Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves’s long-awaited comeback has been put on hold after it was decided not to play him in a reserve game on Thursday.
Hargreaves, 29, has been sidelined since September 2008 following surgery on a knee injury, but United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hinted last week that he could return in Thursday’s reserve fixture against Manchester City at Altrincham.
However, England star Hargreaves will instead continue his training programme, with United keen to stress he has not suffered a setback.
A club spokesperson told ManUtd.com: “This definitely isn’t another injury setback. It just doesn’t fit in with Owen’s training schedule.”
Hargreaves joined United from Bayern Munich in 2007 and has suffered long-term problems with tendinitis, playing only three times in 2008.
In a bid to solve the problem, he had knee surgery in America under the guidance of specialist Dr Richard Steadman.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Rooney won’t set goal target
Manchester United star Wayne Rooney insists he will not set himself a specific goal target. Despite taking raising his goal tally to 30 this season against Milan on Wednesday night, Rooney insists he favors collective glory over personal accolades .
The England forward has been in sensational form and has been hailed as one of the world’s best players. And the delighted United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said following his team’s 4-0 demolition of Milan at Old Trafford, that Rooney can beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal record that the former Red Devils’ winger set in all competitions.
However, Rooney wants to focus on scoring without setting a goal-target.
“I am delighted to get two more goals but I have not set myself a target. I just want to keep scoring,” said Rooney.
“Overall, it was a great result and we are delighted to get through.
“Now we can just look forward to the draw and see how it goes from there.
“There is no preference. They are all difficult games at this stage of the competition.”
The England forward has been in sensational form and has been hailed as one of the world’s best players. And the delighted United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said following his team’s 4-0 demolition of Milan at Old Trafford, that Rooney can beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal record that the former Red Devils’ winger set in all competitions.
However, Rooney wants to focus on scoring without setting a goal-target.
“I am delighted to get two more goals but I have not set myself a target. I just want to keep scoring,” said Rooney.
“Overall, it was a great result and we are delighted to get through.
“Now we can just look forward to the draw and see how it goes from there.
“There is no preference. They are all difficult games at this stage of the competition.”
Donovan: Everton trip ‘fantastic’
Landon Donovan says his short-term spell with Everton has been “fantastic”. The United States star believes his time at Goodison Park has been a success as he gears up for his final match with Everton this weekend.
Despite the Toffees’ interest in extending the initial 10-week deal, the forward has been recalled by Los Angeles Galaxy for the start of the season, which kicks-off on March 27.
However, Donovan, who scored two goals in nine Premier League appearances, claims his time at Everton has been a success.
“When I think of everything at Everton I want to think of the trip as a whole and think that I have been successful,” he told evertonTV ahead of his final game at Birmingham on Saturday. “It has been fantastic and I could never have expected when I got here that it would turn out like this.
“The fans want you to play as hard as you can when you are out there.
“That is what I like to give when I am out there and they want to see the team win.”
Despite the Toffees’ interest in extending the initial 10-week deal, the forward has been recalled by Los Angeles Galaxy for the start of the season, which kicks-off on March 27.
However, Donovan, who scored two goals in nine Premier League appearances, claims his time at Everton has been a success.
“When I think of everything at Everton I want to think of the trip as a whole and think that I have been successful,” he told evertonTV ahead of his final game at Birmingham on Saturday. “It has been fantastic and I could never have expected when I got here that it would turn out like this.
“The fans want you to play as hard as you can when you are out there.
“That is what I like to give when I am out there and they want to see the team win.”
Manchester United sign new sponsorship deal
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Telekom Malaysia with which they signed a five-year sponsorship agreement.
The deal makes Telekom Malaysia the “Integrated Telecommunications Partner” of United in the Asian country. It continues United’s strategy of widening their fan base across the Asian continent.
“Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club,” said chief executive David Gill.
“Over 40,000 attended our training session and another 40,000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours’ notice of the fixture.”
The deal makes Telekom Malaysia the “Integrated Telecommunications Partner” of United in the Asian country. It continues United’s strategy of widening their fan base across the Asian continent.
“Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club,” said chief executive David Gill.
“Over 40,000 attended our training session and another 40,000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours’ notice of the fixture.”
Chivu returns to full training with helmet
Cristian Chivu has returned to full training with the aid of a protective helmet.
The Internazionale defender underwent his first full training session since suffering a head injury in January.
The Romanian international sustained a skull fracture during the Serie A match against Chievo on January 6.
The former Roma defender was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Chievo captain Sergio Pellissier and required immediate surgery. However, his rehabilitation has reportedly gone better than expected after he was initially ruled out for the season.
The 29-year-old was seen wearing a helmet similar to the one that Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has been using since his head injury in 2006.
Chivu is expected to return to match action sometime in April.
The Internazionale defender underwent his first full training session since suffering a head injury in January.
The Romanian international sustained a skull fracture during the Serie A match against Chievo on January 6.
The former Roma defender was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Chievo captain Sergio Pellissier and required immediate surgery. However, his rehabilitation has reportedly gone better than expected after he was initially ruled out for the season.
The 29-year-old was seen wearing a helmet similar to the one that Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has been using since his head injury in 2006.
Chivu is expected to return to match action sometime in April.
Nice to play PSG game behind closed doors
Nice will be forced to play Paris Saint-Germain behind closed doors in their Ligue 1 encounter later this month, March, the French League of Professional Football (LFP) said Thursday.
LFP officials said that fans would be barred from the game scheduled to take place against PSG on Saturday 20 March as a punishment for crowd trouble at Nice’s away game at Monaco last January.
But the LFP’s decision to impose the sanction for the match against the one-time giants of French football drew an angry response from new Nice manager Eric Roy.
“I’ve the impression that this decision suits everybody except us,” Roy said.
“Clearly we would have liked it to be another match. Nice – PSG is still a big game for a lot of (Nice) fans. It’s a top-draw fixture that pulls in a big crowd.
LFP officials said that fans would be barred from the game scheduled to take place against PSG on Saturday 20 March as a punishment for crowd trouble at Nice’s away game at Monaco last January.
But the LFP’s decision to impose the sanction for the match against the one-time giants of French football drew an angry response from new Nice manager Eric Roy.
“I’ve the impression that this decision suits everybody except us,” Roy said.
“Clearly we would have liked it to be another match. Nice – PSG is still a big game for a lot of (Nice) fans. It’s a top-draw fixture that pulls in a big crowd.
British taxman accepts Portsmouth administration
Troubled Premier League club Portsmouth received a boost in their attempt to avoid liquidation on Thursday as the British tax authority accepted the team’s move into administration.
Officials at HM Revenue and Customs had insisted Portsmouth’s owner Balram Chainrai did not have the legal right to put the club into administration, but they have now abandoned that claim.
Chainrai appointed Andrew Andronikou as the club’s administrator last month and he cut 85 jobs at the club on Wednesday.
FA Cup semi-finalists Portsmouth, currently bottom of the Premier League, now face a nine-point deduction for entering into administration and the punishment is almost certain to lead to their relegation at the end of the season.
Officials at HM Revenue and Customs had insisted Portsmouth’s owner Balram Chainrai did not have the legal right to put the club into administration, but they have now abandoned that claim.
Chainrai appointed Andrew Andronikou as the club’s administrator last month and he cut 85 jobs at the club on Wednesday.
FA Cup semi-finalists Portsmouth, currently bottom of the Premier League, now face a nine-point deduction for entering into administration and the punishment is almost certain to lead to their relegation at the end of the season.
Casillas apologises for Real Euro exit, blames players
Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas apologised Thursday for his side’s elimination from the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the sixth consecutive season and said the players are to blame.
“I want to apologise to the fans, but I also want them to know we will never give up. We are excited about winning the league for us and for them,” he told a news conference one day after French side Lyon dumped the big-spenders out of the tournament 2-1 on aggregate.
The loss has led to renewed calls from fans for Real coach Manuel Pellegrini, who joined the club from Villarreal in June 2009, to be fired but Casillas said the Chilean manager had the support “of all the players.”
“It’s easy to make him the target, but we are the ones to blame,” he said.
“We have to move on. The team seems sad to me. The easy thing to do would be to give up. We are all disappointed, team, club and fans alike, but we want to get over this by winning the league title.
“When you’ve won more league titles than Champions Leagues you miss what you don’t have. It’s like having a girlfriend; you want to be free when you have one, but once you are, you want to have a girlfriend again.”
The nine-time European champions have not won Europe’s most-coveted trophy since 2002 when they beat Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in Glasgow.
They will face Valladolid in the Spanish league on Sunday.
“I want to apologise to the fans, but I also want them to know we will never give up. We are excited about winning the league for us and for them,” he told a news conference one day after French side Lyon dumped the big-spenders out of the tournament 2-1 on aggregate.
The loss has led to renewed calls from fans for Real coach Manuel Pellegrini, who joined the club from Villarreal in June 2009, to be fired but Casillas said the Chilean manager had the support “of all the players.”
“It’s easy to make him the target, but we are the ones to blame,” he said.
“We have to move on. The team seems sad to me. The easy thing to do would be to give up. We are all disappointed, team, club and fans alike, but we want to get over this by winning the league title.
