West Bromwich Albion will hope loan signing Carlos Vela can give them an edge when they host relegation rivals Wigan on Tuesday.
Mexican international Vela arrived at the Hawthorns on Friday and will remain on loan from Arsenal for the remainder of the season.
The 21-year-old forward has struggled to make an impression at the Emirates Stadium behind Robin van Persie, Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner as Arsenal challenge for the Premier League title.
But his unpredictable talent could prove vital as West Brom battle against returning to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Roberto Di Matteo’s side are 16th in the table, three points clear of the last relegation place, which is occupied by Wigan.
West Brom have won just twice in eight league matches and lost 2-0 away to Blackburn in their last outing on January 23.
Wigan meanwhile can climb out of the relegation zone if they beat West Brom and Birmingham lose or draw.
But they have played one game more than their hosts on Tuesday and two more than Birmingham.
Wolves, the team immediately beneath them, also have a game in hand.
If Wigan lose and West Ham United win or draw, they could find themselves at the bottom of the table, something manager Roberto Martinez will be desperate to avoid.
West Brom are still without Steven Reid due to a knee injury, while Marc-Antoine Fortune and Giles Barnes are both in doubt.
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Wigan have overcome many of the injury problems that blighted the first half of their season, but Manchester United loanee Tom Cleverley is still suffering from a hamstring problem.
Viktor Moses made his long-awaited return from a shoulder injury in Wigan’s 0-0 FA Cup fourth-round draw with Bolton on Saturday.
And Martinez will be hoping the promising forward can make a difference as his team battle to retain their Premier League status.
Paris St Germain remain second in Ligue 1, but only on goal difference after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Rennes on Saturday.
PSG could have closed the gap on league leaders Lille to one point with victory at the Stade de la Route de Lorient, but a long-range strike from midfielder Yacine Brahimi after 19 minutes was enough to secure three points for Rennes.
The win moved Rennes into third place, level on 37 points with PSG and just four points behind Lille who travel to Auxerre on Sunday.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Marseille moved into fourth after an unconvincing 1-0 win over bottom side Arles at home.
The only goal of the game came 10 minutes after the break, when Andre-Pierre Gignac slammed home a shot from close range after a cross from Brandao.
Emmanuel Riviere scored a double in the first half to lift St Etienne into fifth on the table with a 2-1 win over Montpellier, leaving them just six points behind Lille, with Jonas Martin scoring a late consolation for the hosts.
Brest ended a run of six games without a win when a fantastic long-range Bruno Grougi free-kick two minutes from the end handed them a 2-1 win over Nancy, who are just two points outside the relegation zone.
Jonathan Ayite had given the hosts the lead just before half-time but a Brou Apanga own goal levelled proceedings with 15 minutes to go before Grougi’s wonder strike.
Goals from Morgan Amalfitano and Kevin Gameiro were enough to hand Lorient a 2-0 win over Caen away from home, lifting them into ninth place.
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Nice moved three points clear of the drop zone when a goal from Nemanja Pejcinovic just before the half-hour mark gave them a 1-0 win over Sochaux.
And Lens missed the chance to move out of the bottom three when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Valenciennes.
Issam Jemaa put the hosts ahead after 37 minutes, but Mathieu Dossevi struck back immediately for Valenciennes to ensure a share of the points.
Donovan Deekman’s injury time winner gave Lokeren a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Westerlo in the Belgian First Division on Wednesday.
Westerlo entered the game in poor form, having won just two of their last 11 matches, while Lokeren were unbeaten in three and looking for their first away win since October.
At the Het Kuipje, Westerlo took a 26th-minute lead when midfielder Christian Bruls found the back of the net for the second time in four matches.
But Lokeren, sitting comfortably inside the top half, fought back well and Deekman’s 77th-minute goal set up an exciting finale.
With both sides going for all three points, Deekman popped up again to convert Laurens De Bock’s assist and give the visitors a spirited victory.
In the day’s other match, Gent extended their unbeaten run to eight with a 2-2 draw at Germinal Beerschot.
The match was originally played on December 19 but suspended at 0-0 due to heavy snow.
