TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Chelsea draws Birmingham: English roundup Chelsea missed the chance to extend its lead to seven points in the Premier League on Saturday when it was held to a scoreless draw at Birmingham. cbc.ca |
Villa may make move for West Ham's Parker • Martin O'Neill looks to bolster his midfield• Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell may move on Aston Villa are the latest club to show an interest in signing Scott Parker from West Ham United next month. Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have both been linked with Parker, who is valued at around £8m, but it has emerged that Villa are also considering competing for the 29-year-old's signature after monitoring his impressive performances in the centre of the West Ham midfield this season.Martin O'Neill identified the absence of an authentic holding player – the position where Parker has excelled at West Ham – among his favoured four-man midfield earlier this month. Stilian Petrov has been converted into a deep-lying midfielder with relative success but the Bulgarian is not naturally defensive-minded while Nigel Reo-Coker, who was replaced by Parker at West Ham, has struggled to make at impact at Villa during his two and a half years at the club.West Ham are extremely reluctant to allow Parker to leave Upton Park, with the former Charlton Athletic, Chelsea and Newcastle United player seen as crucial to their survival hopes, but the club's financial position could encourage Villa as well as Spurs to test their resolve. A deal would be more likely to happen with Villa if O'Neill were able to move on one of his fringe players, although Steve Sidwell and Reo-Coker may well remain with the club until the summer.Reo-Coker made a surprising return to the Villa side for Tuesday night's injury-time defeat to Liverpool but he has made only six Premier League starts this season, having lost his place following a training-ground row with O'Neill in September. The 25-year-old has attracted interest from Fulham but O'Neill would want to secure a replacement before sanctioning his departure and even then there is no guarantee the player would move. Sidwell's future is just as uncertain, with the midfielder a regular substitute and yet to recapture the form he showed for Reading before joining Chelsea.Luke Young has described Villa's defeat to Liverpool, which followed a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal 48 hours earlier, as a "massive setback", but urged his team-mates to erase the memory of the result and ensure there is no repeat of last season, when a promising campaign unravelled. "We want this to make us stronger," Young said. "This is a massive setback but we can learn from last season from what happened when we went on a bad run."Transfer windowAston VillaWest Ham UnitedMartin O'NeillPremier LeagueStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Campbell eyes Arsenal contract after turning out for reserves • Defender set for return after training with club• Named in reserve team to face West Ham tonightSol Campbell appears ready to complete an astonishing turnaround and rejoin Arsenal, three-and-a-half years after leaving the club in controversial circumstances. The centre-back will play for the reserves against West Ham tonight and his familiar on-field qualities would provide much-needed cover at centre-back until the end of the season."Tonight's reserve team to face West Ham United at Upton Park features Sol Campbell, who plays on a Reserve League registration, with a view to a permanent move back to Arsenal Football Club," the club said in a statement.West Ham would provide apt opponents for Campbell's comeback as it was a 3-2 defeat against the same club in February 2006 –albeit their first team in the Premier League – that proved to be the beginning of the end of his first stint at Arsenal. After a nightmarish first half in which he was responsible for two goals being conceded, the defender walked out of the stadium at half-time and did not play again for two months. He left at the end of the season.Arsène Wenger's current first-choice centre-backs, Thomas Vermaelen – a £10m summer signing from Ajax, and William Gallas – have struck up an impressive partnership this season but Wenger's alternatives are limited to Mikaël Silvestre, the 32-year-old Frenchman who has been far from convincing since joining from Manchester United in 2008. Johan Djourou is out for the season with a knee injury, Philippe Senderos is out of favour and on the transfer list and Alex Song – a midfielder who can cover at centre-back – is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon.The 35-year-old Campbell, who left Highbury for Portsmouth in the summer of 2006, has been training at Arsenal's Hertfordshire base since leaving Notts County in September and was keen to resume his career as quickly as possible after settling his contract dispute with County.It is understood there were also offers from Hull and Newcastle, but Arsenal was always Campbell's first choice, as the club where he achieved great success – including being a key part of the 2003-04 Invincibles side – following a highly controversial move from Tottenham during 2001."He has a fantastic attitude and good fitness," Wenger said last week. "Of course he is not the youngest, but he is in a very good shape. He can still play in the Premier League, I've said that many times. He is important in the dressing room as well. He's positive with the young players. Every year we have one or two like that and I think a Premier League club will sign him."Campbell spent five years at Arsenal, and won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and scored in the 2006 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.The impending return of the veteran defender will cast further doubt over the future of Senderos. The Swiss centre-back, currently out with a foot injury, spent last season on loan at Milan and almost joined Everton in the summer.Sol CampbellArsenalTransfer windowPremier LeagueEdward Gibbesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Benitez seeks manpower for injury-hit Liverpool Rafa Benitez wants to strengthen Liverpool further in the January transfer window amid a deepening injury crisis. cbc.ca |
Zuma: No Worries About Security at World Cup DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- South African President Jacob Zuma said Wednesday his country is ready to ensure security for the upcoming World Cup, brushing off fears stemming from a deadly attack on Togo's national football team. feeds.nytimes.com |