Tottenham winger Gareth Bale says he is ready to move abroad one day in the future, adding fuel to speculations that he could leave White Hart Lane next summer.
The 21-year-old, who’s been linked with European giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter admits he is tempted with an opportunity of continuing his career abroad.
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale says he is ready to move abroad one day in the future, adding fuel to speculations that he could leave White Hart Lane next summer.
The 21-year-old, who’s been linked with European giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter admits he is tempted with an opportunity of continuing his career abroad.
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his time at the treble-winning club could be ‘coming to an end’.
Guardiola told Italian television station RAI he would not continue on at the club after his contract expires, meaning next season at the Nou Camp would be his last.
“I think my time here at Barcelona is coming to an end,” he said. “I’m happy here but when you are at a club like this for a long time it’s not possible to stay long-term.”
“Next year will be my fourth consecutive as Barca coach. A club like
this must have a lot of courage to keep a coach for all this time
because players tire of coaches and vice versa.”
In just over two-and-a-half seasons, the former Barcelona, Roma and Brescia player has won eight trophies as manager the Catalan club.
The 2008/09 campaign – his first at the Nou Camp – brought a record six titles.
Last season, he led Barca to a second-straight La Liga title with 99 points.
On Friday, Guardiola also responded to controversial comments made by the club’s president, Sandro Rosell.
Rosell declared Barca would beat Real 5-0 in the final of the Copa Del Rey on April 20 – the same score when the two met for a league encounter at the Nou Camp earlier this season.
“I wouldn’t have said it, but everyone is free to express their opinions,” he said.
“Everybody is free to express their opinion. I think that the meaning of it is a rallying cry, knowing that the bigger the result, the better people would feel. That seems to have been the intention.”
Guardiola also said he will leave it until the last minute to decide whether Lionel Messi will play this weekend.
The talismanic forward, whose loss would be a major blow ahead of the clash with third-placed Villarreal on Saturday, missed Argentina’s friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday as a precaution, though tests showed no muscle injury.
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, too, has injury concerns to contend with as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Marcelo are all out of Real Madrid’s La Liga match with Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Real will be without the trio for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham, although they will welcome back key striker Gonzalo Higuain after a five-month layoff following back surgery.
“It is a positive surprise,” Mourinho said.
“A lot of times you get negative surprises, about players who aren’t recovering as quickly as expected. It is nice to have positive news.”
Sat 2 April, 2011Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his time at the treble-winning club could be ‘coming to an end’.
Guardiola told Italian television station RAI he would not continue on at the club after his contract expires, meaning next season at the Nou Camp would be his last.
“I think my time here at Barcelona is coming to an end,” he said. “I’m happy here but when you are at a club like this for a long time it’s not possible to stay long-term.”
“Next year will be my fourth consecutive as Barca coach. A club like
this must have a lot of courage to keep a coach for all this time
because players tire of coaches and vice versa.”
In just over two-and-a-half seasons, the former Barcelona, Roma and Brescia player has won eight trophies as manager the Catalan club.
The 2008/09 campaign – his first at the Nou Camp – brought a record six titles.
Last season, he led Barca to a second-straight La Liga title with 99 points.
On Friday, Guardiola also responded to controversial comments made by the club’s president, Sandro Rosell.
Rosell declared Barca would beat Real 5-0 in the final of the Copa Del Rey on April 20 – the same score when the two met for a league encounter at the Nou Camp earlier this season.
“I wouldn’t have said it, but everyone is free to express their opinions,” he said.
“Everybody is free to express their opinion. I think that the meaning of it is a rallying cry, knowing that the bigger the result, the better people would feel. That seems to have been the intention.”
Guardiola also said he will leave it until the last minute to decide whether Lionel Messi will play this weekend.
The talismanic forward, whose loss would be a major blow ahead of the clash with third-placed Villarreal on Saturday, missed Argentina’s friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday as a precaution, though tests showed no muscle injury.
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, too, has injury concerns to contend with as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Marcelo are all out of Real Madrid’s La Liga match with Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Real will be without the trio for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham, although they will welcome back key striker Gonzalo Higuain after a five-month layoff following back surgery.
“It is a positive surprise,” Mourinho said.
“A lot of times you get negative surprises, about players who aren’t recovering as quickly as expected. It is nice to have positive news.”
Sat 2 April, 2011Tottenham winger Gareth Bale could miss the first leg of his side’s Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid with a hamstring strain.
