Manchester United extended their lead at the top of the Premier League thanks to a last gasp winner by Dimitar Berbatov. Fergie’s men find themselves 5pts clear with eight games to go and a record 19th title is simply in their hands, although Arsene Wenger firmly believes that Arsenal will pip them to the finishing line and believes that yesterday’s comeback has given the players the confidence that they need to succeed.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that includes Capello handing the England captaincy to John Terry; Henry set to unveil his Liverpool plans, while Redknapp insists he can bring the title to Spurs in the coming years.
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Capello hands captaincy back to Terry – Guardian
Capello – Wilshere has arrived – Sky Sports
Ferdinand ‘appalled’ by Capello’s behaviour – Daily Telegraph
Houllier remains defiant in face of fans’ hostility – Mirror
City to entice Mourinho with £10m-a-year deal, but Jose wants dream job at United – Daily Mail
Liverpool signings will get wide berth in summer – Mirror
Henry back to watch Liverpool and unveil his Anfield plan – Daily Mail
Redknapp insists he can bring the title to Spurs – Mirror
United looking at Costa – Daily Telegraph
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We don’t want revenge, says Ancelotti – Guardian
City’s Mancini fears Balotelli will be the ruin of him – Mirror
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti admits his team will have to be better to beat Manchester United after their 1-0 win against Wigan on Saturday.A goal from Florent Malouda handed the Blues victory, but it was clear many of the players had one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford, which Chelsea will enter trailing 1-0 after a first-leg loss at Stamford Bridge.
“It?s positive to win because it was not easy to prepare this game between the quarter-finals,” Ancelotti said.
“The first half was not good; the second half was better. In the end we won – it was not a good performance, but it was not easy.”
“We have to play better at Old Trafford but this is normal. To win there we have to play at 100 percent.”
January signing Fernando Torres came off the bench against Wigan and three times went close to opening his account for his new club, but the striker was denied by poor finishing and some excellent saves from goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.
“Every one of us wanted him to score today and he was really unlucky sometimes and other times the keeper made a great save,” Ancelotti said.
“But we have to continue to have confidence in him. He moved well because he created several chances for himself; maybe he will score the most important goals of our season.”
“We have a strong squad, all the games we played against them (Manchester United) were in balance. And when we needed to win there (Old Trafford) last year we did.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, meanwhile, believes his side – which are a point adrift at the bottom of the English Premier League – did not deserve to lose at Stamford Bridge, and has predicted they will respond well from the setback.
“Nobody expected Wigan to get a positive result but I?m very proud of our display,” Martinez said.
“We were brave, we kept the ball well. We frustrated them for long spells and defended very well.”
Martinez was furious at Malouda’s winner, claiming his goalkeeper was fouled as he attempted to collect a Didier Drogba corner in the 67th minute.
“Because of that it was a huge feeling of frustration when the way they scored,” Martinez said.
“The keeper was clearly impeded by Torres, it?s as clear as day his elbow was in his face.”
“I?m a huge fan of Howard Webb and I?m extremely disappointed he couldn?t give us that call because it was the call of the game.”
“Sometimes when you are at the bottom of the league those decisions don?t go your way.”
“But we will have eight games left and I am 100 percent sure if we play that way we?ll have enough points to stay in the Premier League.”
“I only wish there were 30 games left because this team is starting to click and if there was longer left in the season I could see us finishing in the top 10.”
Carlo Ancelotti can now be forgiven for not being as enthusiastic as his fellow Chelsea colleagues on the arrival of a certain £50 million Spanish forward. Fernando Torres’ arrival has created a tactical nightmare for the experienced Italian, a nightmare that Ancelotti can’t seem to wake from.
I’m sure the likes of Ian Holloway would love such a dilemma: how to accommodate two world class strikers in a starting eleven, but with each fixture that passes, Torres is looking more likely to become John Terry’s next love interest than to open his goalscoring account for his new club. With no goal return on such a major transfer fee, numerous tactical changes from a formation that won the double only the season before and ever increasing pressure on Ancelotti, has Torres’ acquisition come at too high a cost?
