Only a couple of years ago, this sort of fixture would the acid test for Liverpool’s title and Champions League qualification aspirations.
In the current environment, with inconsistency besetting the campaigns of the country’s biggest clubs, this clash has become a gauge as to whether Tottenham, not Liverpool, have what it takes to break the established order at the top of the league.
Coming off a resounding win against Werder Bremen in another impressive White Hart Lane European performance, Spurs must avoid the sloppy display they put in against Bolton after their last night of Champions League exertions if they are to topple a Liverpool side that should welcome back Joe Cole to it’s starting XI.
Even without Steven Gerrard Liverpool will possess some level of threat, and as we saw against Chelsea- Roy Hodgson’s men are always keen for the fight when the big boys are knocking around.
Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has admitted that he is relishing the role of being the main forward at the club, after being bought to play as a second striker.
The Netherlands international is the top goalscorer in the Premier League and has been in scintillating form in the Gunners’ revival during the second half of the season.
However, Van Persie admits that he only got the opportunity to play as an out-and-out frontman after the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.
“I was hoping to play as a second striker. I never thought I would end up as a main striker,” he confessed to The Sun.
“We only tried it when Adebayor went. The boss didn’t buy anyone else. He was convinced I could do it but I wasn’t.
“In my first five or six games I was making assists but I didn’t score and I thought, ‘I am a main striker now, I need to score’.
“When I scored my first goal I then scored seven in seven, with seven assists,” he stated.
There has still not been any news regarding Van Persie’s contract situation, with the marksman’s current deal at the Emirates Stadium expiring in the summer of 2013.
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Didier Drogba has "trained well" and looks set to return for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Wolves on Saturday.
The Ivory Coast striker missed last weekend's goalless draw with Aston Villa and the midweek Champions League victory over Spartak Moscow with a virus.
However, the six-goal joint leading scorer returned to training on Thursday and is in line to return to the first-team squad when Wolves visit Stamford Bridge.
"The players who played in Moscow were given the day off," said assistant first-team coach Paul Clement.
"The substitutes and players recovering from injury or illness, like Didier Drogba, came in the afternoon and we had a good session with them.
"Didier looks good and he trained well."
Meanwhile, the game will come too soon for Frank Lampard as the England midfielder continues his cautious recovery from hernia surgery in August.
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"Frank is progressing really well," explained Clement."He had a terrific session earlier in the week with (assistant fitness coach) Chris Jones doing some individual work, he's really pushing himself.
"Frank is very frustrated and can't wait to get back. We have missed him and we look forward to him returning."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Barcelona rising star Cristian Tello is wanted by Liverpool ahead of the forthcoming summer transfer window, according to the Mirror.
Tello is currently enjoying his breakthrough season in the Barcelona first team and most recently appeared for 25 minutes in the midweek game at Milan, replacing Andres Iniesta as a substitute.
Liverpool have tracked their attention to the Iberian peninsula in search of talent for a number of years now and Tello could be the latest Spaniard to follow Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia and Fernando Torres’ footsteps in joining the Anfield club.
Tello who operates as a forward or on either flank is under contract at the Catalan club until 2014, but given Barcelona’s talent at their disposal, they may opt to loan the 20-year-old out to gain vital first-team experience abroad.
A number of Barcelona youngsters have previously moved to England, most notably Cesc Fabregas alongside Oriol Romeu, Daniel Pacheco and Fran Merida, but Tello has been an increasing fixture in Pep Guardiola’s squads and has struck three goals in eight appearances since his promotion from the Barcelona B set up alongside Isaac Cuenca.
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Tello could represent the attacking flair which is currently in short supply for Kenny Dalglish’s side who still remain 13 points away in the race for a Champions League qualification berth.
The Premier League is home to many different nationalities – from the Grenadian Jason Roberts, to Benin international Stephane Sessegnon. However, there is one nation that has been missing a representative in England for quite some time now – Latvia. Their favoured son, Marian Pahars, lit up the league for Southampton during his time here and would have made a greater impact if it had not been for injury.
Pahars began his career with Pardaugava in 1994, before moving to Skonto Riga – the biggest club in Latvia. After impressing in the reserve side, he battled his way into the first team where he started off as a winger. His goalscoring soon saw him converted into a striker; a role English fans remember him for.
His form for Skonto did not go unrecognised on the national stage and he was rewarded with a call-up to the Latvian national side. He excelled in the role and became a regular member of the squad. At club level, he was picking up regular silverware. Skonto won four consecutive league titles and two national cups during the time he was there. The club even broke into the UEFA Cup, but were unable to progress past the first round of the competition.
Pahars becomes a Saint
An impressive strike-rate of just under a goal every two games saw him attract interest from all over Europe. Despite being linked with moves to Germany and Italy, Latvian national boss Gary Johnson recommended the striker to Southampton boss Dave Jones. A successful trial saw Jones snap up Pahars midway through the 1998/99 season.
With Saints struggling in the league, it came down to the last game of the season and the club needed a win on the final day against Everton to guarantee their place in the Premier League. A 2-0 victory at the Dell, in which Pahars scored twice, saw the club avoid relegation and ensured Pahars became a fan’s favourite immediately!
The following season Jones was replaced by Glenn Hoddle, who decided to play Pahars on the wing. Despite the change of position, he still finished as top scorer at the club – thus leading to him being nicknamed the ‘Latvian Michael Owen’ by the British media. The 2000/01 season proved difficult for Pahars, who struggled for form in his wide position. However, he did help the club to a comfortable mid-table finish.
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Injury problems begin
The 2001/02 season saw him return to form and build a successful partnership with James Beattie, and the pair finished the campaign as the second-best striking duo in the top flight. A hernia operation in the summer saw the beginning of a series of injury problems for the little Latvian. After finally getting himself fit and re-establishing himself once more in the first team, he suffered a serious ankle injury in November and missed the rest of the season.
After a long spell of rehabilitation and reserve team outings, he finally made his return to the first team a year later, but struggled to nail down a spot in the first team. However, he did do enough to gain a place in the Latvian Euro 2004 squad – although the side crashed out in the group stages.
More heartbreak was to follow when he aggravated his previous ankle injury during the 2004/05 pre-season – ruling him out for the entire term. The campaign also proved to be a miserable one for Saints, who were relegated after 28 consecutive years of top fight football. He made a brief return to the side in the Championship the next season, but did not to enough to earn a new contract.
End of an era at Southampton
Pahars was released in May 2006 after scoring 45 goals in 156 games for the club. Saints fans always appreciated the talent of Pahars and this showed when he was given a standing ovation as he made his way around the pitch for a lap of honour following the final game of the season. the hard-working striker had always given his best for the club, despite such rotten luck with injury.
He wasted little time in finding a new club and signed for Cypriot side Anthornis Famagusta – managed by former Newcastle midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia. However, injury hit once more and he was unable to establish himself in the first team. These injury problems proved costly and he as released in January 2008 – after just a handful of appearances for the club.
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Now 32, Pahars decided to return to his homeland and re-joined Skonto – where he had had such success earlier in his career. After just a year with Skonto, he moved to fellow Latvian side FK Jurmala where he ended his playing career.
Manager Pahars
After a brief break from the game, he was given the chance to return to football in 2010 when he was invited to become the assistant manager at Skonto. He assisted Aleksandrs Starkovs, who had handed him his debut as a youngster at Skonto. Their first season as a managerial duo saw Skonto win the league for the first time since 2004.
Despite the success, Starkovs left to manage in Azerbaijan in early 2011 and the manager’s role was handed to Pahars. As the Latvian league runs from April until November, Pahars is curently in the middle of his first season as a full-time manager. Skonto currently lie fourth in the league after a disappointing run of results, but they have a UEFA Cup qualifier (a reward left over from last season) to look forward to.
It is always a shame when such a promising player has his career restricted and cut short by injury. Football can be a cruel game at times and many players have felt the full force of the obstacles it can throw at you. I’m sure everyone will wish Pahars the best of luck in management and hope he succeeds there where he inevitably would have done at playing level, if it had not been for injury. The little Latvian is now the big man at Skonto!
Imogen Thomas Joins Paddy Power For a Champion Offer! They will refund losing Champions League Final bets if Man United lose the match Make your bets now!
Last Thursday West Ham United expectedly submitted their joint bid, in conjunction with Newham council, to move into the Olympic Stadium. Scott Parker, Carlton Cole and Mark Noble delivered their plans to the door of No 10 Downing Street. Integral to the club’s plan is to reduce the capacity to 60,000 seats and prepare the venue for the spectre of Premier League football. Nearby rivals Tottenham Hotspur surprisingly emerged as candidates to run the Stadium too, submitting their proposals just before the agreed deadline. West Ham co-owner David Gold insisted, on Match of the Day 2’s illuminating day in the life segment, their declaration of interest was merely because they were defeated at Upton Park last week. Should the Hammers fear Spurs’ late entry and more importantly does the move suit either side?
The West Ham hierarchy have been dismissive of Tottenham’s rival bid, partly because the north Londoners had their Northumberland Park Development Project approved by Haringey council last week. Planning application was granted for a 56,250 capacity stadium to be constructed on a site adjacent to White Hart Lane. The £400 million project is an ambitious one which is set to incorporate a single tier stand to compete with Liverpool’s legendary Kop. But with the London Mayoral Office yet to rubber stamp the proposals, Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy described their Olympic interest as “prudent” and “good management.” Harry Redknap was uncharacteristically diplomatic when quizzed on the club’s future plans: “The new stadium or the Olympic Stadium would be great. I’m only the employee – I don’t want to say the wrong one.”
He proceeded to suggest that the issue would be particularly divisive for West Ham fans. However the Tottenham crowd would presumably be far more resentful of moving to a ground outside of their borough. West Ham are the PL side situated closest to Stratford and therefore remain favourites to move into the Olympic site. Their proposed tenancy did not seem as likely when the club’s abrasive co-owners discussed the move with a discernible arrogance. Talk of a potential white elephant and the minimal appeal of athletics in comparison to PL football did not gain favour with Lord Coe or the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC). Nevertheless moving to the Olympic Stadium remained a fundamental tenet of their enduring vision for the club’s future. Utilising the negotiation skills of vice-chairman Karen Brady the club sought to foster relationships with the local council, Essex County Cricket Club and embrace the notion of an athletics legacy.
The OLPC obliged all candidates to retain the running track. The Hammers duly acquiesced and have gone further by suggesting that the two sports can work in tandem. West Ham’s Olympic Park director Ian Tompkins said, “There is a great opportunity for us to work with athletics to develop sports talent and there is obviously a crossover with helping to attract kids into athletics.” Although other actors including Tottenham have lodged their interest, UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner has spoken glowingly about West Ham’s proposals, making them firm favourites to become the permanent tenants.
The supporters are not as enamoured by these plans. Keen to assert his credentials as a fan first and foremost, Gold has expressed how difficult it will be to depart from the Boleyn Ground. Leaving a stadium steeped in football history and tradition is difficult enough but attention has turned to what will await them at the Olympic site. The fear expressed by many is that the stadium will represent a generic bowl shape, too far removed from the pitch and not conducive to the creation of a boisterous atmosphere. Fan site, West Ham Process conducted a survey on the proposed move which boasted a sample of over 1,000. Results showed that 47% of those asked expressed a preference to redevelop Upton Park’s East Stand and a comprehensive 85% said no to a running track.
Atmosphere is the primary concern for fans who additionally worry that huge sections of the 60,000 seater ground will be left empty. However the most revealing aspect of the aforementioned results is that a majority of those polled felt the club’s consultation with them had been inadequate. The scale of the charm offensive waged by the club to propel them into first place will now have to be repeated for the fans. The co-owners will have to demonstrate that the move is about more than business imperatives. It is a difficult task but one that will be immeasurably easier than selling the prospect of a ground share with Tottenham.
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New Newcastle signing Papiss Cisse had a dream debut against Aston Villa on Sunday, popping up with the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Tyneside club.
Alan Pardew’s men were boosted by the return of Cisse and countryman Demba Ba from the African Cup of Nations, with the latter opening the scoring for the hosts in the first half, taking his Premier League goal count to 16 for the season.
Robbie Keane equalised in first half injury time to square things up at the break, before debutant Cisse stole the show and guaranteed three points for the Sports Direct Arena outfit.
Pardew is happy to keep the good run of form up, and knows that his Senegalese strike partnership will cause defences problems for the remainder of the season.
“It was a good win because Villa came here and looked lively. They looked lively first half,” he admitted to Sky Sports.
“Although they scored just before half-time, they deserved to be level. They deserved to be in the lead at half-time. We accepted that and second half we knew we had to be better and more controlled, and we were. We limited their breakaways on us and we got a bit of pressure building.
“Of course we got a dream goal for us, because he’s a new signing and he wanted to do well. It was a fantastic goal.
“We mustn’t get carried from the team ethic we have got here because the guys did brilliantly to get a result at Blackburn in the week and again we have put in a display here that has been strong.
“(James) Perch in midfield was brilliant. We had no Cheick (Tiote) today, no (Yohan) Cabaye, but we keep winning. That’s a great thing.
“Having said that, you still need great players because they change games. Papiss did that today and Demba has done it for us before. It was a real bonus that he got a goal on his debut.
“They are a dangerous pair. We have got dangerous strikers all over the place here because Shola (Ameobi) and Besty have done well, (Peter) Lovenkrands is there as well and (Hatem) Ben Arfa, so we have got firepower. We just need to tighten up a little bit more,” he concluded.
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The Geordies are in fifth place, and in battle for a top four finish as they are only a point behind Chelsea in fourth.
Already-relegated Hamilton bowed out of the Scottish Premier League with a 2-1 defeat at home to Inverness on Saturday.Hamilton’s demotion from the top flight had already been confirmed when they lost 1-0 away to St Johnstone on Tuesday.
They had a chance to sign off on a positive note in the final match of the season, but fell behind a minute before half-time when centre-forward Riche Foran made it 1-0 to the visitors at New Douglas Park.
And although Simon Mensing levelled for Hamilton five minutes into the second half, Irish striker Adam Rooney restored the lead for Inverness on 56 minutes.
Their season was summed up when midfielder Mensing passed up a simple opportunity to equalise, missing from the penalty spot with 19 minutes remaining.
Hamilton will now return to the First Division after three seasons in the SPL.
In other matches, Aberdeen finished a disappointing campaign on a high with a 3-1 win away to Hibernian.
Derek Riordan put Hibs ahead 21 minutes into the match and the hosts retained the lead going into half-time at Easter Road.
Josh Magennis equalised for Aberdeen three minutes into the second half, before a three-minute brace from striker Chris Maguire completed the comeback for the visitors.
St Mirren finished second from bottom, a comfortable seven points clear of Hamilton, following a 0-0 draw at home to St Johnstone.
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has leapt to the defence of Nigel de Jong after the combative midfielder was dropped from the Netherlands squad.
De Jong was axed by Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk after his tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa left the Newcastle United winger with a broken leg following City's 2-1 Premier League victory at Eastlands on Sunday.
The 25-year-old's conduct was already under scrutiny following his X-rated tackle on Spain's Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final.
He was originally called up by van Marwijk ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifiers with Moldova and Sweden but was told on his arrival in the Netherlands that he was no longer required.
Van Marwijk was unhappy with the tackle which went unpunished by the referee, but Mancini has defended his midfielder after claiming he is not a dirty player.
He told the club's official website:"I don't want to comment about Nigel not being called up by his national team as it is a matter for the Dutch Federation.
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"However, as his club manager I wish to say that whilst he is naturally competitive, Nigel is first and foremost a great player as well as being honest and loyal and I support him wholeheartedly.
"I also want to take this opportunity to wish Ben Arfa, who I rate very highly, a speedy recovery and I hope to see him back in action soon."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email