Arsenal
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has joined Championship side Doncaster Rovers on loan for one month. The 19-year-old midfielder, who made his Arsenal first-team debut in the recent FA Cup match at Stoke City, was captain of last season’s FA Youth Cup and Academy League ‘double’ winning team.
Aston Villa
Martin O’Neill has ruled out taking over as manager of Manchester United, when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. “I’ve never thought about that at all, not for one second, not even way back when I was at Celtic,” he said. “I think Sir Alex will decide, and I would think in about the year 2033 when he thinks to himself, ‘yeah, I think that Champions League has gone past me for the final time’, then I will have departed this earth long before him – because I’ve got a lot more worries. It’s never really bothered me. And of course there’s always somebody coming up, somebody whose name is relevant at the time.”
Birmingham City
Alex McLeish has hailed the influence on and off the pitch of veteran midfielder Lee Bowyer after another impressive performance in the 1-0 win over Wigan. McLeish said: “A couple of weeks ago, I thought Lee was looking tired but, against Wigan, the batteries were recharged again and he was perpetual motion. He was sharp to the ball. Sometimes you think ‘are his wee legs going a bit’ and then he comes back with a performance like that. His performances have still been good but I thought there was a real edge to him in the Wigan game and he gets the crowd going. Lee is also an influence off the pitch. He is a good type, the players love him, he is a very encouraging guy for his team-mates. He will have a go when it is right but you are listening to a guy who has got authority. When you hear ‘Bow’ having a go, he is somebody where you stop and think ‘wait a minute, this guy is really talking some good sense’. You can have a rant and rave at people – and I’ve seen managers’ teeth drop out – but Bowyer does it with authority. When he says something, it means something. Him, Barry Ferguson and Stephen Carr, three senior members, have really helped this young team to develop.”
Blackburn Rovers
Sam Allardyce felt his side should have had more from the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool. “If we had had a goalscorer we would have won the game on chances created,” he said. “It is not very often you come to Liverpool and create more chances than they did. We failed because we didn’t have a goalscorer and they have (Fernando) Torres and (Steven) Gerrard who are top quality players and they get half a chance and score.”
bolton wanderers
Owen Coyle is convinced teenager Jack Wilshere has a bright future. The 19-year-old, on loan from Arsenal, worked tirelessly in the 1-0 win against Wolves. “For the country as a whole that is the type you want, English players who have composure on the ball,” said the Bolton manager. “He covered every blade of grass as well. Of course he has stuff to learn. That is why he is not a first- team regular at Arsenal. But that is not a disgrace. We will give Jack a platform as we believe in him and he will continue to do better.”
burnley
Barnsley manager Mark Robins has confirmed Burnley forward Jay Rodriguez is set to return to his parent club when his loan spell expires early next week. The 20-year-old made an immediate impression on his arrival at Oakwell, scoring on his debut as a late substitute in the 4-1 win at Preston North End. But he has subsequently struggled to cement a first-team place, starting just one game, and is now heading back to Turf Moor. Robins told Barnsley’s official website: “Jay will go back to Burnley and I have to thank (Burnley manager) Brian (Laws) for letting him come here. He will have benefited from some games and his goal.”
Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti knows Chelsea are now embroiled in a three-way battle for the Barclays Premier League title but is confident his side can still take the crown. Third-placed Arsenal cut the gap on the Blues to three points after their win at Stoke and Chelsea’s extraordinary 4-2 defeat at home to Manchester City. Henrique Hilario was at fault for two of City’s goals, while Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack were sent off, and Ancelotti said: “We have to maintain trust in our quality. We knew how important this match was but we didn’t play well. We have to avoid these kind of mistakes in the future.”
everton
David Moyes revealed that Louis Saha was missing from the matchday squad to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday through injury. “He has a bit of a hamstring and a bit of an Achilles,” said Moyes. “We’ve not had the scan read yet.”
Fulham
Brede Hangeland credits Roy Hodgson for the team’s extraordinary rise, and believes there is more to come. “It’s almost unbelievable to see what has happened here in the last two years and he has to take the credit for that. I stand in line and applaud him with the rest,” he said. “It’s hard to say how far we can go. Our mentality is to keep going, do the best we can in each game, try to be modest and stick to our game plan. That’s brought us some success and long may it continue.”
Hull City
Striker Amr Zaki has been included in Egypt’s squad to face England on 3rd March. Zaki missed out on his country’s victorious African Nations Cup campaign through injury but has returned to the fold.