The 21-year-old sustained the injury on international duty with Wales and went for a scan on Monday to determine the severity of the problem.The scans showed that Bale had suffered a grade one strain, which could keep him out for seven to 10 days, which will rule him out of Saturday’s trip to Wigan and for Tuesday’s visit to Madrid.”Gareth has returned to Spurs Lodge and took part in controlled straight-line running so we could assess him,” a Tottenham statement read.”We sent him for an ultrasound scan examination this afternoon and that has confirmed the presence of a minor grade one hamstring strain.”"Gareth has reported no pain or stiffness after taking part in the running this morning and we shall continue to monitor him and see how he responds to his conditioning programme throughout the week.”A club versus country row occurred over the injury, with Wales claiming that he was injured before he arrived, a suggestion that was refuted by Tottenham’s head of medical services, Wayne Diesel.”He was passed fit to train by the FAW medical team and it was only after 40 minutes of his first training session on Tuesday, which included some high intensity runs, Gareth complained of tightness in his right hamstring and was pulled out of the remainder of the session as a precaution,” Diesel said.”We requested the player be sent immediately for a scan which subsequently revealed the hamstring strain that forced his withdrawal from the squad.”Bale has missed plenty of football in recent times, with a back injury sustained against Newcastle in January restricting his involvement in the second half of the season.He made his first start in two months on March 19 when Tottenham were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United.
Mon 28 March, 2011Arsene Wenger has revealed Theo Walcott will miss the Carling Cup final with an ankle injury, while Cesc Fabregas is also a doubt.
Fabregas had to be substituted with a hamstring problem after only 14 minutes of the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates on Wednesday, Sebastien Squillaci scoring the only goal to put Arsenal just one point behind English Premier League leaders Manchester United.
Walcott was stretchered off after 71 minutes to add to manager Arsene Wenger’s problems as they prepare to face Birmingham City at Wembley on Sunday.
“Theo has an ankle sprain and is out. For how long, I can’t tell you, but for Sunday he’s definitely out,” Wenger said.
“Fabregas is a hamstring problem, we’ll assess it tomorrow. It’s impossible to say how serious it is.”
“It is of course a concern that he’s injured but it can happen. He was very upset, I am as well. But it’s not his fault, it’s not my fault, it’s just part of sport. We have to face it. We did the job after that in a very professional way that’s what we should concentrate on.”
Wenger was alluding to the way his team survived an increasingly ferocious second half to keep hold of three crucial points.
“It shows we have matured because we can win a game when we are less creative than usual but with intelligence, brain and calm,” he said.
“That’s what has changed. A few years ago when we were not on top of our game we dropped points but not this time – I must give a lot of credit to my players tonight.”
Arsenal held out admirably to take the points and are now only one point behind Man United – who face Chelsea away next week – heaping pressure on their title rivals.
“We have all pressure now because March is the period where it starts,” Wenger said.
“Chelsea are under pressure, Man United, everybody. That’s part of being in the position we are in. Three months ago when we lost at home to Newcastle who would have said we would even be in the top four? But we have come back in a strong position and I’m very happy about that.”
Stoke boss Tony Pulis insists his team were not to blame for Arsenal losing Fabregas and Walcott to injury and believes his players are unfairly portrayed as villains.
“You can’t stop people’s perception but we have a very good disciplinary record,” he said.
“Arsenal have had six players sent off to our two, they have had more bookings than us. And you wouldn’t say they are a dirty side.”
“But we have to get on with it; we’re very competitive and we’re a very honest team. We don’t like people rolling around getting people booked. That’s the way we like to do it. We like to do it an honest way.”
“I’ve got nothing against Arsenal. They are a fantastic football club and fantastic team. I hope for British football they go to Barca and win but when we play against them we have to be competitive.”
“We weren’t in the first 10 minutes when I thought we were in for a hiding. But in the second half we are desperately disappointed we didn’t get something out of the game.”
Thu 24 February, 2011Arsene Wenger has revealed Theo Walcott will miss the Carling Cup final with an ankle injury, while Cesc Fabregas is also a doubt.
Fabregas had to be substituted with a hamstring problem after only 14 minutes of the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates on Wednesday, Sebastien Squillaci scoring the only goal to put Arsenal just one point behind English Premier League leaders Manchester United.
Walcott was stretchered off after 71 minutes to add to manager Arsene Wenger’s problems as they prepare to face Birmingham City at Wembley on Sunday.
“Theo has an ankle sprain and is out. For how long, I can’t tell you, but for Sunday he’s definitely out,” Wenger said.
“Fabregas is a hamstring problem, we’ll assess it tomorrow. It’s impossible to say how serious it is.”
“It is of course a concern that he’s injured but it can happen. He was very upset, I am as well. But it’s not his fault, it’s not my fault, it’s just part of sport. We have to face it. We did the job after that in a very professional way that’s what we should concentrate on.”
Wenger was alluding to the way his team survived an increasingly ferocious second half to keep hold of three crucial points.
“It shows we have matured because we can win a game when we are less creative than usual but with intelligence, brain and calm,” he said.
“That’s what has changed. A few years ago when we were not on top of our game we dropped points but not this time – I must give a lot of credit to my players tonight.”
Arsenal held out admirably to take the points and are now only one point behind Man United – who face Chelsea away next week – heaping pressure on their title rivals.
“We have all pressure now because March is the period where it starts,” Wenger said.
“Chelsea are under pressure, Man United, everybody. That’s part of being in the position we are in. Three months ago when we lost at home to Newcastle who would have said we would even be in the top four? But we have come back in a strong position and I’m very happy about that.”
