Chelsea have shown exceptional resolve to come back from 2-0 with ten men to draw 2-2 with Barcelona and make the Champions League final on Tuesday night.
Things looked ominous when Catalan goals from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta put the Spaniards in command, whilst John Terry was given a straight red card for kneeing Alexis Sanchez.
However, a delightful Ramires chip on the verge of half-time put the Blues back in the driving seat, and the Stamford Bridge club managed to hold out for the entire second half before substitute Fernando Torres bagged an equaliser in injury time.
Roberto Di Matteo admitted to being very proud of his team at the final whistle, and felt his team deserved to eliminate the champions.
“A lot of people have written us off and we showed again the kind of character our players have,” the Italian told Sky Sports.
“We didn’t expect to play with 10 men. We knew it was going to be tough and it was even more difficult than we expected.
“Barcelona are a great team with some fantastic players and we just showed what we are made of. We achieved something incredible tonight and when it is the right time we will be thinking about the final.
“The second half wasn’t much about tactics. It was about the pressure and the pride, the desire to go to the final. We were 45 minutes away and that is what the second half was about.
“The belief was always there. We wouldn’t be in the final if we didn’t believe we could get to the final,” he confessed.
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Chelsea will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final, who play on Wednesday night in their semi-final second leg.
Joleon Lescott insists England are focused on their Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland despite it coming soon after a long domestic campaign.Defender Lescott enjoyed a good season for his club side, with Manchester City claiming the FA Cup and finishing third in the English Premier League to secure automatic Champions League qualification.
Fabio Capello’s England team head into Saturday’s clash with Switzerland at Wembley on top of Group G but level on 10 points with Montenegro, and Lescott said a win would be invaluable.
“I think all the games are must win for us, to be honest,” Lescott said.
“The importance of this one is obviously highlighted, but we’re coming off the back of a good performance against Wales (a 2-0 win in Cardiff on March 26) so we’re feeling confident we can get the three points.”
Lescott said his Manchester City team-mates are looking forward to recharging their batteries after a draining campaign, but would only consider himself to be on holiday once the Switzerland game was over.
“I wouldn’t say we’re tired but we are looking forward to the break,” he said.
“But in the last few weeks we have finished the season well. We won the FA Cup and claimed a Champions League position. It’s been an exciting time for me so I’m looking forward to being involved on Saturday and then enjoying my break.”
“We know Switzerland are going to have a strong team and if we don’t apply ourselves it’s a potential banana skin.”
Lescott, 28, said he would find it difficult to become a regular in the England first team while first-choice centre backs John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are active, but he insisted he would keep working hard in pursuit of that goal.
“It’s going to be hard to get into the team. They’re two of the best in the world and have been there for a number of years so it’s not going to be an easy task,” he said.
“If it was (easy) then we wouldn’t be the force we are at international level.”
“If I can keep playing well, get into the Manchester City side and play Champions League football, that can only bode well for me. I’ll be ready if called upon.”
With strikers Wayne Rooney suspended and Jermaine Defoe injured, Darren Bent has a chance to stake his own claim for a regular spot in England’s XI.
Bent scored 24 goals in the Premier League this season for Sunderland and Aston Villa.
“I seem to sit in this chair and people keep asking me when I will establish myself,” he said.
“All I can do is keep doing what I’m doing, keep playing for England, and as long as Fabio Capello keeps selecting me, I must be doing something right.”
Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez accepted that his side had deserved nothing from their 2-0 weekend defeat at Fulham.
The Latics were previously unbeaten away from home this season and Martinez is confident that the display at Craven Cottage will not be repeated.
The Spaniard commented:"That felt like our worst performance of the season and we didn't deserve anything out of it.
"We came here with no real energy. We looked flat, couldn't get on the ball and were very weak.
"Fulham were sharper and brighter. It was one of those performances that we must eradicate from our season.
"I'm not worried about being dragged down into the relegation struggle. I know the talent and personalities I have in this squad.
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"We need to be realistic. Against Fulham we weren't good enough and there are reasons for that.
"We have to make sure it doesn't happen again. Until yesterday we were the only team that hadn't lost away."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
It has been another busy day at the office for Arsene Wenger. He turns to his study once more, flicks on his lamp and unfurls a scrap of paper. On the list include four names. Names associated with success, style and experience. He reaches for a pen and strikes half a tick across the name of Lukas Podolski and leaves the remaining three names of Mario Gotze, Jan Vertonghen and Javi Martinez blank. He pauses for a second, casts his eyes across the names again and then returns the scrap of paper into the depths of his pocket.
Whilst we can only guess how Arsene Wenger conducts his transfer activity during his own private time, what is more certain is the number of players he will need to strengthen his Arsenal outfit this summer, indeed convincing Robin Van Persie to remain at the club. Netherlands legend Marco Van Basten reckons it will take four marquee signings to keep their current Dutch master in North London.
