Brief News
A proverbial mole hill may be turning into a mountain for underperforming Bolton Wanderers, as their beleaguered boss Sammy Lee comes under increasing pressure to maintain control and respect towards his position within the club. Since the resignation of Sam Allardyce many supporters have not been overenthusiastic about the credentials of the new boss, and it now appears that certain players in the club have feelings along the same lines. Gary Speed, who was appointed first-team coach at the start of the season appears to hold the greatest respect and trust with those in and around the club and this is seriously undermining Lee’s position as top dog. Bolton’s awful start to the season has done little to help this either. Speed clearly has his eyes on becoming the Bolton boss when his playing days draw to a close – of which there are not many left. And when Lee publicly called for a backing of loyalty from Speed (the senior playing representative at the club) it was followed by a less than rousing response. Then this week, following a series of arguments with Lee over new training regimes that many players, including Kevin Nolan and Ivan Campo, were not happy or impressed with, Speed quit his job as coach. Bolton now go to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal next weekend where defeat may prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Sammy Lee. Chairman Phil Gartside is reportedly very disappointed that Lee has alienated an influential figure within the club and caused a divide. In a plea for mercy which had the feeling of one man against the world, Lee battled ‘I hear things about my methods but I’ve been with these lads for two years and I’ve been at the FA and with Liverpool. All I’m trying to do is make sure we can compete on all fronts. People are trying to undermine what we are trying to do.’ Looks like mutiny on the Bolton bounty!
As was mentioned as a possibility last week, Henk Ten Cate has indeed joined the coaching staff at Chelsea. Avram Grant, under oil-baron instruction, will aim to inject some of the flair of Europe’s more fanciful team’s like Barcelona by employing their ex-coaches. It makes you wonder though, why didn’t Mr Abramovich just go out and buy Barcelona in the first place? And be done with it. It would have saved him a lot of bother trying to impose an easy-on-the-eye style to Chelsea’s play when the culture of the club’s recent history is anything but. With Ten Cate involved there will be an evident increase in flair and creative license from the team, in terms of formations (Ten Cate favours the typically Dutch attacking 4-3-3) and skill on the ball. ‘Nearly everybody played 4-3-3 when I started out so I was pretty much raised in that offensive system and thinking. I have always played at clubs that played attractive football and did not depend on brute force.’ Ten Cate said in his arrival at Stamford Bridge. This will be great news for players such as Joe Cole and Shawn Wright-Phillips who possess a trick or two but were told to keep them for the training ground by Mourinho. It will be disappointing too for both Ten Cate and Chelsea fans that Arjen Robben was hastily sold off under a cloud in the summer as he would have surely been given the opportunity to shine at full capacity under the new management. Robben’s creativity was criminally under-used at Chelsea and he is proving now at Real Madrid, how good he really is when in full flight.
Ten Cate is bound to bring some excitement to the Premier League but ass yet he is fairly unknown entity. Despite glorious success with Barcelona as assistant to Frank Rijkaard, winning the league and Champions League in 2005, he has endured a disastrous spell since as manager of Ajax. Already slightly off the pace at the top of the Eredivisie under Ten Cate, the once formidable side of European football were knocked out of the Champions League and the booby prized UEFA Cup at the first hurdle. Chelsea will hope that Ten Cate’s best role lies with him as a number two, where he made a name for himself at Sparta Rotterdam and NAC Breda before joining Barcelona. Finally, one thing Chelsea might not know about Ten Cate is his explosive temper, Jan Luijkx fired by the Dutchman while at NAC Breda explains, ‘Ten Cate manages to kick up a row every day, and not only with me. He treats people with contempt and always blames someone else.’ After the glamour of Mourinho and ‘the special one’ it looks like Chelsea under Grant and Ten Cate has ‘the grumpy ones’.
Meanwhile, back at the Performing Arts School of Excellence for beginners, Dida the delayed reaction anti-hero, has been hit with a ban by UEFA for his involvement in the fan versus goalie clash at Hampden Park last week. The Brazilian was tapped on the chest by a fan who had invaded the pitch in a worryingly easily breach of security, however Dida became the real villain, albeit comedic and desperate, when he decided to feign a life threatening injury as a result. UEFA have given him a 2 match ban from the Champions League, stating to player and club AC Milan that, ‘member associations, clubs, as well as their players, officials and members, shall conduct themselves according to the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship.’ Dida had first attempted to chase the fan before deciding that faking injury would be the most sensible approach to diffusing the situation. Celtic, for their failure to control the crowd were handed a £25,000 fine and the supporter in question Robert McHendry has been banned by the club for life and charged by the police for a breach of the peace. Back at school Performing Arts Head Rivaldo was delighted with his pupil’s progress if not for the outcome.
Javier Mascherano, who has performed like a different being since his West Ham days, has urged Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez to sign him on a permanent deal. Currently Mascherano is on an 18 month loan at Anfield from Kia Joorabchian’s Media Sports Investments Group which runs out late next year. The loan move cost Liverpool £1.5million but if they want to sign the Argentine midfield enforcer full-time they will need to cough up in the region of £17million! Mascherano said ‘I love playing for Liverpool and if the manager wants to keep me then I’d definitely stay for a long time. I’m very happy here. I feel settled and would like to play in the new stadium when it opens.’ This season he has become the player West Ham thought they were getting in 2006, showing a tough, uncompromising aspect to compliment his South American technique. This form does much to explain why on his arrival at West Ham he was being touted as one of the most promising defensive midfielders around. Although not an imposing figure, standing at just 5 foot 8, he is ferocious in the tackle, constantly biting away to get the ball, breaking up play and playing easy short passes. He also has bags of energy which means he will chase down opponents all day for his team. Regardless of the fee, Rafa would do well to sign the player, in Mascherano Benitez even has a fellow advocate of his much-maligned rotation system, ‘In South America, rotation isn’t such a problem…he’s always used rotation. Why would he stop working that way when it has brought him so much success here and at Valencia?’ At present, surely that is reason enough alone for Rafa to get his wallet out.
Monday, 15 October 2007
Euro 2008 Round-Up
This week saw a break from the Premier League campaign as Euro 2008 qualifying reached the business end, providing satisfying results for both England and the Scots. Republic of Ireland’s chances now looked doomed though as they only managed to draw with Germany 0-0 at Croke Park, while Wales were less than majestic, slumping to a 3-1 defeat to Cyprus.
So, after much debate and over-inflated media attention, Michael Owen did in fact play on Saturday in England’s 3-0 victory over Estonia. As a precaution Steve McClaren took the injury-prone striker off after 70 minutes and I’m sure Owen will have been gutted not to have scored against Mart Poom and his merry men. There is more than a sneaking suspicion that Owen, with the not too distant scent of glory and the all-time England scoring record in the offing, insisted he play in the expectation that he would be closer to owning this record by full-time. He played well enough though, stitches and all, and looked a sharp threat, which he will have to be on Wednesday against Russia. England’s next game in Russia has shaped up to be the most important game for the side in recent times and qualification hinges on their success in Moscow. Matters have not been helped by the confirmation that the game will be played on an artificial, plastic pitch. Although meeting UEFA standards, these plastic pitches are notorious for aggravating injuries (the ever constant thorn in England’s efforts); the bounce of the ball is also very different and unnatural and if fallen on produces nasty cuts. In particular there are fears for Paul Robinson, who describes the fixtures as, ‘a learning experience for us all’. The goalkeeper is short of confidence and has not been put under pressure in England’s last few games which would have helped get it back. Club form has been erratic and the skidding, bouncing surface is a real cause for concern for the English defence, while it will greatly encourage speculative efforts from the Russians. It felt to the wise mind of Joe Cole to put the worries of the artificial pitch into perspective, ‘For me, the ball is going to be round and it’s leather, so there’s no excuses really.’ Quite right Joe, well said.
There is a current renaissance in Scottish football right now, with James McFadden as the poster boy to the nations long lost appetite for international qualification. Following Saturday’s impressive 3-1 win over Ukraine Scotland lead a group containing the two World Cup 2006 finalists Italy and France, and need just 4 points to secure their passage to Euro 2008. McFadden scored his 13th goal for Scotland on Saturday, which manager Alex McLeish called ‘a belter’ and has produced a string of match-winning performances in the qualifiers so far. Allied to McFadden’s input it has been, in typically Scottish style, the ingredients of dogged tenacity and a ‘never say die’ attitude that have combined to grind out unexpected results and garner renewed optimism for an appearance in a first international competition since World Cup 1998. However, despite an impressive points haul Scotland must win in Tbilisi, Georgia on Wednesday and also need to get something out of a home tie with Italy, or rely on France not gaining maximum points from their last two fixtures (Lithuania & Ukraine). It has been a valiant effort nonetheless and Scottish fans will take heart from their team’s efforts in a very tough group.