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Senegalese forward Elimane Coulibaly gave Gent a ninth-minute lead but the hosts hit back with two goals in four first-half minutes from former West Brom striker Sherjill MacDonald and Gary Kagelmacher.
Yassine El Ghanassy scored an equaliser for Gent early in the second half but neither side could get a winner.
We return to the Champions League this week as Manchester United and Chelsea look to follow Tottenham’s lead and book their places in the last eight of the competition. There is no such thing as a foregone conclusion in football but you do expect both sides to prevail victorious with home advantage ensuring English clubs have a healthy representation in the latter stages of Europe’s elite competition.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that includes Lehmann in Arsenal talks; Henry concedes that Liverpool are yet to open talks with Kenny, while Manchester City have been given permission to sell naming rights of their stadium.
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Lehmann in Arsenal talks – Sky Sports
Nani weighs up leaving United and eyes possible move to Italy – Guardian
Henry: we have yet to talk with Dalglish – Daily Telegraph
City to sell stadium rights – Sun
Winger deal is Marveaux-llous for Liverpool – Mirror
Captain Jack! Fabio earmarks Wilshere as future England leader – Daily Mail
Terry may regain England captaincy – Guardian
City schedule forces FA to put plans on hold – Daily Telegraph
Roo: Don’t Ed off from Man Utd – Sun
Drunk Dunne ‘blasted Villa legend Cowans’ – Mirror
Wenger’s real blind spot is the captaincy – Guardian
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The Daily Mail has reported that “the hardest man in all the town” could be set to leave Old Trafford in the Summer.
The rather succinct post on the Mail’s website notes:
Wes Brown is considering leaving Manchester United. The 31-year-old fell out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson last summer and believes he has a better chance of getting a long-term deal at another club.
I haven’t shortened that in the interests of brevity, that’s literally the post in its entirety, no mention of sources, or quotes simply two and a bit lines letting us all know how a player who’s been at the club since his childhood, is now on his way out of the door- because the Mail say so.
Call me a cynic but I’ve heard these ‘falling out with Fergie’ rumours ever since the Summer and I’ve struggle to believe them. For starters in Wes Brown has fallen foul of Fergie why was he made captain for the Crawley Town game?
Why has he figured albeit on and off all season? Why did he quit international football to concentrate on a club career if he knew it was doomed?
I’m sorry but the whole article- if you can call it that- smacks of lazy journalism- let’s just think of a fairly plausible story and publish it.
Brown may well leave in the Summer- after all only six league appearances all season mean he’s hardly a regular, but I for one hope he decides to stay.
Wes – and I feel more comfortable calling him that as he seems like such a down to earth bloke- is United through and through. Fergie may look at the defensive injury crisis of the past two seasons and realise that United cannot afford to start letting experienced defenders who can play either centre or full back leave.
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He may not have had the best of seasons but he’s still a top class defender on his day and his popularity with the fans is well justified.
The saddest thing about the Mail’s article is the amount of so-called United ‘fans’ commenting on it slagging him off.
Read more Manchester United articles at the excellent Red Flag Flying High
The Republic of Ireland snared a share of the lead in Euro 2012 qualifying Group B after defeating Macedonia 2-1 in Dublin on Saturday.Goals inside the first 25 minutes from Aiden McGeady and Robbie Keane had Ireland cruising but Ivan Trickovski’s strike on the stroke of half-time gave the visitors hope.
But for all of Macedonia’s late pressure, Ireland held on to claim all three points in an unconvincing performance.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni handed debuts to goalkeeper Kieran Westwood, Kevin Foley and Darren O’Dea and his new-look side claimed the lead inside the first two minutes.
McGeady, now plying his trade with Spartak Moscow, cut inside nicely before firing low at Edin Nuredoniski, who could only help the ball into the back of the net.
It was a poor mistake from the goalkeeper and Ireland took full advantage of his shaky nerves after 21 minutes when Darron Gibson fired his free-kick straight at the shot-stopper.
Nuredoniski fumbled the shot and Keane was at his instinctive best, reacting fastest before producing an easy finish.