Stoke boss Tony Pulis insists his team were not to blame for Arsenal losing Fabregas and Walcott to injury and believes his players are unfairly portrayed as villains.
“You can’t stop people’s perception but we have a very good disciplinary record,” he said.
“Arsenal have had six players sent off to our two, they have had more bookings than us. And you wouldn’t say they are a dirty side.”
“But we have to get on with it; we’re very competitive and we’re a very honest team. We don’t like people rolling around getting people booked. That’s the way we like to do it. We like to do it an honest way.”
“I’ve got nothing against Arsenal. They are a fantastic football club and fantastic team. I hope for British football they go to Barca and win but when we play against them we have to be competitive.”
“We weren’t in the first 10 minutes when I thought we were in for a hiding. But in the second half we are desperately disappointed we didn’t get something out of the game.”
Thu 24 February, 2011Manchester goalkeeper Shay Given may require shoulder surgery that would rule him out for the remainder of the season.
Given, 34, has suffered a dislocated shoulder twice in the past 10 months and damaged the joint again in the warm-up for City’s Europa League match against Aris Salonika last Tuesday.
The Republic of Ireland international will see a specialist in London on Wednesday and is expected to require a reconstruction.
Given has found himself behind England international Joe Hart in the pecking order at City and has publicly sought a transfer away from the club in previous transfer windows.
He will likely be allowed to leave in the close season, with a move to Celtic or Fulham touted as possibilities.
Wed 23 February, 2011No Doubt have confirmed that the band have started recording their new album, their first since ‘Rock Steady,’ which was released back in 2001. Guitarist Tom Dumon revealed that 10 songs have been written and that the album will be completed this year.
The band also recently confirmed plans of a huge World Tour, to take place in support of the release of the new record.
The No Doubt World Tour is set to include arena shows here in the UK, with performances at venues such as London’s O2 Arena, Manchester MEN Arena and Birmingham LG Arena expected to be announced soon. No Doubt tickets will go on sale as soon as dates are confirmed.
GD Star RatingLiverpool’s Premier League clash at Blackpool on December 26 is already in danger of being postponed because of the freezing conditions which decimated last weekend’s fixtures.
The Reds had Saturday’s home game against Fulham called off because of the heavy snow which fell across England and now there is a chance the trip to Bloomfield Road could also fall victim to the elements.
Blackpool do not have undersoil heating and have already had two matches against Manchester United and Tottenham postponed because of adverse weather.
With the weather showing no signs of easing, the Seasiders’ chairman Karl Oyston is currently in discussions with the Premier League about Sunday’s match.
“We can almost certainly guarantee the pitch will be playable but it is the prevailing conditions once the covers have been removed and whether the pitch will freeze before the end of the game taking place,” Oyston told Sky Sports News.
“That is one we are talking to the Premier League about to see what their standpoint and inspection protocol will be.”
Oyston insists he has no reason to regret the decision not to have undersoil heating.
“It really is not a financial consideration,” Oyston told Sky Sports News.
“These games will be played and we will only know the financial implications once the season is over and we know how many games have been picked for television.
“At the moment, it is not at the forefront of our mindset – spectator and player safety are.”
Meanwhile, the Premier League are confident the big freeze will not lead to a serious fixture pile-up at the end of the season.
Eight matches have been postponed due to the weather so far – including two involving league leaders Manchester United.
But Premier League officials say there are sufficient dates set aside to cope with such postponements.
A spokesman said: “Our football department will already have contingency dates in mind and will work closely with the affected clubs to get new dates agreed as quickly as possible.”
Mon 20 December, 2010Liverpool’s Premier League clash at Blackpool on December 26 is already in danger of being postponed because of the freezing conditions which decimated last weekend’s fixtures.
The Reds had Saturday’s home game against Fulham called off because of the heavy snow which fell across England and now there is a chance the trip to Bloomfield Road could also fall victim to the elements.
Blackpool do not have undersoil heating and have already had two matches against Manchester United and Tottenham postponed because of adverse weather.
With the weather showing no signs of easing, the Seasiders’ chairman Karl Oyston is currently in discussions with the Premier League about Sunday’s match.
“We can almost certainly guarantee the pitch will be playable but it is the prevailing conditions once the covers have been removed and whether the pitch will freeze before the end of the game taking place,” Oyston told Sky Sports News.
“That is one we are talking to the Premier League about to see what their standpoint and inspection protocol will be.”
Oyston insists he has no reason to regret the decision not to have undersoil heating.
“It really is not a financial consideration,” Oyston told Sky Sports News.
“These games will be played and we will only know the financial implications once the season is over and we know how many games have been picked for television.
“At the moment, it is not at the forefront of our mindset – spectator and player safety are.”
Meanwhile, the Premier League are confident the big freeze will not lead to a serious fixture pile-up at the end of the season.
Eight matches have been postponed due to the weather so far – including two involving league leaders Manchester United.
But Premier League officials say there are sufficient dates set aside to cope with such postponements.
A spokesman said: “Our football department will already have contingency dates in mind and will work closely with the affected clubs to get new dates agreed as quickly as possible.”
Mon 20 December, 2010