Gianfranco Zola backs Harry Redknapp for Chelsea job

Gianfranco Zola has claimed Harry Redknapp would be a success if appointed Chelsea manager.

The last 24 hours have seen Redknapp installed as the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Carlo Ancelotti following a surge in bets placed on the Tottenham boss.

Redknapp has since insisted he knows nothing about any interest there might be from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who reportedly admires the way Spurs play under the 64-year-old.

Guus Hiddink is said to be Abramovich's number one target, while Zola himself has been linked with a coaching role in any new set-up.

And the former Blues striker believes Redknapp has the quality to manage Chelsea, telling talkSPORT: "Harry is one of those managers that has the skills to do well everywhere.

"I don't know if Harry Redknapp is type of manager Chelsea is looking for but, with his quality, nobody can doubt him."

Zola expressed his sympathy for Ancelotti, who was sacked after Sunday's final game of the season.

"I fell Ancelotti did a good job for Chelsea and, like many fans, we are sorry for what happened to him," said Zola of his fellow Italian, who has revealed he wants his next job to be in the Barclays Premier League and has been linked with promoted QPR.

"I think Ancelotti really likes London and he likes the way football is played over here.

"That doesn't surprise me because, after Italy, if you come here, you really enjoy the culture."

Beckham full of praise for United

 

 

Former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham has been speaking positively about the 2011 Premier League title winning team and wished them the best of luck ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final.

Before looking at what Beckham has had to say on the current crop, it is worth mentioning how good it was seeing him in a Manchester United shirt again last night.

He was taking part in Gary Neville’s testimonial at Old Trafford and started in midfield alongside Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. For United fans everywhere, it was a real treat and Beckham in particular showed himself in a good light.

 

 

Football betting pundits watching the game note how the LA Galaxy man was pinging the ball all over the park and showed that he is still a fabulous player who could probably still perform admirably in the Premier League.

Anyway, back to the current set of Manchester United players who Beckham clearly admires. In fact, he would probably love to be a part of the current squad if he was being totally honest.

The 36-year-old said: “They are up there with the best United sides of all time; the proof is in the trophies they have won. People have criticised the team but you can’t ask for more than that.”

“They have that togetherness that every United side has had under Sir Alex Ferguson and they will continue to have that.”

As for taking on Barcelona at Wembley this Saturday, Beckham admits that the Premier League champions may well start as underdogs, but Ferguson has what it takes to ensure that those looking to win football bets on a United win go home happy.

Beckham continued: “Everyone is talking about Barcelona as one of the best club sides in the world – and of course they are – but if anyone can beat Barcelona at their peak, then Sir Alex Ferguson knows how to do that. I hope they go and do that.”

It is always good to hear Beckham’s views on Untied and he clearly still holds the club close to his heart. There is no doubt that he enjoyed playing in front on the Old Trafford cloud again last night and alongside a mixture of the current team and past players.

Hopefully Beckham’s wish of United winning the Champions League this weekend comes true and his notion of the current team being one of the best in the club’s history is confirmed.

 

 

Defoe's wrist injury compounds striker crisis for Capello

Fabio Capello's striker shortage for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland a week on Saturday became more acute yesterday when Jermain Defoe became the latest player to pull out of the squad.

Capello has no plans to replace Defoe, leaving him with just three strikers – Peter Crouch, Darren Bent and Bobby Zamora. Wayne Rooney is suspended for the game and Andy Carroll has already been declared in sufficiently fit to merit a call-up.

Defoe is the second player to pull out of the squad since it was announced on Monday, following Fulham reserve team goalkeeper David Stockdale who is getting married the day before the game. With more withdrawals expected after Saturday's European Cup final there are fears that Capello will be left with a much weakened squad for a crucial game.

The injury to Defoe is thought to be a small fracture to his wrist which the player sustained in Tottenham's game against Birmingham on Sunday. Danny Welbeck who won his first cap in the last England international against Ghana in March could be an alternative, but is on duty with the England Under-21s preparing for their European Championship next month.

Defoe has a small fracture to his wrist which he sustained in Tottenham's game against Birmingham on Sunday

With Capello showing no sign of picking Crouch in recent games – despite the fact that he is by far and away the most experienced striker in the squad – the likelihood is that he will select a 4-3-3 formation with Bent in the centre forward position. Ashley Young and Theo Walcott are the favourites to start on the wings.

It will not go unnoticed that Capello has again overlooked the claims of Michael Owen. The former England striker, fourth on the all-time goalscorers' list, said this week that he still believed he could win more caps after the Italian quits next summer. Or earlier if England fail to qualify for Euro 2012. The England squad meets up on Monday.

