Wigan ready to piss on Manchester United bonfire
May 9, 2008
Thirteen years ago, Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title, despite losing 2-1 to Liverpool on the last day of the season. This was because rivals Manchester United just simply couldn’t get over the finishing line at West Ham, drawing 1-1 and spurning several chances to land the spoils. Could history be about to repeat itself at the JJB Stadium?
Despite a question mark over Steve Bruce’s allegiances to the Red Devils, his players are talking up their chances of ruining United’s big day in a big way. Emmerson Boyce has told the Daily Mail that the bobbly pitch, the way that the Latics will be organised and a burning desire to make their own headlines could stop Sir Alex Ferguson’s men in their tracks.
He said: “People don’t like coming to our ground and playing against us.
“It will help against Manchester United. On a perfect pitch all their top players will have a field day, but they will have difficulty passing and running with the ball on ours, even though they are top-class players. They won’t be able to play the game they’re used to, it’s nowhere near the standard of Old Trafford.
“We can get in their faces, test their touches and it will help us. A lot of people have moaned about it this season, but that’s usually because we have either got a good result or given them a tough game. We have got good results against the big teams because we love being the underdogs and there will be no pressure on us on Sunday, it’s all on them.”
He added: “We would like to emulate West Ham. People still talk about that team that cost Manchester United the title 13 years ago and I’d love people to remember us in 13 years’ time. We are loving the publicity. Everyone will be watching us across the world and it shows how far we’ve come as a club. We are going to enjoy being in the limelight.
“People are talking about Wigan right now and that’s a good thing. The fact we can have a say in the title race has given us extra motivation. I and the rest of the players want to show people what we can do against Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez and if we cost them the title everyone will talk about us. We are safe in the table. They are the ones with everything to lose.”
This will be music to the ears of Avram Grant and his Chelsea mob as they set about destructing Bolton on Sunday while holding a transistor radio to their left ear. That’s apart from Didier Drogba who will be moodily sitting on the subs bench, listening to his ipod as usual. Wigan managed to hold Arsenal to a goalless draw recently, thus helping to end the Gunners’ title challenge. Emile Heskey then scored in the dying embers of the match at Stamford Bridge to make it ‘advantage United’ in the title race. Will the Latics’ final act be to deprive the champions a second successive league title?
Manchester United manager slates ‘partying Bolton players’
May 9, 2008
Have the Wanderers squad been on the lash ever since beating Sunderland on Saturday? According to Sir Alex Ferguson, they’ve certainly been letting their hair down ever since they made sure of their place in next season’s Premier League. Indeed, much has been made of Wigan’s approach to Sunday’s game against the Red Devils, yet there’s been little mention of how motivated Bolton are likely to be, following something of a great escape in recent weeks.
The Manchester Evening News reports that SAF continues to play his own special brand of mind games, questioning the motivation of the Trotters ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge. Whether they’ll notice the Scot’s words of warning is another matter, those hangovers often take some sleeping off.
“All the press seem to be talking about is the integrity of Wigan,” said the United manager.
“Nobody has questioned Bolton. Nobody has even mentioned Bolton. It is interesting the different attitudes. All we have had is Wigan players saying we will beat Man United and that’s fine.
“We have no problem with that. We are a big club.
“And then you hear about Bolton players out celebrating all week. It amazes me the difference in attitude.
“Both teams are safe. Both can relax. Both are confident but one team can celebrate while the other is all keyed up to play Manchester United!”
It now appears that Gary Megson has ordered his players to stop drinking. At least on the Saturday before the match. Well, at least they’ve been asked to stay off the spirits and just stick to long drinks like beer and wine. But will they pay attention to their manager now that they’re safe. Cheers!
Manchester United alert! Chelsea keeper’s gotta brand new shirt
May 8, 2008
What a contest the Champions League final promises to be. The bookmakers can’t split Manchester United and Chelsea in the betting, with both teams packed to the brim with talent. Just one moment of brilliance or madness could make all the difference in Moscow. Or maybe just the colour of a goalkeeping jersey…
The Daily Mail have revealed that Petr Cech is almost certain to wear a bright orange goalkeeping top for the contest against the Red Devils. He’s claiming it’s more likely to distract the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez when they’re bearing down on goal with the ball at their feet. Could there be anything in this?
“Studies say the orange colour spreads the most when the striker attacks, in the split of a second as he focuses,” said Cech, whose side need to get a better result at Stamford Bridge than United achieve at Wigan to win their third title in four seasons.
“This colour is like a sort of alarm or alert which really spreads and is very difficult to avoid, so this should be good for me.”
Petr, as a goalkeeper, your hands and arms should be very good for you, not the colour of your goalkeeping shirt. Apparently there’s no truth in the rumour that Edwin Van Der Sar is going to dress up as a clown for the final, squirting water out of a flower and into the eyes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. Which is a shame as we all would have liked to have seen that!
Watch Manchester United live online
Wigan manager: ‘Yeah, we’re going to try really hard against Manchester United, honest’
May 8, 2008
Avram Grant, John Terry and Michael Ballack are all confident that Wigan are going to try their level best against Manchester United on Sunday. Or at least they have stated this in public. Why shouldn’t Manchester United be asking the same of Bolton Wanderers, who now travel to Chelsea knowing that they will be playing in the Premier League next season?
Nevertheless, the Daily Telegraph report that Wigan boss Steve Bruce has cited two million reasons for his team to beat the Red Devils on Sunday. It’s hardly convincing as an argument, especially when put up against the motivation for their opponents to land the three points.
Bruce, who helped United to win three Premier League titles during his nine years with the club, said: “We’ve got to be professional and we will be. The difference between finishing two places in the Premier League these days is almost £1.5 million.”
Wigan were floundering in the lower reaches of the top flight when Bruce took over and he’d certainly have bitten your hand off if you’d offered him Premier League safety at the end of the season. Therefore, while there may be a couple of million to play for, it’s only the same as what the Latics manager might expect to receive for keeping the Lancashire club afloat. We should also remind you of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tendency to phone his former player earlier in the season.
Chelsea will be hoping that Wigan deliver a similar performance to that which beat Villa 2-0 last Saturday, although the six matches between the two teams have yielded the same result every time and it’s extremely difficult to see any other outcome on Sunday.
Wigan v Manchester United, Chelsea v Bolton, Birmingham v Blackburn - which game will you be watching?
May 6, 2008
It’s possible that Sky may have missed a trick by not showing Portsmouth v Fulham on Sunday, especially as the Cottagers’ chances of survival (along with Birmingham and Reading’s) rest in their own hands. However, the Sky Sports website reveals that they’ll be televising the matches from the JJB Stadium, Stamford Bridge and St Andrews instead - which game will you be watching?
Sunday’s title showdown is in danger of being a complete anti-climax, especially if Manchester United tear into Wigan from the off as they did against West Ham last Saturday. The ITV website reports that Michael Ballack expects the Latics to put up a decent fight, although it was only a fortnight ago that Steve Bruce was reporting a smooth operator that goes by the name of Sir Alex Ferguson had been calling him up.
“The pressure is on and I hope Wigan are proud enough to give everything in the last game and we have to beat Bolton.
“United have everything in their hands, but we are relaxed now. We did our job. We will give everything to beat Bolton at home and we will see what they do.”
Goodness me, the German captain is really getting into this fighting talk malarkey. One minute he was out of favour with Mourinho, now he’s leading the calls for United’s opposition to give it their best shot! Let’s also hope that the Wanderers play with pride at the Bridge after essentially guaranteeing their Premier League safety against Sunderland.
The match being televised at St Andrews could also be pretty dull, although the Sky cameras are likely to have some gratuitous shots of football fans in tears, with Birmingham extremely likely to be relegated after their 2-0 defeat at Fulham. Watch out for small children sobbing their hearts out - and a few grown men too!
Watch Manchester United live online
Roy Keane in mouth foaming rage at slacker players
May 5, 2008
It was always on the cards, what with Sunderland gaffer Roy Keane claiming that he would put out a strong side against Bolton because it would be unfair on the other teams if he didn’t…Fast forward 90 minutes and Sunderland got beaten 2-0 by Bolton - who still had the cloud of relegation hanging over them - but even though the Mackems had nothing to play for but pride Keano let rip with molten rage.
“Do people think that survival is a time to celebrate?
“If they do, then I don’t really want them at the football club.
“We got safe last week, but that was last week. Do we celebrate again next week? Do we celebrate all summer?”
And Keane claimed that he wouldn’t have any problem in shredding lazy players’ contracts:
“There will be plenty of changes, trust me. I could make at least seven or eight in the summer.
“We have got four or five players whose contracts are up, but I really haven’t got a problem with getting rid of people who have got three or four years left on their contracts, if players think they’ve got that to fall back on.”
Is Keane being a tad harsh on his men or is he right to dish out a verbal walloping?
Fulham, Birmingham, Bolton and Reading - who are your picks to ‘go down with the Derby’
May 2, 2008
There’s an almighty scrap at the top of the Championship to determine who will be playing Premier League football next season, which teams will the likes of West Brom and Stoke City be replacing? The bookmakers still don’t give Fulham much of a chance, despite their heroic comeback at Manchester City last weekend. A victory against fellow-strugglers Birmingham on Saturday would mean that their top flight safety could potentially be in their own hands!
Surely Reading fans are a touch on the concerned side, considering their team’s inability to score, let alone win a game. OK, so they managed a creditable 0-0 draw at Wigan last weekend, although the decision to bring back Leroy Lita from his loan spell at Charlton smacked of desperation, while the Daily Mirror report tension in the camp ahead of Saturday’s game against Spurs. The Royals record signing won’t play for his ’stupid team’ anymore apparently.
“It is not clever at all to suspend your own players, it is stupid,” said the 24-year-old. “The sanction is heavy - two weeks!
“I cannot understand their attitude. I refused to play with the reserves and they said: ‘Okay let us meet on Thursday’.
“But in the meantime I received a letter saying I am axed.
“They are not courageous enough to tell me things in the eyes, man to man, in five minutes.
“I am an adult, I can recognise when I make mistakes. I can also admit to people when I am wrong. The team needs all their players for the last two games.
“For sure my future is not with Reading.”
Not exactly what you need when you’re teetering on the edge of the drop zone, although perhaps this will galvanise the rest of the Reading squad, who face a last-day trip to Derby after the weekend game against Spurs. Bolton are in action at home to Sunderland and will at least have the comfort of the Black Cats having nothing to play for after their 3-2 win over Middlesbrough last weekend.
Was Anelka the most craptastic signing of the season?
May 2, 2008
News has rolled in to the CaughtOffside Towers that Nic Anelka will be forced to skulk around the touchline for Chelsea’s vital crunch squeaky-bum-time Premier League encounter with Bolton Wanderers. Apparently the transfer that took Le Sulk from the Reebok stadium to Stamford Bridge was actually initially a loan deal because there wasn’t enough time to iron out all the fussy details before the transfer window sprang shut. A transfer move that was structured so badly (aided by the Premier League’s ruling that a player than moves on loan and then permanently mid season cannot face their old club) that Nic Anelka won’t be able to turn out against Bolton on the last day of the season - in what could be a title decider - surely one of the crappest signings of the season for this reason alone?!
Do you agree with PFA Team of the Season?
April 28, 2008
Especially the decision to not include a single Chelsea player in the line-up? After all, this is a team which could still quite feasibly win the Premier League title, while they are favourites to beat Liverpool and make it to the Champions League final.
Team: James (Portsmouth); Sagna (Arsenal), Ferdinand, Vidic (Man U), Clichy (Arsenal); Ronaldo (Man U), Gerrard (Liverpool), Fabregas (Arsenal), Young (Villa); Adebayor (Arsenal), Torres (Liverpool).
Are there any glaring omissions from the XI selected? Naturally, these things are always subjective, although it’s difficult to argue that any of the above haven’t stood out for their teams this season. Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and John Terry might have had more of a look-in if they hadn’t been injured for chunks of the season, while the likes of Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and Glen Johnson have all performed extremely well for their respective clubs.
