Can anyone catch United? Chelsea haven't given up

The revival of Ancelotti's team is the latest twist in a campaign that has been short on quality but long on thrills




The two games that will decide the title race are United's trip to the Emirates a week on Sunday and then the visit of Chelsea to Old Trafford seven days later




It is only 69 days since Carlo Ancelotti declared that the Premier League title race was over for Chelsea and if he called it a little early then he was not the only one.

When Chelsea failed to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage on 14 February the 12 points separating them from Manchester United looked unbridgeable. United had just beaten Manchester City two days earlier with that overhead kick from Wayne Rooney. Chelsea, on the other hand, had lost to Liverpool at home eight days previously and their 0-0 draw with Fulham suggested their winter slump was by no means over.

That night after the game against Fulham, Ancelotti pronounced that the 12-point gap to United was "too much". "The most important thing now," he said, "is to finish in the top four."

Nine weeks on, the winter has given way to a warm spring and Chelsea have halved that 12-point gap to United. They have made up eight points on Arsenal in the space of just seven games to take second place on goal difference. They may have been beaten in both legs of their Champions League quarter-finals by United but the gloom of those results has been offset by the small possibility that when they go to Old Trafford on 8 May that game may not necessarily be a formality.

This season has been written off in many quarters as one of the Premier League's fallow years with no outstanding player and no outstanding team. But it does not feel like that with five games left to play. It feels volatile, unpredictable and exciting. United should win the title but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that they are capable of mistakes, and then who knows what might happen?

That was why there was a sense of hope detectable at Stamford Bridge after the 3-1 win over Birmingham City on Wednesday night in a season that has not been notable for it. "You can see how quickly things change," said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. "Two weeks ago the situation looked one way. Now it looks another way.

"A few days on and everything looks different. We are back in second spot and we are only six points behind United. We have two games at home [against West Ham and Tottenham] which will be massive for us. We have to keep winning to maintain our momentum and keep up the pressure on everyone else."

When Ancelotti wrote off his team's chances in mid-February he was making the assumption that everyone else would be better. If next month he was to equal Jose Mourinho's two titles with Chelsea having overseen the lowest points-yielding season in the club's recent history then you cannot imagine Mourinho will be impressed. Mourinho's teams never finished with less than 83 points in his three full seasons at the club. The maximum Chelsea can finish with this season is 79.

A note of caution: while Chelsea might have halved the gap to United, the leaders are still one point further clear of the pack than they were seven games earlier when Arsenal trailed them by five points. United's position as favourites for the title – and the bookmakers had them at around 8-1-on yesterday – remains solid but it is their run-in that gives the others grounds for hope.

The two games that will decide the title race are United's trip to the Emirates a week on Sunday and then the visit of Chelsea to Old Trafford seven days later. United have not been beaten at home in the league all season, which makes the task all that more daunting. They can afford to lose one of those games providing they get wins elsewhere, but not both of them.

"It's still United's title to lose," Cech said. "They are top of the table, they have a six-point advantage over us. They play us at home. It's their title to lose. But we are going to do everything to get as many points as possible to keep our chances alive."

The return of Chelsea from fifth-place basket cases to second-place contenders has epitomised the opposition to United this season: there has not been the consistency to mount a serious challenge. Now in their last seven games, Chelsea have taken 19 from a possible 21 points which has been impressive but also shows how costly that 1-1 draw at Stoke City on 2 April looks.

Over the same period, Arsenal have managed just 11 points from a possible 21. Any other season and they would be well out of contention but United have only earned 13 points in the same period. Manchester City's falling away has been even worse. They have played five games in the same time and taken just seven points from a possible 15.

"There is a lot of pressure all round," said Cech about his manager Ancelotti. "But nobody panicked at the club. The manager stayed calm even though he was under a lot of pressure. The club gave him their backing by keeping him in and the season is still on. It's not completely lost yet. We have to fight until the last moment."

Perhaps the season's most intriguing subplot is how Chelsea's late push will affect Ancelotti's future prospects. Winning his second title in two seasons would be a remarkable achievement, given even Arsène Wenger has never won consecutive titles. Roman Abramovich may be obsessed with the Champions League but surely he could not sack a manager who has won back-to-back titles. Could he?

Champion effort: What they must do to win the league

Manchester United

* Six points clear with five games left, United can wrap up the title as early as 8 May if they win their next three matches, including meetings with both Arsenal and Chelsea.

* If United were to take seven points from those games, they could steal Manchester City's thunder by clinching the championship against Blackburn on 14 May, the same day as City take on Stoke in the FA Cup final.

Remaining fixtures Everton (h) Tomorrow; Blackburn (a) 14 May; Arsenal (a) 1 May; Blackpool (h) 22 May; Chelsea (h) 8 May

Chelsea

* If Chelsea win at Old Trafford on 8 May and United lose another of their remaining four games, the title could be decided on the final day of the season.

* In the unlikely event that United lose their next four games and Chelsea win theirs, the defending champions could retain the title on 15 May against Newcastle.

Remaining fixtures West Ham (h) Tomorrow; Newcastle (h) 15 May; Tottenham (h) 30 April; Everton (a) 22 May; Man Utd (a) 8 May

Arsenal

* Look to have the easiest run-in, but are likely to have to beat United at the Emirates on 1 May and hope Chelsea defeat them at Old Trafford a week later. Even then, they may trail both on goal difference.

* If Arsenal win all their remaining games, and both Chelsea and Manchester United take just three points, then the title could be theirs on 15 May against Aston Villa. A long shot.

Remaining fixtures Bolton (a) Sunday; Aston Villa (h) 15 May; Man Utd (h) 1 May; Fulham (a) 22 May; Stoke (a) 8 May

Source : The Independent 22 April 2011

Brendan Rodgers: 'The day Jose left Chelsea, it felt like someone had died'

The Brian Viner Interview: The Northern Irishman learnt his management skills under Mourinho. Now he aims to apply them with Swansea in the Premier League

A tiny office, scarcely larger than a broom cupboard, in the Glamorgan Health & Racquets Club just outside Neath would not be Jose Mourinho's idea of a command centre, and yet this is where his protégé Brendan Rodgers, once Chelsea's reserve team coach, is plotting to take Swansea City back to the big time. "I had three and a half years with Jose," says Rodgers. "It was like being at Harvard University."

If this intense, 38-year-old Northern Irishman does lead Swansea back into the top tier, which they last graced in 1982-83 only for one of the most precipitous climbs in the history of English football to be followed by one of the more disastrous plunges, almost into extinction, then he will add a further dimension to his own Harvard analogy, finally graduating from Professor Mourinho's class magna cum laude. But the prospect of automatic promotion to the Premier League has been undermined by a disastrous run of four consecutive away defeats. A fifth, at Portsmouth tomorrow, would make even the play-offs less than a dead cert.

