Sir Alex Ferguson wants his Manchester United side to concentrate solely on their Champions League semi-final against Schalke.United hold a 2-0 aggregate lead over the German side heading into the second leg of their semi final on Wednesday, and will no doubt have their crucial Premier League clash against Chelsea in the back of their minds.
And despite calling for focus on their next game, Ferguson recognised how big the next week will prove to be in United’s season with their game against Chelsea following just four days after Wednesday’s match.
“If you look at the experience of last year when we lost in the league it came after a Wednesday game against Bayern,” Ferguson said.
“The team were very tired against Chelsea in that next game. That has to have a bearing on my team selection. Two massive games both as important as the other.”
One concern for Ferguson is the fitness of striker Wayne Rooney, who failed to train on Wednesday.
Rooney is in doubt for Wednesday’s match, but midfielder Darren Fletcher will be available.
“(Rooney) didn’t train this (Tuesday) morning, he’s got a tight hamstring so we’ll see what he’s like (on Wednesday),” Ferguson said.
“Darren will play part in the game – he is involved. He has shown great improvement from his reserve game last week. He has done a lot of good work.”
United are coming off the back of a defeat away to Arsenal that has blown the Premier League title race wide open, and Ferguson recognises the need to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.
“That’s the great beauty of football; at least you always have the next game to do something, and we’ve only had to wait three days really,” he said.
He also backed his players to respond against the Germans and added: “I think they’ve been through many tests like this and (the one they will face on) Sunday. So I trust that.”
Ferguson also firmly rejected the idea that the tie against Schalke is already settled given their healthy lead.
“I hope Manchester United don’t regard it as a formality, I certainly will not be,” he said. “I think you’ll find they will have a real go.”
Ferguson also used his pre-match press conference to back goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar’s decision to retire at the end of the season, stating the Dutch goalkeeper’s career had reached its ‘absolute pinnacle’.
He said: “All of a sudden age comes on you very suddenly, and I wouldn’t want to see Edwin van der Sar in that situation. He deserves to go out at the very, very top.”
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed that he wants to sign Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri before the season beings – which gives him up until Monday to make the deal happen.
Speaking ahead of the opening Premier League fixtures, when City are at home to Swansea on Monday night Mancini talked openly about their plans and the hope of completing his squad before the season opener.
Speaking on Nasri, he stated: ‘I don’t know at the moment the situation. I hope we can do this very quickly because we need other players. The club are still working on this. It is not easy but it is important we complete our squad. I don’t know,’ before adding: ‘At the moment we don’t have this player. I ask [for Nasri] and I hope we can do it this week. At the moment the squad is not complete. When it is complete we can talk about this. If we complete our squad, which is the problem at the moment, then we can fight for the title. The market is difficult. But when you have a target for two or three months, it’s important that player arrives.’
The City boss then seemed to confirm that want-away striker and captain Carlos Tevez was unlikely to feature in their first game of the season, although he has returned to the club: ‘Carlos is here but maybe he is not ready to play as he only worked for four days. For Monday I think it is difficult. But for the next game he will be available.’
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Manchester City have retaken the initiative in the Premier League title race, after beating rivals Manchester United 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.
A Vincent Kompany header on the stroke of half-time sealed victory for the hosts, and drew City equal on points with the current champions.
However City go back top due to their superior goal difference, and now have their title hopes in their own hands.
Another talking point of the game was a touchline clash between Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini, with the United manager accusing his opponent of badgering the match officials.
“He (Mancini) was badgering the referee the whole game, the fourth official and the linesman, and the minute I go out there…” he told Sky Sports.
“He was complaining about referees all week, he can’t be complaining tonight, that’s for sure.”
Despite City now being in pole position to steal United’s crown, Mancini has maintained that the battle is not yet over.
“We are happy, but I think that next Sunday we will have another difficult game,” he stated.
“I think we deserved to win this game. We scored. We played well and had the chance to score the second goal.
“I don’t think that they had the chance to score.
“It was a difficult game, because United are a top team. We know this,” he concluded.
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City face a tricky away day at Newcastle next before hosting QPR on the last day, whilst United play Swansea at Old Trafford and then Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Everton manager David Moyes was critical of his side's second-half performance after the 1-1 Premier League draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Tim Cahill opened the scoring for the Toffees in the opening period, but Sylvain Ebanks-Blake's effort ensured the points were shared at Goodison Park and it was a result that Moyes was less than happy with.
"First half we were very good, second half not so good," Moyes said.
"Wolves put us under a lot of pressure in the second half, but I think we had a lot more opportunities to score in the second half."
Moyes refused to criticise referee Lee Mason after Adlene Guedioura's crunching tackle on Johnny Heitinga led to Wolves' equaliser.
Guedioura played Kevin Doyle in down the wing, leaving the Irishman to tee up Ebanks-Blake to slot home and Moyes admitted the decision could have gone either way.
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"Some referees give it, some wouldn't," he added. "I don't want to get rid of tackles, I'm happy with tackles in football."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton remains convinced that Tim Krul, Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor will all remain at St James' Park.