Who would feature in your team of the season?
Will Fulham pull off great escape at expense of Bolton, Birmingham or Reading?
April 27, 2008
Despite an impressive 3-2 win at Manchester City, the bookmakers still expect Fulham to go ‘down with the Derby’ this season. However, the fact that they still have a chance of survival is pretty amazing when you consider that they were several points adrift of safety a couple of months ago.
A draw at Blackburn on 8th March seemed to provide the required confidence for the team to go on and record victories at home to Everton, away at Reading and now at Eastlands on Saturday. With Birmingham the visitors to Craven Cottage next weekend, retaining their Premier League status is a definite possibility, with the BBC reporting that manager Roy Hodgson now believes.
“It was a splendid victory for us, one we so badly needed.
“It looked bleak at half-time, and we had a mountain to climb - we didn’t deserve to be losing. But we did it.
“At 0-2 I honestly thought we weren’t out of it. I never lost hope, but to win it was extraordinary. We’ve given ourselves a chance now.”
It’s likely that they’ll need to beat the Blues to give themselves any chance of climbing out of the drop zone. They then face a tricky last game of the season at Portsmouth, although they’ll hope that Pompey have one eye on the FA Cup by this stage and perhaps lack motivation or even rest key players.
Bolton manager: ‘Birmingham are favourites to stay up’
April 24, 2008
Reverse psychology or is Gary Megson just stating how he sees it? Bolton managed to clamber above Birmingham in the Premier League last weekend, yet the Wanderers gaffer is making the Blues favourites to stay up at the expense of his team or Reading.
According to ITV, Megson thinks that City having two home matches left gives them a far greater chance of accruing the points required for survival, whereas his Bolton team still face trips to Tottenham and Chelsea.
“When you look at the games Fulham, Birmingham, ourselves and Reading have got I think you would probably look and say that Birmingham are favourites in this relegation battle to stay up because of the fact that they have got two home games,” Megson said.
“I know they got a poor result against Villa last week but I think one of the things they’ve got is a huge partisan crowd.
“I know very well from being in that part of the world and I don’t think it’s any coincidence the amount of penalties and free-kicks they seem to get at that place that have enabled them to pick up results.
“So I would say that Birmingham are probably favourites to get out of this because of the two home games.”
Alex McLeish’s men face an understrength Liverpool team on Saturday, while they’ll be playing a Blackburn team on the last game of the season with nothing but pride to play for. Meanwhile, Reading have a tricky trip to Wigan on Saturday, while they also have to host Tottenham and visit Derby.
Aston Villa captain: ‘Be afraid Birmingham, be very afraid!’
April 17, 2008
After all, the might Villans have thrashed the ‘Big Two’ that are Bolton Wanderers and Derby County in recent weeks. They powered past the Trotters 4-0, before knocking half a dozen goals past the Premier League’s whipping boys last Saturday. Now Gareth Barry is warning their Midlands rivals that a tricky afternoon beckons on Sunday.
The Birmingham Mail reports that Villa’s captain is feeling super-confident ahead of the match, especially as he has scored three in two himself. He doesn’t appear to be too keen on explaining why such a vibrant attacking team are only mid-table as we head towards the end of the season.
“The impetus is with us and they will be fearing what we have got. We’ve got great attacking players and I’m sure they’ll be worried about that,” said Barry, who is buoyed by wins over Bolton and Derby.
“We are at home, it is up to us to try and break them down and get the goals. On the back of two great wins we go into the game confident.”
Villa fans will be hoping that they can win for two reasons. One, it’s always a joy to beat your arch-rivals and two, it will push Birmingham closer to the drop. Whatever you say about the Blues, however, they have a much stronger backbone than Bolton and Derby at the moment.
Someone in the squad’s not happy with Chelsea manager!
April 16, 2008
Avram Grant was criticised this week for leaving Joe Cole out of the starting XI that faced Wigan on Monday. Many fans at Stamford Bridge chanted ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ at the Chelsea manager and according to The Sun, Tal Ben Haim might have been joining in.