This office is too small to fill with negativity, however, so let's contemplate promotion. They say there's such a thing as not being ready for the Premier League; does Rodgers think the Swans are ready to stick their necks out in such august company?

The ghost of a smile. "I'd say we're similar to Blackpool last year, or Burnley before that. You can't wait until you're ready because you might never be ready. Obviously there are still plenty of things to be done, in terms of infrastructure, and the training ground. We must be the only Championship club that showers with its supporters. So the Premier League and the money that comes with it would help secure this club for years to come. Are we ready? No. But we would jump at the chance to play at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. The aim this season was to finish in or around the top six. Promotion would be a dream."

Rodgers is keenly aware of Swansea's halcyon period three decades ago, not least because his first-team coach is Alan Curtis, one of the goal-scoring heroes of those years. He knows, too, all about the tumultuous times on the brink of bankruptcy, and indeed the brink of non-League football, averted on the final day of the 2002-03 season. Since then, though, a consortium of local businessmen has restored financial stability, backed up by two notably astute choices of manager. One was Roberto Martinez, now at Wigan. The other is Rodgers, who was appointed last July and has got Swansea playing, in the opinion of some, the most attractive football in the Championship. "My philosophy is to play creative attacking football with tactical discipline, but you have to validate that with success," he says.

Hard work is the other bulwark of his philosophy. The work ethic was forged in the working-class, mostly Catholic village of Carnlough on the Antrim coast, where he grew up the eldest of five brothers, watching his father, a painter-decorator, graft relentlessly to give the family every affordable comfort. "He and my mother set in place the values and morals that are with us to this day," says Rodgers. "They were the best role models we could have had."

At St Patrick's College in Ballymena, his skills as a footballer were spotted by Manchester United scout Eddie Coulter, who more recently unearthed Jonny Evans. It was early in the Alex Ferguson era and Rodgers used to travel to Manchester to represent United at schoolboy level with a lad called Adrian Doherty, a tricky left-winger considered an Ulster discovery almost in the George Best class.

"They called him 'the Doc', and Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles, they will all tell you he was the best player they ever played with at that level. I remember being at Reading with Jim Leighton, who was on loan from United at the time, and he waxed lyrical about 'the Doc'. He was an incredible player, but he got badly injured in a reserve game, which set his career on a downward path, and a few years ago, very sadly, he drowned in a canal, in Holland."

Doherty was just 26 when he died in 2000, all that youthful promise already just fodder for anecdotes. Rodgers' own youthful promise, though far more limited, had much happier consequences. United let him go to Reading, where he captained the youth team and later hovered on the fringes of the first team, but a series of injuries, compounded by the realisation that even at peak fitness he would never cut it at the level he aspired to, made him resolve to become a coach, starting with the Reading youth team.

"From that moment I set off on a journey to be the very best I could be," he says. "Someone told me that if I could speak another language it would help me at a higher level of the game, so I studied Spanish twice a week with a guy called Julio Delgado, whose son was a British tennis player, Jamie Delgado." Rodgers' self-improvement campaign began with football, however, and his reputation as an innovative young coach soon extended beyond the Thames Valley. In 2004 the recently-appointed manager of Chelsea invited him for an interview.

"Jose played 4-3-3, or a 4-4-2 diamond, and he wanted a coach to implement his methodology. As you can imagine I was nervous meeting him, a guy I'd read a book about. But he was brilliant, and made me his first external appointment. He took me under his wing a wee bit, maybe because he saw something different in me, or maybe there was a bit of empathy because, like him, I hadn't had the big playing career. Anyway, that started one of the best times of my life. Jose had learnt from his mentor, Louis van Gaal, and I learnt from him, that there must never be a lazy day in training, and that preparation is vital."

At this point Rodgers takes two strides to the other side of his office and picks up a bundle of diagrams, detailing his forthcoming training exercises. Multi-coloured and minutely detailed, they could just as easily be infantry plans for the Battle of the Bulge. "This is what Jose taught me," he says. "And when the players see them, they are energised. They think 'he's put some thought into this'."

He also took careful note of Mourinho's celebrated man-management skills. "Jose struck a perfect balance between putting them on edge, and supporting them. He'd let them feel the pressure to win, but then be able to take that pressure off them. He could be their friend, or their worst enemy. I'd already worked with Steve Coppell, a fantastic man, very respectful of his players, but here was a guy who took it to a different level, that integration of coaching and management. The day Jose left Chelsea, it felt like someone had died."

Rodgers then worked with Mourinho's successors Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari before deciding that he was ready to become a manager in his own right. "I'd had a great apprenticeship. I'd gone from the park to the peak. So I spoke to Milan Mandaric about the Leicester job, but he decided to go for experience and appointed Gary Megson." The disappointment intensified his desire to get onto the managerial merry-go-round, and in November 2008 he did so, at Watford. Seven months later, he seized the chance to succeed Coppell at Reading. And barely six months after that, the merry-go-round threw him off. It was the first serious bruising of his career, the first stumble downwards in what had been a steady upward trajectory. And it came at the hands of John Madejski, the chairman who had known him since he was a teenager.

"I was at a club I loved, working for people I wanted to do well for, trying to implement things I knew would take time, and I felt I would be given that time. The season hadn't been great, but we were picking up." On 15 December 2009 Rodgers enjoyed himself at the club Christmas party. The next day he was asked to see Madejski at the stadium, without the slightest idea that he was about to be fired.

"But I knew as soon as I walked in. He's a good man, and I know it wasn't easy for him, but it was a lonely drive home. Then, in early February last year, my mother passed away suddenly. She was only 53, a sudden heart attack. I used to speak to her every day, so with losing her, and no football, there were two massive voids in my life. It took a few months and a lot of self-evaluation before I thought about finding another club. I like to win in a certain style, I like my teams to control and dominate games, so I knew it couldn't be any club."

Swansea seemed like a good fit, and on being appointed last summer Rodgers promptly moved his family from Reading, where he had lived since moving from Northern Ireland. South Wales reminds him of home, he says. "It's very working-class, and the people are fantastic. I say to every player I bring here, the likes of Scotty Sinclair, 'don't just come for the football, come and enjoy the life down here'."

It could yet be, of course, that South Wales has a pair of Premier League clubs next season. Does he relish the idea, or has he bought into the fans' notion that nothing except fire and brimstone is to be wished upon Cardiff City? He smiles. "I understand that mentality. A lot of people think Wales finishes at Cardiff. They've put a multi-billion pound investment into the train track from London, and cut it off at Cardiff. But the Premier League will be a better place if it has two Welsh teams, with all that passionate support."

His chances of guiding Swansea to promotion, he adds, have been substantially improved by what happened at Reading. "It made me a better manager, better in every way, and not only for myself but for others. Now, when other managers are removed from their jobs, I'm straight onto them, because you understand what that loneliness is like. I'll never forget what Neil Warnock said to me early on in the season. He shook my hand, and said 'it's brilliant you're back, you can be a top manager, but now you've got to bloody stay in'. That's right. I've been outside looking in, and my aim now is to stay in. Of course I have my goals. I've had a smell of the Champions League with Chelsea, and I want to manage at that level. But I'm looking no further than Swansea as a place to achieve my ambitions."

 

 

Source : The Independent 22 April 2011

Cesc Fabregas rules out transfer to different English club

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas insists he will not follow in the footsteps of fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres and join another English team if and when the time comes for him to leave the Gunners.

Last summer Fabregas' former club Barcelona failed with a £35million bid take him back to the Nou Camp and his future continues to be the subject of speculation.

However, one thing the 23-year-old is certain of is that he will not stay in England if he leaves Arsenal - unlike Torres who left Liverpool for Chelsea in a £50million January deal.

"If some day I leave Arsenal it will never be to sign for another English team. I'm very sure," Fabregas, who admits he was surprised by Torres' move, told Spanish magazine Don Balon.

"How it happened, in so few hours, I didn't expect it. I didn't imagine Torres leaving the Premiership, but neither that he would leave in the middle of the season. That said, I believe that it was a good decision."

Fabregas has spoken before of his desire to one day play for Barca, whom he left when he 16 to join Arsenal, again, but is prepared to be patient in his quest for silverware.

Arsenal have failed to win a trophy since clinching the FA Cup in 2005, while in the last three years alone Fabregas' would-be employers Barca have claimed eight trophies and look certain to add at least one more this season.

"You have to have patience and wait for the right moment. The day that I leave Arsenal I will do it with my head, not just 'because'," Fabregas said.

"As well as that, who can be sure that you are going to play in a new team? Or that you will progress. Here I have the great fortune that at a personal level, despite not having won much, I'm doing very well.

"I talk with (Barcelona captain Carles) Puyol and he told me that at 26 he hadn't won anything. Puyol, who has won everything in the football world! Patience and hard work are the most important things in life."

With Arsenal set to finish this season empty-handed yet again, Fabregas was asked what Arsene Wenger's team lack to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for honours.

A winning mentality and a 30-goal striker were a couple of the ingredients Fabregas believes his side need, saying: "It's difficult. For me it's more a lack of a winning mentality, also of maturity in key moments. We have plenty of quality but lack this bit of confidence.

"The problem is that the team needs to win something. We are missing that ability to say: 'now I know what it is to win and I know what it takes to win'.

"That's what made the Arsenal team of 'The Invincibles' so strong, they knew how to win games, when to dig in, when to attack, they had a special intelligence to read games. Now we are very young."

He added: "What we really lack is a striker who scores 30 goals a season. (Robin) van Persie plays centre-forward but he is more of a playmaker and he has suffered with injuries which has seen him miss a lot of games. If Robin had been fit from the start this season things would have been different."

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Arsenal have blown the title, claims Redknapp

'They should have been in pole position' says Spurs manager ahead of derby

Harry Redknapp thinks Arsenal should have been in 'pole position' for the title race

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes that tonight's opponents Arsenal have squandered a good opportunity to win the Premier League. Arsenal visit White Hart Lane this evening needing a win to maintain their challenge to Manchester United. But recent disappointing results at home have severely damaged their chances, particularly three consecutive draws.

"They drew with Blackburn at home and threw away a great opportunity on Sunday and only took a point," Redknapp said yesterday. Arsenal drew 1-1 at home with Liverpool last Sunday, and 0-0 at home with Blackburn on 2 April. Their home game before that, against Sunderland on 5 March, was also 0-0. "If they took those extra four points [against Blackburn and Liverpool] look where they'd be. With United to play at home still, they would have been in pole position."

Redknapp believes that Arsenal not reaching the later rounds of the FA Cup or the Champions League gave them a lighter fixture list, further improving the chance which they appear to have squandered. "When United drew [Manchester] City in the FA Cup semi-final, they had two [Champions League] legs to play," he said. "Chelsea and Arsenal had none of that and you looked at it and I fancied Arsenal strongly. They had no distractions. Then suddenly on that Saturday, United came back to win the game and Arsenal couldn't beat Blackburn."

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has told Spanish magazine Don Balon that the club may have to change the philosophy which has resulted in no trophies since 2005. "It's true that Arsenal have got a reputation of a team who play beautiful football, but don't win anything," he admitted. "We won the FA Cup [in 2005] when I got here and we reached the Champions League final [in 2006]."

Fabregas said that his manager Arsène Wenger's record would have led to his dismissal at a major Spanish club. "But here it is different. The manager is intelligent and the club value different things – that the team is always in the Champions League, that we compete until the end, that we have young players, economic stability. For the board this is important. But I imagine there will be a moment when you have to decide: do you win things or not?"

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Redknapp predicts tougher times ahead for his north London rival

Harry Redknapp has seen Arsenal go from pole position to outsiders in the Premier League title race within the space of two home games, and he expects the task for Arsène Wenger to be even tougher next season.

When West Ham were winning at half-time against Manchester United, the championship looked within Wenger's grasp, but Wayne Rooney staged a comeback for the leaders and Arsenal failed to beat Blackburn later that day.

With the next home game at the Emirates Stadium culminating in a dramatic draw with Liverpool, Redknapp's Tottenham can effectively end their rivals' hopes this evening at White Hart Lane.

Wenger's Invincibles were the last Arsenal team to win the title, in 2004, and Redknapp believes it will be more difficult to finish at the summit next season compared to the current campaign.

"I think its going to be harder," he said. "It's only a matter of time before Manchester City win a championship, that's for sure, if they keep buying top players.

"I think Liverpool will be up there again. I think next year will be harder than this year and this year was harder than the year before."

Should they fail to close the six-point gap on United, this season could be seen as a missed opportunity for Arsenal.

"They had ... Blackburn at home and then they threw away a great opportunity on Sunday and only took a point," Redknapp said. "If they took those extra four points look where they'd be. With Manchester United to play at home still. They would have been in pole position.

"When United drew [Manchester] City in the FA Cup semi-final, they had two legs to play. Chelsea and Arsenal had none of that and you looked at it and I fancied Arsenal strongly at that time.

"They had no distractions. Then suddenly on that Saturday, United came back to win the game and Arsenal couldn't beat Blackburn."

Arsenal have only defeated Leyton Orient and Blackpool since losing in the Carling Cup final in February, leading to questions over whether Wenger can take his team further. But Redknapp has defended his counterpart amid criticism from the influential Arsenal Supporters' Trust.

"I don't understand that at all," Redknapp said. "How can they criticise him? They've had fantastic success and play great football.

"You lose a few games and you have these silly phone-ins, someone calling the radio station saying 'they were rubbish today, absolutely useless'. If people ring up I switch over and put Magic FM on and listen to a bit of music. Why would I want to listen to a bunch of idiots? They must have sad lives with nothing better to do."

Redknapp, however, has seen a change in approach from Wenger. He agreed the pressure has got to the Arsenal manager recently "because he has probably not had it [defeat] so much".

Redknapp added: "We can all sit there with a cigar when you're winning 3-0, saying 'this is good'. Suddenly they started losing and he was one of the biggest nutters of all. He's jumping around more than anyone now. That's how it gets you. We all do it.

"What was he going through when Liverpool got that free-kick on the edge of the box? It's the worst feeling in the world waiting for that free-kick. What he must have gone through on Sunday must not be good for your health, that's for sure."

Meanwhile, the Premier League is not expected to move Stoke City's game against Manchester City following concerns over a conflict of interest regarding European qualification.

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Wenger would have been fired by now in Spain, claims Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal captain, has challenged the club to develop a ruthless streak if they are to end their run of six years without a trophy, and has admitted manager Arsène Wenger would have been sacked long ago if he had been working for one of the big clubs in Spain.

Arsenal stand at a crossroads now that American billionaire Stan Kroenke has become the club's new majority shareholder. Fabregas, who broke into the team that won the 2005 FA Cup, has chosen the week following Kroenke's takeover to call for a shift of emphasis towards winning trophies again, challenging the club's hierarchy to choose between picking up honours and developing young talent.

He also claimed that the Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Unai Emery at Valencia would all have been fired if they went three seasons without a trophy, let alone the current six seasons that Wenger is facing.

Fabregas said: "If you went to Spain and said to Guardiola, Mourinho or Unai Emery that they would have three years without winning a trophy, it would be obvious they would not continue [at their clubs]. But here it is different. The manager is intelligent and the club value different things – that the team is always in the Champions League, that we compete until the end, that we have young players, economic stability.

Cesc Fabregas admits to feeling the responsibility of being Arsene Wenger's captain

"For the board this is important. But I imagine there will be a moment when you have to decide: do you win things or not?"

The startling admission by Fabregas comes with Arsenal facing a north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur tonight, having lost at home to their rivals earlier this season. The contest comes days after Arsenal blew another chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester United when they conceded a very late equaliser in Sunday's 1-1 home draw with Liverpool.

Fabregas's comments also back up Patrice Evra's jibe at the end of last season that Arsenal are a "football training centre". The taunt clearly hit home, as Fabregas accepts that Arsenal, who in February were beaten in the Carling Cup final by Birmingham City, have lost the ability to win trophies.

Fabregas told Spanish magazine Don Balon: "It's true that Arsenal have got a reputation of a team who play beautiful football, but don't win anything. We won the FA Cup when I got here and we reached the Champions League final. We did not win but Barcelona beat us with a man over and late in the game. But from 2007 on I started to say, 'We don't win but we play very well'.

"After that you realise that it doesn't work. You enjoy it, during a part of the season, like this year, when we were in four different competitions. And you say, 'Here I have it all'. But then you cannot make the final step and it is here where a decision has to be made: to go out to win or to develop players."

Arsenal still retain an outside chance of winning the title, although it seems unlikely after Wenger's team dropped points at home to Liverpool on Sunday. Fabregas has admitted that his role as the team's captain, and senior player, at the tender age of 23 has been taken its toll.

When he was an emerging player, he took strength from being in the team alongside the likes of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, but now he finds himself thrust into the role of senior professional.

He said: "Sometimes people ask if I was better at 17 than I am now, and when you think about it you see that no, what happened before was that I was in a winning team and it was impressive. You felt that if you had a bad game, nothing happened because your team-mates helped you.

"Those players made you better. Now a lot has changed, and I am the man that everyone looks to. I don't like to say it but it is true. If I play badly, I take responsibility and the pressure of the supporters. It is not something I am used to but I am captain, so it is reality. Only me and [Robin] van Persie remain of that generation, and we have a lot of responsibility.

"We learned from the best. Now it is different because we are all so young that there is nobody you look at and say, 'Wow'. I am only 23, and it is important to remember that. Young players learn from the older ones. Before, there were reference points, winning, strong players and playing with them you learned faster."

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Ferguson 'insulted' by Hernandez yellow card

Forward booked for dive in 0-0 draw at Newcastle that throws Arsenal title lifeline

The Manchester United manager was a frustrated spectator at St James' Park last night

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed it was "an insult" that referee Lee Probert booked Javier Hernandez for diving in the closing moments of last night's goalless draw at Newcastle rather than award Manchester United a potentially match-winning penalty.

The United manager, who considered Carlo Ancelotti's concession of the title to be premature, claimed Probert had marred an otherwise fine performance with the decision not to penalise Danny Simpson's challenge. "It was a clear penalty," he said. "It is an insult because he booked him. The referee had a good game but he lets himself down by booking the player."

The Newcastle manager, Alan Pardew, who admitted his "heart was in my mouth" when Simpson made his challenge on Hernandez said he was equally convinced Probert had come up with the correct decision. He added that he still thought Manchester United, seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, would regain the championship.

However, their failure to win at St James' Park, a ground where they have not lost in a decade, leaves the title race still open in theory. Should Arsenal overcome Tottenham in tonight's north London derby, they can close Manchester United's lead to four points with five matches remaining. However, Ferguson considered Chelsea, whose manager, Ancelotti, has already conceded the title, to be just as threatening despite the fact they are nine points adrift with a game in hand.

"I think you have to look at Chelsea also and how they respond," Ferguson said. "They have three home games in a row now. There are two important games coming up for us – that's the Arsenal game away and the Chelsea game at home – and that will decide things."

A lacklustre first half after both Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand were sidelined by illness and injury respectively suggested that Manchester United were still feeling the effects of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City, although Ferguson was encouraged by their response after the interval.

"We tried to freshen it up as much as we could in terms of the game on Saturday because Wembley can be a tiring pitch, a slow pitch," Ferguson said. "It can drag players down a bit. But in fairness we didn't show any of those signs, they were really energetic. They thrived on the challenge. I thought that was good at this stage of the season.

"Newcastle probably deserved a point, particularly because of what they did in the first 20 minutes but for the rest of the game we were more or less in control. At this stage of the season, we are in a better position than we were on Saturday. It's one less game and in the same position ahead of Arsenal."

Michael Owen, the subject of some ferocious booing on his return to St James' Park, responded on Twitter, saying: "I knew I would get booed because that is what a lot of fans do but, if they knew the facts, it would be different."

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Rooney is left frustrated as United suffer Cup hangover

Newcastle United 0 Manchester United 0

Once more Manchester United failed to impress on the grand stage but, unlike at Wembley on Saturday, the dressing-room walls of St James' Park were safe.

The hole left in the wall in one of the national stadium's dressing rooms – for which the club has apologised – was a sign that defeat against Manchester City had stung. This was a mere disappointment, although as he prepares for his last stand in the north London derby, the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, might wonder how a side that has won as many away games as Blackpool could be cruising to the Premier League title.

Significantly, Ralf Rangnick, the coach of Schalke, based in Newcastle's twin town of Gelsenkirchen, would have watched this game from the directors' box and perhaps been less afraid of Manchester United. A first-half performance like this on the banks of the Ruhr might be punished rather more severely than it was on Tyneside. Schalke have Raul to lead their attack, Newcastle have nobody with the class to fill a No 9 shirt.

Manchester United had plenty. Wayne Rooney averages more than a goal a game here, and tried to reprise his stunning volley that settled a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford half a dozen years ago. But late in the second half his attempt was only good enough to whistle into the Leazes End. Another struck Cheik Tioté in a place that would have flattened most men. The Ivorian barely flinched while Rooney often seemed to be teetering on the brink of dissolving with rage.

Midway through the second half, Patrice Evra set up Ryan Giggs with a wonderful cut-back only for Giggs to screw a shot that screamed "goal" wide. The Welshman flashed a wry, ironic grin. Even banished to the stands, Sir Alex Ferguson noticed that a Newcastle defender had just touched the ball, which had the effect of fractionally putting Giggs off his aim.

Then came Michael Owen, whose lacklustre displays and enormous salary in a Newcastle shirt still linger painfully on Tyneside. He was howled down while Javier Hernandez's greatest contribution was to get himself booked for diving. If he did fling himself to the pitch in search of a late penalty, it is the first unworthy thing he has done since exchanging Mexico for Manchester.

Few imagined Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United's No 9, would start this game. Like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Dwight Yorke before him, he has learnt there is no telling when the coldness that marks Sir Alex Ferguson's displeasure might be felt on your cheek and he had made a mess of his return in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

However, few thought the man who is still the Premier League's leading goalscorer would fail to appear at all. He did travel to Tyneside but felt unwell on the morning of the match while Rio Ferdinand was not risked because of a calf strain.

It would have been tempting to say that the diffident, elegant, cigarette-smoking Bulgarian was not missed. However, this was a night that craved the kind of cleverness and inventiveness Berbatov displayed in the first half of the season.

After a distinctly uncertain first half Manchester United, presumably invigorated by Ferguson's words in the interval, gradually exerted a measure of increasing control over proceedings. All they really required to extend their lead over Arsenal's now faint challenge to nine decisive points was someone to finish things off.

Alan Pardew had suggested that Manchester United might be intimidated; not the Newcastle manager acknowledged, by the patched-up team he was able to field but by the atmosphere St James' Park might generate.

The season has probably passed the point where fear can be seen sauntering through a Manchester United dressing room – Rooney and Giggs were chatting among themselves as the teams lined up – and on paper they have come through fiercer cauldrons than this.

However on an otherwise gentle spring night by the Tyne, the masses in the Gallowgate had plenty to shout about. It may have been a decade since they last overcame Manchester United in an electric bare-knuckle fight that finished 4-3; their team may have been wrecked by injury but they displayed an often ferocious determination to prevent this match becoming a procession many had predicted. They are, after all, a team that has held both Arsenal and Chelsea here and beaten Liverpool.

In the stands, the old wounds surrounding Alan Shearer were picked open and left to bleed. In Newcastle they will never forget he turned Ferguson down to come home; in Manchester they always remember he won nothing by doing so. Had Pardew possessed a striker of Shearer's quality, they might have taken the lead before the interval.

However, Andy Carroll, the man who should have inherited Shearer's kingdom, had been sold to Liverpool for £35m and when Peter Lovenkrands was given the kind of free header the giant, pony-tailed Geordie might have buried, the Dane steered it limply wide.

The cross was provided by Joey Barton, who seemed anxious to use a big night to back up the statements about his own ability that somehow found their way into the pages of a French magazine. Barton may be a man with an ego but on nights like these, his talent seems too obvious to deny.

So is that of Jonas Gutierrez, who this time was deployed in midfield and showed Newcastle's intentions early by cutting past first Nani and then Michael Carrick before shooting low. There was a header from Fabricio Coloccini and a shot from Tioté, although Manchester United's defence, without Ferdinand, coped.

That Nemanja Vidic was unflustered surprised nobody. Few defenders win awards but the Manchester United captain, beaten to the PFA Footballer of the Year title by Tottenham's Gareth Bale, deserves some recognition.

Alongside him was Chris Smalling, who against Marseilles in the Champions League, had demonstrated he was rather more than Ferdinand's understudy and did so again in another city where life is measured out in football.

Man of the match Tioté.

Match rating 6/10.

Referee L Probert (Gloucestershire).

Attendance 49,025.

 

 

Source : The Independent 20 April 2011

Arsenal 'lack winning mentality' admits Cesc Fabregas

Captain Cesc Fabregas believes Arsenal need to make a decision on whether they want to be a club that looks to develop young players or one that wins trophies.

The Gunners have built a well-earned reputation as a hugely attractive passing side packed with up-and-coming talent, but once again it appears as though Arsene Wenger's side will not be able to translate that into silverware this season.

Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend seriously dented their chances of winning the Barclays Premier League title, leaving them six points behind Manchester United with only six games remaining.

If, as now seems likely, Arsenal finish this season empty-handed that would leave them without a trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2005, and Fabregas believes the club need to look at their overall direction.

He told Spanish magazine Don Balon: "From 2007 I had already started saying "we're not winning, but we're playing well". And then you realise that's no use.

"You enjoy yourself, during a phase of the championship - like this year, for example, when we were still in four different competitions. And you say to yourself 'here I have everything!' But then that final point is missing and it's then when you have to make a decision: either go out and win or develop players."

Fabregas was also asked why Wenger was not under more pressure following Arsenal's lack of trophies.

"It's different here," the Spain midfielder added.

"The coach is an intelligent person and the club value other things - that the team is always in the Champions League, that they fight until the end, bring through young players, economic stability.

"I guess that for the board that is important. Although I imagine there will be a moment when you have to take the plunge...either you win or you don't win."

Fabregas also believes his side are lacking a few important ingredients to challenge the domination that Manchester United and Chelsea have enjoyed over recent seasons.

"It's difficult. For me it's more a lack of a winning mentality, also of maturity in key moments," he said.

"We have plenty of quality but lack this bit of confidence. The problem is that the team needs to win something. That's why it was so important to win the Carling Cup," he added.

"We needed this cup to be able to believe in ourselves as a team. (Robin) Van Persie has won an FA Cup as I have, but there's no more.

"Nobody in the team has won anything. We are missing that ability to say: 'now I know what it is to win and I know what it takes to win'.

"That's what made the Arsenal team of 'The Invincibles' so strong, they knew how to win games, when to dig in, when to attack, they had a special intelligence to read games. Now we are very young."

Fabregas, who joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2003, also spoke about his own future. He has previously admitted his ambition to one day return to Barcelona to play for the senior team and last summer the Catalan giants had a £35million offer turned down for the playmaker.

The 23-year-old said of his future: "You have to have patience with things and wait for the right moment.

"The day that I leave Arsenal I will do it with my head, not just because.

"As well as that, who can be sure that you are going to play in a new team? Here I have the great fortune that at a personal level, despite not having won much, I'm doing very well.

"I spoke with (Barcelona captain Carles) Puyol and he told me that at 26 he hadn't won anything. Puyol, who has won everything in the football world! Patience and hard work are the most important things in life."

One thing Fabregas did make clear though was that he will not follow in the footsteps of fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres - who moved from Liverpool to Chelsea - and join another English team if and when the time comes for him to leave the Gunners.

"If some day I leave Arsenal it will never be to sign for another English team," he added.

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

Robin van Persie warns Arsenal over 'silly goals'

Robin van Persie has warned Arsenal cannot afford any more "criminal" lapses in concentration if they are to beat arch-rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane tomorrow night and keep alive hopes of catching Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United.

The Gunners missed a golden chance to close the gap down to four points when Van Persie slotted home a penalty deep into eight minutes of stoppage time against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Sunday - only for the Reds to go up the other end and equalise with a spot-kick of their own from Dirk Kuyt after Emmanuel Eboue had pushed over Lucas.

United could now extend their advantage further with a positive result at Newcastle tonight, heaping more pressure on Arsene Wenger's men to pick up maximum points against from the highly unpredictable north London derby.

Arsenal have made throwing away winning positions something of a habit this season, coasting 2-0 at half-time of their home clash against Spurs in November only to lose and then they failed to see out victory at Newcastle despite having raced into a 4-0 lead inside 26 minutes before caving into a Toon Army onslaught after Abou Diaby was sent off.

Holland striker Van Persie insists that alarming trait must be eradicated if the Gunners are to stay in touch with United ahead of their May 1 showdown at Emirates Stadium.

"This has happened too often, in my opinion," Van Persie told Arsenal TV Online.

"If you look at our history, when we are in front, when we are safe, when we have the three points in our pocket, we do concede goals.

"Some of them are silly goals, which we have to work on.

"We have to stay positive, but we really have to look at it because it is almost criminal to give away points like that."

Arsenal have little time to reflect on missed opportunities as they prepare to head to White Hart Lane for what is set to be another intense affair.

Van Persie was not involved when the Gunners ran out 4-1 winners after extra-time in their Carling Cup fixture earlier this season, but cannot wait to sample the derby awayday atmosphere again.

"We always look forward to playing these games," said the Holland striker.

"Maybe it is a good thing we play them this quick after a game like Sunday because we can make things right - there is no better way than [winning] at White Hart Lane

"I always say it is in these bigger games where you become a man, and it is up to us to show that."

Van Persie, 27, feels Tottenham have certainly improved in recent seasons and believes the arrival of fellow Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart can help push them back up into the Champions League places again.

"I have seen Spurs change and fair play to them, they have become a better side and been developing, they got into the top four," he said.

"This year the arrival of Rafael van der Vaart has given them a bit extra to not just stay the top six - he can be their difference from sixth spot to four or three maybe, because he gives them something extra, scoring goals, making assists, is consistent in his game and a good player."

Tomorrow night's game is likely to see both of the Professional Footballers' Association 2011 awards winners in action.

Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere collected the young player trophy while Spurs winger Gareth Bale received the main honour.

Van Persie feels his teenage team-mate is "amazing".

The Arsenal striker said: "The amount of good games Jack has played is special. I have never seen anyone who is 19 and that good in his role.

"He plays very mature - when you get older, you have the experience and know how to play each game, and sometimes I feel he has that already.

"He can play for others and help others out, so that is a gift and he is doing it very well."

England winger Theo Walcott is relishing the chance to face Wales international full-back Bale, his former team-mate when trainees at Southampton.

"Hopefully he will be more on his backfoot than I will, and he will be more worried about me than I am with him," Walcott said.

"But I will just go out there and play my game - I won't worry that my mate is playing because you are mates after the game, you don't worry about that on the pitch."

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

Jack Wilshere ambitious for Olympic gold

The Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has raised the intriguing prospect that he would like to play for Great Britain in next year's London Olympics, which would come hard on the heels of Euro 2012 – in which the 19-year-old is certain to be picked if fit.

Wilshere has already caused friction between the Football Association and the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, by insisting that he will represent the England Under-21s at the European Championship in Denmark in June. The Olympic tournament is primarily an Under-23 competition, for which Wilshere would be eligible, and there is some overlap with Euro 2012 in terms of preparation.

Asked whether he would like to play for Britain, Wilshere said: "The Olympics are going to be massive in London. It will be brilliant. It would be a dream to play in the Olympics."

The FA, which is responsible for the Olympic team, has a policy that no player should play in two summer tournaments. However, this time next year, with anticipation building, there is likely to be a public appetite for Team GB to field a strong football team.

Asked whether he felt tired, Wilshere said: "To be honest, at the minute, no. We are playing Sunday, Sunday now. We are out of the Champions League so we have enough time to recover. Obviously, burnout might be an issue. But the manager at Arsenal will give me the right time off and if I am selected I would never say no to my country.

"It is an honour to play at any level [for England] and I have played since the Under-16s so it is an honour. We all feel we have a great chance of winning it [the Under-21s European Championship]."

Alex Horne, the FA general secretary, said: "We would have a conversation with Arsène and Jack, to see if it was feasible. It means the player will get no summer holiday – depending on how long we are in Poland and Ukraine for [at Euro 2012]. It's tough. It's how Arsenal feel about it as they are the employer and as an athlete you have got to take a rest."

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

James Lawton: Wenger's hard-luck story is to be fated never to see where the true fault rests

Such lack of impact when there is so much to play for seems to be rooted in the way of Arsenal's thinking and spirit and character

If anyone's hard-luck story deserves a sympathetic hearing it is surely the great football man Arsène Wenger's. But then you have to ask: how many times?

How many times to shadow-box around the unwelcome fact that there could just be the dreadful dawning of what we have here – less a gigantic conspiracy than a basic fault, not from without but within?

The question is unavoidable if you found it disturbingly easy to identify with Kenny Dalglish's brusque and, there is no other way of putting it, contemptuous dismissal of the Arsenal manager on the Emirates touchline.

What Dalglish seemed to be saying, in rather harsher terms, was that maybe it is time for Wenger to rail not against unkind fate, in this instance brought by added time, but the failings of his own team.

This is not easy, no doubt, when you suspect you have just seen still another chance of a significant trophy trailing off down the Holloway Road, but maybe the moment has indeed come to wonder if you indeed, after all the tutoring, have all the right players with the best of competitive character.

It is not an opportunistic sneer but more the confession of an admirer that there is only so much faith to be invested in a team which so regularly confounds the hope that they may have come of age, that their promise is founded on something more than Pollyanna yearnings, that buried down there in the precocious skill, the lovely rhythmic passing, the moments of inspiration that send the blood racing, there is a real team capable of seizing their moment rather than merely dancing around the reality of another failure.