With the slightly premature news that Lukas Podolski has actually agreed a deal with the Gunners, Arsenal have yet to tie down any player in a pre-contract deal for next season, but it still remains likely that the German striker will be their first high calibre arrival.
The days are gone at Arsenal whereby the club could call upon undoubted experience from the substitute’s bench. The likes of Sylvain Wiltord’s and Nwankwo Kanu’s experience in utility roles no longer remains and Arsenal fans would all accept the notion that the squad isn’t deep enough to aim for a title tilt next season with the current personnel.
Of course the club has had its injury problems and Jack Wilshere hasn’t had a chance to further his claims that he is the best English talent since Rooney this term. Furthermore, the injuries to Abou Diaby, Andre Santos and Bacary Sagna for spells this season have weakened the Gunners in areas which have been plugged by either players switching positions or more inexperienced pros obtaining first team berths. For example Francis Coquelin and Carl Jenkinson.
Nevertheless, there still lacks an essence of experience and squad depth within the Gunners ranks and the stats explain themselves that there has been a top heavy burden on Robin Van Persie to lead the team through the more tricky passages of the campaign.
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The potential German duo of Podolski and Gotze arriving would certainly take the weight off Van Persie’s goal scoring exploits and creativity on the Arsenal front line. Although the current first choice pairing of Gervinho and Theo Walcott still assist greatly to the Dutchman, Gotze and Podolski possess more of a scoring threat from the flanks. The latter has scored 16 goals this term and can play off the left hand side in Arsenal’s favoured 4-3-3 formation. Furthermore, the duo are likely to be the centrepiece to potential German success at the forthcoming Euro 2012 Championships and Wenger would be wise to secure such dealings prior to the tournament commencing in June.
What’s more is that the calibre of players would get Gunners fans out of their seat, as well as their captain. The closest Arsenal supporters would have come to experiencing a wave of excitement last summer was the capture of Mikel Arteta who surprised everyone with his deadline day move to the capital. A good passer he remains, but at 29, some have questioned the long-term staying power of the £10 million Spaniard who is approaching his thirties. Everyone knows Arsene is careful in renewing the contracts of his more elderly statesmen.
The other summer moves for Gervinho, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Santos and Park were all justified upon certain merits but they still lacked a wow factor and didn’t have the big name feel of the expensive transfers of Arshavin and Reyes before them. It seems this summer might be the next whereby Arsene decides to spend ‘big’ and in terms of keeping hold of Van Persie it is imperative that he must do so.
A move for Ajax’s Jan Vertonghen seems viable too considering he is a close associate of Thomas Vermaelen and they both came up through the same Germinal Beerschot and Ajax youth systems, rising to prominence with the first team. Vertonghen is almost the double of his fellow countryman in that he can play at left back and possesses a hammer of a strike from range. Perhaps Vermaelen should take Mertesacker-like tapping up duties upon his shoulders in the hope of luring another new arrival.
And as for Martinez, the Spaniard would be the perfect foil for Alex Song in his versatility in playing in defence and midfield. Coveted by many clubs and with his stock rising following an impressive showing at Old Trafford in the Europa League, a move for the Basque-born enforcer seems the least likely at the Emirates, but still represents the calibre of player required at the club to remind Van Persie of Arsenal’s long-term ambitions.
Finally and perhaps unmentioned thus far, Arsenal require a back-up choice to first team stopper Wojciech Szczesny. The calamity trio of Fabianksi, Almunia and Mannone have all enraged Gunners supporters with their inconsistency over past seasons and a move for an experienced standby such as when the Gunners tried to capture Mark Schwarzer represents another responsible dealing required this summer.
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So there you have it. The Gunners have at least remained competitive during their seven seasons without a major honour, but an influx of big name arrivals would certainly boost their chances of bucking the trend next time round. Sorry Marco, I think the Gunners may need five!
Who would you like to realistically see arrive at the Emirates this summer? Can such transfers keep Van Persie in North London? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston hopes Ian Holloway will remain at Bloomfield Road, despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League.Holloway joined Blackpool as manager in May 2009, guiding the club to promotion via the Championship playoffs in his first season in charge.
A team assembled on a tight budget came close to surviving against the odds in the top flight, before succumbing to relegation on the last day of the season with a 4-2 defeat away to Manchester United.
Several clubs have been tipped to move for Holloway in the close-season, but Oyston is determined to keep hold of the 48-year-old manager.
“The nature of the industry is that people always try and covet what you’ve got,” Oyston said.
“I just hope that Ian doesn’t get his head turned by a club that probably won’t allow him to express himself the way we do.”
“Ian has performed miracles ever since he arrived here and we will help him as much as we can to try and get back into the Premier League, because every manager wants to manage at the highest level they can.”