Before ‘El Níño’ joined Chelsea, they played a very successful 4-3-3 formation with Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda playing as attacking wingers supporting Didier Drogba. The Ivorian’s presence, physicality and goals have been instrumental in Chelsea’s recent successes and the three pronged attack scored 52 goals between them last season in the league. Was Torres’ purchase even a necessary one? It has clearly interrupted the ebb and flow of the trio that was a dominant force in the final third of the pitch.
The dictum “too many cooks spoil the broth” springs to mind when tackling the problem of playing Drogba and Torres, due to the fact that the duo both like to occupy the same position on the pitch (very central) and are comfortable being tightly marked by the opposition’s defence. Ancelotti could go for the 4-4-2 formation to solve this conundrum, but although using this formation allows the Spaniard and the Ivorian to be central figures, it perhaps poses too many problems for Chelsea. Salomon Kalou appears to be the only player who could play the right midfield position, but in previous formations the wingers have had fewer defensive responsibilities, where as in a 4-4-2, tracking back to cover your right back is a must; would Kalou really be up for the defensive responsibilities?
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As well as the issue of defensive cover, sacrificing one out of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel by breaking up the three man midfield that has been so pivotal for Chelsea in recent years doesn’t seem worth it; although Essien and Lampard would be the majority’s first choice, it is Mikel who offers the greatest defensive cover and Chelsea would need this, as you couldn’t have Lampard and Essien bombing forward constantly, despite how well they do this. Playing just two central midfielders overall takes away a steel and air of dominance from the Blues in the middle of park, surely too huge a sacrifice to accommodate even a World Cup winner, especially when you consider the previous situation at Liverpool after Robbie Keane’s arrival; Rafael Benitez opted for a 4-4-2 to use both the Spaniard and the Irishman and they were far from prolific, failed to develop an understanding and eventually were broken up, with Torres preferred in the 4-2-3-1 formation that once again pitted him as a lone and central figure. The 4-4-2 ideology seems like it has too many repercussions to Chelsea’s offensive potential and creates an aura of trying to get square pegs into round holds.
Another approach that could be deployed is the 3-4-1-2 formation, a very popular system in the South American leagues, especially so in Argentina. Obviously no formation can include every player, and although this formation would remove the use of full backs and one from Alex, John Terry, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic, it is a formation that accommodates more or less every attacking outlet that Chelsea have at their disposal. With a defensive midfielder to provide additional cover, this would allow Lampard to be his usual free scoring and free roaming self. I view this as the only successful formation Chelsea could adopt in allowing Torres and Drogba to be successful together at the same time.
I don’t know about you, but all this tinkering just seems a bit too much and over the top to fit in any player, even Fernando Torres. No team should change for one player, but despite this old adage the pressure is on Ancelotti to successfully utilise Torres, while keeping the likes of Didier Drogba scoring but, more importantly, happy.
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Will Torres end his Chelsea goal drought against Birmingham?
Ian Holloway said Blackpool must win at home to Bolton on Saturday to give themselves a realistic chance of Premier League survival.A late rally at the end of last season saw Holloway’s men gatecrash the Championship Play-offs to win promotion to the top tier.
Holloway will need more magic at the end of this term for his men to escape from the relegation zone.
“We have to do what we can – which is win. We have one home game left and we have to win it to give ourselves any sort of chance,” Holloway said.
“For us this is as big as it gets – bigger than last season’s Play-off final.”
“We will approach the game as we always do – attack and try to score. Just try to score more than them – it is really simple.”
Holloway is targeting four points out of Blackpool’s last two games, and given their final match is away to champions-elect Manchester United, victory in this weekend’s game becomes all the more important.
“In my opinion we can get four points out of six. That would be a bigger achievement than winning the Championship Play-off final last season,” he said.
“I think we will need four points because the other teams play each other so I think we will need a win and a draw.”
“A lot of people who hear me saying that might think it is not worth it and give up but we have done the impossible before and we can do it again.”
Defender David Carney is ruled out with a shoulder problem.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not mind if the Premier League title race goes down to the final day of the season.Ferguson says just having to beat Blackpool at home to clinch the title is something he would have taken in August.
A win at Arsenal on Sunday would almost certainly put the title beyond the reach of nearest challengers Chelsea.
“I would be happy if we got to the last game of the season needing to win to claim the title,” Ferguson said.
“Even though Blackpool are fighting against relegation and will be tough opposition, you would have taken that scenario at the start of the season.”
“I think there is still drama ahead and the teams at the top will drop points – including Chelsea.”
“I have been a bit surprised Arsenal have fallen away but Chelsea were the dark horses in the sense that people seemed to think they were out of it.”
“Looking at the fixtures, I thought they had the easier run-in and now they are on our coat-tails.”
Ferguson has admitted his team misses the ‘Ronaldo factor’ they possessed a couple of seasons ago.
United play less attractive football than before Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid in 2009 but are top of the Premier League and in a commanding position in their UEFA Champions League semi-final after a 2-0 first leg triumph in Schalke.
“This team might not have the ‘Ronaldo’ factor, but it does not understand the word defeat,” Ferguson said.
“It is determined, gritty and very professional, and it’s produced some great moments.”
“It is not as if we have been devoid of that fantasy. Some of the football we’ve seen from the players this season has been terrific.”
Manchester United will be without goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard knee) and midfielder Owen Hargreaves (shoulder).
World number four Andy Murray has sought out Roger Federer’s former coach Sven Groeneveld for advice during the French Open.Murray, who has played without a full-time coach since firing Miles Maclagan after last year’s Wimbledon, has turned to Groeneveld in the absence of Darren Cahill, who is unavailable due to television commitments.
Cahill and Groeneveld are both part of a coaching development team available to Murray through his sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The Scot, whose form has taken a turn for the better on clay after a disappointing start to 2011, progressed to the second round at Roland Garros with a 6-4 6-1 6-3 defeat of French qualifier Eric Prodon on Tuesday.
Writing in his column for the BBC, Murray said he would continue to pick Groeneveld’s brain as he makes his way through the Grand Slam.
“(Sven’s) got a lot of experience,” he wrote. “He’s been around so many grand slams. It’s more just having that experience around.
“It’s not like I’m necessarily talking to him about tactics, but after the match I was just explaining how I was feeling, and he knows that it’s normal not to feel your best in the first match, that it’s tricky conditions, and the most important thing is to get through.”
“It’s just having someone that’s been there that, if I need the advice, he can give it to me.”
Murray also joked that he might approach Blackpool boss Ian Holloway following their relegation from the English Premier League, writing: “He’s great value and a good coach as well – maybe I should see if he wants to try tennis coaching.”
The National Football League (NFL) uses a draft system to recruit newly eligible college American football players. The draft is the most common method common source of player recruitment within the NFL. Players that have been out of high school for at least three years are eligible and although the rules do not explicitly state that players have to have been to college – nearly all players selected in the NFL draft played college football.
The present rules state that there are 7 rounds of the draft; with any expansion team (brand new team) getting the first pick in round 1 followed by the teams based on their end of season record starting from the bottom with the Superbowl losers getting the penultimate pick and the Superbowl winners having the last pick. The order typically stays the same for the remaining six rounds. However, if teams finished with identical records then the order is cycled for each round.
It is somewhat difficult to know how the draft system could be incorporated into English/European football. There are a number of issues here such as the fact we are dealing with a different sport that is organized in a different way. In America high school and college sport is a big deal – because they are future NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS… stars. However, in England talented football players are snapped up by football clubs by a young age with a view that becoming professionals at that football club.
Then there is the transfer system to be considered. In America players are signed that are free agents (through the draft system) or traded (exchanged) with other players – so transfer fees aren’t involved – but high wages are. However, then again there is wage capping going on in the US – whereas there isn’t in England.
So with that all in mind any adapted draft system could only really apply to the free transfer market and with dealing with players that are still amateurs that are now free agents. Therefore, there is no real value to apply any draft system to general free transfers or potential free transfers. This can only work if it is applied to players before they are professionals.
The players that would be in question would be those that have been released from clubs before they have been offered a professional contract. But here perhaps lies the problem; players that have been released are not highly rated at least not in the opinion of a youth coach somewhere. In contrast the players in the NFL draft are highly rated and the best youngsters would be within the draft.
So in order to have an equivalent system then youth players couldn’t be signed automatically to the professional club – but instead would enter the free market system; where any club would be free to sign them. However, that system would have a major flaw in that if that were to happen – where would the incentive be to train up a young player?
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Therefore, why not take it back further and look at players that are recruited to the club in the first place. The present rules have location restrictions on signing players below a certain age; which in some way is a bit unfair and puts a lot down to luck. Why does it matter which part of the UK players are from and why do clubs need to have catchment areas?
Then there is the issue of how teams that follow lower down in the league can be given an advantage and whetever or not any adapted draft system should be introduced exclusively to the Premier League or across all the professional clubs in England. There is of course the argument that there may be more need for it down the football league – due to the fact that there is a lot less money.
However, it is common for changes to be implemented into the Premier League and then gradually spread throughout the leagues. There are currently many people who claim that England isn’t producing the talent at the moment; It’s debatable if that is true given the emergence of players like Jordan Henderson, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
But should a youth player sign for Chelsea just because they happen to be close when in the long-term it may not be the best club for their career. Take the example of Ryan Bertrand at Chelsea; a very talented young left back that should be challenging the likes of Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines and Kieran Gibbs for a place at left back in the England team. However, instead he has found himself on loan to Championship clubs for several seasons and unable to progress.
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Imagine for a second that there was a draft system that benefited teams lower down in the table much like the NFL draft and Wigan picked him up instead. Then at this time Bertrand could be getting regular games in the Premier League and challenging for a place in the England team.
So should we look to adjust the Premier League and introduce some sort of adapted draft system? Maybe there isn’t a lot wrong with the current system – but one of the reasons for the draft system is to try and stop contract wrangles for the best youth players. There were rumours around that Manchester United had offered Phil Jones £80,000 per week. Surely Jones doesn’t need to be earning that sort of money at 19 years old. However, it may simply not be possible to adjust the draft system for the Premier League.
Veteran striker Adrian Mutu will play for Serie A outfit Cesena next season, after his move from Fiorentina was confirmed on Friday.Mutu, 32, was close to leaving Fiorentina in January for the newly promoted club, but the move was blocked before its eventual completion in the off-season.
He has signed a two-year-deal at Cesena, with the option of a third available.
“ACF Fiorentina announces that they have sold Adrian Mutu to Cesena Calcio on a permanent basis,” a statement on Fiorentina’s official website read.
“The club thanks Adrian for his work over the past few seasons and wish him all the very best for the future.”
Mutu had to accept a pay cut to join Cesena but will bring a wealth of experience to the club.
He netted 54 goals in 112 matches for Fiorentina and has also played for the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus in the Serie A as well as Chelsea in the English Premier League.
He was out of favour with the Florence-based club after walking out of training when the move to Cesena did not eventuate in January.
Mutu has never been far from controversy during his career, having twice been suspended for failing a drugs test – once at Chelsea and once at Fiorentina – for which he was banned from fooball for one year and six months respectivley.
Austrian side Sturm Graz progressed to the third round of Champions League qualifying despite a 3-2 loss to Videoton.All five goals came in an eventful first half at the Sostoi Stadion in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, but the victory for the hosts was not enough to see them through to the next round following Sturm’s 2-0 first-leg win at home.
The visitors twice came from behind on Wednesday with Akos Elek and Gyorgy Sandor putting Videoton ahead only for Andreas Holzl and Ferdinand Feldhofer to equalise for Sturm.
Zoltan Liptak’s goal in the second minute of first-half injury time restored Videoton’s lead, but Sturm’s advantage from the first leg was enough to ensure they progressed 4-3 on aggregate.