The trio are all believed to be in contract talks with United although Taylor continues to be linked with Liverpool and Wolfsburg while Carroll is reportedly interesting Chelsea, Birmingham City and Stoke City.
However, Hughton told the Chronicle:"I've consistently said it's important to keep the players you want to keep. We need to add to the squad, but it's also important not to lose what we have. I'm very confident we'll keep everybody.
"As far as those whose contracts are close – Tim Krul, Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor – I'm confident about all of them.
"We need to be thinking about bringing in the right type of player and the right amount of players.
"If we're able to get players in quicker, then I understand the benefits of that, but what's more important is getting in the right amount of players.
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"As for the loans structure, clubs are going to assess what they have got."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Wayne Rooney found his scoring touch to fire Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
The England striker has struggled in front of goal all season, despite impressing in all other aspects of his game, but netted two first-half strikes to set the Red Devils on the road to victory.
Villa briefly threatened a second-half comeback when Darren Bent hit his second goal since making a 24-million-pound switch from Sunderland with his only meaningful touch of the game.
But Nemanja Vidic smashed in a third to seal the victory and extend United’s unbeaten run to 24 Premier League games this season.
United were ahead inside 50 seconds with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar the unlikely architect of the goal. The 40-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, was alert enough to launch a quick 80-yard free-kick that Rooney got to ahead of Richard Dunne before smashing his shot into the top corner.
Nani had a penalty claim when he was barged over by Dunne and before the Portuguese winger hit a rasping 20-yard shot that brought a fine save from Brad Friedel as United tried to build on their lead.
Friedel made good stops from Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov before a deserved second finally came on the stroke of half-time. Nani created space on the wing with some quick footwork before whipping in a pinpoint cross for Rooney to slot home.
Villa started the second half much brighter and pulled a goal back in the 58th minute. Stuart Downing broke at pace and laid a perfect cross for Bent to fire home past Van der Sar.
But five minutes later, United’s two-goal advantage was restored when Rooney laid the ball back for Vidic to smash in a curling shot from 15 yards with Friedel rooted to the spot.
Ashley Young’s curling effort clipped the top of the crossbar as the visitors tried to fight their way back into the game, though the goals seemed more likely to come at the other end as Berbatov blasted high over the bar and Rooney was denied a hat-trick by Friedel.
Roman Abramovich is ready to break the bank to bring former manager Jose Mourinho back to Chelsea this summer, according to The Daily Mail.
The Blues have done well under interim boss Roberto Di Matteo but it is widely believed that the Russian oil tycoon is eager to bring a big-name coach to Stamford Bridge.
The newspaper state that the Blues will offer the Portuguese trainer £9 million a year after tax, and pay current employers Real Madrid £25 million in compensation.
‘The Special One’ is on the verge of sealing the La Liga title after beating Barcelona 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday, and is also chasing Champions League glory with a semi-final against Bayern Munich hanging in the balance.
However, Mourinho has been agitated by the Spanish media, and rumours continue that he could walk away from the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.
Other candidates for the Chelsea position according to the newspaper are France boss Laurent Blanc, Marseille’s Laurent Blanc and Zenit St Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti.
By Gareth McKnight
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History would suggest the archetypal Brazilian’s adaption to the Barclays Premier League is usually one fraught with danger, but there appears to be something of a new generation; one that at the very least, fancies itself to conquer rigours of English football. Are the likes of Chelsea new boy Oscar et al, ready to break the hoodoo of their underperforming predecessors?
When you think of dodgy imports, you wouldn’t usually associate Brazilian footballers with suspect polo shirts from Eastern Europe. But whilst both have the capacity to make you look like a bit of a lemon, a penchant for fake Lacoste won’t set you back several million quid. You’d imagine Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson would rather don a truckload of counterfeit clobber than fork out another £12 million for Afonso Alves.
It might seem unfair to use Alves as the flagship for Brazilian quality in the Premier League, but there has been something of a negative trend set by many of his countrymen in the English top flight. Kleberson and Roque Junior both came to England with lofty reputations, and left with egg on their face. Robinho and Heurelho Gomes impressed in parts, but ultimately failed to have enough of an impact on the Premier League. And the likes of Claudio Cacapa and Mineiro were simply so bad, we’ve erased them from memory.
Of course, for every Mario Jardel, there is a Lucas Leiva. But even the Liverpool midfielder, who has since won an array of plaudits, saw his Premier League career move to the edge of a cliff before he fired on all cylinders. Ramires, David Luiz and Sandro all have a lot of quality, but it is perhaps only former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva who has left a real, sustained legacy in English football.
And maybe it won’t be until any of the aforementioned players produce the goods consistently, over a number of seasons like Gilberto did, that this perceived hoodoo will ever be broken. But with the level of Brazilian talent that’s currently about or ready to arrive on these shores, surely it is only a matter of time.
