Ancelotti: I'm not afraid to drop Torres

Chelsea's £50m signing Fernando Torres has still to score for his new club

Carlo Ancelotti is considering dropping Fernando Torres for next week's vital Champions League game at Manchester United, claiming yesterday that he does not fear repercussions from owner Roman Abramovich if he does.

The Chelsea manager has bent over backwards to try to shoehorn the £50m striker into his Double-winning team, but the clock shows nine games – or 617 minutes – without a goal since his record move from Liverpool in January.

His former assistant Ray Wilkins urged Ancelotti on Thursday to bite the bullet and drop Torres for next week's Champions League second leg away to Manchester United, who they trail 1-0. Others however believe Ancelotti would not dare to leave out the Spaniard out of fear for his own job prospects.

Asked if he would drop Torres, Ancelotti said: "Why not? I have to choose the best line-up. There's a lot of competition in front and anything can happen.

"Fernando might not start against United. This is my job. I have to choose the players, not comparing the players with the money the club paid for them. I have to choose the line-up looking at the training session, the condition of the players and the spirit. Fernando knows this very well."

The lack of goals from Torres is putting the rest of the Chelsea team under greater pressure, particularly now the formation has been changed to accommodate him. Today's visit of bottom-of-the-table Wigan, who were thrashed 8-0 on their last visit to Stamford Bridge on the day Chelsea clinched the Premier League title last season, presents Ancelotti with a dilemma.

He could pick Torres hoping he could finally end his scoring duck, but risks further damaging his confidence should he fail. Or Ancelotti could rest him with Tuesday's United match in mind, and risk someone else firing in the goals, putting Torres under greater pressure.

Ancelotti believes the key to helping Torres through this troubled period is to support him, not leave him out. The Italian said he had seen similar scoring problems afflict Hernan Crespo, Andrei Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi at Milan.

Ancelotti said: "If I have confidence in the player, I have to support him. If I don't have confidence, I have to take him out of the squad and put in another striker. In all the situations, I supported them. I supported Crespo, Inzaghi, Sheva. It's the same with Fernando. I have faith in him.

"It's difficult to understand the reason. It could be a new team, new team-mates, everyone has to get to know each other. Fernando has to know better the skills of the midfielders and the other strikers. The team-mates have to know his movement better.

"I don't know what he really feels inside, but outside he's relaxed, confident in training, he likes to joke and have fun in training. I don't see him afraid or worried," added Ancelotti.

Source : The Independent 9 April 2011

Luiz swiftly becomes hair apparent of The Bridge

The Brazilian defender tells Sam Wallace how his dynamic start to life at Chelsea is slightly at odds with his surfer's style

David Luiz has only been a Chelsea player for two months but the way in which people respond to him at the club's training ground you would be forgiven for thinking that he has been there forever.

He spots the reserve-team player Jack Cork working on his fitness in the sand track and shouts, "Hey, you're on Copacabana." The reception staff come out from behind their desk to shake hands and talk to him. Luiz's English is rudimentary but that does not stop him communicating.

At 23, and costing £21m, he arrived in January from Benfica as very much the B-side to the marquee signing of Fernando Torres. Yet it is Luiz who has made the immediate impact. He was the Premier League Player of the Month for February and he has scored twice already. Like the new kid at school who becomes one of the most popular in class overnight, he is a club favourite in the making – and he has only played six games in a blue shirt so far.

David Luiz has an enthusiasm for life that seems unquenchable

Luiz is not just the shaggy hairstyle and a boisterous attitude towards defending – although he admits with a smile that both those things are a major part of what he is about. He is a very religious man as well, not embarrassed to pepper his conversation with references to God and his faith. When I ask him late on to name his hobbies he says he reads the Bible. But like most young Brazilian guys his age, he also likes watching the Elite Squad action movies, about police operations against drug barons in the favelas.

Like a lot of Brazilian footballers, Luiz has come up the hard way. He grew up in Diadema, a town near to Sao Paulo and left home at the age of 14 when his local club Sao Paulo rejected him for being too small. He went to Esporte Clube Vitoria in the city of Salvador – a 14-hour bus ride from his family home. He did not see his parents or his sister for two years. So when he talks about sacrifices, you know this is a man speaking from experience. With the sun shining on the luxurious grounds of Chelsea's training complex in Cobham in Surrey yesterday, Luiz's natural enthusiasm for life felt in keeping with the surroundings. He is cup-tied for the Champions League but he will be back in the team to play Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge today and he seems to be loving life. "I am very happy," he says. "Happy to be in the best league in the world and playing well.

"I think the dedication I show on the pitch has always meant that I have that connection with the fans. I work hard when I am out there and that means I get through to the fans I feel that connection with them.

"Coming to England has been very good for me. It is a very developed country and London is the kind of city that anybody would want to live in. Chelsea have done a lot for me and made it easy just to focus on the football even though I have arrived halfway through the season and I am still looking for a place to live. The most important thing is to help Chelsea in the competition I can play in.

"It is frustrating not being able to play in the Champions League because every player loves to be involved but I feel involved during the week when I train with my colleagues. I try to motivate them and I give them support."

He talks about the responsibility of being a player but there is always that sense of fun. Before the last two Champions League games at Stamford Bridge – Copenhagen in the previous round and Manchester United on Wednesday – Luiz could be found two hours before the match signing autographs just by the tunnel entrance. Kids in particular seem to love him, especially the hairstyle - part early-Bob Dylan, part Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons.

"My hair wasn't like that in Brazil," he says. "It was when I arrived in Portugal to play for Benfica [in January 2007] when it was cold that I just let it grow long. Gradually I realised that people liked it. I also realised that I had created a kind of image for myself. But it wasn't intentional, it happened naturally and now there are a lot of people who don't want me to cut it off."

It also fits with another part of the Luiz personality. He is a full-time footballer and a part-time surfer. He learned how to surf in the resort of Itacare, a mecca for the sport, on the Bahia coastline when he was at EC Vitoria. Apart from the occasional holiday he does not get much of a chance to do it these days because he feels a responsibility not to risk injury but – as he puts it – "when you fall, the water doesn't hurt you". It sounds like a pretty idyllic life. He broke into the side at EC Vitoria as an 18-year-old and was at Benfica two years later, initially on loan. He went straight into the first team and, despite a tricky first game in the Uefa Cup against Paris St-Germain, he immediately established himself. Having gone from the third tier of Brazilian football with EC Vitoria, to the most famous side in Portugal and then on to Chelsea, he would appear to breeze through some of the biggest challenges.

Luiz talks a lot about opportunity. His parents gave him his. His father Ladislau was a promising player in the junior teams at Atletico Mineiro but had to quit because he needed to earn money to look after Luiz's grandmother. "My father Ladislau, not a beautiful name, eh?" he says. "He said to me that he had to give up on his dream so that we could live as a family. He was a very good player, better than me. Brazil is a country that breathes football. Everyone has someone in their family who wants to be a footballer, or someone who never made it, or even a baby still in his mother's tummy who everyone wants to be a footballer. If he is born a boy then you know for sure that he will love football. If she is born a girl then for sure she will like it too.