Liverpool
Liverpool have signed highly-rated England youth international Raheem Sterling from Championship side Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee. The 15-year-old attacking midfielder, who was also attracting interest from Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham, will join the club’s academy in Kirkby. “The success of our academy is vital to the future progress of the club and we have made clear that we will invest in outstanding young talent,” said Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow. “Raheem is a very exciting young English player whose progress was being closely monitored by many other leading clubs and I’m delighted he’s joining us. Frank McParland (academy director) and his staff have done a great job in bringing him to Liverpool.”
Manchester City
Craig Bellamy believes anything less than a top four finish will be a huge disappointment for the Blues. “It is business as usual for us,” declared Bellamy who will skip this week’s internationals as he protects his knees. “We are trying to get the club into fourth spot. That is the objective; that was the objective at the start of the season and still is. With the quality of the players that we have, I feel we have to finish fourth. Anything else would be a very disappointing season.”
Manchester United
Nemanja Vidic claimed referee Phil Dowd was right not to send him off as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 in Sunday’s Carling Cup final at Wembley. Vidic hauled down Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the opening five minutes and though Dowd awarded a penalty which James Milner duly converted, he didn’t even book Vidic for the offence. The Serbian was later booked for a foul on Agbonlahor but played the entire 90 minutes as United recovered to win 2-1 with goals from Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Afterwards Vidic claimed the official had got it right, saying: “I can react better but Agbonlahor did well. I don’t think it was a red card because I got in front of him, not behind. If I had got behind then yes. It’s always nice to win big games but it was hard. They played with two forwards but I thought we deserved it.”
Portsmouth
Manager Avram Grant failed to pledge his future to the club after administration but was buoyed after masterminding a resilient 2-1 victory at Burnley. “I cannot promise anything, other than as long as I am here then I will fight for the city and the club because it’s the right thing to do,” said Grant. “But I’m not thinking about myself right now. If I think I need to walk away, then I will do it. But if I was going to walk away I would have done it in January when everything that should have happened didn’t and then things became even worse.”
Stoke City
Defender Ryan Shawcross insists there was “absolutely no malice” in the challenge on Aaron Ramsey which led to the Arsenal player suffering a badly broken leg during the Barclays Premier League match at the Britannia Stadium. The 19-year-old Wales midfielder was taken to hospital after a tackle by Shawcross, who was later called up to the England squad to play Egypt next week, as the Gunners came from behind to win 3-1. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was enraged by the tackle, which he described as “horrendous”, but in a statement issued by Shawcross, the player is adamant there was no intent. The statement read: “There was absolutely no malice in the challenge. I would never, ever go out to hurt a fellow professional. I am deeply upset that Aaron has suffered such a bad injury and my thoughts are with him. I would like to send him my best wishes too for a speedy recovery.”
sunderland
Lee Cattermole is convinced a good run could have Sunderland fans looking to Europe again rather than fearing relegation. He said: “It’s ridiculous how quickly things can change. We have just got to keep doing things well during the week on the training pitch and take them into the game on a Saturday.”
Tottenham Hotspur
Luka Modric scored the winner against Everton on Sunday after rounding off a slick move, involving fellow Croatians Corluka and Niko Kranjcar, with a finish that went in off the underside of the crossbar. “It was one of the best goals I’ve scored,” Modric said after the 2-1 win. “We know each other from the national team. I’m very happy but the most important thing is that we won this game, it was a massive win.”
west ham united
Gianfranco Zola is a much happier manager after the club’s rise up to 13th in the Barclays Premier League. “It is part of the job to be up and down,” he said. “When things are not going very well you suffer a lot, now things are getting better and, as far as I’m concerned, I’m much more pleased. It is different to go to games where you know you can play a little bit more relaxed. The quality and the results will be affected positively.”
Wigan Athletic
Roberto Martinez is demanding an improvement from his side in the final part of the season. A 1-0 defeat to Birmingham means the Latics have now gone seven matches without a win and are just one point above the bottom three. Martinez said: “As a football club, from the fans, staff, players, directors, we need to get that extra five per cent because we are in an uncomfortable position. We need to improve. If you look at the squad we’ve got, we’ve got great quality and starting to have very good competition in certain positions. There are certain aspects that we need to be stronger and better at. We haven’t been consistent enough. The challenge is there for us in the last 11 games. Once we get through that, we will be able to go to another level.”
wolverhampton wanderers
Andy Keogh’s early return from an ankle injury was one bonus for Wolves in their 1-0 defeat at Bolton. Keogh will improve Wanderers’ attacking options and manager Mick McCarthy said: “It is good to have Andy back. He has not had any football really but is one of the fittest guys in the club. It has given everyone a lift.”
“It was one of the best goals I’ve scored” – Luka Modric
Credits: PremierLeague.com
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