Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, whose hat-trick led the side to a 3-0 friendly win over Chivas of Guadalajara.After being frustrated by the Mexican side’s goalkeeper Luis Michel in the first half in San Diego, Ronaldo finally broke the shackles in the 73rd minute and the star struck twice more in the next nine minutes to wrap up the win for the tourists.
Mourinho was delighted with Ronaldo’s performance, and the coach is pleased with the progress his team is making on their now-routine pre-season tour of North America.
“Cristiano is Cristiano. He always has the joy, the motivation and the pride to play, be it in China, Japan or the USA,” Mourinho said.
“He himself is pleased to have played well and scored. We knew we wanted to play well and we managed that.”
“This was very good training for us. I have been coming to the USA for many years with Chelsea and now Madrid. We played against American and Mexican teams, though never Chivas from America. They are tough games against good sides, who play aggressively.”
“That is what we need. There is no need to win games 10-0. We need to play against good teams, who give us some problems.”
Mourinho was also impressed by the form of Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who he feels is ready to resume top form after a lean few years.
“I always knew that what Kaka needed was to have a proper pre-season. The World Cup, injuries, a last-minute transfer to Real Madrid have combined to ensure that he has not had a proper pre-season in five or six seasons,” he said.
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One story will undoubtedly dominate in the run up to this game which will prove handy for Roy Hodgson, who’ll welcome the distraction from his side’s terrible away record this season. He’s unlikely to escape the questions altogether but with Alan Pardew taking up more of the column inches, Hodgson can focus more on repeating the level of performance which saw his side cruise past Aston Villa at Anfield on Monday. Something which he’s struggled to do so far this season. And pretty much every other season he’s managed in the Premier League.
If positives can be found in Liverpool’s away record it comes from their last four games. Other than the disappointing showing against Stoke, they looked good for 45 minutes at White Hart Lane, handed Bolton their only home defeat of the season and picked up a point against Wigan. It’s not exactly title winning form but if Liverpool can start picking up more points away from Anfield then his hopes of making it in to one of the Champions League places come the end of the season may not be as slim as they currently appear. Especially not if some wise purchases are made in January.
The big question for this weekend’s game is just what effect the senseless sacking of Chris Hughton followed by seemingly equally senseless appointment of Alan Pardew will be on the players. If, as expected, recent events cause turmoil in the St James’ dressing room, Liverpool could continue their recent good record over Newcastle and secure just their second away win of the season at evens.
FREE £20 Bet – Pardew is 11/4 to get off to a winning start
Strangely it was without Gerrard, Torres and Carragher that the reds put in one of their more impressive displays of the season, albeit against a Villa side with a similarly poor away record. Not having them in the side, particularly Gerrard and Torres, will allow other players to take a more prominent role. Mareilles has more freedom to get forward from midfield and Babel may play from the start instead of getting ten minutes at the end of games, a situation which seems more conducive to getting a good performance from him. The Dutch player finished well against Villa and is possibly a better option than Ngog to partner Torres if Hodgson opts to play two up top.
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Top Odds:
Babel at 6/1 to score first is worth a look. Kyrgiakos at 9/1 to score anytime or even 25/1 to score first. Liverpool -1 goal at 11/4 could be a winner. The Reds have also won three of the last four by a scoreline of 3-0 which is a 17/1 shot. Liverpool to win at evens.
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Juventus have given up in the race for Arsenal hitman Robin van Persie, and will turn their attention to Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, according to Mirror Football.
The newly-crowned Italian champions are expected to strengthen in the summer in preparation for Champions League football next season, with a new frontman high on the wishlist.
The Bianconeri had been interested in bringing Van Persie to Turin, but the Dutch international is now in a tug-of-war between Arsenal and Manchester City, and as such Juventus are ready to drop their pursuit.
Suarez has been involved in controversies on and off the pitch this season for the Reds, and the Italian giants are eyeing up a move for the Uruguayan.
Meanwhile, Dzeko is fourth choice in Roberto Mancini’s preferences in attack at City, and is widely expected to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer in search of regular first-team football.
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Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan may yet leave the Stadium of Light according to the player’s agent.
The Ghanian international forward signed for The Black Cats from Rennes for a fee of £13million, and following impressive displays and ten goals last term has been linked with a move away from the Wearside club.
Manager Steve Bruce and Chairman Niall Quinn have been quick to rubbish speculation, but ahead of the first day of pre-season training on Wednesday the 25-year-old’s representative Fabien Piveteau has stated the frontman may yet move.
“I can’t say if he is staying or not. As far as I know, one club has tabled an offer. He is returning to the club for pre-season and we will sit down with the coach to talk about it,” Piveteau is believed to have stated in The Guardian.
Zenit St Petersburg are believed to be the side to have bid for the Accra born player, with Harry Redknapp and Tottenham supposedly also interested.
