky to get him back for some part of the season.”
Ferguson himself will also be missing from domestic action, with a five-match ban for publicly criticising referee Martin Atkinson set to begin following the Bolton game.
The Scot has not yet decided if he will appeal against the suspension.
“It is disappointing, but it is in the past now,” he said. “It is the only industry where you can’t tell the truth.”
The fitness of club captain Nemanja Vidic is also a concern.
The Serbian international missed United’s Champions League victory over Marseille on Wednesday, also with a calf injury, and is not expected to play a part in the Bolton match.
“It has been a bad spell for us,” Ferguson said.
“Only a few weeks ago we had every defender fit and things were looking great but it has all just fallen apart in the last week or so.”
“Hopefully Jonny Evans may be fit for Saturday, even if it is a bit of a risk.”
“He has trained all week but he has been out for such a long time.”
Midfielders Anderson (knee), Owen Hargreaves (knee) and striker Michael Owen (groin) are also missing.
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But things are beginning to look more positive further up the pitch, with winger Antonio Valencia nearing full fitness and midfielder Park Ji-Sung also close to a return.
“Attacking-wise our options are good. Antonio Valencia is back and we gave him a spell on Tuesday night which was good,” Ferguson said.
“Ji-Sung Park has trained and could be available.”
“Bolton have done extremely well this season. It will be a big game for us this Saturday.”
It’s been a strange old season so far for Liverpool. The fans have certainly had to put up with a lot already, even more than usual in fact. Roy Hodgson came and went, but not before making some questionable decisions, like Paul Konchesky for example, who is now playing Championship football. And now Kenny Dalglish has finally taken the reins and brought some much needed normality to the club. But what is King Kenny doing that Hodgson wasn’t?
On the face of things, he has pretty much the same squad, minus Konchesky who has hardly been missed, and of course Fernando Torres. Surely, Hodgson must be sat at home feeling pretty let down watching players like Raul Meireles smash goals in and Maxi Rodriguez actually offer something positive.
Admittedly, Dalglish has made a few changes which most of us were crying out for the former boss to make a long time ago. Christian Poulsen was getting in ahead of Lucas and Jonjo Shelvey, Sotirios Kyrgiakos was often preferred too over Daniel Agger and the less said about Konchesky the better – especially with Martin Kelly proving to be such a talent. But other than that, should we just put the turn in Liverpool’s fortunes down to the fact that he’s a man motivator? I know that ‘King Kenny’ breathes the club and is as close to the club’s all-time cult hero as Anfield is ever likely to see, but wasn’t Roy Hodgson quite good at getting the best out of his team himself? We shouldn’t forget that he took a very ordinary Fulham to the final of the Uefa Cup not that long ago.
Liverpool have had their critics – I’m not ashamed to admit that was one of the biggest, but I still felt that Hodgson was dealt a bad hand. He inherited an average squad with a couple of underperforming gems and was expected to work miracles. Yes he made some bad signings, but doesn’t every manager? Surely the rest of the team who are now playing for their shirts the way Dalglish and co would have done, should have been doing it for Hodgson as well? It takes a lot more than a club icon to make better normal players better.
In terms of Meireles, it just looks as though all he needed was time to adapt to life in the Premier League. So the fact he wasn’t doing a job straight away, does that make Hodgson a bad manager? What it says to me is that he recognised a good player, but won’t get credit for bringing him to the club because he wasn’t given the chance to see the Portuguese star settle into life at Anfield. Instead we attribute his new found quality down to Dalglish getting the best out of him.
There is no doubting that Kenny Dalglish has done a marvellous job at turning the club around so the decision to replace Hodgson seems vindicated, especially as his 6-month spell wasn’t exactly successful. But I hope within the realms of football management, his ability to coach a side hasn’t now been tarnished. He has proven pedigree and his ill-fated reign at Liverpool wasn’t all down to his bad spending and tactical naivety. The players simply didn’t want to play for him and the fans soon turned on him – a brutal combination.
King Kenny will continue to motivate the troops at Liverpool, but I hope Hodgson will be back doing the same thing at a club who want him there, sooner rather than later.
Like my rants? Follow me on Twittr @Joino
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Carlos Tevez throws his toys out of the pram and the football world unites in sheer disdain at the actions of the Argentine forward. Am I the only one who saw this coming – given the fractious relationship between the player and the football club?
Tevez is something of an enigma in football, a complete one off and a player who in my opinion has no real love for the game. He wouldn’t be the first who plays the game simply as a living and the Argentine himself has suggested more than once that he is considering quitting the game for good. The very fact he initially joined West Ham and then had the sheer audacity to cross the Manchester divide tells you everything you need to know about a player who clearly has no emotional attachment to the game. He will kiss the badge and all that to appease his fans, but as he showed with United and now City, he will happily look after No.1 as and when it suits him.
The reason I wasn’t surprised at the events in Munich was that for the first time this summer, what Carlos Tevez wants he didn’t get. The Argentine was on a one man mission to get himself out of the Etihad Stadium and used every medium possible to let everyone know how unhappy he was in Manchester. I guess the sheer arrogance of the player thought that there would be a queue of teams as long as his arm willing to buy him, but everyone steadfast refused to pay the reported £40m asking price on his head and the player had to remain at City. Unfortunately the player and his advisors had no one to blame as the Citizens put him on the market and were prepared to take a £7m loss on the player to grant Tevez his move. The fact is no one wanted him and he had to return to City with his tail firmly between his legs.
