• Written by: admin
• Comments: N/A
• Views: 504

Kenny Dalglish has warned Sir Alex Ferguson that any psychological tricks will have no effect on Liverpool ahead of their clash with Manchester United.

There is plenty at stake on Sunday, with United edging closer to lifting the championship that would take them above Liverpool and onto 19.

Dalglish’s side have the chance to derail United’s title charge with a win at Anfield, and their chances have been boosted by the absence of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

And although Ferguson has cancelled his pre-match press conference following an FA rap, Dalglish has warned his counterpart not to attempt any mind games.

“He has used psychology before in the pre-amble to matches, but he will only get sparring practice if he tries to use it on ourselves,” he said.

“We’ve both been a long time out of short trousers. It will have to be a good one to catch us out.”

Despite being 21 points off the pace in sixth, Liverpool could have a decisive say in the destination of the Premier League crown, with a clash at Arsenal to come on April 17.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com

• Written by: admin
• Comments: N/A
• Views: 422

Scotland international Darren Fletcher has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United.

Fletcher, who is now committed to the Premier League leaders until the summer of 2015, joins Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Anderson and Michael Carrick in penning an extended deal with United.

The 27-year-old has made 288 appearances, scoring 21 goals, for the Old Trafford club since making his debut in a Champions League tie aganst FC Basel in March 2003.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Darren has been at the club since he was 15. I am extremely proud that he came through the ranks of our youth academy and am delighted Darren has signed a new contract. He has developed into a top-class midfielder.”

Fletcher added: “I take great pride in playing for Manchester United. I have won many trophies in my years playing here and I am looking forward to winning many more in the seasons to come. I would like to thank everyone at the club.”

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com

• Written by: admin
• Comments: N/A
• Views: 461

Gerard Houllier has apologised to Aston Villa fans for not giving them advance warning of his decision to make major changes for the FA Cup tie with Manchester City at Eastlands in mid-week.

Houllier stands by his decision to make eight alterations to his line-up for the fifth round tie which Villa lost 3-0.

But he accepts he should have made the 900 travelling supporters aware that he intended to field a drastically different line-up to the one in action against Blackburn last weekend. Only Ciaran Clark, Richard Dunne, who dislocated a shoulder during the game, and Brad Friedel survived in the starting line-up.

Houllier, whose side visit Bolton on Saturday, said: “I am sorry. I should have warned the fans beforehand. I made changes against Sheffield United and Blackburn in the cup in previous rounds and felt I had to again. I thought we could beat City on the break. We put two very quick players on the wing, and the plan was Emile Heskey would drop deep. We went there to win but unfortunately the first goal killed our players right away.”

Houllier felt his side still contained plenty of quality and experience to tackle City.

He said: “We went out not with a youth side. Gabby Agbonlahor was called up by Fabio Capello for the last England game. Emile Heskey has won 62 caps and played in the last World Cup. He was the centre forward here before Darren (Bent) came.

“In midfield you had three international players. Stiliyan Petrov is our captain. It was a debut for Michael Bradley but he has proven in training that he is getting there. Barry Bannan has been outstanding even at the beginning of the season when we were forced to push him into the first team and now he’s an international player for Scotland. It was not a youth team.”

Houllier is adamant that ensuring Premier League status for another campaign is the main priority at this juncture.

He said: “We wanted to do well in the cup. I am hurt myself. I don’t think we played badly but I think we could have hurt them more from an offensive point of view. But at the moment, the priority is to get more results and progress in the league.

“We have 10 games and we know what it takes. In the league we are more comfortable than at Christmas but we need more points to stay up. We might need 42 points to stay up so the job is not done yet. We have an important game at Bolton tomorrow. They have 37 points and we have 33. It’s a final for us. There are 10 finals to play.”

Houllier confirmed club owner-chairman Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner were aware of his intentions at Eastlands

He said: “What’s more important for work is your environment and that’s the chairman, the club and the players and I know what I’m doing. The chairman and Paul knew about the selection. I told them.”

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com

• Written by: admin
• Comments: N/A
• Views: 170

Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to contest an FA charge of improper conduct relating to comments directed at referee Martin Atkinson following Manchester United’s defeat to Chelsea.

Although Ferguson had until Tuesday evening to respond, the 69-year-old has already decided he will challenge. A personal hearing will be scheduled at a date no later than Friday, March 25.

The United boss was left fuming at Atkinson’s failure to dismiss Chelsea goalscorer David Luiz during Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge for clear fouls on Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney after the Brazilian had already been booked.

To compound that frustration, Atkinson then awarded Chelsea what Ferguson considered a ”soft” penalty when Yuri Zhirkov fell under Chris Smalling’s challenge.

Although Ferguson’s comments to host broadcaster Sky Sports are not thought to have overstepped the mark, those to United’s in-house TV station MUTV have caused concern.

”You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway – and we didn’t get that,” said Ferguson. ”I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst.”

The Football Association asked MUTV for footage of the interview to check the context in which Ferguson delivered the words. And, even though he immediately soften his stance, altering the word ‘fair’ to ‘strong’, disciplinary chiefs felt there was sufficient malice to warrant a charge.

Ferguson already has two matches of a four-game ban still hanging over him following his ill-advised comments about Alan Wiley last season, when he implied the official was not fit enough for his job.

Those games will be triggered if guilt is established, which – if a hearing was arranged before the end of next week – would condemn him to the stands for United’s FA Cup sixth-round tie with Arsenal at Old Trafford on March 12, plus the Premier League encounter with Bolton seven days later.

Punishment for his latest indiscretion would be added on, which means Ferguson could expect to spend a minimum of three games in the stand.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com

• Written by: admin
• Comments: N/A
• Views: 310

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal are still underdogs in the title race despite the fact their destiny now lies in their own hands following Manchester United’s loss to Chelsea.

If the Gunners win each of their remaining 11 Premier League games, starting with Sunderland at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, they will be crowned champions.

Arsenal trail United by four points with a game in hand and the May Day showdown in north London between the title rivals looks to be pivotal. But Wenger insists that as leaders, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men remain in the driving seat.

“No, it’s not ours to lose, it’s United’s to lose. If you look at the bookmakers, they favour United,” he said. “Mathematically it’s in our hands but that doesn’t mean that it’s our to lose because if you look at the fixtures, we have difficult games. And I would say exactly the reverse: it’s ours to win more than ours to lose, because they are in a leading position. So it’s down to us, to our good behaviour, to win it. I don’t count too much on United feeling the pressure. I count more on my team than on any weakness of them.”

Arsenal’s cause was given an enormous shot in the arm with United’s defeat by Chelsea in midweek.

“It was all United in the first half and all Chelsea in the second,” said Wenger. “When Chelsea stepped it up, you could see it coming, especially after Wayne Rooney missed the chance to make it 2-1. You cannot say United’s form has been poor – they have been dominant at home – and we should not expect any weakness from them.”

Aaron Ramsey is included in the squad for Saturday and could make his first Arsenal appearance since breaking his leg at Stoke in February last year. Wenger says Ramsey is showing no lingering after-effects from the injury and stresses his case is different to that of Eduardo.

“Eduardo had problems with the limitation of his ankle mobility when he came back – he was not able to bend his ankle completely when running at full speed,” he said. “He needed second surgery, but Aaron has no limitations in his movement. I don’t see any problems with Ramsey’s commitment in tackles.”

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com