“When you’ve won more league titles than Champions Leagues you miss what you don’t have. It’s like having a girlfriend; you want to be free when you have one, but once you are, you want to have a girlfriend again.”
The nine-time European champions have not won Europe’s most-coveted trophy since 2002 when they beat Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in Glasgow.
They will face Valladolid in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Allardyce steps up war of words with Benitez
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Allardyce steps up war of words with Benitez
March 11th, 2010
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce took another swipe at Rafael Benitez on Thursday by claiming Liverpool have blown their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Benitez mocked Allardyce after Liverpool’s recent win over Rovers at Anfield and joked that European champions Barcelona were going to model themselves on Blackburn’s rudimentary style.
But Allardyce, who has been involved in several bust-ups with Benitez in previous seasons, insists the Spaniard had a go at him to divert attention from how badly Liverpool played against Blackburn.
“It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were and that was repeated against Wigan on Monday,” Allardyce said on Thursday.
“He’s got personal with it for many, many years now. That’s why I don’t like him and the feeling is probably mutual.
“I don’t get personal with him; I get into him and under his skin, yes, but that’s all part of the game.
“The tit for tat between me and Rafa will probably go on until one of us is no longer a Premier League manager.”
Allardyce poured more scorn on Benitez as he suggested Liverpool’s dismal 1-0 defeat at Wigan on Monday could cost the Reds a place in the Champions League next season.
“The last time one of the big four didn’t finish in the top four it was Liverpool and I think this time it looks pretty difficult having lost against Wigan,” Allardyce said.
“They are having to rely on other teams slipping up now. I think it might be more difficult for Liverpool this time around because there are more teams involved.
“There’s Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in there and if Everton keep rolling on you might be surprised to see them making a late run.”
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Allardyce steps up war of words with Benitez
March 11th, 2010
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce took another swipe at Rafael Benitez on Thursday by claiming Liverpool have blown their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Benitez mocked Allardyce after Liverpool’s recent win over Rovers at Anfield and joked that European champions Barcelona were going to model themselves on Blackburn’s rudimentary style.
But Allardyce, who has been involved in several bust-ups with Benitez in previous seasons, insists the Spaniard had a go at him to divert attention from how badly Liverpool played against Blackburn.
“It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were and that was repeated against Wigan on Monday,” Allardyce said on Thursday.
“He’s got personal with it for many, many years now. That’s why I don’t like him and the feeling is probably mutual.
“I don’t get personal with him; I get into him and under his skin, yes, but that’s all part of the game.
“The tit for tat between me and Rafa will probably go on until one of us is no longer a Premier League manager.”
Allardyce poured more scorn on Benitez as he suggested Liverpool’s dismal 1-0 defeat at Wigan on Monday could cost the Reds a place in the Champions League next season.
“The last time one of the big four didn’t finish in the top four it was Liverpool and I think this time it looks pretty difficult having lost against Wigan,” Allardyce said.
“They are having to rely on other teams slipping up now. I think it might be more difficult for Liverpool this time around because there are more teams involved.
“There’s Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in there and if Everton keep rolling on you might be surprised to see them making a late run.”
Murphy “gutted” to be missing Juve clash
In an article published on Eurosport, the author, Fulham star Danny Murphy, expressed his disappointment at having to watch his side take on Juventus on the Europa League. Murphy will miss the tie as he serves a two-match ban imposed on him after receiving his marching orders in his side’s victorious clash with Shakhtar.
Murphy said that he did not intend to harm Darijo Srna and labelled the ban as “lengthy” considering the nature of his challenge on the Croatia international. However, the Fulham captain insists that he accepts he is responsible for his actions.
The midfielder who was capped nine times by England said that Fulham can face huge difficulty against Juventus if they are not at their “very best”.
Murphy highlighted Juventus’ Alessandro Del Piero as the major threat in the match, saying that the Italian’s ability to unlock defenses is unrivaled. The Fulham skipper claimed that “the excellent reputation he [Del Piero] has earned at the very top of the game for so many years is unquestionable. He is a definite match-winner for them, and someone we must monitor very closely”.
Murphy said that the Serie A is currently trailing behind the Premier League which is the “most dominant” but is closely followed by La Liga. However, Murphy emphasized that the two Milan giants and Juventus are still big teams in Europe.
The Eurosport columnist concluded that the Europa League’s last 16 should be an entertaining run-in and Fulham will focus on their remaining matches in Europe, one at a time and hope to keep their excellent run going.
Murphy said that he did not intend to harm Darijo Srna and labelled the ban as “lengthy” considering the nature of his challenge on the Croatia international. However, the Fulham captain insists that he accepts he is responsible for his actions.
