| Chelsea, Arsenal return to form Barclays Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal have returned to form in convincing fashion with victories in the UEFA Champions League. foxsports.com.au |
Carlo Ancelotti to attend Chelsea v Arsenal despite father's death • Chelsea manager at father's side as he died• Carlo Ancelotti will still be at Sunday's Arsenal gameChelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will attend the club's match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday despite the death of his father yesterday.Giuseppe Ancelotti passed away in Italy last night aged 87, with his son at his side. The funeral will take place on Saturday."Everyone at Chelsea sends our deepest condolences to Carlo and his family. They are all in our thoughts at this time," read a statement on the club's official website, Chelseafc.com.Assistant manager Ray Wilkins will take tomorrow's press conference in Ancelotti's absence.Carlo AncelottiChelseaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
'Premier League is the priority' for Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp Harry Redknapp insists he is more concerned about Tottenham's visit to Fulham than by thoughts of a trip to the San Siro. telegraph.co.uk |
Rain Washes Out Attempt at Longest Soccer Game A group of recreational players in Nova Scotia has abandoned its attempt to set a world record for the longest soccer game. feeds.nytimes.com |
Spurs' Harry Redknapp calls for managers to drop reckless tacklers • Harry Redknapp says 'some players are reckless' • Says managers are not to blame despite Danny Murphy's claimHarry Redknapp has called on other Premier League managers to drop players who commit reckless tackles. The Tottenham Hotspur manager fears that a player will soon have his career ended unless there is a crackdown on bad challenges."There are some players who are reckless and we have seen some reckless challenges," Redknapp said. "I don't even need to name them. The same people are being booked or sent off every week and they have to calm themselves down. You don't need to kick people to be a good player. The only way to calm them down is by leaving them out of the team and by saying to them: 'I don't need you being sent off every week and making reckless tackles. We need 11 men and until you can time your tackles and make good tackles then you're not going to play.'"Recently, Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa suffered a broken leg in a tackle by Nigel de Jong of Manchester City and Wolves' Karl Henry was sent off for a wild challenge against Wigan."People have been coming in at 100mph and if you time it wrong then you are going to have a player's career finished," said Redknapp. "But I don't think it [tackling] has gone crazy – it's just that one or two people need to calm down."Fulham's Danny Murphy has accused the managers of Blackburn, Wolves and Stoke – Sam Allardyce, Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis – of sending their players out excessively "pumped up". Redknapp said managers were not to blame. "Managers aren't sitting down in dressing rooms one-on-one with players shouting 'Come on' at them. They aren't like American footballers and nutting the walls, banging their heads together. They [managers] don't do that in our game do they? It's just the individual who goes out who's a bit scatty and goes off the rails."Murphy's comments have drawn a strong response. McCarthy said the midfielder had made "a silly comment without a great deal of knowledge" and Pulis accused the England international of picking "easy targets that are based on his own perception and not facts".Tottenham face unbeaten Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League this afternoon, and Redknapp joked that he hoped the furore would put Murphy off his game. "Danny has named a few people and they have answered back, but unless he has been in a dressing room with Tony Pulis, Sam or Mick McCarthy then he doesn't know what they are like," Redknapp said.The Fulham manager, Mark Hughes, defended Murphy. "There's a lot been said about Danny being disrespectful to the manager, but having had conversations with him he has huge respect for the managers of the teams he mentioned," said Hughes."Maybe the fact we had recent history against the teams he mentioned was fresh in his mind and he was giving examples. We're disappointed by the reaction to it. You must respect he has an opinion. He was being honest. He wanted to make a point. Whether he did that in the right manner is open to debate."Harry RedknappTottenham Hotspurguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |