History plays part for Lampard

Frank Lampard says Chelsea will be spurred on by memories of Champions League misery when they face Manchester United in the quarter-final on Wednesday.

Lampard, who will make his 500th appearance for Chelsea in the game, said the team will not be motivated by revenge after losing on penalties to United in the 2008 final in Moscow.

But he does admit losing that match has made Chelsea even more determined to lift the trophy.

“Those memories spur you on,” the England international said. “There’s nothing worse than the feeling of losing a Champions League final or semi-final in different circumstances.”

“There’s no point being negative and crying about them. We hope one day we’ll have a positive experience that will allow us to forget all the other disappointments.”

“We’ve been so close and every year we’ve got close, people talk about it even more.”

There is a growing feeling in west London that this could be their year in Europe

History plays part for Lampard

Frank Lampard says Chelsea will be spurred on by memories of Champions League misery when they face Manchester United in the quarter-final on Wednesday.

Lampard, who will make his 500th appearance for Chelsea in the game, said the team will not be motivated by revenge after losing on penalties to United in the 2008 final in Moscow.

But he does admit losing that match has made Chelsea even more determined to lift the trophy.

“Those memories spur you on,” the England international said. “There’s nothing worse than the feeling of losing a Champions League final or semi-final in different circumstances.”

“There’s no point being negative and crying about them. We hope one day we’ll have a positive experience that will allow us to forget all the other disappointments.”

“We’ve been so close and every year we’ve got close, people talk about it even more.”

There is a growing feeling in west London that this could be their year in Europe

Vidic plays 90 mins for Serbia

By: Shaun | March 30th, 2011
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Yup. That’s it. Nothing really ground breaking or earth shattering.

But just the simple declaration that our defensive rock, who was supposed to be facing an extended time on the sidelines due to injury, managed to get through the entire Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia and this certainly bodes well for us.

Barring any post game injuries or mishaps during training over the next few days, we should hopefully see Vidic leading the team out this weekend against West Ham.

We definitely need to keep picking up the points with Chelsea gaining steam and Arsenal staying close and both teams having very winnable fixtures on Saturday. With fewer games left on the schedule, every point dropped/won matters that much more. With Vidic (hopefully) in the side, we are significantly better at the back and we immediately give ourselves a much better chance of leaving Upton Park with all 3 points.

Some Related Man United Posts:Smalling/Vidic: still 100%Smalling/Vidic to start against CityCould (maybe) see Rio again this seasonInjury woes continueNani out for a month
Category: Manchester United Tags: injury update, Manchester United, Nemanja Vidic
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Benitez plays Inter blame game

Former Inter Milan boss Rafael Benitez has blamed injury mismanagement and a lack of support in the January transfer window for his sacking.

Benitez was axed at the San Siro in December after just six months in charge of the Italian and European champions, who at the time were languishing in seventh place on the Serie A table and some 13 points behind leaders and bitter rivals AC Milan.

The Spanish coach issued an astonishing ‘back me or sack me’ ultimatum to club president Massimo Moratti after leading Inter to victory in the Club World Cup in December, as part of a demand for resources to purchase players in the upcoming transfer window.

But the tactic failed as Benitez was handed his marching orders days later, with former Milan boss Leonardo called in to revive Inter’s ailing season.

Now, Benitez has put the blame for his sacking solely on the club’s shoulders, saying a lack of communication and support made his stay untenable.

“I want to show some statistics based on the injuries so I am not misunderstood: 80 percent of those injured had the same or similar injuries in the previous two years,” Benitez told Marca.

“Myself and my staff did not have control over medical issues or the work of the club medic and his athletic coach.”

“We did not follow therapies or recoveries. And, a month after we left Inter there were eight muscular injuries.”

“I am sure (former Inter boss) Roberto Mancini is familiar with all of this.”

“Massimo Moratti knew we worked with difficulty. Some players performed, others didn’t.”

“He knew things were not going well, but there were no conditions to carry on. So we arrived at the decision (to sack the manager).”

“I had started well, but then things changed, internally too.”

“Opinions always changed. I don’t know why there was no summer transfer market and I was surprised.”

“They had asked me for a project to improve the squad. I wrote things down and the directors liked it, but then nothing happened.”

Inter have won seven of their past eight league matches under Leonardo to charge into third on the table, and are now just five points behind Milan.

Wed 9 February, 2011

Benitez plays Inter blame game

Former Inter Milan boss Rafael Benitez has blamed injury mismanagement and a lack of support in the January transfer window for his sacking.

Benitez was axed at the San Siro in December after just six months in charge of the Italian and European champions, who at the time were languishing in seventh place on the Serie A table and some 13 points behind leaders and bitter rivals AC Milan.