Oyston acknowledges that some of Blackpool’s players will inevitably depart before the beginning of the 2011/12 campaign.
“We’re certain that there will be a lot more movement in and out this year than there would be ordinarily, because people’s contracts are up who we came through League One and the Championship with,” Oyston said.
“That’s our decision not to renew some of those. One or two players who we’d probably like to keep are out of contract or attracting interest from other clubs.”
“It’s almost certain that we will lose some players that we don’t want to, but we have a lot of space and the finance in place to bring people in.”
“My own view is that we won’t lose too many that we don’t want to lose.”
Oyston is however resigned to losing Charlie Adam, who had a transfer request rejected in January.
With only 12 months remaining on his contract, Blackpool are expected to sell the star midfielder or risk losing him for nothing at the end of next season.
“There was a lot of interest, hostile interest in some cases at the time,” Oyston said.
“What will happen now is out of my hands. That is down to other clubs’ valuation and interest.”
Since his arrival in 2004 Tim Cahill has proved again and again that he is just as valuable to Everton as Fabregas is to Arsenal and Gerrard is to Liverpool. Now I bet you’re all thinking that’s a bit of a controversial statement, but is Tim Cahill’s role for Everton so dissimilar?
The point I’m trying to make is that away from Goodison Park, why is Tim Cahill not held in the same high esteem as the aforementioned duo? Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that Cahill is any more talented than them; however I am saying that the responsibility the Australian has within the Everton team is certainly no different, nor is it less effective than the role that other talismanic figures hold at their clubs.
Last Weekend Everton beat their bitter rivals, and the goal scoring was started by none-other than Tim Cahill. “The fact that both teams were struggling at the wrong end of the table was more than enough to hike up the stakes.” It is when the so called ‘stakes’ are this high that manager and fans alike expect their talismanic figure to pop up and rally the troops. Tim Cahill did exactly that.
Yet admiration for Tim Cahill’s efforts seem fairly non-existent. Phil Neville has come out and heaped praise on the goal scoring midfielder. That doesn’t really come as a surprise though considering the former Manchester United utility man is Everton Club Captain and teammate. Neville explains “I look back at great players who’ve played for this club and Duncan Ferguson is one that stands out for me and he’s right up there with him now…He’s our talisman and he’s the one who flies back from Australia and gets out onto the training field and plays in the derby.” However, Away from Goodison park there doesn’t seem to be much appreciation for the Australian.
Had the result been reversed and had it been Steven Gerrard that had got the scoring started I’m confident that he would have stolen the headlines. Journalists up and down the country would have hailed the England international for his talismanic qualities. Stories would have read “Amidst the turmoil that currently surrounds Anfield, Liverpool star man Steven Gerrard lifts spirits and leads Liverpool’s climb up the Premier League table.” Tim Cahill has not enjoyed these plaudits even though Everton and Liverpool found themselves in similar positions in the league.
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Manchester City midfielder James Milner has confessed that he is happy with the interim appointment of Stuart Pearce, who he feels would be a good choice to lead the nation to Euro 2012.
The under-21’s boss stepped into the manager’s role with the senior side after Fabio Capello’s resignation, and will take charge of his first match against Netherlands on Wednesday.
Milner feels that Pearce has the qualities to lead England to success in Poland and Ukraine.
“The timing is not as ideal as you would want, changing manager so close to a major tournament, but we will go in as well prepared as we can be,” he stated at a press conference, published by Sky Sports.
“If Stuart Pearce is manager the Euros, it is not a problem for me. He is a great manager, was a great player, and in the two Under-21 tournaments we were unlucky on both occasions.
“We should have won at least one of them but what I noticed was that in the tournaments I had under him, we went in very well prepared.
“He thinks about every aspect which could come up in a tournament, every eventuality, how we are going to have to play, and how to plan for combating certain teams.
“That’s the most important thing going into a tournament, you want to feel you are ready and that it is not going to be a problem,” he admitted.
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Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has defended his inflammatory comments accusing UEFA of bias in Barcelona’s favour.Mourinho claimed Barca systematically dived to influence the referee during the Catalan club’s 2-0 victory in the Champions League semi-final first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Real finished the match with 10 men after Pepe was sent off for a tackle on Dani Alves in the 61st minute.
It was the fifth time in the last five matches a team coached by Mourinho had a player dismissed against Barcelona.
The Portuguese manager believes video and picture evidence show Pepe winning the ball cleanly.
“An image is worth more than a thousand words, and they have all circled the Earth,” Mourinho said.
“I said what I said and I have nothing to add. Whoever criticises my words must criticise the images and think that the photos have been edited by Photoshop and that the video was staged. That is not the case. They are real photos and images.”
“I asked a question. I didn’t make accusations. I asked, ‘Why?’ Perhaps I will die without knowing the answer.”
Barca have formally requested UEFA investigate and sanction Real over the accusations of bias.
In response, the club from the Spanish capital have lodged their own complaint with the European governing body, asking UEFA to look into Barca’s alleged tactic of simulation.
Mourinho has no intention of allowing the controversy surrounding his comments to force him out of the Bernabeu.
“I now have even more desire to continue coaching Real Madrid because of what this club represents,” he said.
“The shirt is white and white has a meaning.”
Mourinho’s side visit Real Zaragoza in La Liga on Saturday, with Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo to be rested ahead of the second leg against Barca.
“Lass and Xabi Alonso are physically exhausted because they spent too much time playing 11 on 10,” Mourinho said.
“We don’t have many midfielders and they need to be fit to play next Tuesday.”
“Cristiano will not suit up because we have enough options in attack with (Gonzalo) Higuian, (Karim) Benzema and (Emmanuel) Adebayor.”
At White Hart Lane things on the pitch are going pretty well at the moment – many thanks to the last minute Dutchman (he really is good isn’t he?) – but there is the continuing matter of where that football will be played in the future. The news that a move to the Olympic Stadium is now a distinct possibility, has thrown another spanner in the works of a possible development closer to home, but how much difference could it make to a club on the rise?
It is worth highlighting from the outset, that the Daniel Levy regeneration obviously faces hurdles. There is the planning permission regarding the development of White Hart Lane, as well as the fact that West Ham have launched an initial proposal to make the Olympic Stadium their own. If Levy goes all out to try and make Hackney his new home, and then the Hammers win the rights, it will be a very public defeat to take (although any possible move is a back-up plan should the White Hart Lane development fall through).
That said, when the development at White Hart Lane was first released, it caused a great deal of excitement. There was a real buzz amongst Spurs fans, with the single tier teetering over the pitch it adorns. If the club want to carry on growing, which they obviously do, then larger crowds will be needed. I’m sure as the players wearing the Tottenham white get better, and the football getting played improves, the number of people wanting to witness it will increase also. With a capacity just edging over 36,000, there is quite literally, room to grow.
Given the option of the two currently being considered, there are pros and cons regarding both. The Olympic Stadium is the cheaper option; with far less work having to be done – the stadium already exists, well nearly – and so it would simply take some alterations, rather than working from the ground up. With that huge saving, comes the extra funds to invest in the team. In players of the highest quality from around the world, and young talent to develop through their academy; there could a whole load of Van der Vaarts (getting carried away, I know, but he’s so good!).
Despite this, moving away, and trying to create a new home from scratch is by no means an easy process. The extra money that would be saved would have to compensate for the move from their home, to Hackney. It’s not the biggest move in the country – Wimbledon being picked up and dumped in Milton Keynes springs to mind, which is a modern travesty and bordering on kidnap -but it is still a move away none the less. There is a lot of history at White Hart Lane, and upping sticks would make the transition from one stadium to the next much more difficult.
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I think what it ultimately boils down to is the fact that the Olympic Stadium bid is a contingency plan. Levy is basically covering his back, and making sure, should anything go wrong closer to home, that there is the possibility of moving somewhere else. Hackney is not the ideal option, of that we can be sure, but the stadium itself will be impressive, and there is a great deal of money to be saved should that end up being the way forward. But it isn’t home. Moving away from their current location is a wrangle, and is obviously the second choice. While it may be more expensive, the extra crowds will come flocking, and there will be help through sponsorship and naming rights; It is not as if staying and developing White Hart Lane means never buying another player again. Playing a home game should be just that.
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As Chris Coleman settles into his role as the NEW manger of the Wales team, there is one person that is amazed that the Welshman ever embarked on a career in football management in the first place. Steve Coppell, who managed Coleman during his days at Crystal Palace wonders if he had completed his footballing career (cut short by injury) as to whether he would have made the steps to be a coach.
“Well, Chris Coleman I certainly didn’t think would be a manager. He’s one of those larger than life characters and I didn’t think he’d go into it. Maybe if he had completed his footballing career then he might not have gone into management.
“There is something about players getting injured and still feeling they have something to offer. That maybe explains his entry into management. He has of course gone on to do well and earned Fulham a top half of the table finish in the Premier League.”
While Coppell may have had his doubts about Coleman getting into management, he had little doubt about Alan Pardew moving into the managerial arena and he always felt would make it as a top manager.
“The one player I always thought would be a good manager is Alan Pardew. He managed when he played and he was so down to earth, and he has proven himself to be a top manager now.
“I signed him from non-league, from Yeovil, when he was about 25 and he played in the Cup final for me. He always managed his own Sunday team and was very interested in everything to do with the job. He was a leader. Even though he came from that non-league background he had a seniority about him which gave him a presence. It was no surprise to me when he went on to management and is now doing so well at Newcastle.”
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