"That is the type of country that we are and we are very proud. We are poor but growing economically and trying to give opportunities to those who can't play football. Both my parents are teachers and they emphasised that education was really important and those are the most important values that you can have. Because football is a dream and sometimes it doesn't become a reality.

"I left home when I was 14 to go to Salvador and I didn't see my family until I was 16, but my parents always taught me that there is a right way and a wrong way and that I have to make a choice between the two. I have always been happy with the decisions that I make. I also believe everything happens for a reason. I believe in God. When the offer came from Chelsea I felt it was right. I had lots of offers from a lot of clubs but I never felt the same way about them as I did about Chelsea."

Luiz is excited that his family are coming to visit him next week. He intends eventually to live in west London rather than Surrey and he wants to take them sightseeing around a city that he admits even he has not had the chance yet to explore. It is a source of great pride to him that his older sister Isabel, 27, who is a physiotherapist living in Brazil, has been able to pursue her lifelong ambition of being a doctor because his wages mean that he can now pay her university fees.

His references to God and the Bible might sound unusual coming from a highly-paid Premier League footballer but they are said without affectation. It is just his natural way of speaking and he makes a distinction between Brazil and Europe mainly in the attitude towards life. "Because of the way life is in Brazil not a lot of people can afford to have the best food or a house to live in," he says, "so their faith comes from the hope that tomorrow could be a better day."

It will be interesting to see how Luiz develops in English football. There is a charming innocence about him and a sheer enthusiasm for life that seems unquenchable. But this can be a cynical game at times and despite his barnstorming start in the Premier League he will surely, like all young players, go through highs and lows. What he is at pains to say is that, without being complacent, he has already achieved much and he feels very fortunate for that.

"There are a lot of quality players in Brazil, the problem is that although they have a lot of talent not everyone gets the opportunity," he says. "There are a lot of Brazilian players all over the world – even in Alaska. I thank God that I came from the third division in Brazil straight into the Benfica team. I'm very fortunate because I never even played at the top level in Brazil. Yet there are a lot of players in the first division in Brazil who wish they were playing in Europe."

So what does he make of the view held by some that there are a few, if not all, Premier League footballers who are overpaid, boorish and generally out-of-control?

"Being a footballer is not just about how you do on the pitch," he says. "You have to look at other issues outside of the game. The size of the club you play for, the magnitude of the games. You have to conduct yourself as a professional. As a footballer I have an opportunity to be heard by a lot of people.

"I know that a lot of kids want to follow the example of David Luiz, because of the club I play for, even because of my hair. I do feel that if there is one thing that is important it is your family. A lot of young people have stopped looking at their family in the way that they should. They look at their family like they are friends. They fall out with them, they don't speak to them.

"People should take it more seriously. I follow the Bible and I understand that we are all humans and we are all sinners. I am David Luiz. I am not perfect, I make mistakes as well but I try to be on the right path and do the right thing.

"Whether you are from Brazil or England, it is a question of how much you want to sacrifice," he adds. "Say you want to have the perfect body but you are too lazy to work out. You want to stop smoking but it is hard to throw the cigarette away. You want to stop drinking but it is hard not to buy a bottle. It is about the sacrifice."

Funnily enough, Luiz admits he is not that well known in Brazil because he never played at the top level there. His five caps for the national team are changing that, as well as his profile at Chelsea. But as he messes around pulling faces at the photographer you have to believe that this is one young man with the personality to be a big star.

My Other Life

"I love music and I listen to all sorts. But as I am trying to learn English quickly I try to listen to English music and follow the words. So at the moment I am listening to a lot of Joan Baez and James Morrison."

***

David Luiz was speaking in support of Chelsea Soccer Schools which are providing football camps for boys and girls in London, Surrey, Essex, Hants and Sussex over Easter. Chelsea Soccer Schools are supporting the work of the Chelsea Foundation, using football to provide health, education and social inclusion. For more info visit www.chelseafc.com/foundation

Source : The Independent 9 April 2011

Chelsea sacked Wilkins in less than three minutes

Ray Wilkins has revealed that he was sacked by Chelsea during the course of a two-and-a-half-minute meeting. He was dismissed as assistant manager last November, and said he was offered "not one" reason by the club.

Moreover, Wilkins, who likened his dismissal to a "kick in the balls", said that despite working for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for two-and-a-half years he "does not know him at all".

The sudden dismissal of the assistant manager of the then league leaders was controversial. Chelsea's announcement was made while Wilkins was watching a reserves game at the club's Cobham training ground.

When asked whether club officials afforded him a 10-minute discussion to explain their decision, he responded: "I think it was more two-and-a-half." Despite more than two years at Chelsea, Wilkins never developed a personal relationship with his Russian employer. "I don't know Roman", he said. "More often than not if you've been in someone's company for two-and-a-half years you know them, well, I didn't know Roman."

Source : The Independent 9 April 2011

FA changed the rules in order to get at Rooney, says furious Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson was unrepentant about Wayne Rooney's conduct yesterday, claiming that the Football Association had changed its disciplinary system in mid-season to impose a two-game ban on the player, as part of a deliberate and systematic attempt to victimise Manchester United.

In an all-encompassing attack on the establishment, with targets as varied as a Wolverhampton police superintendent, the Football Association, the media and – though it wasn't easy to tell – possibly the referee Lee Mason, Ferguson declared he "didn't even need to say" that Rooney's two-game ban for screaming obscenities into a television camera proves his club are being victimised, suggesting that "there's an obvious trend at the moment".

The Manchester United manager's press conferences this season have been characterised by a general unwillingness to engage in any meaningful discussion, though all the old devices were back, first revealing themselves in a withering put-down of Superintendent Mark Payne who had said he would expect his officers to lock up someone behaving like Rooney if they encountered them on the street.



Sir Alex Ferguson blames the FA for changing its disciplinary system to attack his team



The officer declared in a blog that "the aggressive stance, the bulging eyes, the foul-mouthed rant, fists clenched, surrounded by his mates, all cheering him on" was a Rooney-inspired sight his officers will be dealing with many times in Wolverhampton tonight. Ferguson recast this as Supt Payne suggesting all those who swear would be locked up; proof, he said, that the officer was one of a new breed of people who "feel the need to be noticed". He went on: "Maybe people don't know he's there. It's a need-to-be-noticed world we're in and I refuse to believe that in the middle of Wolverhampton on a Saturday night his police don't get abuse and that people are arrested. Wolverhampton must be an interesting place on a Saturday night."

When the officer's precise argument was put to Ferguson – "Isn't the policeman saying that footballers are role models and that it can start from that and lead to really bad behaviour?" – he fell back on the media. "From what I've read in this morning's paper, he's said that he would expect his officers to arrest somebody who swore. That's what he said. His quote in this morning's paper was that and I'm responding to that alone."

