TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| West Ham linked with Adrian Mutu Gianfranco Zola considering making a move for former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, according to reports. telegraph.co.uk |
Aston Villa 3 Blackburn Rovers 1: match report Martin O'Neill couldn't have chosen better opposition to face after defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool than a distracted Blackburn. telegraph.co.uk |
Roberto Mancini can make me great, says Micah Richards • 'Those words were really encouraging,' says in-form defender• Richards dismisses talk of January transfer from EastlandsRoberto Mancini has told Micah Richards he has the potential to become a great player, the Manchester City defender has revealed. Richards, 21, is enjoying a run of games in the side under the former Italy international and scored a fine goal in the 4-1 defeat of Blackburn. His good form could persuade the England manager, Fabio Capello, to recall him to the national squad for the World Cup.Richards's priority, though, is to continue to improve after positive feedback from Mancini. "He told me that I was a good player but that if I listened and learned he would turn me into a great player," Richards told the club's website. "Those words were really encouraging but I know that it is down to me to work hard."I keep saying it but I am still young. There are aspects of the game that only come with experience and I am gaining that all the time whether I am in or out of the side. I know I had a dip in form last season but I believe that I have been better this time around and in recent weeks I have done OK. All I am concentrating on at the moment is playing well, winning games and staying in the side when the injured players come back."Richards has come through the ranks at City and is in no hurry to go anywhere else. He said: "Everyone seems to get linked with someone at various stages of the season and me more than most. I have always said that I wanted to stay here so I don't know why these rumours keep appearing."I have not expressed any wish to leave and yet some people are reporting things as if they are done deals. Why would I want to leave a club that is so obviously on the up and up? There is still so much for me to learn and my best is to come, and this will be great place to be in coming seasons, I am sure of that."Manchester CityRoberto Manciniguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Five things we learned this weekend Marouane Fellaini might be the best at what he does; Charles N'Zogbia should play for England and football needs ArsenalFellaini: best in his best position David Moyes has been calling Marouane Fellaini the best midfielder – on form – in the Premier league for some time; and now it seems to be catching after an excellent performance anchoring the midfield against Manchester City. The 360 degree drag-back and spin to take the ball away from Craig Bellamy will be one of the season's most treasured Youtube moments, bringing to mind, as it did, a domineering 30-something dad cuffing aside his five-year-old son during a particularly tearful half-hour preprandial humiliation on the local rec. But the best thing about Fellaini is that he wants to be a defensive midfielder. He doesn't want to play as a support striker or be the team's creative hub. There is no ego-stifling compromise involved in asking him to play in a position that involves complete concentration on intercepting, tackling and reading the game three chess moves in advance. He likes, doing it. He has the brain. He has the physique. He also has Chelsea chasing his signature, or so rumour has it. Some were surprised by the ÂŁ12m fee, rising to ÂŁ15m, David Moyes paid Standard Liege. It looks like a snip now.N'zogbia for EnglandRoberto MartĂnez compared him to Lionel Messi after a rampaging display against (ahem) Wolves on Saturday. This is clearly a little over the top but it isn't an entirely fanciful analogy – Charles N'Zogbia is a hugely talented player. He likes to drift in from the right and use his left foot. And he will, the feeling is at Wigan, go on to play for one of the Champions League elite in the next few years after taking his game to a new level under MartĂnez. And here's the interesting twist: N'Zogbia is qualified to play for England after five years of residence. He has rebuffed approaches from the Democratic Republic of Congo and has so far only played for France at Under-21 level. He's a quick, powerful, tricky left-footed wide player who scores goals. England don't have one of those. They have Stewart Downing instead. Nobody knows how N'Zogbia would react to a call-up from Fabio Capello. But it might be fun to watch.Football needs Arsenal; Arsenal need FábregasArsenal probably won't win the league. But if they did it would be a good thing for English football. Forget the tribal affiliations (and this is being written by a Premier League neutral) and it looks like a victory for competent financial handling and simple common sense in a time of fiscal chaos elsewhere. Arsenal do have large debts, but this is down to the bricks and mortar investment in a new stadium that has decisively repositioned the club's income earning potential. This is a model for how to run a big football club, right from the debt-light floating operating costs, the emphasis on sourcing and then improving players (Craig Eastmond has become the seventh English ex-youth teamer to play for the first team this season), and of course the flexible, frictionless way Arsène Wenger likes his team to play. Winning the league this season would surely be the sweetest – albeit the most self-righteous – of all Wenger's titles. On the other hand, right now Arsenal rely hugely on Cesc Fábregas, a midfielder whose passing ability suits their game perfectly and who was simply too good for Bolton (and has the bruises to prove it). Fábregas strained his hamstring after coming on as a sub against Villa. Three weeks seems quite quick to make a return and Arsenal play again on Wednesday. Fábregas remaining fit will be absolutely crucial to what happens in the final four months of what could be a most salutary title challenge.Wolves heading for the exit doorWolves looked inert in attack on Saturday against a Wigan defence that has already conceded four goals on seven occasions this season. They were jeered from the field by small sections of a disappointed home crowd, and Mick McCarthy is still drawing flak for resting his best team against Manchester United, presumably for occasions such as these. But too many of his first XI look like Championship players on a season-long job-swap. McCarthy didn't win a single home match in the Premier League with Sunderland; Wolves are currently the division's lowest scorers. Hull City and Bolton Wanderers are desperately looking for a way out of the relegation spots. For one of them, at least, it's called Wolves.Sharing the richesPeople have been talking darkly about the death of the striker ever since people started talking darkly about things that may or may not come to pass in football. But this weekend 16 different players scored from open play in the Premier League. Only four of them were conventional strikers, and three of those were in one game at Old Trafford. There were six games where no striker scored at all. What does it mean? The scoring charts are still dominated by centre-forwards, and Didier Drogba, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres can hold their own with the golden shoe-chasers in most eras, even if a total in the low 20s is likely to be enough to top the scoring charts this season. Perhaps this is just an indication of the incremental blurring between physical types and skill-sets among top class footballers as the game becomes less a rigidly-aligned contact sport and more a basketball-style aerobic exercise in finding space. It may not even matter much in the end. Chelsea scored seven with just a single orthodox forward on the pitch, but a quartet of attack-minded midifelders.Premier LeagueEvertonDavid MoyesWigan AthleticCesc FábregasArsenalWolverhampton WanderersBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Real Madrid to Help Rebuild School in Haiti MADRID (AP) -- Real Madrid plans to provide funds to rebuild a school that was destroyed in the earthquake in Haiti. feeds.nytimes.com |