TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Wenger confident of outpassing Chelsea • Frenchman feels Chelsea will be weaker after City defeat• Fabianski will deputise for injured Almunia at Stamford BridgeWhen Arsène Wenger reaches for a statistic to reinforce one of his arguments, it is always wise to check it. Bitter experience has taught us that the Arsenal manager is not always absolutely spot on in such matters. And so when, in the context of Chelsea's recent dominance over his team, Wenger brought up that Arsenal had beaten their London rivals more times than they had lost to them over the past 10 years, the assembled journalists were sent diving for their record books. Or logging onto Google.It really did not sound right but it turns out that in 30 matches in all competitions Arsenal have won 10 to Chelsea's 10, with the rest ending in draws. And given that one of Chelsea's victories came in the 2005 Community Shield, Wenger emerged on safe ground.Scratch deeper, of course, and the detail that only two of Arsenal's wins have come in the past six years – the period in which Chelsea, backed by Roman Abramovich's largesse, have established themselves as one of the Premier League's twin powerhouses – highlighted one reason why the west London club will start Sunday's eagerly awaited Stamford Bridge derby as favourites. The old adage about lies, damned lies and statistics sprang to mind.Here is another set designed to force Wenger on to the defensive. Pound for pound and inch by inch, Chelsea's players are, on average, three inches taller and almost two stone heavier than their Arsenal counterparts. In boxing terms that amounts to between three and four weight divisions.The conclusion that is regularly drawn, supported by recent results, is that Chelsea have the capacity to bully Arsenal into submission. A glance at the Chelsea teamsheet reveals hugely imposing figures such as John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba. Where are the men in Arsenal red to match them?This time it was Wenger's turn to look deeper and attempt to convince his audience that such figures meant nothing when the game's subtleties and complexities were taken into account. Wenger has long extolled the merits of brains over brawn and he continued to pin his hopes on his players' fleetness of foot and mind."How can you explain why Spain won the World Cup and Barcelona beat Chelsea in the Champions League [in 2009]?" he said. "Football is not only down to physique. It's down to intelligence, technique, mobility – there is not one way. That's what makes it interesting. Last weekend did Drogba score at Manchester City? No, he didn't and he played against Kolo Touré. When Kolo played for us, you said he couldn't handle Drogba. Suddenly, when he moves to Man City, he's stronger."I feel anyway we should not make an obsession of one player of Chelsea because they have a few who can score goals. What is important is that we have the ball, that we dominate the game and that we are efficient defensively. We can do it."Wenger's mention of City was not restricted to their game against Chelsea, which they won 1-0. City are following the Chelsea blueprint to modern-day success, installing a money-no-object benefactor to provide a massive injection of capital. It does not matter that huge debts have numbered among the by-products.As it did when Abramovich opened his chequebook to bully the rest of the league financially, City's methods have provoked disdain in Wenger. He looked forward to Uefa's new regulations on balanced books kicking in from next summer and he suggested that he expected Michel Platini, the Uefa president, to uphold his threat to expel the clubs who were deeply in debt from European competition. "We would be happy if the rules came in tomorrow morning," Wenger said. "After that we trust Uefa. Platini looks to be very strong-willed on the subject and he has my complete support."Wenger, though, was more interested in the possibility of striking a blow against a major rival on the pitch. He will go to Stamford Bridge without a host of injured players, including the captain Cesc Fábregas, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott and Thomas Vermaelen. It will be a big game for the summer central defensive signing Laurent Koscielny against Drogba; ditto, the goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who continues to deputise for the injured Manuel Almunia. Yet Wenger exuded confidence."It is vitally important to win the big games," he said, "and the confrontation will certainly give an indication of the strengths of the two teams. It's easier to play Chelsea now, after they have lost two games [to Newcastle United in the Carling Cup and to City]. Every defeat makes you just a fraction smaller."ArsenalArsène WengerChelseaDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Wigan Athletic v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Live Follow Nick Pearce's live blog as Wigan win 2-0 after goals from Jordi Gomez and Hugo Rodallega. telegraph.co.uk |
Everton's Tim Howard blasts investors who 'spend the money and put the scarf on' Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard says his side are lucky to have a real fan in charge - not a super-rich investor telegraph.co.uk |
Phoenix secure history-making draw Wellington Phoenix secure a 2-2 draw against Melbourne Heart and extend their unbeaten home run to a record 24 games. foxsports.com.au |
Fifa widens net in bribery investigation • Bidding nations face potential suspension• New questions are raised over processFifa has widened its investigation into bribery allegations against two members of its executive committee to include the potential suspension of one or more bidding nations involved in the race to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.Following a day of crisis meetings at its Zurich HQ involving the president, Sepp Blatter, and the secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, Fifa attempted to wrest back the initiative in the wake of damaging allegations that Nigeria's Amos Adamu and the Oceania representative, Reynald Temarii, had offered effectively to sell their votes.Adamu has declined to comment. "I'm confident about my integrity but I made a mistake by talking in that way," Temarii said. "I asked the Fifa president to investigate. I gave him a letter. It's important for me that the ethics committee investigates how I manage my relations with bidders."But the claims have prompted a host of questions about the transparency of the bidding process and the likelihood of corruption. Fifa has asked Claudio Sulser, chairman of its ethics committee, to "act without delay to take all possible steps, including the possibility of provisional measures" against the pair and Fifa officials who are also implicated.The ethics committee will meet on Wednesday and could also suspend one or more bidding nations. "Fifa also confirms that the alleged agreements between member associations would also be a clear violation of the bid registration document and the code of ethics. Therefore, an investigation has also been opened into the member associations in question as well as their bid committees," it said.The allegations in question are believed to refer to persistent rumours of vote trading between bidders for 2018 and 2022. Given the way the process has been designed, with both tournaments being awarded on 2 December, some believe alliances are inevitable.However, Valcke, who sits on the executive committee alongside the 24 members but does not have a vote, said last month: "We will send reminders on the rules and conduct via our ethics committee. There are a lot of rumours around 2018-22 but I think we are monitoring efficiently what is done by the nine bidders, and we will also inform our executive committee members again at our next meeting in October about such rumours on vote-sharing and their responsibility."England are bidding for 2018 against Russia, Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium; the 2022 tournament hosts will be from Australia, USA, Qatar, Japan and South Korea.Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation, appeared to suggest last month that vote trading was inevitable. "I will be naturally looking to the interests of Qatar because that is the bid for me. All the bidders are telling me: 'OK, if you vote for me I will vote for you.' That must not be surprising to anybody," he said. The England bid is not believed to be implicated. Those on the England 2018 team hope that the imperative to clean up the process, which could play well for their bid, will outweigh lingering concerns about the potentially negative impact on voters that the prospect of intense scrutiny from the British media could provoke.Fifa's executive committee meets next week in Zurich. The scheduled meeting of the ethics committee Wednesday will discuss whether to suspend Adamu and Temarii after examining the evidence from the Sunday Times investigation.Fifa's rulebook says its officials must refuse "any gifts or other advantages that are offered, promised or sent to them" and are forbidden from "urging or inciting" people to offer bribes "to gain an advantage for themselves or third parties".The Sunday Times filmed Adamu apparently agreeing that $800,000 for artificial pitches should be paid directly to him and Temarii, from Tahiti, appeared to tell the undercover reporters that funding for a football academy could be "helpful" in securing his vote.Adamu, along with the other three African voters, had been heavily targeted by all the bidders because it is the one continent without a country bidding to host either tournament. As such, the votes are seen as disproportionately important.FifaFootball politicsWorld Cup 2018Owen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |