Problems holding a determined Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal is a team  that has always been in contention to win the English Premier League but but but…  that is not what there management and fans want. There last big party blast was the premier league title in 2003/04 season and the FA Cup in 2005 and since then they are a title less team on paper no matter how hard they push and stop other to get there.  This year is no exception for them.

The big problem and the solution to it:

There are internal pressures on Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger to make the team reach that level and his stay is being questioned for the first time in 14 year of job at the Emirates by a small section at Emirates. But the veteran manager is determined with the side as he told to a leading English daily the Mail recently that “This summer or in the autumn we will talk. My personal future will depend on the capacity to win trophies but also on whether this team is improving year after year, because we are still very, very young. Ideally I would not want to leave without this generation winning a trophy.”

 

There are few great coaches and it is true that they need time to gel with the squad that is given to them. Wenger is famous for bringing in new players from any part of the world at making them famous at this stage. Sacking him can be a huge problem as many players may leave and side by side some from the management may also resign resulting in downfall of the club. So a fragile decision like this one should not be taken by the board and should be left to the ace coach to decide after all he knows what to do.

Gunner’s planner since 96… Arsene Wenger.

Arsène Wenger was born on 22 October 1949  in Strasbourg and grew up in the nearby village of Duttlenheim with an older sister and brother. His parents owned an automobile spare-parts business in Strasbourg. He played as a defender for various amateur clubs while studying at theUniversity, where he completed a master’s degree in 1971. But soon after  In 1981, he obtained a manager’s diploma and was appointed the coach of the Strasbourg’s youth team.

 

 It was Bruce Rioch’s sacking in August 1996 that led to his arrival ay Highbury. And for former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier, the then technical director of the French Football Federation, recommended Wenger to in the summer of 1996. 

He is the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal in terms of trophies and is also the club’s longest-serving manager. Wenger is the only non-British manager to win the Double in England, having done so in 1998 and 2002. In 2004, he became the only manager in FA Premier League history to go through the entire season without defeat. 

Wenger is widely regarded as one of the world’s best managers after the success he has enjoyed at AS Monaco and Arsenal. It was in his time great players like Fredrik Ljungberg, Thierry Henry , Robert Pirès, Patrick Vieira and Rémi Garde entered the gunners brigade to become one of the most sucessful team in Europe. The best thing about Wenger is the selection of players. He picks up players from many unexplored part of the world( in terms of football) and make them the headliners everywhere. 

His honours at Arsenal includes League championship 1998, 2002, 2004, FA Cup winners 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, Voted ‘Manager of the Year’ 1998, 2002, 2004 more cheer for us is that Wenger signed a three year extension to his current contract, taking his tenure at the Club to June 2011.

Arsenal face the champions Barcelona, United-Bayern re-run in the champions league quarter finals.

 

After some exciting action and some huge upsets the champions league now steps into the last-8 stage featuring some of the best team in Europe. The fixtures for the much awaited quarter finals were finally declared in Nyon, Switzerland. 1999 champions Manchester United have been put up against that year’s runners up Bayern Munich. Some old memories will definitely come in mind and Bayern will be hoping not to have a repeat of that night.

Another thing to note in the quarters is that the presence of two French clubs, FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais. Although they have been scheduled to play each other but this as shown the increasing dominance of French clubs. Lyon everyone knows had pulled a cracked after getting past Real Madrid to reach here.

The other English powerhouse Arsenal will be hosting defending champions Barcelona in the match to watch. Wenger is confident to take this one away but playing in Nou Camp is a different experience altogether.

CSKA Moscow will be celebrating their first ever entry to this level and the first Russian club in 17 years to reach this stage but they are up against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan who comfortable defeated Chelsea to enter the last-8.

 The complete quarter finals fixture list:

All matches to start at 2045 Hours GMT.

First Leg

 30^th March 2010

Olympique Lyonnais Vs FC Girondins de Bordeaux           Venue: Stade de Gerland, Lyon 

Bayern Munich Vs Manchester United             Venue: Fußball Arena München, Munich

31^st March 2010

Barcelona Vs Arsenal      Venue: Emirates Stadium, London

CSKA Moscow Vs Inter Milan  Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan

Second Leg

6^th April 2010

Barcelona Vs Arsenal      Venue:  Nou Camp, Barcelona

CSKA Moscow Vs Inter Milan      Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

7^th April 2010

Olympique Lyonnais Vs FC Girondins de Bordeaux           Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux

Bayern Munich Vs Manchester United      Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Chelsea’s £100 million plan for summer after champions league defeat.

Things are not going right at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea’s loss to Inter Milan in the Champions league last week. Many English dailies has reported that the club’s boss Roman Abramovich has plans to spend around £100 million($150 million) this summer to revamp the squad. He was reported to be unhappy after the blues exit from Europe and has pointed out key problems with the manager Carlo Ancelotti and the staff.

 

The first on the list of summer plan is Liverpool’s striker Fernando Torres who has been the top scorer at Anfield, while his injury has kept him out for most of the season, his form in the World Cup will be closely watched. 

 

Next in line is the Bayern Munich’s star midfielder Franck Ribery and Atletico Madrid’s striker Sergio Agüero. Things may not be easy to get both of them to Stamford Bridge as in the case of Ribery many clubs likeManchester United, Arsenal etc are following him and the big news is that his present employers Bayern has confirmed that they will not be extending his contract after the end of the season and review will only be done after the World Cup.

 

For Sergio Agüero, Real Madrid have him in sight for next year signing as part of there new signing for summer as they are also eager to get back after the Champions league debacle. Here also Real is not the only club to grab him as Manchester United and Chelsea are already in the queue for him. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his long term interest in the Argentine.

With the blues’ management’s above desires, current Chelsea players like Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Paulo Ferreiraand Juliano Belletti may be put under the axe by Ancelotti to raise the bank balance and make way for “better” players for the next season.

Chelsea host Hammers for table top position, United to counter the day after…

Fresh from their great run in the champions league, Manchester United, Arsenal & Chelsea will be eager to carry on their winning from in the premier league in their respective matches. There is plenty of acton which is bound to disturb the table positions.

Second placed Chelsea will be hosting West Ham United who are currently just two place above relegation zone and it will be crucial for both to gain there respetive places. Chelsea, with a match in hand, have a good chance of going top of the table and put pressure on Arsenal and Manchester United who will be plaing on Sunday.

The Gunners will be up against Hull City whose torrid time continues in the league with 19th place as of now. After their mid week champions league 5-0 win over Porto nothing seems stoping them. William Gallas will be out for the match due to his calf injury but veteran defender Sol Campbell, who suffered a minor cramp in the champions league match, is expected to play.

In a early kick off on Sunday Manchester United will be hosting mighty Fulham and hope to retain the top spot. Michael Carrick is fit and will be starting for the Red Devils but Giggs and Hargreaves are still some days away for their inclusion in the United line up. With Ferdinand-Vidic pair getting better and better the odds favour United for the day.

In a revival bid, Portsmouth will be visiting Anfield for an important match against Liverpool. With 5 points gap at the bottom, they would be hoping to narrow it while on the other hand The Reds will be hoping to win and hold on to the fourth place.

The match timings are:

Saturday 

Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers 12:45 Hours GMT

Birmingham City v Everton 15:00 Hours GMT

Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic 15:00 Hours GMT

Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Hours GMT

Chelsea v West Ham United 15:00 Hours GMT

Stoke City v Aston Villa  15:00 Hours GMT

Hull City v Arsenal 17:30 Hours GMT

Sunday

Manchester United v Fulham 13:30 Hours GMT

Sunderland v Manchester City 16:00 Hours GMT

Monday 

Liverpool v Portsmouth 20:00 Hours GMT

Tuesday

Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa   19:45 Hours GMT

Scholes’ 100 takes Man United to the top.

100th league goal by veteran mid fielder Paul Scholes made it sure that Manchester United went to the top of the premier league table but not before holding themselves to a narrow 1-0 lead overWolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday. Good news for the gunners is that they also went joint second with Chelsea after they beat Burnley 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

 

It was a crucial match for the red devils specially when the battle for the premiership flag is getting tense. Pre match Wayne Rooney was forced to sit of the match due to the exertions caused to him in the England match. There were many missed opportunities in the first half with Valencia coming close to score the opener but his shot going wide. The home side also had their opportunities with David Jones who brilliant play was well defended by Michael Carrick and minutes later Stephen Ward header also sent some shock waves to Van der Sar. The first half went goal less.

The frustration was coming on the faces of the visiting devils crowd as this was a bit unexpected on United’s part of not scoring. The last time they met at Old Trafford the host comfortably beat them 3-0. Just when the match was
heading for a goal less game, Paul Scholes broke the dead lock 18 minutes from
time when Nani’s cross was not totally cleared by Jody Craddock due to which Scholesgrabbed the ball and shot a low ball of his first touch to the right of
the keeper Hahnemann. Wolves best chance came in the injury time of the match when an unattended. Sam Vokes shot the ball over the bar giving a big breather to the visiting side who bagged the crucial three points.

 

Arsenal also won their fixture when Cesc Fabregas scored the first goal in the 33rd minute but Burnley qualised in the 50th minute through Nugent but 9 minutes later gunners again took the lead when Walcott scored and things were finally wrapped by Arshawin in the 90th minute to give Arsenal a well deserved 3-1 win.

Other result of Saturday was:

Bolton Wanderers 2-1 West Ham United

Beyond Injury worries, Manchester United visits Wolves for table top.

Back from international friendlies, the focus again shifts back to the ever exciting English Premier league where the fight for the title is getting hotter and hotter. This time around the league match will be scattered four days.

First up will be Arsenal hosting Burnley at the Emirates and thegunners have a good chance of going joint top of the Premier league for the first time this season or at least the second till the time Manchester United visit lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. The red devils also have a good chance to go top of the table.

 

Big blow to Manchester United is that Michael Owen will be missing the rest of the season after getting a severe hamstring injury in the final of the carling cup at Wembley stadium on 28^th February. Sir Alex said “It was more serious than we thought and he’ll have an operation on Monday. It’s a terrible blow for the lad and disappointing for us, too. He never missed a training session all season. The heavy pitch at Wembley played some part, but it’s also bad luck.” More problems for United is that Wayne Rooney is also looking
doubtful for the match as he over exerted in the England’s friendly against Egypt. The only god news for now is the confirmation of Rio Ferdinand to start which is going to be a big boost at defence.

 

The matches to be played over the next few days are:

Saturday:

Arsenal Vs Burnley 1500 Hours GMT

West Ham United VS Bolton Wanderers 1500 Hours GMT

Wolverhampton Wanderers VS Manchester United 1730 Hours GMT

Sunday:

Everton Vs Hull City 1600 Hours GMT

Monday:

Wigan Athletic Vs Liverpool 2000 Hours GMT

Monday:

Portsmouth Vs Birmingham City 1945 Hours GMT

Sunderland Vs Bolton Wanderers 1945 Hours GMT

Tuesday:

Burnley Vs Stoke City 1945 Hours GMT

Manchester United visit Goodison park for a table top chance.

After some exciting action in the champions league, the focus now shifts back to the premier league this weekend were the race the top position is getting hotter and hotter as the league is going in the last quarter. All the league teams will be in action over the next two days with the top teams meeting the lower places ones but as seen before the giant killing action may impact them.
In an early kick off, Manchester United will be up against Everton who are in excellent form as they defeated leaders Chelsea a week ago thus narrowing the gap at the top and also Sporting Lisbon in the Europa Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson will be travelling to Goodison Park without Nani and Rio Ferdinand who are suspended. What would be concerning the red devils will be their former place Louis Saha who is in excellent for hit 15 goals so for which included his double over Chelsea days ago. For those who have forgotten, Wayne Rooney will bre going to he club where he made headlines in 2003.

After committing many blunders against Porto in the champions league, Arsenal will be out their to prove with a win against mid tablers Sunderland who have not won a single match in their last six outings. More good news for the Gunners is that Nicklas Bendtner is back form his injury for the match which is expected to stop their scoring drought.
Sunday will be crucial for both Liverpool and Manchester City when they meet at the City of Manchester Stadium. The reds will be hoping to take back and retain the fourth place. After their 1-0 win over Unirea Urziceni in the Europa Cup two days ago they would like to continue their winning momentum.
The match timings are:
Saturday:
Everton Vs Manchester United
Arsenal Vs Sunderland
West Ham United Vs Hull City
Wolves Vs Chelsea
Portsmouth Vs Stoke City

Sunday:
Blackburn Rovers Vs Bolton Wanderers
Aston Villa Vs Burnley
Fulham Vs Birmingham City
Manchester City Vs Liverpool
Wigan Vs Tottenham Hotspurs

Chelsea looses, United draws, Gunners wins. The table remains the same…

Unable to take advantage of their rivals loss, Manchester Unitedremained at second place with their 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.Chelsea’s fared worse when they
lost against mighty Everton by 1-2, it was former Man United playerLouis Saha
getting the double for Everton. Arsenal finally got into winning ways after
defeating Liverpool with 1-0.

 

 Villa took the lead in the 19^th minute when Stewart Downing’s right-wing
cross was not fully cleared by Rafael as a result the ball dropped to Spanish
defender Carlos Cuellar whose curling header made the ball go into the far
corner. But just 4 minutes later United levelled through an own goal
when Ryan Giggs’ volleyed cross was turned into his own net by Villa defender
James Collins.

Despite the draw what will be concerning Sir Alex will be that their veteran winger Ryan Giggs will be out for at least 4 weeks after fracturing his arm following his clash with Steve Sidwell in the 74^th minute. He is likely to
miss the the champions league match against AC Milan and the crucial Carling
cup final at Wembley on the 28^th of this month.

 At the same time at Goodison Park, the leaders got an early lead in the 17^th minute throughMalouda who scored through his left foot before making his way
upto the goal. But then Saha had come into action, he scored the equaliser in
the 36^th min through a corner and after the break he got the winner
in the 74^th minute when A super left-footed half volley from 18 yards flew beyond
Cech.

Arsenal final got their first win in 2 weeks by beating Liverpool by a narrow margin of 1-0 with Abou Diaby’s goal in the
71th minute. The gunners are comfortable at the last champions league automatic
place which is unlikely to go from them

With only one point difference, the league has become more exciting as ever with the last 12 matches to decide the ultimate winner.

 Mid week results were:

Tuesday:

Manchester City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

Portsmouth 1-1 Sunderland

Wigan Athletic 1-1 Stoke City

Fulham 3-0 Burnley

Wednesday

 Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool

Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United

West Ham United 2-0Birmingham City

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Hull City

Everton 2-1Chelsea

Chelsea back at the top after Drogba’s double, United score five.

Chelsea cut short Manchester United’s short run at the top of the table when they got a clean
double against their London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Earlier on
Saturday, Manchester
United drubbed Portsmouth with 5-0 score line thus making
their chances of survival more and more tough in the premier league.
Now after 25 games the blues are leading with 58 points just two
above the Red Devils who are at second place.

 It was a perfect day for Manchester United, Rooney collected the Player of the month
trophy for a great January he had and after that he scored the opening goal in
the 39^th minute when Fletcher crossed
the ball to Rooney who
simply converted with ease. And just at the stroke of half time the host’s lead
was double when Nani’s impressive run ended with a shot at the
goal but got deflected through Vanden Borreand went into the
goal. In the second half Michael
Carrick’s 25 yard shot found the net just at the hour mark and Berbatov made
it 4-0 three minutes later. Pompey’s bad run didn’t stop there, Patrice
Evra swung in a perfectly-flighted cross which Nani could
only glance on, and Wilson hammered a finish high into his own
goal leaving them 5-0 down which was the final score.

Guns were silenced by the blues with a 2-0 win with their Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba scoring both the goals. Chelsea got into the
act quickly make the visitors uncomfortable right from the start. Drogba scored
his first of the corner in the 8^th minute when he
headed the ball at the back post and again in the 23^rd minute
he got into the box on the right, cuts inside past a couple of Arsenal defenders
and smashes it into the top of net. The match was far from over before the half
time. With no goals scored in the second half the final score remained as it is
with Chelsea going
top of the table.

The weekend results were:

Saturday

Liverpool 1-0 Everton

Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Fulham

Burnley 2-1 West Ham United

Hull City 2-1 Manchester City

Manchester United 5-0 Portsmouth

Stoke City 3-0 Blackburn Rovers

Sunderland 1-1 Wigan Athletic

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Aston Villa

Sunday

Birmingham City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal