Wigan earned their best away league result this season to claim a crucial victory over relegation rivals Blackpool.The visitors took the lead in the third minute when Hugo Rodallega broke clear and slotted the ball through the legs of Blackpool keeper Matthew Gilks.
Shortly after, Neal Eardley forced Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi to tip his
cross over the bar.
At the other end Gilks had to make a similar fisted clearance from a free kick, and a smart run from Charles N’Zogbia only resulted in a corner.
In added time at the end of the half, N’Zogbia showed some individual brilliance to double his side’s lead.
Collecting the ball midway inside the Blackpool half, he ran past two defenders before firing past Gilks.
Elliot Grandin should have pulled a Blackpool goal back before the interval whistle, but his header went straight at Ali Al-Habsi who held on.
The second half was similar to the first, with very few chances being created by both teams.
The best early opportunity came when Gilks unconvincingly parried away an N’Zogbia cross, however no Wigan player was following in for the loose ball.
The game was put beyond Ian Holloway’s men in the 66th minute when Mohammed Diame’s shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection off Eardley, sending the ball into the corner of the helpless Gilks’ goal.
DJ Campbell managed to reduce the deficit for the home side in the 83rd minute but it was too little too late from a disappointing Blackpool side.
Wigan climb out of the bottom three as a result of the win while Blackpool slip into the drop zone for the first time this season.
There will be plenty at stake when Arsenal and Tottenham meet in the North London derby in the English Premier League.Arsenal will be hoping to keep the pressure on leaders Manchester United, while Spurs’ eyes will be on the Champions League when they go head to head at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.
The Gunners are six points behind United with six games to play and – with far too many points dropped by the Londoners in the second half of the season – they will need luck to have any chance of upsetting Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
For Harry Redknapp’s men, the rest of the season is all about trying to secure a Champions League berth for 2011/12.
Spurs enjoyed a magical run in this season’s European tournament that included defeats of Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Dutch champions Twente and AC Milan before they were eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals by Real Madrid.
Redknapp’s men proved that they could compete among the region’s elite, but with three points between them and fourth-placed Manchester City – albeit with a game in hand – their time in Europe’s premier club competition could prove fleeting.
In their last league game, Spurs played a scintillating first half at home against Stoke on their way to a 3-2 win on April 9.
Arsenal were held to an extraordinary 1-1 draw at home against Liverpool on Sunday, which saw two second-half injury-time penalties converted.
The last time the two sides met, Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at half-time to hand Spurs their first away win over the Gunners for 17 years, with second-half goals to Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Younes Kaboul lifting the visitors to a memorable victory.
Arsene Wenger boasts the healthier of the two squads, with only goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and defender Thomas Vermaelen certain to miss out, although the latter is back in full training after missing most of the season with Achilles tendon problems.
Right back Bacary Sagna could resume after recovering from a knee problem, while midfielder Denilson appears to have overcome a toe complaint.
Redknapp’s problems centre around his defence, with Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King all unavailable for selection with respective knee, calf and groin problems.
They could, however, welcome back speedy midfielder Steven Pienaar from a groin strain. Defensive midfielder Wilson Palacios is a chance to return from a knee injury.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy does not think a bottom-place team has ever been so confident of beating relegation.McCarthy’s side are currently bottom with six games left. But, because of the nature of this season’s Premier League, Wolves are still just eight points away from a place in the top 10.
That’s why the manager is adamant his side are still well set to stay up this season.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Fulham, McCarthy said: “There has never been a time that the bottom team could feel so confident that they can get out of it – which we are.”
“It’s so tight still and it’s in our hands – we’ve got a game in hand away at Stoke on Tuesday so there’s still everything to play for.”
“Everyone still thinks they have a chance of getting out of it and we have to maintain that belief.”
“We’ve worked on being solid and trying to keep a clean sheet and let’s hope it works.
“There’s no point leaving the back door open.”
“It’s important to stay in games and not concede because when you do, it’s tough to get one back.”
McCarthy is likely to put striker Sam Vokes on to the bench after he was recalled from his loan spell at Norwich on Friday.
The forward is back at his parent club following injuries to Kevin Doyle (knee) and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who suffered a hamstring injury in their 3-0 defeat to Everton on April 9.
Doyle has started light training and could yet make a return from his knee ligament injury before the end of the season but defender George Elokobi will miss the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring in training last week.
McCarthy will also be able to call upon midfielder Stephen Hunt, who has returned to full training less than a fortnight after a hernia operation.
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has apologised to the club’s fans for their Coppa Italia semi-final defeat at the hands of Palermo.The newly crowned Serie A champions lost 2-1 at Palermo on Tuesday in the second leg of the tie, which Palermo won 4-3 on aggregate, and Allegri said he was sorry for the manner in which his team defended at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.
“We have conceded a goal on a corner kick and if we had concentrated a bit more we would have avoided it,” Allegri said.
“Then the match became more difficult, even though the players did their best to get back into the match, trying to draw in order to force extra time.”
“They (Palermo) put in a good performance and did a good job in midfield.”
“They limited us to very few opportunities, even if though my players did a good job and I’m satisfied with their performance. Of course I’m sorry as we are out of the competition.”
Palermo head coach Delio Rossi, meanwhile, was overjoyed to see his side reach their first Coppa Italia final since 1979.
They will now meet either Inter Milan or Roma in the final on May 29, as they look to win the tournament for the first time in the club’s history.
“When such things happen, it takes me some time to fully understand them,” Rossi said.
“Personally I can’t quantify the pleasure for a qualification like I do with the regret for a defeat. I believe that the regret for a defeat is bigger than the pleasure for a win.”
“We have played against a team which is surely stronger than us, but we have deserved to win in these 180 minutes because of the number of occasions we have created.”
“We have had some problems in the first half of the match since the legs were a bit stiff.”
“At the end of the first half of the match I’ve told the guys, that we could even lose the match but we have to try and play as we have always done and indeed the spirit has changed in the second half of the match.”
“I’m satisfied especially for the guys since they have deserved this win. This is a serious team, as I’ve already said.”
On-loan Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani remains likely to make a permanent move to Juventus, according to his agent.The 26-year-old has made 32 league appearances for Juventus since being loaned out by the Reds in August 2010, and the two clubs have been negotiating to make the deal permanent.
Although the Serie A side missed their May 15 deadline to complete the agreed 16 million euro signing, Aquilani’s agent Franco Zavaglia is still confident the move will happen.
Zavaglia said on Wednesday Juventus were hoping to lower the English Premier League side’s asking price.
“We’re waiting to see how things evolve,” he told Radio Sportiva.
“Juventus didn’t take up their option to sign him, but I’m still confident because I think that Liverpool are ready to do a deal. I believe an agreement will be found eventually.”
“He’s still a Liverpool player and if an agreement with Juventus is not reached then he’ll respect his contract. Liverpool are one of the best clubs in the world.”
Zavaglia said he did not believe Juventus had sufficient cover in midfield, even with their rumoured interest in numerous other players.
“He’s had an important season and has been present. It’s not true that Aquilani is always injured and he’s proved that this term,” he said.
Juventus sit in seventh in the Serie A and need to win their last game of the season at home to Napoli on Sunday, while hoping sixth-placed Roma lose to the relegated Sampdoria, to clinch a Europa League spot.
It is 50 years since Tottenham Hotspur were last champions of England – and you wouldn’t bet on them winning the title for another half a century. I arrived at White Hart Lane a few months after the double-winning success of 1961 and for the next couple of years we continued to be a genuinely great side, becoming the first British club to win a European trophy in the process. This season was Tottenham’s first European Cup campaign since I played for them in the 1962 semi-final – now they have lost their top-four status, it looks like being a hell of an uphill battle to win it back again.
Spurs fans are already calling for the head of Harry Redknapp, which is a long-held tradition at the Lane, dating back to my playing days. Harry is old enough and ugly enough to ignore that sort of nonsense. He is well and truly right to point out that Spurs have not enjoyed any sort of consistent success since the early ’60s.
Ever since that double-winning team started breaking up around 1964, with a series of injuries along with the tragic death of the great John White, Spurs have consistently under-achieved. And I am speaking as a member of the first great under-achieving Spurs side – that of the late 1960s. A team which included Pat Jennings in goal, Cyril Knowles, Joe Kinnear and Mike England in defence, Terry Venables and Alan Mullery in midfield and myself and Alan Gilzean up front really should have won titles and European trophies, not just one FA Cup in 1967. It wasn’t even a case of needing an extra player or two – that team was good enough to achieve a lot more than it did. But we set the tone for decades of flattering to deceive at White Hart Lane.
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The Keith Burkenshaw team which won back-to-back FA Cups, the David Pleat team which came second in everything, the side which Terry Venables built around Paul Gascoigne, then the Gerry Francis team which boasted Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand – they all could have won titles. Until the last couple of months, Spurs had enjoyed an excellent two and a half years under Redknapp. But they still haven’t won anything. Now it seems as though this season’s Champions League campaign could be little more than a glorious flash in the pan. One that ended so cruelly in a men-against-boys trouncing by Real Madrid.
Manchester City are only going to get stronger, while Liverpool are on the rise again, with money to spend. The only way I can see Spurs competing for the top four next season is to back Redknapp in the transfer market – and flog Gareth Bale. Bale was magnificent in the two matches against Inter Milan. He is a great kid, but I don’t think he is a worthy Player of the Year and he is not the sort to win you titles. If someone offered £35million or more, I’d bite their hand off.
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Like Rafa van der Vaart, Bale has tailed off severely in the second half of the season. I’ve seen many players like him, who can look world class on their day, but simply cannot do it consistently enough. Whether it is a mental or physical fragility, I’m not sure. The truly great players tick every box and I’m not sure that Bale, though still young, will ever do that.
Whenever Bill Shankly was told about some great potential signing, he’d ask: “Can he always make an accurate 12-yard pass and will he give me a full season?”For him, those were the two essentials. I am not sure Bale would pass the Shankly test, and Shanks was a man who built a club which won titles. Not a club like Tottenham Hotspur, I’m sorry to say.
Wolfsburg midfielder Diego could be on his way to England after both Liverpool and Aston Villa have registered an interest in the player, according to Sky Sports.
The 26-year old is out of favour at the German club and could be shown the door. He only joined the side from Juventus for €15.5 million last summer but has had several high-profile fallings out with manager Felix Magath. He was fined earlier in the season when he missed a penalty he was not instructed to take whilst, more recently, he was fined €500,000 for failing to turn up for the final match of the season having been told he would be on the bench.
Despite winning 33 caps for Brazil, the midfielder has had a rollercoaster career. He was originally brought to Europe by Porto as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Deco in 2004 before moving to Werder Bremen in 2006. After 52 goals in 128 games he moved to Juventus in a €24.5 million deal on a five year but his spell in Italy was unsuccessful and he returned to Germany after only a year.
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Diego would be available for less than Wolfsburg paid last summer and now it seems Liverpool and Villa could make a move for the playmaker as they look to rebuild for next season’s Premier League.
Once the signing of Jordan Henderson was completed just eighteen days after the climax of the 2010-2011 Premier League season, it was clear to see that Liverpool FC were keen to get their summer transfer business done and dusted as quickly as possible.
However, things have gone quiet on the transfer front. A mass influx of players were expected to flood through the doors of Anfield in a short space of time but Kenny Dalglish’s pen is being kept in his top pocket for the time being.
For me, Liverpool need to push on with any potential signings. Often, this is easier said than done. Nevertheless, if Liverpool want to bring in the quality that is needed then these matters cannot be taken lightly.
The club continue to be linked with a plethora of central midfielders. Now, I am not naive enough to think that a lot of these rumours are nothing but paper talk, I just hope that the men in charge, Dalglish and Comolli, are incisive enough to realise that central midfield isn’t a priority. Once the expected transfer of Charlie Adam to Liverpool is complete, central midfield will then be complete.
Ask the majority of Liverpool supporters what they think the first position that should be targeted is and 90% will say wingers. They would not be far wrong either. Two gifted, out and out wide men should be top of the list and I have faith that they are. Stewart Downing looks a nailed on transfer and hopefully another can follow him into Melwood . Whether it be Juan Mata , Charles N’Zogbia or whoever, more than one is crucial to our efforts next season.
After that, a replacement for David Ngog, expected to leave soon, should be found. Connor Wickham has been mooted as that replacement. If we manage to secure the signing of the exciting England U21 international then a centre-back is surely next.
A back-up goalkeeper to Pepe Reina is also a position that needs filling and once they are sorted then Liverpool will start to look like a team with a squad that can challenge.
Nobody for a second believes Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli aren’t the men to guide us correctly in the transfer market. What is needed is a bit more urgency and the squad will come together in time for a big season, starting in August.
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While most clubs invest in multi-million-pound transfers to win silverware, Sao Paulo have opted for an alternative route to success.The Brazilian Serie A club have turned to their youth set-up this season, with 10 players in the squad having come through the junior ranks.
And Milton Cruz’s men are reaping the rewards in the current campaign, notching six wins from their first nine games this season.
Nineteen-year old Casimiro is one prodigy to have caught the eye this term, generating interest from European heavyweights such as Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur.
“I expected a good start, but not as good as it was,” Casimiro said. “Five wins in a competition like the Brasileiro is very difficult. You play the leaders or the teams at the bottom with the same intensity, it’s always a final.”
Another courting interest from Europe is midfielder Lucas Silva, who scored three goals in five games before joining up with the Brazil national team to compete in the Copa America.
Centre-back Luiz Eduardo is the latest to break into the Sao Paulo first team, and has also enjoyed an impressive start to the season.
Behind their success is a forward-thinking training scheme, where youngsters mix with seasoned professionals, and grow comfortable in their surroundings.
“When you come here to the pro’s training centre, you instantly feel at home,” Casimiro added.
“We often play around saying this feels like a school because there are so many kids, but it’s nice to arrive and have your friends here.”
This season, like every Premier League campaign, saw the emergence of world class players, that the season before were just up and coming hot prospects; Jack Wilshere is this season’s stand out example. The Arsenal’s ace rise to prominence, has already got me thinking what talent will be uncovered next season, Manchester United’s ‘kids’ emphatically won the FA Youth Cup in recent days so it is only a matter of time before they begin making a push for the first team and Liverpool have reaped the rewards of their youth set up this season, and no doubt will again next campaign. But who will be the ones to watch next season?
Click below on Ryan Tunnicliffe below to see if I have the potential to succeed as a football scout
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Let me know who you are looking forward to seeing next season at my facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Daniel-T-Blazer/185495024836102