Shay Given interested in Celtic switch

Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given has refused to rule out a move to Celtic after insisting a switch to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League would not be a step down for him.

The 35-year-old has spent most of the season warming the bench as second choice behind Joe Hart at Eastlands.

He is desperate to be playing regular first-team football again and has long been linked with a return to Parkhead, where he spent three years in the youth team in the early 1990s.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon recently hailed Given as "a top, top goalkeeper" but acknowledged he would cost a lot of money to recruit.

However, a goalkeeper will be high on Lennon's agenda this summer, with Fraser Forster having now returned to Newcastle following the end of his loan spell, which is unlikely to be repeated at the Glasgow giants.

Given, who is on Carling Nations Cup duty with the Republic of Ireland this week, said: "It's no secret I'm a big Celtic supporter and have been all my life. I don't know what their goalkeeping situation is.

"Fraser Forster had a very good season up there and there has been talk of him moving on a permanent basis so we would have to wait and see. But it is a fantastic club with fantastic supporters.

"Ideally, I would like to be playing but it's out of my hands. If Manchester City want me, I've got another two years left on my contract. I don't really know what's going to happen.

"At the moment, I'm focused on the Scotland game on Sunday and then the game against Macedonia [Euro 2012 qualifier on June 4].

"After that we will see what comes up - if there are options to play somewhere. If not, I'll go back to Manchester City pre-season and get my head down and go again."

Asked if a switch to the SPL would be a step down, he said: "Not if you're playing with Celtic, it's not.

"It's a great club, with an unbelievable history, so I wouldn't look at it as a step down. It's a fantastic club but it's too soon to say what's going to happen or if that's going to happen.

"But you never say never when Celtic come calling."

Lennon looks set to sign a new contract with the Hoops despite missing out on the SPL title to rivals Rangers and Given has been impressed by the Celtic boss.

He said: "He's had a difficult season with all the off-field stuff and a lot of lesser men would have walked away from the job.

"It was brilliant to see him picking up the Scottish Cup at the weekend, although I think the biggest disappointment was the game they lost at Inverness.

"But there is always next year to go for the league and I'm sure Neil will be working extremely hard over the summer to strengthen the squad and come back stronger."

Given was thrilled to be between the sticks for the Republic last night, albeit a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland meant a quiet night for the goalkeeper.

He said: "It was nice to get playing again. I would have liked to have been a bit busier but the lads played very well and we scored some good goals.

"It was nice to pull the jersey back on and go through the mental side of things of preparing for the game, although I didn't have much to do.

"Northern Ireland actually started all right and had a good chance very early on. Maybe that was a wake-up call for us and we played some good stuff.

"I know Northern Ireland had a young team but we should take lots of positives from the goals we scored."

Chelsea make approach for Manuel Pellegrini claims agent

Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini's agent has hinted Chelsea have made an initial approach for the Chilean.

The Blues are again in the market for a new manager - their fifth in the past three years - after Carlo Ancelotti paid the price for a trophyless campaign just 12 months after guiding his team to an historic double.

While Guus Hiddink is said to be club owner Roman Abramovich's first choice to reprise the role he filled on a temporary basis to such great effect two years ago, convincing the Dutchman to leave his current post with the Turkish Football Federation could prove complicated.

That could lead to Chelsea looking at other targets, such as Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas.

Pellegrini's agent has indicated the 57-year-old former Real Madrid boss is also on the Blues' radar.

Jesus Martinez told Chilean radio station Cooperativa: "It is normal for clubs without a coach, such as Chelsea through intermediaries, to start asking Pellegrini, but he is very comfortable at Malaga and has a contract there.

"He has put a lot of effort into Malaga and is pleased and excited to work with the team."

Chelsea maintained they would not be making any comment on the continuing speculation regarding the appointment of their new manager.

Blackpool activate Charlie Adam contract clause

Blackpool have activated a clause in Charlie Adam's contract which in theory gives him another 12 months at Bloomfield Road, but it is unlikely to prevent the Scotland midfielder moving in the summer.

The 25-year-old was the subject of failed bids by Liverpool and Tottenham in January and now Ian Holloway's side have been relegated from the Barclays Premier League it seems inevitable he will leave.

But having successfully fended off offers mid-season Blackpool will hold out for the best price for Adam, having turned down £6million offer from Liverpool four months ago.

In addition to their prize asset, it seems the Seasiders will also find there is plenty of interest in a number of other players as clubs seek to take advantage of their drop into the npower Championship.

With that in mind 12-month options have also been taken out on Keith Southern, Neal Eardley, Ian Evatt, Billy Clarke, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Louis Almond.

The club have offered new contracts to goalkeeper Matt Gilks, left-back Stephen Crainey, midfielder David Vaughan, striker Brett Ormerod and youngsters Mark Halstead and Ash Eastham.

Blackpool have also confirmed a total of 11 players have been released.

They are goalkeepers Richard Kingson and Paul Rachubka, Marlon Harewood, Andy Reid, Rob Edwards, Danny Coid, Malaury Martin, Jason Euell, David Carney, Salaheddine Sbai and Ishmel Demontagnac.

"Blackpool Football Club would like to thank all of those players departing for their efforts and wishes them all the very best for the future," said a club statement.

Park pours energy into atoning for disappointments of previous finals

Dropped in 2008 and defeated in 2009, the in-form Korean is eager to make amends at Wembley

Sir Alex Ferguson has described leaving Park Ji-sung out of the 2008 Champions League final as the hardest decision of his career. The robotically tireless midfielder did not even make Ferguson's 18-man squad. Park channelled the rejection into a commitment to improve, and played in the 2009 final– but missed United's best chance. On Saturday he has a third chance to impose himself on football's highest stage, and is desperate to do so.

He will surely get the chance. Park has been a necessary player in United's springtime resurgence, excellent since his return at Upton Park in early April after a three-month absence. Park had not played since Boxing Day but, as Ferguson has perfected his hand to play for the highest stakes, the South Korean is increasingly called upon. His utility and team play has proved more attractive to the manager than the frippery of Nani, despite the Portuguese's individual excellence. For all Nani's early numbers, he is now back in the chorus line behind Park.

The apex of Park's season, or possibly of his time at United so far, came against Chelsea at Old Trafford in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Park was so energetic as to appear to be playing in triplicate. From the left wing, he covered Patrice Evra's surges forward, contributed to the midfield battle and broke into the Chelsea box. From one such run, after 77 minutes, that would have exhausted weaker players, he gave United a 3-1 aggregate lead that assured their progress.

That height is the new baseline for Park, who hopes to play even better at Wembley. "I'll have to perform as well as I did in that game and improve in the final as well," Park said of that night. "I guess that was as good as I have played, especially in the first half that was a good moment for me. Hopefully, I can play like that on Saturday, not for me but for the team."

Park knows that his multifunctional role is necessary to his inclusion in the side. "My position is that I have to attack as well, not only run a lot but when I get chances I should finish. I try to do my best at that as well. My first priority is to win the game and that means I have to score, assist and do everything I can for us to win the game."

Park Ji-sung's importance to Manchester United has grown in recent months

Should United beat Barcelona on Saturday, they will certainly need Park to reach into the furthest recesses of his own resources. He will presumably be deployed again as a defensive left-midfielder, to balance the more traditional wing play of Antonio Valencia on the opposite side. Park's long list of labours will include restraining Dani Alves, the world's best wide player and Barcelona's nominal right-back.

It was on the right flank that Park was deployed in the 2009 final with Barcelona. He was largely on the fringe of the game except for an incident in its second minute: he arrived first at a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick parried by Victor Valdes, but his six-yard finish was blocked by Gerard Pique. United never had a better chance, and lost 2-0.

Park has been trying to avoid the memory of that miss. "It was two years ago so I have to forget bad things," he said. "If I score I always think of that but I didn't and we lost the game so I don't think of that. If that chance had gone in maybe it would have been a different result, but it didn't and it wasn't. Then we conceded a goal after that but it changed the game and we lost concentration so it's difficult to come back from that."

After that defeat in Rome, the whole club is keen to atone at Wembley. But for Park it matters more than for most. Having not played in Moscow in 2008, he is yet to win a European Cup on the pitch. Should he play in a United win, he said it would be the "best moment" of his career. The enthusiasm is understandable after the disappointment of three years ago. "It was very disappointing for me," Park recalled. "It was a very hard time for me but it was the manager's decision and he was looking to take care of the team and trying to win the game. I had to follow that and I had to prove myself and I knew if I wanted to play in a final, then I'd have to improve.

"Managers make hard decisions and he had many great players," he said of Ferguson. "If I had been capable of playing in the final, he would have put me in the squad so it meant that I had to improve."

Despite his own frustration at one final missed and another lost, Park is hugely famous at home. "I get a lot of parcels coming over from South Korea," he said. "They send me everything from food, clothes, sweets." Idolisation, though, is not without its drawbacks. "It's difficult to deal with being stopped in the street," he said of trips home.

Park speaks contentedly of being able to "walk around more easily" in Manchester. Should he make up for the disappointments of 2008 and 2009 on Saturday, be picked, stifle Dani Alves, and score one of his crucial goals, he may not even be able to do that.