What Tevez couldn’t have bargained for is that City have moved on without him and he returned being stripped on the captaincy and another Argentine had stolen the love and affection of the City faithful. Suddenly the player who thought he was untouchable in these parts was no longer needed, leaving the player well and truly up the creek without a paddle. It was only a matter of time before he cracked and that came out in Munich last night – I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.
So where does Tevez go from here? I am sure City will look through his contract and see if there are any loopholes within that allow them to further their punishment. I am sure Carlos is privately thinking ‘job done’ and he will force his move, however I hope for football that Manchester City hold firm and let him rot in the reserves. They are probably the only football club who can afford to do so and I hope they do and make a stand against these parasites within the game. It is about time the clubs took control once again and put these multi-millionaire prima donnas in their place once and for all.
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Wayne Rooney has stated that Manchester United’s experience and persistence in the second half of the season will stand them in good stead in the race for the Premier League title.
The Old Trafford outfit are three points adrift of cross-town rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, as the pair fight it out for superiority in the English top flight.
Despite the players at Roberto Mancini’s disposal, Rooney feels that his side have the necessary track record to overtake City in the title race.
“We relish this part of the season,” he told reporters at a press conference, which was covered by The Daily Mail.
“Once we get into the new year we can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Every game is massive and we don’t want to be dropping points.
“But I always feel we are at our best around now because we can see the end of the season and that there are trophies there to be won.
“That’s why we stay focused and, more often than, not we’re always there at the end.
“The next three or four weeks will be exciting.
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“We understand and know what we have to do. We need to prepare ourselves the best way we can and hopefully get the results we need,” he stated.
Manager Luigi Delneri is expecting a warm reception from Sampdoria fans when he leads Juventus out at his former club on Sunday.
Juve sit in sixth place on the Serie A table heading into the clash at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris – eight points ahead of Sampdoria in tenth.
Delneri played one season for Sampdoria in the early 1980s and returned to manage the club last season, guiding them to fourth place in the league.
The Italian said there would be mutual respect between him and the fans when he takes up his place in the technical area.
“They (Sampdoria fans) will definitely be expecting applause from me. Our relationship was short, only one year, but it was very deep from an emotional point of view,” Delneri said.
“We carved out some great results together so I will definitely be happy to meet them. On the other hand, I think they will also be happy to meet me and be grateful for what we did together last year.”
“I’ve always held that club in high regard. Both as a player and as a coach, we know each other very well.”
The 60-year-old boss said he was wary of Sampdoria’s presence up front – featuring the likes of Giampaolo Pazzini and new loan man Federico Macheda – as well as their tactical nous.
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“Juventus will be even more spurred on by Sampdoria because they are a strong and solid team. They are a side that knows how to keep the play on the pitch and know how to find the right resources. We should pay particular care to what we do best, and do it as fast as we can,” he said.
“We have to pay attention to their pressing tactics and to some of their key players, especially to their strikers, because they are really strong up front.”
After the two week international break, where England have put themselves on the brink of qualification for the Euro Championships, a welcome return to the Premier League action is nearly upon us. It seems like an eternity since Rooney was sticking three past Arsenal and Dzeko hammered four past Tottenham, but in just over 48hrs the battles will resume.
Three games in, the Premier League has been exciting and at its entertaining best with goals aplenty. While the usual suspects remain at the top end of the tree, few would have expected the likes of Wolves, Newcastle and Wigan making up the top 8. Mick McCarthy (ever the optimist) claims that all he cares about is where the next 30pts are going to come from to ensure Premier League safety.
Elsewhere it has been a bad start in North London – with both clubs in the bottom four and suffering heavy defeats at the hands of the Manchester Clubs and Messrs Wenger and Redknapp will be hoping that their NEW transfer window signings will kick-start their stuttering starts to the season. Arsenal could have no fewer than five players making their debuts at the Emirates this Saturday, as Wenger finally puts his hand in his pocket, to freshen up his squad.
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It promises to be an absolute feast of football, but to give you a taste of the thrills and spills we have witnessed so far in the opening weeks of the Premier League season – go to the excellent ESPN Goals App for a review of season so far.
Click here to download the ESPN Goals App – a must have for every football supporter!
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli was given complete support by Italy national team boss Cesare Prandelli after suffering racist abuse during the 1-1 draw with Romania.
Balotelli was subjected to constant booing during the game in Austria, with Prandelli disgusted by what he saw and heard – with banners also railing against a multi-ethnic Italy.
He told Italian TV:"I was disappointed and angry to hear those chants. It really makes you want to do something, but we are impotent in this situation.
"We always hear these chants and something has to be done about it. I would love to see someone embrace him to confirm the faith and affection in this lad."
Balotelli himself later added:"In all honesty, I don't know what to say. If I have to stand there every time and listen to these chants, we're going nowhere.
"Cesare Prandelli says everyone should hug me and it would be nice if that happened, but it also wouldn't be right to stop the game just for those few people who go to the stadium to behave like that.
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"We'd need to change these people, but I am not the one to do it. I am happy to play for the Nazionale.
"I will just say that where I live, in Brescia, there is already a multi-ethnic Italy and we can do a lot better."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email