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Chelsea new boy Oscar arrives with at least the reputation to match the price tag. The attacking midfielder has shown he has genuine magic in his locker during his short career with Internacional, but at 21, he has every chance of succeeding in the Premier League. And he seems to be part of a growing trend amongst his countrymen. Tottenham’s Sandro arrived from the same club at the same age. The Da Silva twins both went to Old Trafford before their 18th birthdays. Lucas Piazon has already made a huge impression at Stamford Bridge behind the scenes – he came to England aged 17.
Coming to England at such a young age has given all of the above the best chance of succeeding in English football. To a certain extent, they’ve all finished/are finishing their footballing education in England. They’re learning as much as they are acclimatising. But even then, it seems difficult to understand that Brazilians have some intrinsic inability to adapt to a faster or more physical brand of football. Carlos Tevez was no more aware of English football than Kleberson was when he came from South America. Sergio Aguero was just as established in Spain as Robinho was once upon a time.
It’s not as much that Brazilians have just suddenly figured out how to play in England. It feels more as if the Premier League has evolved into an environment better suited to their strengths.
The Premier League today is an almost completely different beast to what we saw ten years ago. Both are massively entertaining models, but tactically, English football has evolved – in no small part due to the influx of foreign players and the culture that they’ve brought with them.
It’s not a cliché – rigid 4-4-2’s built around a fast-paced, physical and, in some parts, largely aerial game are not particularly commonplace back in Brazil. And whilst the top teams in the Premier League were more accommodating to more fluent styles back in 2002, the rest of the league perhaps wasn’t. Footballers can adapt to all formations and cultures given time. But England probably offered the least likely chance of success to South Americans moving over to Europe.
But we’re now experiencing a level of tactical fluidity and evolution in the Premier League that feels a lot more continental. The 4-4-2 is never going to be consigned to history, but we’re seeing a lot more teams adopt the more astute 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. This is naturally more likely to aid the acclimatisation of the traditional Brazilian footballer – technically accomplished, tactically aware and better with the ball on the deck.
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Debunking myths isn’t an easy task in football. Stereotypes stick in all walks of society, but they’re almost bred in the beautiful game. In reality, there have been just as many failed Italian and South American imports, as there have been Brazilians. Gianfranco Zola, Ossie Ardiles and Jurgen Klinsmann, to a certain extent, don’t particularly represent the majority of their countrymen in terms of the impact they had on English football. But we’re still waiting for a real samba-induced legacy in the Premier League.
But if there is something of a stigma that Brazilians carry when English clubs are looking to purchase, surely that is now set to be blasted into oblivion. There is now real, genuine Brazilian talent within the league and at the age of which so many of them are, they have a superb opportunity to go and put their watermark on English football. Oscar’s transfer may just be the catalyst for a Brazilian revolution.
High hopes for the current crop of Brazilian talent? Sick of hearing how they can’t prosper in this country? Tell me how you see it on Twitter, follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
Newcastle have made a £8 million bid for FC Twente attacker Luuk de Jong, according to Sky Sports.
The skilful Dutch forward was in Netherlands’ Euro 2012 squad, but did not get a chance to show his ability as the likes of Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were preferred by Bert van Marwijk.
However, with the Oranje’s elimination from the tournament in Ukraine and Poland, Newcastle have made a move to capture the impressive striker, who has scored 39 goals in 76 games for the Enschede-based team.
Steve McClaren’s men are thought to value their star man at around the £12.5 million mark, and as such some negotiation will be needed to facilitate any possible move.
The attempt to sign De Jong will raise further question marks over the future of Demba Ba, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Tyneside.
Newcastle have good links with Twente, as they have signed Cheik Tiote from the Eredivisie side in the recent past.
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Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has admitted that settling in London after his move from Liverpool has been difficult, but the opportunity to play at Stamford Bridge was too good to turn down.
The Spain international forward is only starting to find form after a £50 million move to Andre Villas Boas’ men back in January, with long spells of poor form blighting his time at his new club.
However, moving to a city as big as London has been an obstacle El Nino is still to get over.
“They have no similarity, neither in their past nor in their present. My adaptation process for each has been completely distinct,” he told Esquire Espana.
“Chelsea is in London, a huge city. I come from Madrid, also a great European capital, but this is much more of everything, for good and for bad.
“It’s been difficult for me to adapt here compared to when I arrived in Liverpool, a more comfortable place, smaller, where I was surrounded by Spanish team-mates.
“In the end, the important thing is to try and organise yourself as quickly as possible. That’s what I’m doing,” he stated.
Despite being adored by the Anfield faithful during his time on Merseyside, Torres admits that the chance to join Chelsea was the right move for him, regardless of the large transfer fee.
“That’s just a number. The only thing I know is that opportunities such as the one Chelsea offered me cannot be turned down. The important thing is the confidence they have in me.
“Liverpool was going down a strange path. Personally, I believe the departure of Xabi Alonso to Madrid was a clear message that something was changing.
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“I have the ambition to improve and Chelsea could offer me what every footballer desires: titles,” he concluded.