The West Midlands force stood by the officer's comments yesterday, insisting that an outburst in which abusive language was connected to aggression would bring probable arrest under sections four or five of the Public Order Act.

The media was not such a reliable aid when stories of Sir Clive Woodward criticising Ferguson's handling of Rooney were cited. "The media go to people and approach people," said Ferguson. The credibility of his argument would perhaps have been helped by the same acknowledgment that Rooney's conduct could not be condoned. But beneath the outrage there was an interesting sense that the goal celebrations Ferguson is seeing in players like Rooney, who also enjoys forming the shape of the cross after scoring, do not delight him.

Rio Ferdinand argued after the midweek win at Chelsea for greater freedom of expression after goals, including the right to remove a shirt. Ferguson, who first saw this cult of individualism in David Beckham, suggested not. "Celebrations have changed," he said. "You see time and time again players knocking their team-mates out of the road so they can get personal adulation. They run and do certain ways of celebration. Some take off their shirt, others have a T-shirt underneath with messages on it. The world has changed in terms of celebrations."

The United manager, who may recall Anderson to midfield and also has John O'Shea and Wes Brown back to face Fulham today, suggested that the FA had jeopardised referee Mason's career, though there also seemed to be a veiled message for the official, whom Ferguson suggested had been leant on to support the FA case. "Obviously he was put under pressure – there's no doubt about that. He did put himself in the spotlight. If he doesn't send a player off for swearing the question will be, does he have double standards? It's a difficult position the lad is in. I feel for him, I really do. I don't know how his career is going to go now but I think he was put under pressure."

The FA denied any such suggestion, or Ferguson's claim that they had changed the rules in the season's "mid-stream", which as he put it "seems a bit stupid when you've got the meetings yearly."

Gary Neville also argued yesterday the "harsh, dangerous precedent" which has undoubtedly now been set might store up future problems for referees. Rival managers disagree. "It was more down to the aggressive attitude towards the camera than inappropriate language," Arsène Wenger said yesterday. "Rooney understands that I think."

The only individual beyond reproach for Ferguson was the cameraman into whose lens Rooney screamed. "There's not a great deal of space between the touchline and terracing at West Ham," he said. And, of course, the only beneficiary of all this is United's team spirit, as Ferguson uses a perceived injustice to rally his side for a run-in to a possible treble. United "can't do a thing" about the ban now, Ferguson concluded. "But we can use it. The support will be fantastic now. You watch it. It will be absolutely magnificent. And the players are absolutely brilliant."

Ferguson's Attacks

*March 2011

Given five-match ban and £30,000 fine after criticising referee Mark Atkinson's display at Chelsea.

*July 2010

Accused FA of hampering England's World Cup chances by not introducing a mid-winter break.

*March 2010

Described the Football Association "a dysfunctional unit" that has "no consistency" after Rio Ferdinand received a four-match ban for elbowing.

*Nov 2009

Labelled referee Alan Wiley "unfit" after game against Sunderland. Given four-match ban and £20,000 fine.

Source : The Independent 9 April 2011

Bizarre and controversial goal celebrations

Brazilian wonder kid Neymar has become the latest player to perform a bizarre goal celebration.
The Santos striker received a second yellow card after marking a goal by wearing a mask – of his own face.

Here, we take a look at some of the most bizarre and controversial goal celebrations.

Mirko VucinicThe Roma striker placed his shorts on his head to celebrate Montenegro's winning goal against Switzerland last year.

Nicolas Anelka, not one to shy away from controversy, caused a bit of a stir with his 'handcuffs' gesture after scoring for Chelsea against MSK Zilina in this season's Champions League. The striker was apparently sending a message to the French Football Federation, who banned him for 18 games because of his role in the World Cup mutiny.

Carlos TevezDuring the Carling Cup semi-final first-leg last season, Carlos Tevez silenced the Manchester United fans, and then set about infuriating them. To celebrate his second goal the little Argentinean cupped his ears in the direction of the fans. The celebration was a re-enactment of one he performed when a United player at Old Trafford, which was designed to ask those in charge why they wouldn't sign him on a full-time basis, something which still upsets the striker.

Wayne RooneyAnd to finish off, just last weekend England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney celebrated the completion of a hat-trick against West Ham by delivering an aggressive and foul-mouthed tirade down the Sky Sports cameras. He would receive a two-match ban for doing so...

NeymarThe 19-year-old scored a brilliant solo effort for Santos in a Copa Libertadores match against Colo Colo that finished 3-2. He jinked through the defence before chipping past the goalkeeper to put Santos 3-0 up. He then put on the mask, which was handed to him from the crowd, with the face upside-down. The referee showed Neymar his second yellow card.

PFA announce Player of the Year nominees

Tottenham’s Gareth Bale and Arsenal’s Samir Nasri have both officially been nominated for the Professional Footballer’s Association Player and Young Player of the Year awards.

In a year where no one player has stood out the competition for both awards will be fierce and PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor believes the lists are reflective of an exciting season.

He said: “It is certainly very competitive. There has been no outstanding favourite so it will be very interesting to see who people think are favourites.

“This year there are some very good contenders and it is nice to see some homegrown players in there as well. That is encouraging”.

The North London duo will face competition from Bale’s Tottenham team mate Rafael Van der Vaart, Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez, Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, West Ham’s Scott Parker and Blackpool talisman Charlie Adam.

While England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, Arsenal starlet Jack Wilshere, Everton's Seamus Coleman and Manchester United pair Nani and Javier Hernandez complete the young player of the year shortlist.

Bale and Nasri could join former Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo (2006/07) and Andy Gray (1976/77) as the only players to win both awards in the same year.

Vidic meanwhile will be looking to make it five in a row for Manchester United who have provided the last four winners of the Player of the Year award – Ronaldo (06/07 and 07/08), Ryan Giggs (08/09) and Wayne Rooney 12 months ago.

However, in a recent poll for The Independent Adam was the overwhelming fans favourite with 48 per cent of the vote followed by Bale on 26 per cent and Nasri on 12 per cent.

The winners, along with the Team of the Year, will be announced at a gala dinner on Sunday, April 17.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Charlie Adam (Blackpool)

Gareth Bale (Tottenham)

Samir Nasri (Arsenal)

Scott Parker (West Ham)

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Rafael Van der Vaart (Tottenham)

Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

With 10 goals and seven assists since his £8m move from Real Madrid, Van der Vaart has been one of the buys of the summer. His technical ability and composure on the ball make him one of the most gifted midfielders in Europe.

Despite Manchester United's defensive problems this year, Vidic has been a towering presence for the league leaders. He has guided young Chris Smalling and his ability in only matched by his reading of the game.

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Samir Nasri (Arsenal)

Seamus Coleman (Everton)

Gareth Bale (Tottenham)

Nani (Manchester United)

Javier Hernandez (Manchester United)



Since moving from full-back to left-midfield the Welsh wizard has stolen headlines with his blistering pace that strikes fear into opposition defences. Despite being injured for nearly two months of the season, Bale has still scored seven goals this season.



The Frenchman has responded to the extra responsibility given to him in the absence of Cesc Fabegras with some brilliant performances. His ability to ghost past players and open up defences with his passing means he is one of the most dangerous midfielders in the league.

Source : The Independent 8 April 2011

Terry: we are now walking on eggshells in case we get banned

Chelsea players criticise referee for failing to award penalty but captain says he cannot be too outspoken

Chelsea's senior players were united in claiming that Patrice Evra's late challenge on Ramires in Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester United should have been a penalty but John Terry sounded a note of caution – saying players were "walking on eggshells" about criticising referees.

Frank Lampard described the challenge as a "blatant penalty" and Terry also said that that Spanish referee Alberto Mallenco made the wrong call. However, the Chelsea captain said that players were now cautious about speaking their mind – a reference to the five-match touchline ban given to Sir Alex Ferguson after he criticised referee Martin Atkinson last month.

Terry said that the players feared a "ban" if they were too outspoken in their criticism. Ferguson was banned from the touchline for five games by the Football Association for claiming that Atkinson had not been "fair" in the game between United and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 1 March when the official chose not to dismiss the Chelsea defender David Luiz.

Terry stopped short of criticising the referee





Terry said: "On the penalty issue as well, I think that it's difficult for us and for you guys [the press] as well, because the players want to come out and speak honestly about it. I've clearly seen it from 60 yards away, Rami clearly getting the first touch. The lads watched it on TV after the game.

"We can't come out here and speak honestly and it's a little bit frustrating. Because we can't speak honestly, you guys [the media] lose out, everyone's walking on eggshells, fearing a ban before the next game. It's not the first time it's happened but anywhere else in the world – Old Trafford, the Nou Camp, the Bernabeu – that's a penalty."

Strictly speaking, Ferguson's ban was administered by the FA rather than Uefa under whose auspices the Champions League falls. Equally, players are permitted to criticise decisions as long as they do not – as Ferguson was ruled to have done – suggest a bias or favouritism on the part of the referee.

Lampard said: "Everyone knows it was a penalty, but he didn't give it. Simple as that. I can't believe he didn't give it. It was blatant – everyone in the stadium saw that."

There is a chance that Chelsea will have the winger Yossi Benayoun back in contention for Tuesday's second leg at Old Trafford. Terry also said that the centre-back Alex da Costa, who has not played since 28 November, might be in contention for the game, or at least a place on the Chelsea bench.

Terry said that he and his team-mates still believed they could defy the odds and get through to the semi-finals. "I was saying to the lads afterwards that it's us versus everyone," he said.

"I think that's clear to see over the last few years. Only we can change that on the football field and expect nothing from anyone. Nothing gets given to you on a plate and it certainly won't be in this competition.

"I'm staying positive. That's the way I am and that's the way I want the lads to be and only we can change it. We can say stuff, we can let things get to us. But, at the end of the day, we need to go there and win on Tuesday."

Source : The Independent 8 April 2011



FA takes hard line with Rooney to boost flagging Respect campaign

Two-match ban for swearing into a camera upheld as United players complain of widespread bias against the club

The Football Association believes that the Wayne Rooney verbal abuse case will prove a significant landmark in the Respect campaign, despite claims yesterday from some Manchester United players that the furore since the striker swore into a TV camera last weekend reflects a national prejudice against the club and its success.

United players declared yesterday that the FA's decision to enforce a two-game ban against Rooney was disproportionate and even Ryan Giggs said he was "bamboozled" by the punishment. "There was no precedent for it," he said. "It had just never been done before. I'm not surprised [by a sanction] because of the profile Wayne has got – but a two-match ban, yeah, I'm surprised about that."

The FA, who will keep a watching brief on cameras encroaching towards the playing area after Saturday's incident at West Ham, reject any claim of an anti-United bias, despite Rooney's ban coming two weeks after manager Sir Alex Ferguson's five-game touchline ban.




Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring Manchester United's winner at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday

 

Though the Rooney case was judged on its own merits, there is a feeling at the FA that the profile Rooney commands when he transgresses the game's codes has ensured a greater profile for the Respect campaign than might otherwise have been the case. Though Rooney said yesterday that the sanction "didn't seem right" considering his immediate apology, the FA believe that a similar incident at last summer's World Cup, when the striker escaped punishment after swearing into a camera, should have acted as a warning to him.

United's players declared yesterday that the FA's ban would strengthen the side's morale, with Luis Nani affirming a desire to "show those people" who "speak badly about us." United's attempts to cite the abuse Rooney received from West Ham fans at Upton Park in mitigation has come to nothing and the 25-year-old will now miss the FA Cup semi- final with Manchester City a week on Saturday as well as tomorrow's home league game with Fulham. "Every year we fight against the best teams and of course, a lot of people like Manchester United and on the other side a lot of people don't like us," Nani said. "It's normal to have an opinion and speak badly about us, but we have to be strong and win all those games to show those people."

The City manager, Roberto Mancini, said that with Rooney missing at Wembley, United would lack a talent who "at this moment, he is not 100 per cent he is 200 per cent." Mancini did express some surprise at the ban. "In 20 years I don't remember anything like this. I think there might have been one player in Italy," he said. "Will it improve our chances? No. I don't think this. We know he can change a game at any moment like when we played at Old Trafford."

United's 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory at Chelsea offers consolation as well as an "unbelievable psychological boost" according to Rio Ferdinand. But the defender continued his staunch defence of Rooney yesterday by suggesting that players ought to be given greater freedom to celebrate, though that should not include the conduct witnessed at West Ham.

"It's not 'do as you want' – there's got to be a little bit of a barrier to what you do," Ferdinand said. "But even the slightest things like taking your shirt off when you score a goal. What is the problem with that? I don't understand why that has been banned.... Why? If someone can explain that to me – it's going to get a few more birds in the stadiums. I think sometimes people want to make up too many rules when you don't really need it. I'm sure there is some support [for Rooney] but there's more against him. People want to string him up."

Nani also argued for freedom of expression. "Sometimes when we score we try to express ourselves for ourselves, not the fans or for the people," he said. "I think [Rooney] was unlucky because he's a superstar, everyone is focused on him when he does something."

Rooney said in a statement issued through his spokesman Ian Monk that he was "not the first player to have sworn on TV and I won't be the last. Unlike others who have been caught swearing on camera, I apologised immediately. And yet I am the only person banned for swearing. Whatever, I have to accept that what's happened has happened and move on from here. That is what I intend to do."

Ferguson, whose side have never lost a European tie having first won the away leg, may be helped by the anticipated return to training of Darren Fletcher today after recovery from a severe virus.