Maccabi Haifa also progressed to the next round despite losing on Wednesday, with FK Borac Banja Luka’s 3-2 victory in Bosnia Herzegovina not enough to overturn the Israeli side’s 5-1 first-leg lead.
Continuing the trend of losing teams progressing, Rosenborg were beaten 2-0 by Icelandic side Breidablik but still moved into the third round 5-2 on aggregate.
The Norwegian side all but sealed their progress into the third qualifying round with a 5-0 home win last week, and goals from Dylan McAllister and Kristinn Steindorsson in the return leg were not enough to turn things around for Breidablik.
Georgian outfit Zestafoni held on for a 3-2 aggregate win over Dacia Chisinau following their 2-0 loss in Moldova.
Zestafoni led 3-0 from last week’s first leg, but went behind early thanks to a Dmitri Popovici strike and were forced to play most of the second half with 10 men after Teimuraz Gongadze received his second yellow card in the 64th minute.
Ghenadie Orbu scored a late spot kick for the hosts to ensure a nervy finish for Zestafoni, but they held on to book their spot in the next round.
Cypriot champions APOEL smashed four goals past Albanian outfit Skenderbeu to secure their progression 6-0 on aggregate.
Fans of QPR were in dream land when promotion to the Premier League was secured after Neil Warnock took his side to their first league title since 1983. They must of thought that with promotion would come investment into the club especially with some of the richest owners in the game. However these transfer funds have not materalised and instead the Premier League dream is quickly turning into a nightmare with no new arrivals despite pre-season starting last week.
Despite having billions in the bank the owners seem unwilling to spend any of their cash. The optimism that was around the club in May has now passed as all the talk has not been of who they have signed but of the players that Warnock had targeted but who had instead agreed to join other clubs.
Neil Warnock must be so frustrated with the owners and he is a state of limbo with regards to transfers as he knows if the club are to survive they must strengthen the team, something he has not been able to do yet. It looks like an attempt to unsettled him as they know if he is unable to carry out the job to the best of his abililies he is unlikely to stick around.
There have already been rumours of them bringing in an Italian manager to replace him. Not only is this unfair on Warnock who did a fine job taking the team to the Premier League but also means potential signings will be concerned that a new manager may be coming in and so may not join.
So the never ending football soap-opera at QPR looks to be rolling on into the Premier League. From the threat of point deductions at the end of the last season to talk of Warnock walking out from the club before the season even begins. At the moment QPR haven’t been able to produce a new shirt as a result of the owners failing to agree a new sponsor. It is not a great scenario for club about to compete against some of the biggest teams in the world.
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Warnock has still got in mind five or six players who he wants to bring in including giving a chance to Jimmy Bullard although I am not sure he worth anywhere near the reported £45k a week Hull City are currently paying him. DJ Campbell and Jay Bothroyd are all said to be on Warnock’s radar along with Joe Cole and Kieron Dyer, but whether or not the owners will actually let the transfer’s go through remains to be seen.
Not only are QPR having problems signing players but they also need to make sure they hang to their most important player in Adel Taarabt with rumours that Paris Saint-Germain have made a £13.5m bid for the Moroccan striker. It is possible that the owners will see this as a chance to cash in and sell the player, something that they cannot afford to do if they want have a good chance of survival this season.
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Fellow promoted side Norwich City have been busy signing players who are of Championship quality and although it may not be enough to keep them up in long term it makes good business sense. Something QPR seem to be lacking.
The majority shareholders Flavio Britore and Bernie Ecclestone are planning to sell the club and have already rejected an offer from the Mittal family who wanted to increase their share in the club. Until they do sell the club they will keep limiting Warnock in the players he can bring in. It is a depressing scenario for QPR fans and it doesn’t look like it will be sorted anytime soon.
If the current owners can sell up before the end of the transfer window ends then maybe QPR will be able to sign the sort of players they need to survive but if not they will miss the boat and it could turn out to be a short trip back in the top-flight for the R’s.