The midfielder who was capped nine times by England said that Fulham can face huge difficulty against Juventus if they are not at their “very best”.
Murphy highlighted Juventus’ Alessandro Del Piero as the major threat in the match, saying that the Italian’s ability to unlock defenses is unrivaled. The Fulham skipper claimed that “the excellent reputation he [Del Piero] has earned at the very top of the game for so many years is unquestionable. He is a definite match-winner for them, and someone we must monitor very closely”.
Murphy said that the Serie A is currently trailing behind the Premier League which is the “most dominant” but is closely followed by La Liga. However, Murphy emphasized that the two Milan giants and Juventus are still big teams in Europe.
The Eurosport columnist concluded that the Europa League’s last 16 should be an entertaining run-in and Fulham will focus on their remaining matches in Europe, one at a time and hope to keep their excellent run going.
Ballack to extend Chelsea contract
Germany captain Michael Ballack is set to sign a one-year contract extension which will keep him at Premier League side Chelsea until 2011, German daily Bild claimed Thursday.
The 33-year-old midfielder, who last June extended his contract by a year, has told club bosses in London that he sees himself playing until 2012 and will have the option of a further year’s extension, Bild reported.
The German daily say Ballack has also told Germany coach Joachim Loew that he intends playing on after this June’s World Cup in South Africa, where Germany are one of the favourites.
Having scored 48 goals in 98 appearances for the national side, Ballack is set to reach the 100 caps mark this season and wants to play on until at least the European Championships which will be held in Poland and Ukraine in 2012.
Having joined Chelsea on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in 2006, Ballack has scored 16 times and was on the losing side of the Champions League final in 2008.
The 33-year-old midfielder, who last June extended his contract by a year, has told club bosses in London that he sees himself playing until 2012 and will have the option of a further year’s extension, Bild reported.
The German daily say Ballack has also told Germany coach Joachim Loew that he intends playing on after this June’s World Cup in South Africa, where Germany are one of the favourites.
Having scored 48 goals in 98 appearances for the national side, Ballack is set to reach the 100 caps mark this season and wants to play on until at least the European Championships which will be held in Poland and Ukraine in 2012.
Having joined Chelsea on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in 2006, Ballack has scored 16 times and was on the losing side of the Champions League final in 2008.
Headboy Rooney makes hairline news
Wayne Rooney says his receding hairline is partly responsible for his improved heading prowess this season.
The 24-year-old England international took his goal tally for the season to 30 with two strikes against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and opened the scoring with his seventh successive headed goal at Old Trafford.
“It’s coming off my bald patch and that’s helping me score,” joked Rooney, who was speaking at a FIFA promotional event.
“I’ve been working on my heading a lot and thankfully it’s paying off.
“I’ve been in the box a lot more, I’ve been working on my timing and my finishing. I’ve played up front in every game I’ve played this season and that’s definitely the main reason for me scoring a lot of goals.”
Rooney’s rich form in front of goal has heightened expectations that he can fire England to World Cup glory in South Africa but he rejected suggestions he was feeling under pressure.
“No, to be honest, I don’t,” said Rooney. “I think I’ve had pressure since I started playing for Everton at 16 and for England at 17.
“I’ve managed to deal with that pressure and find a way to deal with it and it doesn’t really affect my game. I don’t think I have any problems there.”
England coach Fabio Capello recently awarded the England captaincy to Rooney’s United team-mate Rio Ferdinand and Rooney says he would like the armband to be handed to him one day.
“I think I’ve got qualities to be England captain so I hope one day to be able to do that,” he said.
The 24-year-old England international took his goal tally for the season to 30 with two strikes against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and opened the scoring with his seventh successive headed goal at Old Trafford.
“It’s coming off my bald patch and that’s helping me score,” joked Rooney, who was speaking at a FIFA promotional event.
“I’ve been working on my heading a lot and thankfully it’s paying off.
“I’ve been in the box a lot more, I’ve been working on my timing and my finishing. I’ve played up front in every game I’ve played this season and that’s definitely the main reason for me scoring a lot of goals.”
Rooney’s rich form in front of goal has heightened expectations that he can fire England to World Cup glory in South Africa but he rejected suggestions he was feeling under pressure.
“No, to be honest, I don’t,” said Rooney. “I think I’ve had pressure since I started playing for Everton at 16 and for England at 17.
“I’ve managed to deal with that pressure and find a way to deal with it and it doesn’t really affect my game. I don’t think I have any problems there.”
England coach Fabio Capello recently awarded the England captaincy to Rooney’s United team-mate Rio Ferdinand and Rooney says he would like the armband to be handed to him one day.
“I think I’ve got qualities to be England captain so I hope one day to be able to do that,” he said.
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