A resilient attempt to qualify fell flat for Republic of Ireland in Group D as they could only draw 0-0 with Germany, all but ending their chances of going through from the group. And there were chances on offer too in this game, notably Robbie Keane spurning the best of them as, when one-on-one with Jens Lehmann he gave up on converting the goal as he thought he was offside. The result was little more than a chipped shot into the German’s hands, when he could easily have won the match for the Republic. A draw was good enough to seal qualification for the Germans, although Lehmann’s club and country future is less certain after national coach Joachim Low insisted he start for Arsenal or switch clubs if he wanted to retain his place. For Jens Lehmann, he can no longer hide behind the excuse that he is not playing club football because of injury and sent out a message to the Arsenal manager, ‘I am fully fit and I expect to be back against Bolton. Wenger has not told me anything but I am here now and I expect him to play me, so no worries.’ It will be interesting to see how such unabashed arrogance goes down with the Arsenal manager, especially following several high-profile Lehmann errors in the Premiership and the consistent good form of understudy Manuel Almunia.
Still suffering from the repercussions of ‘Grannygate’, reported to you on these pages some weeks ago, Manchester City and Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland withdrew from the squad to play Germany and Cyprus citing a psychological battle. During the last round of international fixtures Ireland had first withdrawn from the squad because of the death of his grandmother, however this was found to be untrue as she was alive and well. Ireland proceeded to change his story several times, falsely proclaiming the deaths of his other grandmother and an ex-partner of his granddads - eventually Ireland revealed he had wanted to travel home to be with his girlfriend. The Republic also lost the game Ireland missed 1-0, seriously damaging their hopes of going through from the group. He was granted permission to be omitted this time though, and his reasoning was this time considered as genuine by the national manager Steve Staunton, ‘We know that Stephen has got problems and at this moment in time he’s not mentally ready or prepared to play for his country.’ A word of warning to Mr. Ireland though, is careful what you wish for as you may soon end up with more time off than you’d like.
Home nations’ results and fixtures…
Cyprus 3-1 Wales
Okkas 59, 68 Collins 21
Charalampidis 79
England 3-0 Estonia
Wright-Phillips 11
Rooney 32
Rahn 33 o.g.
Rep. of Ireland 0-0 Germany
Scotland 3-1 Ukraine
Miller 4 Shevchenko 24
McCulloch 10
McFadden 68
Wednesday 17th October
Georgia vs. Scotland
Rep. of Ireland vs. Cyprus
Russia vs. England
San Marino vs. Wales
Sweden vs. Northern Ireland
So, after much debate and over-inflated media attention, Michael Owen did in fact play on Saturday in England’s 3-0 victory over Estonia. As a precaution Steve McClaren took the injury-prone striker off after 70 minutes and I’m sure Owen will have been gutted not to have scored against Mart Poom and his merry men. There is more than a sneaking suspicion that Owen, with the not too distant scent of glory and the all-time England scoring record in the offing, insisted he play in the expectation that he would be closer to owning this record by full-time. He played well enough though, stitches and all, and looked a sharp threat, which he will have to be on Wednesday against Russia. England’s next game in Russia has shaped up to be the most important game for the side in recent times and qualification hinges on their success in Moscow. Matters have not been helped by the confirmation that the game will be played on an artificial, plastic pitch. Although meeting UEFA standards, these plastic pitches are notorious for aggravating injuries (the ever constant thorn in England’s efforts); the bounce of the ball is also very different and unnatural and if fallen on produces nasty cuts. In particular there are fears for Paul Robinson, who describes the fixtures as, ‘a learning experience for us all’. The goalkeeper is short of confidence and has not been put under pressure in England’s last few games which would have helped get it back. Club form has been erratic and the skidding, bouncing surface is a real cause for concern for the English defence, while it will greatly encourage speculative efforts from the Russians. It felt to the wise mind of Joe Cole to put the worries of the artificial pitch into perspective, ‘For me, the ball is going to be round and it’s leather, so there’s no excuses really.’ Quite right Joe, well said.
There is a current renaissance in Scottish football right now, with James McFadden as the poster boy to the nations long lost appetite for international qualification. Following Saturday’s impressive 3-1 win over Ukraine Scotland lead a group containing the two World Cup 2006 finalists Italy and France, and need just 4 points to secure their passage to Euro 2008. McFadden scored his 13th goal for Scotland on Saturday, which manager Alex McLeish called ‘a belter’ and has produced a string of match-winning performances in the qualifiers so far. Allied to McFadden’s input it has been, in typically Scottish style, the ingredients of dogged tenacity and a ‘never say die’ attitude that have combined to grind out unexpected results and garner renewed optimism for an appearance in a first international competition since World Cup 1998. However, despite an impressive points haul Scotland must win in Tbilisi, Georgia on Wednesday and also need to get something out of a home tie with Italy, or rely on France not gaining maximum points from their last two fixtures (Lithuania & Ukraine). It has been a valiant effort nonetheless and Scottish fans will take heart from their team’s efforts in a very tough group.
A resilient attempt to qualify fell flat for Republic of Ireland in Group D as they could only draw 0-0 with Germany, all but ending their chances of going through from the group. And there were chances on offer too in this game, notably Robbie Keane spurning the best of them as, when one-on-one with Jens Lehmann he gave up on converting the goal as he thought he was offside. The result was little more than a chipped shot into the German’s hands, when he could easily have won the match for the Republic. A draw was good enough to seal qualification for the Germans, although Lehmann’s club and country future is less certain after national coach Joachim Low insisted he start for Arsenal or switch clubs if he wanted to retain his place. For Jens Lehmann, he can no longer hide behind the excuse that he is not playing club football because of injury and sent out a message to the Arsenal manager, ‘I am fully fit and I expect to be back against Bolton. Wenger has not told me anything but I am here now and I expect him to play me, so no worries.’ It will be interesting to see how such unabashed arrogance goes down with the Arsenal manager, especially following several high-profile Lehmann errors in the Premiership and the consistent good form of understudy Manuel Almunia.
Still suffering from the repercussions of ‘Grannygate’, reported to you on these pages some weeks ago, Manchester City and Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland withdrew from the squad to play Germany and Cyprus citing a psychological battle. During the last round of international fixtures Ireland had first withdrawn from the squad because of the death of his grandmother, however this was found to be untrue as she was alive and well. Ireland proceeded to change his story several times, falsely proclaiming the deaths of his other grandmother and an ex-partner of his granddads - eventually Ireland revealed he had wanted to travel home to be with his girlfriend. The Republic also lost the game Ireland missed 1-0, seriously damaging their hopes of going through from the group. He was granted permission to be omitted this time though, and his reasoning was this time considered as genuine by the national manager Steve Staunton, ‘We know that Stephen has got problems and at this moment in time he’s not mentally ready or prepared to play for his country.’ A word of warning to Mr. Ireland though, is careful what you wish for as you may soon end up with more time off than you’d like.
Home nations’ results and fixtures…
Cyprus 3-1 Wales
Okkas 59, 68 Collins 21
Charalampidis 79
England 3-0 Estonia
Wright-Phillips 11
Rooney 32
Rahn 33 o.g.
Rep. of Ireland 0-0 Germany
Scotland 3-1 Ukraine
Miller 4 Shevchenko 24
McCulloch 10
McFadden 68
Wednesday 17th October
Georgia vs. Scotland
Rep. of Ireland vs. Cyprus
Russia vs. England
San Marino vs. Wales
Sweden vs. Northern Ireland
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
UEFA Cup Groups Draw
This morning at 11 o'clock this year's UEFA Cup groups were drawn with some interesting placings for the British clubs involved. No doubt the most exciting match up for an English team will be Bolton having drawn the same group as German giants Bayern Munich. They may stuggle to qualify as will Aberdeen. Tottenham and Everton will expect to qualify from average groups, although Alkmaar may pose a few probelms to the Toffees.