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Meanwhile, Sunderland hope to tie up the signatures of Manchester United trio Darron Gibson, John O’Shea and Wes Brown for a collective £12million in the near future, with the Irish defender the closest of the three to moving thus far.
Chelsea are already being linked with players for the January transfer window and next summer, but should Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger be the Blues’ number one target at the end of the current term?
I personally feel that the Germany midfielder is a perfect fit for Chelsea’s system and would help fill a void which has opened up since the likes of Michael Ballack, Deco, Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti have left the club.
Chelsea have been missing a key man in midfield in Frank Lampard for much of the current campaign due to injury and it is worrying that there is no ready replacement in place. Josh McEachran has won plaudits when he has had the opportunity, but at 17-years of age he needs more time to develop as a player without the pressure of stepping into big shoes like Frank’s.
Schweinsteiger has caught the eye of many admirers during his time with Bayern Munich both domestically and in the Champions League, but it was his displays in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup that led to many calls from Chelsea fans appealing to the west London club to sign the 26-year-old. The Stamford Bridge outfit were even linked to him pre-tournament after Ballack’s departure was confirmed.
The midfielder impressed in South Africa and was in my opinion one of the players of the tournament. He bossed the midfield for a young and exuberant Germany team that ended up finishing in 3rd place, with one of his best moments in the competition being the superb run and low cross which setup Arne Friedrich’s tap-in for Germany’s third goal against Diego Maradona’s Argentina side.
Schweinsteiger has been successful in a deep-lying midfield role, similar to the role played by Ballack towards the end of his time with Chelsea (a role which Jon Obi Mikel has made his mark on), but the Bayern man is also capable of playing a more offensive midfield position or even in a wider role. Due to his versatility he would arguably be well suited to the Blues’ 433 formation and Ancelotti’s originally preferred diamond option.
He has been at Bayern Munich for the entirety of his professional career, so it could be tough to prise him away and that is made especially hard considering the fact it is Real Madrid who are favourites for his signature should he leave Germany. Roman Abramovich has been rather frugal in the transfer market in recent years, but Schweinsteiger is a genuine world-class talent and could be worth the hefty price tag… I realise under current circumstances this is unikely, but I live in hope.
Schweinsteiger has never really been prolific himself, but can chip in with the odd goal (38 goals in 324 Bayern Munich games). More impressive are the amount of assists he makes (62 in his Bayern career). He has also earned 84 caps for his country and has scored 21 goals.
Who would you like to see the club go for (if anyone) in January or the summer?
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With the 4 point gap to West Ham opened up and only 6 games left, it may seem that promotion is in our hands.
However, looking through our remaining 6 games, specifically our 3 away games it doesn’t get much tougher.
That’s why I feel our 3 home games will prove massive in us achieving the ultimate goal, starting with Leeds today. Leeds have not had the best of starts under Neil Warnock, but have put in great performances against the likes of Southampton and Middlesboro recently so cannot be underestimated.
Despite them having a few injuries and suspensions, they still have dangerous players in Snodgrass and McCormack who will need to be dealt with.
We should put out an unchanged line up from Saturday and our settled 11 really should come out on top today, but don’t expect it to be easy. We also have home games against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace before the end of the season, teams who have been on decent form as of late.
The Madejski has been a happy hunting ground for us recently, with no team leaving with a result since Hull in mid January. This run will have to continue if we are to hold on to that coveted second spot, or even make a challenge for the title.
I personally cannot wait for the challenge of the run in.
Upcoming fixtures:
Leeds United (h)
Brighton (a)
Southampton (a)
Nottingham Forest (h)
Crystal Palace (h)
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West Ham are threatening legal action against the Sunday Times over claims that illegal payments were made to an official on the Olympic committee. The Hammers are adamant that their bid wasn’t underhand and are going to go through the courts to clear their name.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Arsenal set to make a shock bid for Downing; Liverpool losing patience over Adam, while Villas-Boas was shocked that any club would pay his release fee.
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See you in court! West Ham threaten legal action against Spurs over Olympic Stadium – Daily Mail
Wenger vision falling apart – Daily Telegraph
Joey Barton: I wouldn’t leave Newcastle for the Championship – People
Villas-Boas believed no club would pay his release fee – Mirror
Suarez: Torres told me to join Liverpool – Independent
Tevez staying at Manchester City, Mancini claims – Guardian
Liverpool losing patience as Blackpool play hard-ball – Daily Mail
Sunderland ready to move for Dann – Guardian
No League sanctions yet for Yeung or Blues – Guardian
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Arsenal plot shock Downing bid – Mirror
Manchester United snatch early lead over rivals City in race to spend – Independent
The inclusion of Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd in the England squad may have come as a shock to many, including yours truly. But what I found truly shocking was that the dearth of English striking talent in the Premier League is so evident, Fabio Capello had to go into the second tier of English football to complete his squad.