Kevin Doyle had to be replaced due to a knee injury but Ireland were well on top and should have extended their lead when Doyle’s replacement, Shane Long, missed a one-on-one with Nuredoniski.
Macedonia produced a fight-back, with Trickovski scoring after he made a mockery of Richard Dunne’s defensive work and produced a neat finish to beat Westwood.
The goal gave Macedonia a boost heading into the break and they came out firing in the second, with Inter Milan striker Goran Pandev only just shooting wide on the volley in the early stages.
Trickovski also went close and was well-denied by Westwood, as Ireland held on in the final moments to record victory.
Ireland managed to move to the equal-top of their group after Russia were held to a 0-0 draw in Armenia.
Despite fielding the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Vardan Minasyan’s side were compact enough to keep the Russians at bay.
The other Group B fixture saw Slovakia claim a 1-0 away win at Andorra thanks to Filip Sebo’s first-half goal.
The former Rangers forward is now at Slovan Bratislava and has been in a rich vein of form recently, with his 21st minute strike his seventh in his last six matches.
The result sees the Republic of Ireland, Russia and Slovakia all locked on 10 points at the top of the group, with Slovakia leading the way courtesy of goal difference.
Schalke boss Ralf Rangnick sung the praises of his players after they qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.After winning the first-leg of their quarter-final 5-2 at Inter Milan, Raul’s goal on the stroke of half-time settled any nerves and virtually assured the Bundesliga outfit of progression.
And although Thiago Motta scored an equaliser five minutes into the second half, Schalke defended well and even grabbed a winner through Benedikt Hoewedes as they wrapped up a 7-3 aggregate victory.
It is the first time Schalke has progressed to the last four of Europe’s most prestigious club competition, and Rangnick was bursting with pride after their win over the defending champions.
“We’ve produced two great performances,” Rangnick said.
“If you only allow the Champions League winners a couple of chances, you know you have played well.”
“Each player worked hard for each other and that was the key to our success.”
The result sets up a semi-final meeting with EPL giants Manchester United, and defender Christoph Metzelder believes the side has huge potential to cause an upset, as shown in the two legs against Inter.
“We have seen in the two games just how much team this potential has, we really wanted to win this game out right,” Metzelder said.
While the Germans were delirious with the victory, which also saw legendary striker Raul join the fans for post-match songs and celebration, Inter boss Leonardo was shattered.
The former Milan player was ‘bitter’ about the result and insisted he believed that his side could overturn the three-goal deficit ahead of the second leg.
“There is bitterness and it is hard to digest,” Leonardo told Rai Sport.
“But I think the team spent plenty of effort in these last months in the Champions League and in Serie A.”
“We got into difficulty in the vital moments. I had dreamed of a comeback and we could have scored early or been more concrete in our play.”
“We could have done better in certain situations. I really believed in it for sure because we played well in the first half, but we did not have any chances to score the goals (we needed).”
Inter will now apply their focus to the Serie A campaign, with the club five points behind table-toppers and city rivals AC Milan, while Leonardo also said the Coppa Italia is another target for his side.
“We have to be good to focus now as we have the league and Coppa Italia to fight for,” he said. “There is still plenty of work to do.”
West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson believes it is vital that the club holds on to top scorer Peter Odemwingie this summer.The 29-year-old Nigeria forward has been linked to a host of clubs including Italian giants Juventus but Hodgson said he is a vital part of West Brom’s future.
Odemwingie will look to add to his 13 Premier League goals when West Brom host local rivals Aston Villa on Saturday.
“For me it is an absolute no-brainer that West Brom needs to keep hold of Peter,” Hodgson said on Friday.
“I did not know that Juventus were interested in Peter so that is news to me.”
“It would be nice if Juventus let West Brom know instead of all this press speculation.”
“For the last god knows how many years we have been up and down, up and down between the Premier League and the Championship.”
“If you are going to have a spell of being in the Premier League then you have got to improve your team.”
West Brom have only got four games left to haul themselves out of the relegation zone but they will have to do that without three key players.
“Jerome Thomas had a slight groin strain that made him a bit doubtful for the Tottenham game and got aggravated during the game to force him off,” he said.
“It was a calf muscle strain that forced Steven Reid off just before half-time and he will be missing on Saturday.”
“Chris Brunt has picked up an unfortunate hamstring strain in training that came about with him trying to keep a ball in play by flicking his leg behind him.”
“It caused a slight strain, which we’ve had scanned and it showed nothing in particular.”
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“Had the game been Sunday he’d have had a better chance and if the injury had happened on Tuesday he’d have a good chance – but it happened on Thursday.”
“We’ll have a look at it tomorrow but it is likely to keep him out.”
“None of them are long-term injuries and it gives another three players the chance to show what they can do.”
West Brom will definitely be without defender Pablo Ibanez (hamstring) and midfielder Graeme Dorrans (ankle).
It is never a great situation to be in when you wish for some of our teams players to be sold as early as yesterday but there is currently a lot of dead wood in the Liverpool squad right now who we need to get rid of this summer as they have simply not been good enough or added any value to the team. The longer we continue to hold onto these players the more we are going to be wasting on them in terms of wages and also they will possibly be preventing the emergence of young talent to fill into their positions.
I have highlighted 5 players that I feel must be sold this summer as they have simply not done it for us this season.
1) Milan Jovanovic
The Serbian international arrived on a free transfer at the start of the season after being signed by Rafa Benitez. We all looked forward to seeing him as he was meant to provide the width down the left that the team needed. I kept a close eye on him during the World Cup in South Africa last year when he was playing for Serbia and he looked pretty good.
He got a couple of games in at the start of the season under Roy Hodgson by Jovanovic never really shone at all. Then Dalglish came in and even under Dalglish the Serbian international does not look like an international at all. There is no doubting that Jovanovic has some talent but he has just not delivered in a Liverpool shirt. Surely if he was good enough King Kenny would have seen this and given him a chance.
Considering Liverpool signed Jovanovic for free we can actually benefit by selling him for around £2 million. Jovanovic came out recently and said that he wished Rafa was still in-charge at Liverpool and that he played under him. Maybe he is right and he would have played well under Rafa but that is not the case so I am sorry Milan but he have to go. Getting rid of Jovanovic will also give the likes of Pacheco and Sterling an opportunity to play in the first team next season.
2) Christian Poulsen
What was Roy Hodgson doing signing Poulsen, I have no idea! Poulsen must be one of the worst players I have seen wear a Liverpool shirt. When Hodgson became Liverpool manager he was tasked we bringing in some new players and he decided to sign Poulsen from Juventus for a reported £4.5 million fee. That was £4.5 million wasted in my opinion.
Poulsen came with the reputation of being a tough tackling midfielder and was set to take over from Javier Mascherano. Just like Jovanovic, I kept an eye on Poulsen during the World Cup in South Africa where he played all the games for Denmark and he did not do too badly at all.
But put him in a Liverpool shirt and it seemed like he had no idea how to pass the ball or who to pass it to! The fans turned against Poulsen and Hodgson dropped him. King Kenny came in and it seemed like he was going to give Poulsen a chance and Poulsen featured in a couple of games under Dalglish but the King himself saw that Poulsen was not cutting the grade and rather decided to go with Jay Spearing in midfield.
With Gerrard picking up an injury that ruled him out for the season, one may have thought that Poulsen would have been the one to step into his place but Dalglish did not even consider Poulsen as I am sure he knew it would be a disaster fielding the Danish player, so Dalglish rather stuck with Spearing who has gone on to do well.
If Liverpool can get £2 million for Poulsen this summer, I will be happy, in fact even if we were to let him go for free I would not be disappointed. Poulsen simply has to be sold this summer!
Continued on Page TWO
3) Paul Konchesky
Another Roy Hodgson signing who must be sold. Come to think of it, Roy Hodgson really messed Liverpool up by being the manager and playing with his tactics and signing his average players. Liverpool needed a left-back when Roy Hodgson took over so Roy decides to go back to his old club Fulham and get their left-back, Paul Konchesky.