UEFA Cup Groups 2007/08
Group A
AZ Alkmaar
Zenit St. Petersburg
Everton
Nuremburg
Larissa
Group B
Panathinaikos
Atletico Madrid
Copenhagen
Aberdeen
Lokomotiv Moscow
Group C
Villareal
AEK Athens
Fiorentina
Mlada Boleslav
Elfsborg
Group D
Basle
Hamburg
Sade Rennais
Dinamo Zagreb
Brann
Group E
Byer Leverkusen
Sparta Prague
Spartak Moscow
Toulouse
FC Zurich
Group F
Bayern Munich
Bolton
Braga
Red Star Belgrade
Ars Thessaloniki
Group G
Anderlecht
Tottenham
Getafe
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Aalborg
Group H
Bordeaux
Autria Vienna
Galatasaray
Panionios
Helsingborgs
UEFA Cup Groups 2007/08
Group A
AZ Alkmaar
Zenit St. Petersburg
Everton
Nuremburg
Larissa
Group B
Panathinaikos
Atletico Madrid
Copenhagen
Aberdeen
Lokomotiv Moscow
Group C
Villareal
AEK Athens
Fiorentina
Mlada Boleslav
Elfsborg
Group D
Basle
Hamburg
Sade Rennais
Dinamo Zagreb
Brann
Group E
Byer Leverkusen
Sparta Prague
Spartak Moscow
Toulouse
FC Zurich
Group F
Bayern Munich
Bolton
Braga
Red Star Belgrade
Ars Thessaloniki
Group G
Anderlecht
Tottenham
Getafe
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Aalborg
Group H
Bordeaux
Autria Vienna
Galatasaray
Panionios
Helsingborgs
Monday, 8 October 2007
The Week's Other Stories
Other news that got my attention in a busy week of football were...
Chelsea striving for stability, Joey Barton playing the hero, Ronaldo gets in the wars, Owen can't say no and Dida disgraces himself
Two valuable wins for Chelsea this week loosened the noose around Avram Grant’s neck, although the player’s and fans are yet to convince of their support for their new manager. The ever-smiling Israeli has promised to bring an added flair to Chelsea’s play under his stewardship (or should that be Mr Abramovich’s) and Ajax boss Henk ten Cate may soon join him at Stamford Bridge to work alongside as assistant. ‘We want to finish one way and want to play a new way of football that will be very good for the club.’ said Grant, in a clear statement that a new era was about to begin at Chelsea. Didier Drogba, who reportedly broke down in tears upon the news of Mourinho’s departure has committed himself until at least the end of the season, but at present key members of the team remain unhappy, notably the aforementioned Drogba, Lampard, and Shevchenko still. You’d have thought Andriy Shevchenko would be a man reborn, after almost single-handedly being the catalyst for the change of managers. However, he may have already caused irreparable friction with Grant. After reacting angrily to being an unused sub against Valencia, Grant responded by again leaving him out against Bolton at the weekend even though Drogba was suspended - when he did come on he played the last 15 minutes at left wing. There are whispers though that this may have been a public ploy by Grant to prove to Chelsea fans he is more than just a ‘yes’ man but Sheva should still be worried, as his reputation will not last forever.
Joey Barton, the swaggering cigar-clad thug who left Man City at exactly the wrong time has had the temerity to attempt to claim the credit for the club’s recent revival. Barton joined Newcastle Utd in the summer after helping City escape a relegation battle last season. He is yet to feature this season after breaking a metatarsal bone in pre-season although is now nearing match fitness. Never one to shy away from controversy or say exactly what he’s thinking, Barton blurted out, ‘Were it not for myself, Micah Richards and Richard Dunne the club wouldn’t have had Shiniwatra, the Premier League and Sven.’ It is unlikely Barton left many friends at the City of Manchester stadium, or if he did, he lost them with his follow-up remark, ‘I think Newcastle can be as big as they want to be. No disrespect to City but in Manchester, United will always be top dog.’ He can be rest-assured that he won’t be getting any appreciative applause for his relegation-saving efforts after comments like this, although he might bump into old foes Richards and Dunne in the future, bump quite hard in fact.
Poor Cristiano Ronaldo bumped his head this week while playing against Roma, causing a small bump on his eye. Aah. He says not to worry to his fans though, ‘It’s not a problem. In four or five days I will be beautiful once again.’ Well done Cristiano for being a brave little soldier, as he admitted, ‘I don’t like to look like this but his kind of thing can happen in football.’ On a serious note, Ronaldo was talking at the launch of his first autobiography, entitled Moments and he paid tribute to Alex Ferguson for his attempts to protect the tricksy winger from the types of tackle his skill entices. Ferguson called for referees to take note of persistent fouls after Ronaldo retaliated against Portsmouth and was sent-off at the start of the season, enduring a 3 match ban, an experience which made him, ‘suffer more than at any time in the last 3 years’. He didn’t enjoy his sex romp with 3 prostitutes and team mates Nani and Anderson then?