The Spanish coach issued an astonishing ‘back me or sack me’ ultimatum to club president Massimo Moratti after leading Inter to victory in the Club World Cup in December, as part of a demand for resources to purchase players in the upcoming transfer window.

But the tactic failed as Benitez was handed his marching orders days later, with former Milan boss Leonardo called in to revive Inter’s ailing season.

Now, Benitez has put the blame for his sacking solely on the club’s shoulders, saying a lack of communication and support made his stay untenable.

“I want to show some statistics based on the injuries so I am not misunderstood: 80 percent of those injured had the same or similar injuries in the previous two years,” Benitez told Marca.

“Myself and my staff did not have control over medical issues or the work of the club medic and his athletic coach.”

“We did not follow therapies or recoveries. And, a month after we left Inter there were eight muscular injuries.”

“I am sure (former Inter boss) Roberto Mancini is familiar with all of this.”

“Massimo Moratti knew we worked with difficulty. Some players performed, others didn’t.”

“He knew things were not going well, but there were no conditions to carry on. So we arrived at the decision (to sack the manager).”

“I had started well, but then things changed, internally too.”

“Opinions always changed. I don’t know why there was no summer transfer market and I was surprised.”

“They had asked me for a project to improve the squad. I wrote things down and the directors liked it, but then nothing happened.”

Inter have won seven of their past eight league matches under Leonardo to charge into third on the table, and are now just five points behind Milan.

Wed 9 February, 2011

Giggs plays down unbeaten talk

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has cooled talk of an unbeaten season, cautioning that there is still plenty of football left to be played.

United sit on top of the English Premier League table, two points clear of Manchester City with two games in hand and having yet to be defeated after 20 fixtures.

But the veteran midfielder says it is far too early to be discussing the prospect of an unbeaten season, especially with a crunch clash at Tottenham right around the corner.

“It’s been a strange season where anyone can beat anyone so we realise that every game from now is going to be tough,” Giggs said.

“We’ve got to play against all our rivals, we’ve got to play against teams that will be fighting relegation and anything can happen, so we’re experienced enough to know we’ve got tough games ahead and anything can happen.”

Giggs sent United through to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, scoring from the penalty spot as the Red Devils defeated bitter rivals Liverpool 1-0.

United are on track for their 19th league title this season – one that would see them overtake Liverpool as the most successful top-flight team in English football history.

But Giggs insists his team-mates are not concerned by such records.

“I think the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) wanted to do that when he came down from Scotland, but I think it’s more of a fans thing than a player’s or manager’s aim,” he said.

“Of course it would be great to do. But it’s more of a fan’s thing to do to boast that you’ve won more league titles than Liverpool.”

“It’s something that the fans would love to have in their locker but as a team you can’t get yourself caught up in stuff like that.”

“You’ve got to concentrate on winning the league because it’s tough enough to win the league as it is.”

“No matter because you want to win it because of winning this or that, you want to win it because you realise it’s a tough league.”

Mon 10 January, 2011

Giggs plays down unbeaten talk

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has cooled talk of an unbeaten season, cautioning that there is still plenty of football left to be played.

United sit on top of the English Premier League table, two points clear of Manchester City with two games in hand and having yet to be defeated after 20 fixtures.

But the veteran midfielder says it is far too early to be discussing the prospect of an unbeaten season, especially with a crunch clash at Tottenham right around the corner.

“It’s been a strange season where anyone can beat anyone so we realise that every game from now is going to be tough,” Giggs said.

“We’ve got to play against all our rivals, we’ve got to play against teams that will be fighting relegation and anything can happen, so we’re experienced enough to know we’ve got tough games ahead and anything can happen.”

Giggs sent United through to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, scoring from the penalty spot as the Red Devils defeated bitter rivals Liverpool 1-0.

United are on track for their 19th league title this season – one that would see them overtake Liverpool as the most successful top-flight team in English football history.

But Giggs insists his team-mates are not concerned by such records.

“I think the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) wanted to do that when he came down from Scotland, but I think it’s more of a fans thing than a player’s or manager’s aim,” he said.

“Of course it would be great to do. But it’s more of a fan’s thing to do to boast that you’ve won more league titles than Liverpool.”

“It’s something that the fans would love to have in their locker but as a team you can’t get yourself caught up in stuff like that.”

“You’ve got to concentrate on winning the league because it’s tough enough to win the league as it is.”

“No matter because you want to win it because of winning this or that, you want to win it because you realise it’s a tough league.”

Mon 10 January, 2011

La Liga Winger Plays Hard To Get For Liverpool