Mark Hughes, the Fulham manager, said that while he was pleased to avoid the threat of Rooney tomorrow at Old Trafford, he sympathised with the striker for being under constant scrutiny. "I watched it on the box and I thought he may be in trouble for it," Hughes said. "I've been in that situation where there is a release of energy and emotion. I'll hold my hands up, I've probably done similar things. The fact it's been caught on camera, that was the difference.

"It's very difficult to plead the case for what happened because there are cameras everywhere. Everyone has a camera, on their phones or whatever, so we are very aware of the significance of our actions as managers and players. Doing anything to camera is on record and if it's inappropriate, irrespective of the emotion going through your body, you pay the consequences."

Source : The Independent 8 April 2011

Alex Ferguson slams police officer over Wayne Rooney comments

Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Superintendent Mark Payne of "needing to be noticed" after his pointed comments about Wayne Rooney yesterday.

Payne, responsible for managing responses to crime and operations in Wolverhampton, claimed he would have expected his officers to have arrested Rooney had the Manchester United striker replicated his four-letter outburst at Upton Park on Saturday in a public place.

The suggestion brought a withering response from Ferguson.

Ferguson says the officer wants to get noticed

"Everyone has an opinion today," he said.

"There is an issue in the modern world of a need to be noticed.

"There is a wee guy, sitting down there in the Midlands, probably never been recognised in his life, managed to elevate himself to whatever it is in the police force.

"Have you ever seen Wolverhampton on a Saturday night? Do police ever arrest anyone for swearing on a Saturday night? Dearie me. That is a good one."

Payne said on his blog on policing: "If Rooney had behaved like that in Wolverhampton on Saturday night, I would have expected my officers to lock him up.

"People in positions of influence have an obligation to behave like human beings. It is not a lot to ask."

Mr Payne went on: "I have seen a thousand Rooneys, and I am sure most police officers will have.

"The same aggressive stance, the bulging eyes, the foul-mouthed rant, fists clenched, surrounded by his mates, all cheering him on.

"I have seen this on Friday and Saturday nights, as young men (and more often young ladies) engage in a 'good night out'.

"My officers will face more Rooneys over the weekend, no doubt somebody will be injured in some meaningless fight. An officer will have to go and tell a parent that their son or daughter is in hospital as a result."

In their immediate reactions yesterday to Rooney's two-match suspension being confirmed by the Football Association, both United and the player made their displeasure known.

Rooney clearly believes he is a victim of double standards.

And Ferguson feels the whole incident has put massive pressure on referee Lee Mason.

"I don't know if you can use the word fair any longer," said Ferguson, recalling that his use of the word at Chelsea last month landed him with a five-game touchline ban.

"We put an appeal in. The lad has apologised for swearing but I don't think we expected to get a result.

"It will bring us together. It is a plus for us.

"But the one I feel sorry for is Lee Mason. He has put himself in a terrible position.

"He has been put under pressure. There is no doubt about that.

"It is hard to imagine the referee would send a player off for scoring a hat-trick.

"But he has now put himself in the spotlight. If he doesn't send a player off for swearing the question will be, has he got double standards.

"It is a very difficult position the lad is in. I feel for him. I really do. I don't know where his career is going to go now.

"I think he was put under pressure."

Meanwhile, Ferguson confirmed young defender Rafael will miss tomorrow's Premier League encounter with Fulham at Old Trafford after suffering a knee injury in the Champions League win at Chelsea on Wednesay.

However, the 20-year-old is expected to be fit for Tuesday's second leg.

The good news for United is that John O'Shea and Wes Brown have both recovered from hamstring problems and both are available to face the Cottagers.

Source : The Independent 8 April 2011

Steven Gerrard to miss rest of Liverpool season

Liverpool have suffered a second injury blow in three days after captain Steven Gerrard was ruled out for the rest of the season.

The England midfielder returned to training a week ago after a groin operation in early March but sustained a similar but not identical injury last Friday.

He has spent the week undergoing assessment and manager Kenny Dalglish confirmed the worst at the club's Melwood training ground this morning.



Gerrard will not play again this season



"We still don't know definitively what the problem is," said the Scot.

"We will wait to get a precise answer from the people that he has to see but he won't be involved again this season."

On Wednesday defender Daniel Agger had his campaign ended prematurely when it was confirmed he would be sidelined for at least two months with a knee tendon injury sustained in Saturday's defeat at West Brom.

Dalglish is also without right-backs Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly (both hamstring injuries) for the next month.

Dalglish added: "It is a blow to anyone but it's more disappointing for the players than it is for us, obviously.

"We just have to get on with it and without being disrespectful to the players who are injured the most important ones are the ones who are fit.

"They are the ones who can be chosen. At this particular moment in time I'm as good a player as Steven."

Source : The Independent 8 April 2011

Ten-man Spurs made to pay by Mourinho's merciless Real

Real Madrid 4 Tottenham Hotspur 0

It has taken Tottenham Hotspur decades of struggle and mediocrity to earn their place in the elite of European football, and last night it took them 15 mad minutes to all but ensure that come the return leg at White Hart Lane next Wednesday they will be out of the Champions League.

It had started to go wrong even before Peter Crouch was dismissed in the 16th minute of the game but it will no doubt be the England international who takes the rap for this humiliation. He certainly did not need to lunge into Sergio Ramos for his first booking and the same goes for the sweeping challenge on Real Madrid's Brazilian defender Marcelo for his second.

But those who rush to judge should remember that this was the player who scored the goal against Manchester City 11 months ago that began the whole Champions League adventure. This red card will stay with Crouch for the rest of his life.

Cristiano Ronaldo rubs salt into Tottenham's wounds by scoring Real Madrid's fourth at the Bernabeu last night

As a footballer he treasures nights like these in Europe and he has been short-changed in his career enough times by managers such as Rafael Benitez and Fabio Capello that he never takes playing in the big games for granted. But the memory of this one will hurt. As for Spurs, they are already talking about the Champions League in the past tense.

That was certainly Harry Redknapp's attitude having seen his side go in at half-time one goal behind, the first of Emmanuel Adebayor's two, and then gradually fall apart in the second half. It was painful enough for Spurs that Adebayor scored another – his tenth career goal against the club – but the third and fourth from Angel di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo really twisted the knife. "Mission impossible," was how Jose Mourinho described Spurs playing with 10 men. And he was trying to be kind.

To his credit, Redknapp did not heap all the blame on Crouch. He could have publicly bawled out his striker in the aftermath of the game but he held back. Redknapp knows that Crouch has come good for him enough times in the past. If anything, the Spurs manager sounded more cheesed off with Aaron Lennon, who pulled out of the game literally seconds before the teams were due on the pitch.

The winger had been named on the official Uefa team-sheet but knowing that Lennon had been suffering from flu all week, Redknapp said that he caught the player's eye in the dressing room and realised immediately that something was not right. "He [Lennon] came in and I could tell," Redknapp said. "He had that look on his face that he didn't feel he was fit to play. So I asked him, 'Are you OK?' And he said 'I don't feel I have any strength or any energy, I don't feel I can run'. So I had to pull him out."

It threw Spurs' immediate plans into chaos. Gareth Bale went out to the right wing – a move that must have been done to counter the threat of Marcelo and did not work at all. Jermaine Jenas came on in Lennon's place but in the centre of midfield. Luka Modric was out on the left. It was a mess and even against a mediocre Premier League side it would have been suspect. Against Real Madrid it was a recipe for disaster.

Real went after Spurs from the start. This was a classic Mourinho all-out, full-court press and it worked. Ronaldo had already had two shots at goal within the first three minutes. In the fifth minute, Mesut Özil sent a corner over from the right wing – Adebayor got away from Jenas and stooped down to head the ball through the crowd.

It had started badly for Spurs. It was about to get a hell of a lot worse. Crouch had already put a header wide when, on eight minutes, he was booked for catching Sergio Ramos late. Crouch was pumped up and, unusually for him, he was in a mood that could best be described as reckless. Unfortunately the German referee, Felix Brych, was only too keen to start writing names in his book.

Something made Crouch lunge in wildly on Marcelo on 16 minutes and give referee Brych an easy decision. It was noticeable that as he trudged off Mourinho pulled aside Adebayor, who had also been booked by then, and seemed to warn him of the pitfalls of letting his emotions get the better of him.

"It was an uphill task, an impossible task," Redknapp said later. "First half, I thought we did fantastic with 10 men." They could have been eviscerated but they re-organised. Bale went out to the left wing and finally got going in the latter stages of the half. He drew a foul from Pepe that earned the Portuguese defender a booking that rules him out of the second leg.

Spurs could not complain – they got lucky too. Michael Dawson charged down a shot from Di Maria and the ball looked to have struck his hand. Mourinho is not the kind of manager to pass up an advantage and he certainly had one last night. His team came out after half-time with the same kind of attacking intent. Xabi Alonso had taken control of the game and Ronaldo always looked dangerous.

Later, Mourinho refused to say that the tie was over. "I know the mentality of the English teams and the English fans," he said. "I know what they are like." But he was just being polite. He was more exercised at the suggestion that Pepe had intentionally taken a yellow card in order to spend his suspension at White Hart Lane.

Against an increasingly demoralised Spurs side, Adebayor scored a second on 56 minutes. This time it was a short corner from Ronaldo on the left to Marcelo in an advanced position. William Gallas was nowhere as Adebayor beat the Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes with his header.

Di Maria's goal was the best of the lot. He ran down the right channel making Benoît Assou-Ekotto back up all the way before crashing a shot into the far corner. Ronaldo added the fourth from the same side after a cross from Kaka, on as a substitute. Gomes should have done better. But by then it was incidental. This Champions League adventure has surely finished for Spurs.

Man of the match Adebayor.

Referee F Brych (Germany).

Attendance 80,000.

Match rating 6/10.

Source : The Independent 6 April 2011

Chelsea left adrift by fast-running Walters

Stoke City 1 Chelsea 1: Ancelotti's nine-game plan unravels at first hurdle as Stoke add guile to grit

All the sting from this fixture was drawn half an hour from the start in a flurry of goals at Upton Park. As they changed in the Britannia's dressing rooms, Chelsea would have known Manchester United were two down and the scenario paintedby Carlo Ancelotti that by winning their final nine games the championship could be retained was beginning to take flight.

By the time Chelsea began the warm-up, the electronic screen behind them was showing images, 10 feet high, of Wayne Rooney dragging the title ever closer to Old Trafford. And when the final whistle went and the screen relayed pictures of Stoke's manager, Tony Pulis, embracing his backroom staff it confirmed what most, deep down, at Stamford Bridge, already knew.

The first of those nine games had not been won and by striking the frame of Petr Cech's goal twice in the second half, Stoke demonstratedhow easily it could have been lost. Chelsea's season will come down to two enormous throws of the dice against United in the Champions League. Ancelotti did not concede the title but he has spent the last couple of months trying not to confirm that this was a race Chelsea were still in. "The gap is more open," he said with some familiar shrugs of his dark-suited shoulders.

Stoke away is one of the Premier League's defining tests. Arsenal and Liverpool have stumbled here, Manchester United have never dropped a point in the fierce, frenetic atmosphere of the Britannia and, until yesterday, nor had Chelsea.

In Pulis's words, they were a team who were prepared to exhaust themselves against the rock wall of Stoke's defence rather than save something for Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge. However, particularly on the wings, Stoke have begun to add some fluency and a little beauty to the granite. Watching Stoke is rather like living in a council house with a Canaletto on the wall and their opening goal was a thing of passion, perseverance and beauty.

Having picked up the ball on the left flank, not far from the halfway line, Jonathan Walters beat David Luiz and kept on running. The options began to stretch out before him, with Kenwyne Jones screaming for a pass, but Walters kept going, turned Michael Essien and then shot between him and the sprawling figure of John Terry to beat Cech at his near post.

The reaction was instant. Pulis reflected that "Chelsea pushed us into pockets and kept picking our pockets." However, it was not until Drogba became the first Chelsea striker to score since Fernando Torres' arrival in London, that they emerged with hard cash.

It was safe to assume that Drogba, who had been preferred to Torres as Nicolas Anelka's strike partner, had other things on his mind. The civil war in Ivory Coast is nearing its bloody, predictable climax and he had made a brief return to his homeland in the days before this fixture.

And yet Drogba played with freedom and sometimes brilliance. When Anelka took the ball and gave a brief glance up, he anticipated well before Danny Higginbotham where the chip would go. The result was a fierce, diving header that gave Asmir Begovic not the slightest chance. In the second half he turned and drove against the crossbar. Torres was eventually introduced – "to give us more presence in the box" in Ancelotti's words – but his play again looked drained of self-belief.

As they shook off Chelsea's shackles after the interval, Stoke seemed awash with it. Jermaine Pennant shot into Cech's boots, Marc Wilson sent a free-kick clattering against the crossbar and from the subsequent corner, Robert Huth struck it again.

Stoke are preparing for an FA Cup semi-final, their biggest game since the 1972 League Cup final when they overcame Chelsea at Wembley, and for both clubs this match was supposed to be an hors d'oeuvre. It was one Marco Pierre White would have been proud of.

Attendance: 27,508

Referee: Peter Walton

Man of the match: Drogba

Match rating: 7/10

Source : The Independent 3 April 2011

Arsenal's title hopes fading after home fire goes out

Arsenal 0 Blackburn Rovers 0

Arsenal were hoping for an upturn in their fortunes in April after a nightmare March in which they went out of two competitions and failed to win a League game, but instead the new month will seem depressingly similar for Arsène Wenger and his team to the one that has just ended.

They are, to all intents and purposes, out of all competitions. Wenger will not concede the Premier League title to Manchester United, but he might as well. United's win at West Ham earlier in the day had left Arsenal eight points adrift in second place, but their response was feeble, their football lacking its usual pace and creativity, and devoid of cutting edge.

Their point leaves Arsenal seven behind United, and although they have a game in hand on the leaders, who visit here on 1 May, they no longer control their own destiny. "Before we speak about the title, we have to come back to a good level of performance," Wenger said. "It was a flat performance – lack of energy level, lack of sharpness. It's difficult to identify one special thing. We started well, but very few players had the resources to raise the level of their game."

Blackburn should have been the perfect antidote to Arsenal's ills, having lost the seven previous meetings between the teams in north London. But they battled for their point, and survived the dismissal of Steven Nzonzi for a two-footed tackle on Laurent Koscielny with 13 minutes to go. Although Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen excelled in central defence, it was an indictment of Arsenal that they have probably had tougher matches. "We tried to put pressure on their midfield three and the lads showed a fantastic appetite," Steve Kean, the Blackburn manager, said. "In slow motion, [Nzonzi] gets a bit of the ball. Sometimes they're red, sometimes they're yellow."

Blackburn still seem likely to be heavily involved in the relegation battle, but will take heart from ending their poor run at the Emirates. Even though they have failed to win any of their past seven matches, and are only two points above the bottom three, they showed enough quality in this match to believe that they can pull clear.

Arsenal were at their best in the early stages. Phil Jones got in the way of a shot by Alex Song, Nelsen did well to avoid turning Theo Walcott's cross into his own net, and Paul Robinson kept out the winger's shot fromtwo yards.

Nasri, despite a bandaged head following contact with Nelsen's, set up the best chance of the first half with a low cross from the right after 30 minutes, only for Jack Wilshere to put his shot tamely wide from eight yards. But at least it was a shot. Although Arsenal regularly weaved their way into the Blackburn penalty area, their attempts to pick out a clever pass increasingly found only a defender anticipating well, and their attempts at trickery became almost predictable.

So far, so much par for the Arsenal course – as were two moments of goalkeeping uncertainty before the interval. Manuel Almunia let a long shot by Martin Olsson slip under his gloves, watching in relief as it rolled wide of goal, then failed to reach a dropping ball with an attempted punch, allowing Nzonzi an unchallenged header which went wide.

Predictably, there were calls for Wenger to replace him with the recently re-signed Jens Lehmann, who sat impassively among the substitutes. Instead, Wenger threw on Cesc Fabregas – who had not felt confident in his ability to play a full 90 minutes after recovering from a hamstring problem – Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner.

The changes might have worked, especially once Nzonzi had departed, but Blackburn deserved to hold out as Arsenal mounted a late siege of their goal. Olsson threw himself in front of Chamakh's shot after Wilshere's clever run, and Michel Salgado chested Bendtner's late header off the line – no doubt to applause from any watching Manchester United players. After yesterday's results, they must believe that the title is on its way back to Old Trafford.

Attendance: 60,087

Referee: Phil Dowd

Man of the match: Samba

Match rating: 5/10

Source : The Independent 3 April 2011

Hammers hit by the curse of Rooney

West Ham United 2 Manchester United 4: England striker unleashes torrent of goals and expletives to condemn Grant's men to drop zone

It was for once true grit rather than genuine class that carried them through, but through a serious test Manchester United came yesterday lunchtime before heading back up north defying potential rivals to do their worst.

Although Arsenal and Chelsea must have been rubbing their hands after seeing the half-time score, they would have been less confident of the outcome had they been watching the game, or seen statistics like the corner count, which at that stage read 11-0 in United's favour. By the final whistle it was 16-0 and, crucially,West Ham's 2-0 lead had been transformed into something more accurately reflecting the football. The visitors still left it late, trailing as they did until the final 17 minutes. Then Wayne Rooney completed his first hat-trick for 15 months to extendthe lead at the top of the table before Arsenal's game, and drop West Ham back into the bottom three.

Of course, this being the Premier League, there were controversies in a game of three penalties, a burst of obscene language from Rooney – for which he later apologised – and a potential red card for United's captain Nemanja Vidic. With Chris Smalling prone to error alongside him, Vidic resorted to desperate measures in conceding the second penalty and holding back Demba Ba when he appeared to be the last defender. There was only one yellow card for those two offences, and none when Vidic clattered Ba again early in the second half.
"He maybe got a lucky break," Sir Alex Ferguson admitted, while insisting that the penalty awarded "was outside the box". If there was partisanship in that assessment he was accurate both in admitting, "at 2-0 we were under the cosh" and in praise of his team's traditional desire to attack and keep going. "It was a real championship performance," he concluded.
In the end that proved to be the case, but earlier on the defending was anything but the stuff of title winners, which must give heart to Chelsea for the Champions' League quarter-final. Patrice Evra conceded the first penalty for handling Carlton Cole's attempted cross and Vidic the second, both of them expertly put away by Mark Noble. Yet even then, Robert Green made the two best saves of the half, from Smalling's early header and Park Ji-Sung's drive from 10 yards.
Ferguson, watching from the front row of the directors' box, was quicklydown to the dressing-room – domestic bans do not apply there – telling Javier Hernandez to get stripped, Ryan Giggs to move to left-back and the rest of the team to keep playing and score the next goal. Fortunately Giggs was still able to start several of the attacks that now wore West Ham down.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Hernandez was fouled by Noble and Rooney curled the free-kick round the wall and inside the near post.
That was his 99th Premier League goal for the club, and the century soon followed, with a deft touch from Antonio Valencia's pass before hitting the equaliser past Green.
When it came to taking a penalty for his hat-trick, Rooney was aware of the goalkeeper having faced many of his kicks in training for England, but he scored, before screaming an obscenity at a television camera. That was not clever at a time when the behaviour of players and managers are under the spotlight. The Football Association nevertheless indicated last night he was unlikely to be charged.
The hat-trick had come in 14 devastating minutes and West Ham were in ruins. Darron Gibson should have scored from Dimitar Berbatov's pass, and Hernandez converted Giggs's low cross. The home side's willing midfield workers had simply run out of legs. "It was too easy for United to control the game in the second half," Avram Grant conceded, while claiming: "There were a lot of positive things." Now he has seven games to keep West Ham up, with the visits of Aston Villa, Blackburn and, on the final day, Sunderland likely to prove decisive one way or the other.

Attendance: 34,546

Referee: Lee Mason

Man of the match: Rooney

Match rating: 9/10


Comeback kings 2010-11
13 November: Aston Villa 2-2 Man U
Goals from Ashley Young and Marc Albrighton appear to have given Villa three points but Federico Macheda drills home late on and Nemanja Vidic then heads in to earn Sir Alex Ferguson's side a point.


25 January: Blackpool 2-3 Man U
The terrific Tangerines lead 2-0 with just 18 minutes left but two in two minutes – from Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez – bring United level before Berbatov breaks Blackpool hearts in the 89th minute.