The exchange with Dalglish was brutal. The Liverpool manager, who has known all of the highs and lows of football, including in the latter category the Hillsborough tragedy that at one point helped drive him from the game and whose anniversary was acknowledged before Sunday's kick-off, was understandably exhilarated by the latest evidence that he has indeed brought back to Anfield a sense of team and tradition and pride that had gone so profoundly missing for so long.

When the gesticulating Wenger first approached him, Dalglish's expression was quizzical; perhaps he even entertained an idea that there might be a flash of agreement that football could take the men in command to some extremely tough places.

Instead, he saw that Wenger, who has done so much for the game, was laden with the old reproaches. So he told him in far from elegant language that he should go away. In all the circumstances, it seemed like a legitimate response.

Later, Dalglish dismissed the episode as something that should not intrude on to the high ground of a stirring performance. Again, it was the reaction of a man tempered by a lifetime of the good and the bad of football.

How the watching new owner of Arsenal, Stan Kroenke, saw all of this made not the least intriguing of speculation.

He is a man of American sport, a place where the nuances of a goalless 90 minutes were buried at the birth of the old North American Soccer League, which ransacked the offside law and instituted an immediate, all-running, all-feinting shoot-out in the event of a draw. "A goalless tie," said one home-grown executive, "is about as thrilling as kissing your sister."

Kroenke, given the extent of his investment, may just have concluded that over the last few crucial weeks the Arsenal patrons have had quite enough of sibling pecking.

If so, it might just be the final nudging of Wenger towards the conclusion he seems so reluctant to reach, the one that says that winning the major prizes, rather then merely adorning the higher levels of the game right up to the moment you meet some of the sternest resistance, is something that invariably involves a compromise or two.

The one that Wenger may finally have to accept is that there are players out there who may not have had the benefit of his long-time grooming but who have about them the means to impose their will, and their talent, in the most challenging circumstances.

Failures to beat teams as currently abject as Sunderland and Blackburn at home on the run to a title, and Sunday's inability to drive home their advantage over a re-forming Liverpool, suggest again that Arsenal have, when the going gets serious, a desperate shortfall in such assertive characters.

We know about Cesc Fabregas and his brilliant inventions but there were times at the weekend when his face was crossed by that disillusionment so evident when he watched his team-mates flounder against Birmingham City at Wembley a few weeks ago. We also thought we knew about Samir Nasri, not least when he lit up France's victory over England, but he has not been so evident recently.

Such lack of impact when there is everything to play for seems to be rooted in the way of Arsenal's thinking and spirit and, let's be frank about this, in the character of too many of their players.

This side of some remarkable eruption at White Hart Lane tomorrow night, and a slip by Manchester United at Newcastle tonight, Arsène Wenger has to face the coldest of truths. It is that the best place to address his complaints is, as Dalglish suggested with such force, to himself.

The hard-luck story has, you have to suspect, pretty much run its course. It is certainly beginning to exhaust its audience.

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

United damage Wembley dressing room

Hole kicked in wall after FA Cup semi-final defeat / League leaders face Newcastle in key game tonight

The Football Association will consider today whether to bill Manchester United for damage to their Wembley dressing room which took place in the aftermath of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.

The dressing room was used by Stoke City the following day but not before staff at Wembley had to fix a wall that had been damaged on Saturday evening. United have made it clear that they will pay for the damage and have indicated that none of their players were involved in the incident.

The FA carries out minor repairs to the dressing room as a matter of course over FA Cup semi-final weekend after they are cleaned. However, if the damage is assessed to have been sufficiently bad – it is understood that a hole was kicked in the wall – they may decide that United should foot the bill.

The incident caps a bad four days for Manchester United, who play Newcastle United at St James' Park tonight in what will prove a pivotal game in the title race. If they win, United will go nine points ahead of second place Arsenal who play Tottenham at White Hart Lane tomorrow.

Sir Alex Ferguson said yesterday that he would not shy away from the tough decisions needed this summer to maintain the club's dominance.

The preparations for next season have already begun. Ferguson dispatched his brother, Martin, to Spain to scout the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea, who is a prime candidate to replace Edwin van der Sar when the Dutchman retires next month. The close season at Manchester United is expected to be a busy one with the future of players such as Owen Hargreaves, Wes Brown, Michael Owen, Tomasz Kuszczak and even Dimitar Berbatov uncertain. Ferguson told The Manager, the magazine of the League Managers Association, that he was not afraid to bring a player's career to an end.

"It is a horrible thing to say but you cannot be sentimental in this job," the 69-year-old said. "I love the players that I've had and I've been very, very fortunate to have had great players who have come through my career with me.

"All of the players I have had here have played a part in my success so when I see something happening – as in the cases of Nicky Butt and Phil Neville – I have had to release them to other opportunities.

"It was getting to the stage where I was terrified of talking to them and telling them they weren't playing. It wasn't fair to them because they had played a big part in the resurrection of Manchester United. When the time came for me to let them go, I knew I

was cutting really important, loyal strings and I didn't enjoy it.

"My job is to manage United and to produce results and I am no different to any other manager. I will not be regarded in the same way if I am not successful. Everything to do with me is black and white. If it's on the football field and I see something that I feel is a retrograde step for the club, I have to act and make decisions.

"I can make quick decisions and I am lucky that way. In management, you have to be able to make decisions and sometimes you are not right, but that doesn't concern me too much because the important thing is being able to do it."

That Manchester United are perhaps three games away from recapturing a championship lost to a resurgent Chelsea 11 months ago is one of Ferguson's many great achievements. United's football may have lacked the magic of previous campaigns but they have forged a consistency that in a wildly unpredictable Premier League should prove decisive. Nevertheless, Manchester City's victory in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final was, said City defender Joleon Lescott, a shape of things to come. "I know United are top of the league and will probably go on to win the league but I think they are looking over their shoulders now and thinking about the way we are progressing," he said.

"In the next couple of years we are going to be getting to semi-finals and finals a lot more. We'll meet them more and more. Manchester City winning a trophy would be huge. I don't think there is a deadline or a need to win by a certain date. It would be great to win any silverware but the FA Cup is a bit different."

Berbatov, who on Sunday night was named in the Team of the Year voted for by the Professional Footballers' Association and is still the Premier League's leading goalscorer, is likely to begin tonight's game at Newcastle on the bench, just as he did when United and Chelsea locked horns for a place in the semi-finals of the European Cup.

Berbatov, given an opportunity on the grand stage, squandered two early chances in the Wembley semi-final against City, moments that in a bland post-match interview Ferguson singled out as decisive.

As Ferguson proved when getting rid of Dwight Yorke and Ruud van Nistelrooy, the manager has a keen sense of when a striker is past his peak. Berbatov's contract expires in 14 months' time and Manchester United have a unilateral option to extend it an extra year – another of the big decisions Ferguson will have to take in the summer.

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

Runaway Rio Ferdinand stalker arrested

Rio Ferdinand was giving evidence in court yesterday

A woman who vanished from court shortly before she was convicted of stalking footballer Rio Ferdinand and his family has been arrested.

A warrant was issued for Susanne Ibru, 38, after she was found guilty at Macclesfield Magistrates' Court of harassing Ferdinand by repeatedly turning up at his home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Ibru, formerly of Peckham, south London, but now of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, represented herself during her trial and cross-examined the Manchester United and England defender before fleeing the hearing during the lunchtime adjournment yesterday.

Cheshire Police said she was detained in Warrington.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "We can confirm that Susanne Ibru was found in Warrington and is currently held in custody."

She is due to appear for sentencing before District Judge Nicholas Sanders but a spokeswoman for Cheshire Magistrates said the hearing had not yet been fixed.

As he left the witness box yesterday, she told her victim: "I'll see you soon, bye."

She then walked out of the court when Judge Sanders said she could not call the star's wife Rebecca, 30, to give evidence.

Mrs Ferdinand had been excused from the proceedings after giving birth to their third child, a girl, at the weekend.

Ibru never denied visiting the Ferdinand home but argued that her actions did not amount to harassment.

But, giving his verdict, Judge Sanders said: "It is without question that it did amount to harassment of Mr and Mrs Ferdinand.

"Miss Ibru, I suspect, will say she didn't know but she certainly should have done."

Ibru made the 400-mile round trip from south London to Ferdinand's Cheshire home on February 21 last year, then again on June 16 and 18, her trial heard.

The footballer told the court he was upset by the "unwanted and unwarranted" visits from the woman, whom he had never met.

"At first I was angry and upset but then disturbed, really, because I have got a young family and this was not the time or the place to be coming to speak to me," he said.

On the first occasion, Ibru disturbed the couple, who were asleep, by pressing the intercom buzzer at the gates to their driveway in the early hours of the morning.

Ferdinand called his club's security, who alerted police, and Ibru left after being warned against harassment.

The second time, the player was returning home at around 8pm when he saw Ibru standing on the road opposite his house.

Police attended again and once more she was warned that she would face prosecution, but she turned up again two days later in the early hours of June 18.

Ibru again woke the couple using the intercom buzzer and she was arrested.

"The safety of my family is as huge to me as it is to anyone," Ferdinand said.

"Then you have people at your door talking about things that don't make sense.

"You want to be left alone with your family."

During her cross-examination of Ferdinand, Ibru claimed they had first met at the home of one of his relatives in 1998 - an occasion he said he did not recall.

The defendant, wearing a short black dress, replied: "I remember that very well - the first time setting my eyes on you, not just in a newspaper."

The prosecution case was that they were unknown to each other, although Ferdinand's mother Janice was briefly introduced to Ibru after a church function in 2003, the court heard.

Ibru managed to obtain Mrs Ferdinand's phone number and would phone her under some pretext, eventually asking after her son.

The footballer's mother soon changed her number, the court was told.

Rebecca Ferdinand was also left feeling disturbed, telling police she was concerned for the safety of herself and her family as it "was not the behaviour of a normal fan".

Ferdinand told the court that the visits from Ibru caused him to consider increasing the security at his house.

Judge Sanders said: "Mr Ferdinand is a high-profile footballer and, whilst there will always be occasions where he is exposed to public and press scrutiny, the fact is that, when he is in the privacy of his own home with his family, he has a right to expect to be left alone."

Source : The Independent 19 April 2011

When managers attack: Notorious touchline bust-ups

Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish were involved in a colourful exchange at The Emirates at the weekend.
The thrilling finale that saw two injury time penalties awarded and converted was enough to raise the temperature on the touchline.



Arsene Wenger v Kenny Dalglish
Wenger was furious that Liverpool had been awarded a penalty in the 13th minute of stoppage time, leading to an altercation with Dalglish as referee Andre Marriner finally blew his whistle for full-time. TV footage seemed to show Dalglish saying "Piss off" to Wenger, but the pair later shook hands and after the game the Liverpool temporary manager dismissed the row.




Roberto Mancini v David Moyes
The spat between the two managers occurred in the late stages of last season's league match at Eastlands. With City trailing 2-0, their Italian manager was eager to get things moving, so when his counterpart held on to the ball a little longer than he should have done, Mancini was incensed. The City manager lurched at Moyes to retrieve it, leading to a fierce exchange of words and red cards for the pair of them.




Arsene Wenger v Alex Ferguson
The longest running feud in the Premier League has at times been laid bare for all to see on the touchline, with fierce words clearly exchanged between the pair. The biggest bust up came in October 2004, when United ended Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run in the league. The pair waited until they got down the tunnel, where earnest discussions took place before pizza and soup were thrown at Sir Alex.



Arsene Wenger v Mark Hughes
For such a seemingly mild mannered character as Wenger, he's no stranger to touchline shenanigans. Last season The Professor committed the worst managerial crime of all - the handshake refusal. As traditional as the Royal Family, the unwritten rule is that managers shake hands whatever has transpired on the pitch. Should the teams have brawled their way through the game and the managers exchanged insults of the highest calibre - when the whistle blows, all is forgiven with a simple handshake. But following Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Wenger refused the niceties. The two had been joshing throughout the match, and Wenger decided he'd had enough. He was labelled a bad loser by anyone who cared to voice their opinion but the Frenchman was unrepentant.

Alex Ferguson v Wally Downes
A couple of years back Fergie was getting a bit jittery on the Madejski Stadium touchline. With United holding a 1-0 lead over Reading, his team looked in danger of letting it slip - so when the fourth official signalled four-minutes of injury time, Fergie was fuming. And it was Reading's assistant manager Wally Downes who got burnt by the steam emanating from the Scotsman's ears. The two were involved in a fierce exchange before Ferguson, possibly taking into account the size of Downes, directed his frustration at the Reading supporters instead. It was claimed the United manager made a none-too-charming gesture in their direction. Yet after the match Fergie and Downes settled matters over that other tradition, the post match bottle of wine.

Arsene Wenger v Alan Pardew
 Arsene again... this time against Alan Pardew when the English manager was in charge of West Ham. Pardew celebrated a winning goal from the Hammers rather zealously, which infuriated Wenger. The Frenchman jumped up and pushed his counterpart. And then, worst of all, refused the handshake. Wenger was fined £10,000 by the FA yet Pardew admitted he might have been a little antagonising: "It was nothing personal, I was celebrating the goal. Arsene seemed to have a problem with that, probably rightly."

Arsene Wenger v Martin Jol
And to conclude our countdown, it's Arsene Wenger, again. The Arsenal boss just couldn't contain himself when he saw his side go a goal down to arch-rivals Tottenham in 2006. Two Arsenal players were on the deck, but Jol insisted his team play on. They did just that and when Robbie Keane netted for Spurs, Wenger exploded. He stormed over to his Dutch counterpart and the pair went toe-to-toe before they were separated by the officials.