At first I thought that Konchesky would be a decent signing for Liverpool as he was a pretty solid left-back for Fulham and he even got a call up to the England squad. But ever since he joined Liverpool this season, he has put in one bad performance after the other. That subsequently lead Kenny Dalglish to send Konchesky out on loan to Nottingham Forest for the rest of the season.
To show how bad Konchesky has been, Dalglish opted to send Konchesky out on loan who is an out and out left-back and rather have a right-back in the form of Glen Johnson to play at left-back!
For the £3 million we spent on Konchesky, I feel we should be able to get that same amount back when we sell him this summer. Liverpool will certainly go out and buy a good left-back this summer which will mean Konchesky is surplus to requirements. Young Jack Robinson has come in at left-back now with the injuries Liverpool have had and he has been decent and is certainly one for the future. Even now I will pick Robinson ahead of Konchesky.
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4) Sotorios Kyrgiakos
The big Greek defender is not that bad a player at all but I feel for the benefit of the younger defenders at Liverpool, Soto has to be sold so the likes of Danny Wilson and Ayala get a chance to play a center backs for Liverpool as they are the future.
Soto is great when it comes to an aerial battle be it when he is defending or attacking but I feel his positioning at times needs a lot to be desired. I get scared whenever I see a striker running towards Soto as he will most likely foul him or be beaten.
I am sure there will be many clubs who would be after Soto’s signature if we are to sell him. Especially the newly promoted teams in the Premiership, they would benefit from having a hard physical player like Soto in their team.
So for me, Soto to leave to give the younger more promising central defenders a chance in the team.
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5) David Ngog
I know there will be some fans who believe that David Ngog should not be sold this summer and that he should stay and provide cover for Suarez and Carroll next season. I disagree.
Ngog has been given a lot of opportunities during his time at Liverpool. He filled in on many occasions when Torres was injured. Although Ngog did not do terribly badly when given the chances to play, he was not exactly prolific in front of goal either. Yes, Ngog is young and has a lot to learn but we cannot continue to rely on a player of Ngog’s ability to be our back up striker when our big guns are injured or out of form. For a striker who has played 90 times for Liverpool and to have scored only 18 goals, that is pretty poor!
We saw it when Torres was injured and Ngog was leading the line, he simply can not deliver regularly. What Liverpool need is to go out and buy another top striker who will provide cover or competition for Suarez and Carroll. Although Ngog is only 22 years old, he has a lot to learn but he should do it away from Liverpool or else we will continue to be disappointed if we put our faith in him.
This article was written by Ron and is courtesy of our partner website ourkop.com
FootballFanCast.com WORLD Exclusive, Robbie Savage’s Face in a Baby Scan
So Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has told his French friend and teammate Samir Nasri to leave Arsenal and join him at Manchester United to win silverware. Not exactly words that will please Arsene Wenger or Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson may not be too happy about Evra interfering with transfer policy.
However Ferguson is long term admirer of Nasri and would clearly love to add the midfielder to his squad. But he is a key player at Arsenal and certainly not someone to sell to one of your Premier League title rivals.
Arsenal also has concerns about where the player’s future might be. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been trying to tie Nasri to a long-term deal for some time – but so far he has not signed and would therefore be available on a free transfer next summer. So Arsenal may have to face up to the reality of losing their star player on a free transfer to rivals to Manchester United.
Patrice Evra therefore decided he would do his bit for United and ensure Nasri doesn’t sign that contract – so United can get the player on the cheap. Evra said “Little prince, if you want to become king you know where you should go. Every year at Manchester United is a guarantee of a title. I have been here for five years and cannot keep count of the trophies I’ve won – 12? 13? 15?”
He is a clever man Evra because he must know how keen Nasri is to win trophies especially as the exodus continues at Arsenal. But Evra’s comments will not make Arsenal’s negotiations with Nasri any easier. So is Evra right to try and convince his countryman to join United or should he simply mind his own business?
The comments from Evra suggest that Nasri would be welcomed at Manchester United and you can certainly see why United would want the player – who has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, a pretty decent return for a midfielder. However, at the end of the day I am big believer that transfers should not be discussed through the media and talking about players at other clubs is somewhat disrespectful. So in this case Evra should have kept his mouth firmly shut.
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