You might be forgiven for thinking that Grant would look to include his fellow countryman in the team on a fairly regular basis, but the truth is that the former Bolton player has barely had a look in since Jose Mourinho left the club last year. And he’s not too happy about it!
He said: “Jose Mourinho is the reason I came to Chelsea and if I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach then I would have signed for another club.
“It was Jose who brought me here and no one except he and I know the conversation we had when he tried to sign me the first time a year ago last January.
“The fact is while Jose was the coach I played most of the games and people who know me know that I would not have come here to be a reserve.
“I knew that nothing good would come with Grant as Chelsea coach.”
With Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry back from injury and Alex also ahead of Ben Haim in the pecking order, it’s surely a matter of time before the defender leaves for pastures new. You would imagine a middling club such as Aston Villa, West Ham or even Tottenham would be keen on signing a player who was an integral part of Sam Allardyce’s later success at the Reebok.
Nobody will feel sorry for bleating Bolton or dirty Davies
April 14, 2008
Bolton fans might argue until they’re blue in the face that Kevin Davies is just a robust and physical striker. However, the facts are plain and simple; the striker has collected twelve yellow cards this season, bettering last season’s tally by two (although he did also pick up a red last term). Therefore, it’s a little churlish to start bemoaning your two-game suspension when you play such an ‘in-your-face’ style of football that’s always running the risk of being cautioned. The Independent report that Gary Megson is just ever-so-slightly concerned that his striker is missing for crunch games at Middlesbrough and Tottenham.
Megson went in pursuit of Peter Walton, hoping he could get the referee to rescind the yellow card even though he knew it was beyond the official’s powers. It was a manifestation of desperation and forlorn hope. “It’s a big blow,” the Bolton manager conceded.
Davies, whose importance to the dressing room means that he will travel to Teesside and London despite his ban, felt he had played the ball when he was cautioned for a foul on John Pantsil. “I thought it was a harsh booking,” he said. “In fact, I’m devastated by it. But someone else can step in now and be the hero. I hope it will be a sort of blessing in disguise.”
Have Bolton got somebody else who can ruffle the feathers of opposition defenders, stick their elbow in when it matters and generally make a nuisance of themselves? I suppose there’s always El Hadji Diouf, although it’s clear the Trotters will have to change their playing style with Davies watching from the sidelines.
Watch Middlesbrough live online
Was Birmingham City’s goal against Everton fair?
April 14, 2008
Mauro Zarate is starting to come good at exactly the right time for Birmingham, although the Daily Telegraph report that there’s an element of controversy over the striker’s splendidly-executed free kick at St Andrews on Saturday. It appears that the striker’s team-mate Radhi Jaidi turned his back on play and instead focused on distracting Tim Howard in the Everton goal.
“It’s something we used to do at Bolton,” Jaidi said. “Kevin Nolan did it all the time, so I learnt it from him, I suppose. We scored a lot of goals from free-kicks.
“I saw that the keeper was a bit frustrated, so I thought I could maybe affect his concentration. It’s not something I practise on the training ground.”
However, Howard was less than pleased by the defender’s antics and there’s surely a fine line between employing tactics to good use and ungentlemanly conduct.
“I suppose it’s ungentlemanly conduct, but he’s got away with it,” he said. “The guy who robs the bank, if you don’t catch him, then he keeps the money.”
On the specifics, Howard said: “He’s in an offside position, he’s in my line of sight and he’s interfering with me, but that’s for the referee to make that call, and I wouldn’t bet on them making it.
“I tried to draw the referee’s attention to what Jaidi was doing. If you want my opinion, I don’t think the referees and linesmen in the Premier League are going to have enough gumption to disallow a goal on the basis of that.”
As the paper points out, wouldn’t it be ironic if something that Jaidi learnt at Bolton ends up keeping his new team afloat at the expense of the Trotters. You can bet your bottom dollar that while Alex McLeish doesn’t encourage his team to rehearse this on the training ground, Sam Allardyce probably did!
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