Michael Owen looks likely to play for England against Estonia and Russia even though he has just had hernia operations. The injury plagued forward is England’s only recognised source of goals and it is vital that he is able to play in the crucial qualifiers. Owen came off the bench at the weekend to score what proved to be the winner against Everton in a 3-2 win, only 8 days after a double hernia operation. The player himself wants to play as much as possible but there are risks of further complications and long term damage if he plays too much, too soon after injury, ‘In my opinion Michael wasn’t fit to start, but in his opinion he was’, said Sam Allardyce. The Newcastle boss does not want Owen to return injured but must reluctantly release him for international duty, while Steve McClaren is reliant on Owen as a proven goal scorer upfront for England. Owen’s determination to play is understandable as his career has been stop-start with injuries for the past 18 months, however there is a sense that he is being slightly naive, letting his heart rule his head, when he’d be better off protecting his long-term future, ‘No doubt the manager from here will say that and maybe the fans will say that but if I had to look after myself I wouldn’t have made myself available for today. The surgeon’s advice is what I’ll look at more than anything else and she said that I can push it as hard as I want.’ said Owen.
Following the tragi-comedy farce involving a Celtic hooligan and AC Milan goalkeeper Dida, UEFA have launched an official investigation. Immediately following the incident there were fears at Celtic that the club may be forced to forfeit their victory as the invasion was their responsibility, however sense prevailed and to their credit AC Milan upheld their, if not Dida’s, credibility, ‘It had nothing to do with the final result anyway.’, said Carlo Ancelotti. The club will have to be careful as any future discrepancy will result in them playing European fixtures behind closed doors. The problems started when a 27 year old fan appeared to tap the keeper on the face and then run off after he broke onto the pitch amidst the celebrations of Celtic’s last gasp winner. His actions were a total disgrace, unacceptable and he was rightly arrested and subsequently banned from Parkhead for life. However the incident gained much more notoriety for the way in which Dida responded to the situation. The Brazilian was obviously furious, having also just conceded a soft goal to seal his side’s defeat and chased several steps after the fan to get revenge. However, he then thought up a better way to get back, or even, with the fan – Eureka! He’d feign injury! And so he went down clutching his face and lying lifeless on the floor. It was a totally shameless display of play acting, reminiscent of his compatriot Rivaldo, who infamously writhed around as though he had been shot in the face when a player kicked the ball at his shins during the 2002 World Cup. Dida embarrassed himself, his team mates and his club, and was also the laughing stock of the 50,000 strong supporters. He surely deserves to be punished himself for his part in the pathetic affair, just what did he expect would happen if his injury were to be believed? That the referee might book the hooligan?
Chelsea striving for stability, Joey Barton playing the hero, Ronaldo gets in the wars, Owen can't say no and Dida disgraces himself
Two valuable wins for Chelsea this week loosened the noose around Avram Grant’s neck, although the player’s and fans are yet to convince of their support for their new manager. The ever-smiling Israeli has promised to bring an added flair to Chelsea’s play under his stewardship (or should that be Mr Abramovich’s) and Ajax boss Henk ten Cate may soon join him at Stamford Bridge to work alongside as assistant. ‘We want to finish one way and want to play a new way of football that will be very good for the club.’ said Grant, in a clear statement that a new era was about to begin at Chelsea. Didier Drogba, who reportedly broke down in tears upon the news of Mourinho’s departure has committed himself until at least the end of the season, but at present key members of the team remain unhappy, notably the aforementioned Drogba, Lampard, and Shevchenko still. You’d have thought Andriy Shevchenko would be a man reborn, after almost single-handedly being the catalyst for the change of managers. However, he may have already caused irreparable friction with Grant. After reacting angrily to being an unused sub against Valencia, Grant responded by again leaving him out against Bolton at the weekend even though Drogba was suspended - when he did come on he played the last 15 minutes at left wing. There are whispers though that this may have been a public ploy by Grant to prove to Chelsea fans he is more than just a ‘yes’ man but Sheva should still be worried, as his reputation will not last forever.