Now I mean no disrespect to the Football League, but when choosing a national team, especially one of England’s respective calibre, you would tend to seek out your players from the upper echelons of the ‘Premier’ (hence the name) League in your country, and if they were unavailable, then you should look to the middle and lower sections of the table to find suitable replacements. Capello clearly saw no fit replacements in these clubs. So much so, that he felt it imperative to continue his search at the top of the Championship.
With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent out injured, Capello has had his hands tied somewhat over the issue of strikers for the friendly against France, but what does the inclusion of Bothroyd say to the likes of Kevin Davies and Carlton Cole (even if Cole has since been called up to the squad as a ‘replacement’)?
What it says is that they are not good enough, and neither are any of the other English striking options in the Premier League. With their new squad rules, the FA are trying to get more English talent through the ranks at club level in the Premier League, but with the inclusion of Bothroyd in the squad, can these new rules be seen as closing the gate after the horse has bolted?
We have of course seen the Football League represented before in the recent past when Preston North End striker David Nugent was included in Steve McLaren’s squad to face Andorra in March 2007. At the time this decision seemed more like McLaren was giving lip service to the lower leagues rather than anything else, but Capello’s inclusion of Bothroyd seems slightly more serious.
I realise the France game is only a friendly and it is only fair to give in-form strikers the opportunity to shine whether they ply their trade in the Premier League or elsewhere, but Capello’s move to include Bothroyd in his squad is a damning indictment of the English strikers available to him in our nation’s top league. What also remains to be seen is whether the Kevin Davies’ of this world will see Bothroyd’s inclusion as an incentive, or an insult.
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There are just three weeks to go until the end of the season, so the timing for a double gameweek in Fantasy Football couldn’t have come at a more pivotal moment. As Manchester City and Manchester United prepare to duel, eight clubs in the Premier League make up for the fixtures they missed due to the FA Cup Semi Finals two weeks ago. Who are the players performing twice though that you need to be keeping an eye on?
The Captaincy Debate
Due to the well publicised financial situation at Everton, David Moyes hasn’t had many opportunities to delve into the transfer market of late. However, in Nikica Jelavic, he’s found the regular goal scorer Everton were in need of. In his last four games, Jelavic has found the net five times. His best performance to date came last weekend as he bagged two against Manchester United at Old Trafford. In the double gameweek, he’ll go up against Fulham and Stoke City. It would be surprising if the Croatian forward didn’t net in either of these games, judging by his recent form.
Good form though is something unfamiliar to Spurs currently. Ever since Fabio Capello resigned as England Manager, the North Londoners challenge for the Champions League has rapidly disintegrated. With that, so has the form of Gareth Bale. However, with four games left, all is not yet lost and over the course of this gameweek, Bale will face two relegation candidates in Blackburn at White Hart Lane, followed by Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Facing the relegation candidates could just rekindle Bale’s form from earlier in the season when the Welshman was playing superbly.
Whilst Spurs have suffered of late, Chelsea have managed to turn around their fortunes under Roberto Di Matteo. Juan Mata has been one player in particular who has been impressive of late. Whilst he hasn’t had too much of a chance to make an impact in the last two league matches, he has a goal and three assists in his last four starts for Chelsea in the Premier League. The Blues have two home games against QPR and Newcastle in the next week. They will be pivotal to any hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League although should they fail, there’s always the Champions League final. That said, Mata is likely to start in both games and is therefore a great option to have.
Just to check though, you have Papiss Demba Cissé in your side, right? What? What do you mean you don’t? The Newcastle striker is the most in-form player in the Premier League. He’s scored 11 in his first nine games. That includes nine in his last six matches. The man is a revelation. Yes, he does have two tough away games coming up against Wigan and Chelsea but this is Demba Cissé – he’s scored when he wants so far.
Captain: Papiss Demba Cissé – It’s very hard to ignore the Senegalese the way he’s playing at the moment.
Vice Captain: Juan Mata – He hasn’t started in the last two league games but that’s because of the Champions League. You have to fancy the Spaniard to make a mark over the next week.
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New Fulham manager Martin Jol looks set to move for former player Robbie Keane, according to The Sun.
Despite netting his 51st goal for the Republic of Ireland at the weekend, Keane is out of favour at Tottenham Hotspur under manager Harry Redknapp.
Redknapp re-signed the Ireland forward from Liverpool for £12 million in the January 2009 Transfer Window but he has failed to cement a place in the Spurs team since. He has spent much of the past two seasons on loan at Celtic and more recently West Ham and, with wages estimated at £70,000 a week, Redknapp is keen to remove the striker’s salary from the wage bill.
The 30-year old has made 238 League appearances for Spurs and enjoyed a productive period under Jol. The Dutchman is keen to pair Keane with Bobby Zamora and the forward could cost as little as £4 million.
The former Spurs captain has also played for Wolves, Coventry, Inter, Leeds and Liverpool and has commanded over £75 million in career transfer fees. He will hope the move across London will reignite his career but will have to accept a pay cut if Fulham are to secure him on a permanent deal.
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