Yesterday: West Ham 2-4 Man U
A brace of penalties from Mark Noble puts the Hammers 2-0 up at half-time, but an inspired Wayne Rooney changes the game with a 14-minute hat-trick before Hernandez adds a fourth.

Source : The Independent 3 April 2011

Brunt makes Liverpool pay double

West Bromwich Albion 2 Liverpool 1: Odemwingie runs amok to win two controversial penalties after injury strikes Dalglish's defence

Three points lost, and a trio of players too, this was one of the darker days of Kenny Dalglish's generally sunny second coming at Liverpool, especially as Steven Gerrard was among the latter. Unlike Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger, who both pulled up lame, Gerrard did not even get on to the pitch, having broken down in training on Friday as he prepared to return from his groin operation. Gerrard was sore enough yesterday for Liverpool to book him in for a scan this week. "He felt a sharp pain, it's not the same injury, but it is in the same area," said Dalglish.

Injuries, however, did not fully account for the way Liverpool were outplayed yesterday as the interloper beat the legend. In defeating the man who replaced him Roy Hodgson gained a small modicum of revenge for the way he was forced out of Anfield earlier this season, not that he said that publicly. More important for the West Bromwich Albion manager, however, was the effect it had on the League table, and will have on his players.

"There's no extra pleasure in beating Liverpool because I made a lot of friends there, but there is pleasure in beating a club we don't beat very often," said Hodgson. Albion last defeated Liverpool in 1981.

Victory lifted Albion four points clear of the bottom three and into a heady 12th place. The fact that they won after trailing with half-an-hour to go should provide a similar lift to their self-belief. For Liverpool, this was a bitter defeat, incurred through two penalties, both won by Peter Odemwingie, both converted by Chris Brunt, and both disputed. The first was conceded by Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who argued he got something on the ball before Odemwingie tumbled; the second by Pepe Reina who complained that the Nigerian had dived over him.

Dalglish was relatively sanguine. "You can discuss penalty decisions as long as you like but you'll never convince someone who holds a different view," he said. Dalglish was more disgruntled about the fact the referee's assistant gave the second decision despite Martin Atkinson being reasonably close. However, given that assistant was Mike Mullarkey, who officiated at the World Cup last summer, Atkinson's deference was understandable. "I thought they were as clear a penalty as you are ever likely to see, if you don't get penalties for that they might as well not exist," said Hodgson

Hodgson and Dalglish exchanged warm greetings pre-match – the Scot does not take personally Hodgson's view that he had no chance of success at Anfield with Dalglish having also applied for the post. The Liverpool fans were less welcoming, displaying a banner that read: "Thanks for the grey hair Roy".

Aside from the £50m front pair the Liverpool team would have been familiar to Hodgson right down to the absence of Gerrard. Almost as significant was the injury suffered by Johnson in the fifth minute – a torn hamstring according to the defender's tweet. Dalglish reshuffled, moving Agger across with Kyrgiakos coming on to play in the centre where he would eventually be given a torrid time by Odemwingie. Sixteen minutes later Agger limped off with a knee problem. Danny Wilson became the Reds third left-back of the day, and was soon booked for hauling back the tricky Odemwingie.

Carroll meanwhile, was getting isolated, frustrated and booked. "You're only here for the drinks," jeered the Albion fans, something he can expect a lot of, thanks to Fabio Capello going public on his "refuelling issues".

In a prosaic first half Martin Skrtel was relieved to see Reina save his misdirected header. The Slovakian returned his radar to head Liverpool in front five minutes after the break, rising above Paul Scharner to meet Raul Meireles' corner.

That prompted Liverpool's best spell but Dirk Kuyt spurned a chance to double their lead before Brunt levelled. Albion's winner followed a long hoofed clearance by Jonas Olsson that Odemwingie beat Kyrgiakos to before winning the second spot-kick. In a frantic finale Scott Carson deniedMeireles and Luis Suarez, Skrtel headed wide and Nicky Shorey cleared off the line from Suarez.

Attendance: 26,196

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Man of the match: Odemwingie

Match rating: 7/10

Source : The Independent 3 April 2011

Redknapp must find creative edge before Real test

Wigan Athletic 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0

The only consolation for Tottenham is that an injury list that has left them with only two fit centre-backs did not grow any longer. But as a warm-up for Tuesday's daunting journey to the Bernabeu, this did not have a lot to recommend it. "The Real Madrid scout will be scared stiff," Harry Redknapp said. But if the Tottenham manager was able to appear relaxed enough to introduce a little ironic humour to his post-match summing-up, he was also frank enough to admit that a repeat of yesterday's performance would not do for a Champions' League quarter-final.

Tottenham enjoyed good spells of promising possession, but the Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi was tested only once. By contrast, the home side, who remain bottom of the Premier League table, posed serious questions of Heurelho Gomes three or four times in the second half and there was little arguing with Roberto Martinez when the Wigan manager claimed that only the Spurs goalkeeper denied his team victory.

"We know we will have to be better than that," Redknapp said. "You have to give creditto Wigan, who did a good job, but we didn't create enough in the final third, we did not pass the ball well and we weren't clever enough in the box to create chances."

Redknapp declined to make an excuse of the effect of the international break on his preparations, which was probably wise given that Wigan had been without 12 of their squad for the last two weeks for the same reason and did not appear to suffer for it. The problem perhaps is that a squad that has worked so hard to mount such an impressive campaign in Europe while simultaneously trying to reach the top four for a second year in a row is beginning to run out of steam.

Tottenham do not expect to have William Gallas back for Madrid, which means Michael Dawson and Sébastien Bassong will be retained as the central defensive pairing. But Redknapp said that Gareth Bale, who did not travel yesterday, will be back and will start along with Aaron Lennon, whose introduction in the second half here, along with Peter Crouch, sparked Tottenham's best spell. "I think to have the pace of Bale and Lennon will be essential," Redknapp said.

Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric offered glimpses of creative energy but no more and, Gomes apart, Tottenham's best performances came from Sandro and Jermaine Jenas in the defensive area of midfield. For Wigan the young trio of James McCarthy, Ben Watson and Tom Cleverley all gave performances of bright promise.

Cleverley drew the save of the match from Gomes early in the second half, moving in from the left to deliver a curling, right-foot shot that would have ended up in the far corner.

Gomes had already made a good reflex stop from Charles N'Zogbia at his near post and remained alert enough to deny Conor Sammon, the Wigan substitute, near the end.

"I have seen the replay and the save from Cleverley was world class," Martinez said, "and he was clever too with the save from Conor. He read it really well."

Yet for all their brightness – and they certainly did not look like a Championship side – the prospects for Wigan are not good, with only two games left at home.

Attendance: 18,578

Referee: Andre Marriner

Man of the match: Gomes

Match rating: 7/10

Source : The Independent 3 April 2011