Joey Barton, the swaggering cigar-clad thug who left Man City at exactly the wrong time has had the temerity to attempt to claim the credit for the club’s recent revival. Barton joined Newcastle Utd in the summer after helping City escape a relegation battle last season. He is yet to feature this season after breaking a metatarsal bone in pre-season although is now nearing match fitness. Never one to shy away from controversy or say exactly what he’s thinking, Barton blurted out, ‘Were it not for myself, Micah Richards and Richard Dunne the club wouldn’t have had Shiniwatra, the Premier League and Sven.’ It is unlikely Barton left many friends at the City of Manchester stadium, or if he did, he lost them with his follow-up remark, ‘I think Newcastle can be as big as they want to be. No disrespect to City but in Manchester, United will always be top dog.’ He can be rest-assured that he won’t be getting any appreciative applause for his relegation-saving efforts after comments like this, although he might bump into old foes Richards and Dunne in the future, bump quite hard in fact.
Poor Cristiano Ronaldo bumped his head this week while playing against Roma, causing a small bump on his eye. Aah. He says not to worry to his fans though, ‘It’s not a problem. In four or five days I will be beautiful once again.’ Well done Cristiano for being a brave little soldier, as he admitted, ‘I don’t like to look like this but his kind of thing can happen in football.’ On a serious note, Ronaldo was talking at the launch of his first autobiography, entitled Moments and he paid tribute to Alex Ferguson for his attempts to protect the tricksy winger from the types of tackle his skill entices. Ferguson called for referees to take note of persistent fouls after Ronaldo retaliated against Portsmouth and was sent-off at the start of the season, enduring a 3 match ban, an experience which made him, ‘suffer more than at any time in the last 3 years’. He didn’t enjoy his sex romp with 3 prostitutes and team mates Nani and Anderson then?
Michael Owen looks likely to play for England against Estonia and Russia even though he has just had hernia operations. The injury plagued forward is England’s only recognised source of goals and it is vital that he is able to play in the crucial qualifiers. Owen came off the bench at the weekend to score what proved to be the winner against Everton in a 3-2 win, only 8 days after a double hernia operation. The player himself wants to play as much as possible but there are risks of further complications and long term damage if he plays too much, too soon after injury, ‘In my opinion Michael wasn’t fit to start, but in his opinion he was’, said Sam Allardyce. The Newcastle boss does not want Owen to return injured but must reluctantly release him for international duty, while Steve McClaren is reliant on Owen as a proven goal scorer upfront for England. Owen’s determination to play is understandable as his career has been stop-start with injuries for the past 18 months, however there is a sense that he is being slightly naive, letting his heart rule his head, when he’d be better off protecting his long-term future, ‘No doubt the manager from here will say that and maybe the fans will say that but if I had to look after myself I wouldn’t have made myself available for today. The surgeon’s advice is what I’ll look at more than anything else and she said that I can push it as hard as I want.’ said Owen.
Following the tragi-comedy farce involving a Celtic hooligan and AC Milan goalkeeper Dida, UEFA have launched an official investigation. Immediately following the incident there were fears at Celtic that the club may be forced to forfeit their victory as the invasion was their responsibility, however sense prevailed and to their credit AC Milan upheld their, if not Dida’s, credibility, ‘It had nothing to do with the final result anyway.’, said Carlo Ancelotti. The club will have to be careful as any future discrepancy will result in them playing European fixtures behind closed doors. The problems started when a 27 year old fan appeared to tap the keeper on the face and then run off after he broke onto the pitch amidst the celebrations of Celtic’s last gasp winner. His actions were a total disgrace, unacceptable and he was rightly arrested and subsequently banned from Parkhead for life. However the incident gained much more notoriety for the way in which Dida responded to the situation. The Brazilian was obviously furious, having also just conceded a soft goal to seal his side’s defeat and chased several steps after the fan to get revenge. However, he then thought up a better way to get back, or even, with the fan – Eureka! He’d feign injury! And so he went down clutching his face and lying lifeless on the floor. It was a totally shameless display of play acting, reminiscent of his compatriot Rivaldo, who infamously writhed around as though he had been shot in the face when a player kicked the ball at his shins during the 2002 World Cup. Dida embarrassed himself, his team mates and his club, and was also the laughing stock of the 50,000 strong supporters. He surely deserves to be punished himself for his part in the pathetic affair, just what did he expect would happen if his injury were to be believed? That the referee might book the hooligan?
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