Eduardo on the Road to Recovery

Injured Arsenal striker and Croatian international Eduardo de Silva has left the hospital today, following surgery to repair his broken fibula, ruptured medial ligament, and dislocated ankle sustained during Arsenal’s match versus Birmingham last weekend. Eduardo was catastrophically injured by a tackle from Birmingham’s Martin Taylor in the 3rd minute; after 7 minutes of on-pitch treatment he was stretchered immediately to a waiting ambulance and transported to a Birmingham trauma center.

He underwent the emergency surgery in Birmingham and was then shifted to a London hospital. He now begins the doubtlessly long and painful process of recovery, which will put him out of play for at least nine months to one year. Though some warn this could be a career-ending injury, Eduardo remains optimistic and vows to do everything within his power to be back in the game as soon as possible.

The extent of injury could have been far greater. Arsenal physio Gary Lewin is credited with saving Eduardo’s life as his quick and careful action prevented risk of serious infection through the wound where the fractured bone pierced Eduardo’s skin.

Lewin administered painkilling medication, oxygen, and laughing gas to the understandably distressed Eduardo while he maneuvered the leg into immobilization.

While Eduardo received treatment Taylor received a straight red for the challenge. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger emotionally called for a lifetime ban, a position he has since reversed. However, Eduardo himself has said he didn’t believe Taylor lunged at him in malice, stating “It was an unfortunate situation but these things can happen in football.”

Meanwhile, Taylor was described as “distraught” after the incident, and pundits suggest he may require psychological counseling as a result. Taylor visited Eduardo in hospital twice; once while he was in surgery, and again when Eduardo was conscious and able to receive Taylor’s explanation for the tackle.

Blatter Battered But Not Beaten - Yet

Sepp Blatter was caught with straight to the chin earlier this week when the European Union scuppered his plan to regulate the flow of foreign nationals playing in domestic leagues. An EU spokesman unequivocally stated that in implementing such a ruling, FIFA would be in breach of the law. That Switzerland where the ruling would be passed is not a member of the EU matters not one jot; it is effectively an associate member of the ‘august’ body and its members are based in the zone under the control of the bureaucrats from Brussels.

To celebrate such a comment is to underestimate the FIFA President. He has not survived this long in his current position without a considerable amount of politicking behind the scenes. Next week he will meet with the English Premier League and Football Association. Both of these bodies have been less than supportive of his plans in the past yet they both have much to gain by working to his goal.

The EPL plans for matches to be held on foreign soil may yet find favour with the powerbroker if they were, for instance, to suddenly make themselves available as a ‘guinea pig’ for his ruling. The new wave of club owners will not bat an eyelid about jeopardising their clubs chances in European competition if they can double the revenue that the Champions League has to offer. Similarly, the FA want Blatter’s blessing for their 2018 World Cup bid. Such rewards are a small price to pay for backing his plans.

For Blatter, getting the most commercially successful and rapacious football economy on his side is a feather in his cap. Whilst the British government may not be popular with their continental counterparts, the horse-trading, commercial wealth and the chance to halt the dominance of English football in the money stakes may yet be too good an opportunity of Brussels to miss.

Liverpool and Arsenal Fall from FA Cup Grace

Liverpool and Arsenal both toppled from FA Cup contention today in what proved to be a day of upsets from giant-killers and giants alike.

In their fifth round match Liverpool faced Championship league side Barnsley, currently in 14th place in their league table, at Anfield. While Liverpool, 5th place in the Premier league, dominated possession and had a dramatically greater share of shots on goal, they could not penetrate a Barnsley defense largely held firm by debuting keeper Luke Steele. Steele dazzled in a “man of the match”-worthy performance, allowing only one of Liverpool’s 20 shots on goal into the net. Dirk Kuyt scored his first goal for Liverpool since December.

At the opposite end of the field, Liverpool keeper Charles Itandje faced fierce assault from Barnsley’s full compliment, with the equalizing goal coming from defender Stephen Foster. 7,000 Barnsley fans celebrated what looked to be a 1-1 draw, but had even greater reason for celebration when Brian Howard hammered in Barnsley’s second goal during injury time.

Arsenal faced Manchester United at Old Trafford. While neither team featured their complete range of high-profile players - such as the notable absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the United side - Manchester’s squad proved to have the right chemistry for scoring magic. Before the first half whistle United were 3 goals up to Arsenal’s nil. Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher, and Luis Nani were responsible for the goals that virtually guaranteed United’s victory against a struggling Arsenal side.

The situation did not improve for the London team, whose fate was sealed in the 74th minute by a second Fletcher goal, setting the scoreline at 4-0 with little time to recover. Arsenal’s task was further complicated by a red card to Emmanuel Eboue in the 49th minute, rubbing salt in the wounds United had already inflicted. Overall, Manchester’s presence was far greater. They held 56% of possession (to Arsenal’s 44%) and had 12 shots on goal to Arsenal’s 1.

Liverpool, Arsenal, and United will all face European foes in another round of UEFA matches this week. It is widely believed this is the reason that key players were rested for all three teams. However, for all but United, further FA Cup ambitions are over, and Sir Alex Ferguson is one step closer to turning the whispers of “Treble” to full-voiced expectation.

The sixth round of the FA Cup will be played on March 8th.

Its England’s big day today

Following all of the hype and the media struggling just to speak to Fabio Capello, it has all come down to this, in three hours time the crowds will be at Wembley to see how the new and revised England team will get on.

But already there is controversy by leaving on the bench Michael Owen who has played 88 times for his country, who most people expected to see in the starting line up, but there is some good news Steven Gerrard will be the leading the team out and of course there is always Wayne Rooney.

Probable starting line-up: David James, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Matthew Upson, Ashley Cole, David Bentley, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Ashley Young, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney.

It makes not difference now, as there will be only a few minor changes made to how the players will set up and begin the first game under the new regime. Predictions go for an England win against Switzerland, but who can tell these days.

Capello tells them how it is

Some may say it is a bit like going back to school, and they would probably be right. But as the new England manager Fabio Capello takes the first training camp with his chosen squad they must have been pretty shocked to find that the new regime also means new rules and in reality this is how it should be.

The new manager believes that the squad should become more of unit which is what’s needed in order for the team to perform as they should do. Perhaps this time around they will be able to concentrate on the task at hand, which is winning the game.

The team are believed to have to sit down to their meals all together and be punctual for all team meetings. It is also thought that they are not able to have their gadgets, agents and even their wives and girlfriends, whether this is true or not we shall have to wait and see.

The weekend where it al changed

When there are just two teams challenging for the title they need to keep in touch with each other, this means they need to match each others results, however this weekend see a change at the top with Arsenal beating Man City 3-1, while the leaders Man Utd could only manage a 1-1 draw with Tottenham, it was a battle of North London V Manchester and Arsenal come out on top, they now lead the premier league by two clear points from Man Utd.

The ITV Sport weekend top team is:

Goalkeeper:

Jussi Jaaskelainen - Bolton

Defenders:

Alan Hutton - Tottenham

Jonathan Woodgate - Tottenham

Joleon Lescott - Everton

Bacary Sagna - Arsenal

Midfield:

Joe Cole - Chelsea

Jimmy Bullard - Fulham

Lassana Diarra - Portsmouth

Jermaine Jenas - Tottenham

Strikers:

Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal

Jermain Defoe – Portsmouth

Source [ITV Sport]

Capello Selects Final Squad for Switzerland

Ahead of Wednesday’s friendly match vs. Switzerland, Fabio Capello has whittled down his pool of potential players to a final squad of 23. For Capello and the English side it’s more than a mere friendly; they must prove to a football community still reeling from the disastrous Euro 2008 qualifier campaign that England’s international presence can be resurrected.

It’s not the first time the English team has faced the challenge of rising from the ashes of disappointment. But following the dismissal of ex-manager Steve McClaren and the lengthy decision-making period that led to Capello’s hiring, a team which was largely in shambles must now pull together with very little time to adjust to each other or their new coach.

Some familiar faces have made the cut, while Capello has also injected fresh blood into the mix. While regulars like David Beckham (omitted due to lack of match fitness) and Paul Robinson were not included in Thursday’s provisional list, veterans such as David James, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, and Rio Ferdinand provide a solid foundation.

Capello has chosen the relatively inexperienced Scott Carson (2 caps) as his primary goalkeeper, with David James (35 caps) and Chris Kirkland (1 cap) also available if required. His defensive options are Rio Ferdinand (64 caps), Ashley Cole (61 caps), Wayne Bridge (27 caps), and fairly fresh faces Wes Brown (14 caps), Joleon Lescott (4 caps), Micah Richards (11 caps), and Jonathan Woodgate (6 caps).

In midfield Capello has selected Owen Hargreaves (39 caps), Steven Gerrard (63 caps), Joe Cole (47 caps), Shaun Wright-Phillips (18 caps), Jermaine Jenus (17 caps), Gareth Barry (16 caps), David Bentley (2 caps), and Ashley Young (1 cap). David Bentley is perhaps the most controversial choice, as much has been made of his “competition” with David Beckham for a spot on the right. Bentley proponents argue he offers everything Beckham has provided in his near-century of appearances for the team, prompting speculation about the role Beckham will play in Capello’s England.

For attacking options Capello has named forwards Peter Crouch (24 caps), Wayne Rooney (40 caps), Michael Owen (88 caps), and Jermain Defoe (26 caps). Comparatively, these choices offer greater depth of experience than the seemingly experimental defense and midfield, which include several players with few international appearances to their names.

But Capello has proved himself a careful, if sometimes mysterious, tactician in his extensive history. While the exact motives for his squad selection cannot fully be guessed, it is likely he will adjust for the right chemistry to restore confidence that England can once again be a competitive force on the international stage.

Source:
TheFA.com

The top five free kick goals

With the disappointment that David Beckham had yesterday by not getting into the England side for the friendly against Switzerland, he would be very pleased that he is still top of pack.

When it comes to brilliant free kick goals, his have always stood out well above the rest and so when Fabio Capello is looking at the team sheet and thinking who the hell can I put on now, he should had had a look at these top free kick goals and see where the real talent lies in England.

The top goals from free kicks:

1. David Beckham - Everton Vs Manchester United 11/05/2003

2. Cristano Ronaldo - Manchester United Vs Portsmouth 30/01/2008

3. John Arne Riise - Liverpool Vs Manchester United 04/11/2001

4. Cristiano Ronaldo - Sunderland Vs Manchester United 26/12/2007

5. Matt Le Tissier - Southampton Vs Wimbledon 26/02/1994

Well maybe there is only one left out of this lot who could possibly ever play for England again, and so does everyone else in the country.

Source [SL]