Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo sees no reason why Sir Alex Ferguson's side cannot clinch a Premier League and Champions League double this season.
United have won their last eight games in the Premier League and are currently second in the table while they are well-placed to move into the group stages of the Champions League.
United won an unprecedented treble in 1999 and Ronaldo is confident the current team can come close to matching those achievements.
"I believe we'll win the Premier League and Champions League this season," the Portugal international told a national paper.
"We have the team, we have the players and we believe we can do it. There's a good chance we will. All the players feel good, feel sharp, feel quick and they are showing on the pitch their desire to play for Manchester United. In the last three or four games we have scored many goals and we are more confident now. Arsenal are very strong and are playing fantastic, attractive football. It will be a big game for us (on Saturday) but it's a good opportunity to see how good we are. Arsenal have started well but the season is a marathon - you have to be consistent."
29 October 2007
Striker Thierry Henry won the praise of Barcelona president Joan Laporta following his goal in the side's 2-0 win against Almeria.
The France international has struggled to find his best form since moving to Spain from Arsenal in a £16million transfer during the summer.
However, following his first goal in five matches and a penalty from Lionel Messi, Laporta led the support for Henry.
He said: "I'm very happy; it's so important for his self-confidence that he scored."
Team-mate Xavi added: "We searched for a lot today, and we found a lot, and [Henry] had a good match."
Meanwhile, coach Frank Rijkaard admitted that Barca were not at their best in the match, but was pleased to pick up maximum points.
28 October 2007
Sunderland boss Roy Keane has admitted he may have to alter his training regime after witnessing a first-half horror show against Fulham in the 1-1 draw on Saturday.
The Black Cats turned in a spectacularly inept first 45 minutes to belie the manager's assertion that they can make a significant impact in the top flight.
What transpired before the break made a second-half fightback look perhaps a little more impressive than it was, and while Keane was happy to see his players secure a reward for their efforts, he is well aware that, to a certain extent, that simply papered over the cracks.
In the wake of a frenetic finish, during which Kenwyne Jones' 86th-minute equaliser set the scene for substitute Anthony Stokes to almost snatch victory in injury-time, the Irishman revealed he had already started to analyse the reasons for a woeful start.
Keane, who has been hampered by injuries from the off this season, said: "We are asking players to keep pushing their bodies. That is well and good at Christmas or Easter, but so early in the season, it is something I don't like doing. As a manager, I have got to ask myself why we were so flat in the first half. Possibly we are training too hard, possibly we are pushing the players, and sometimes you can leave it out on the training pitch. Credit to our players, they train extremely hard. There is always that intensity, there are always tackles flying about. But then I ask myself why have we got a load of injuries? That is down to me as a manager and we have to look at that because in any game in the Premier League, if you start slow, it's not like a light switch, you cannot just switch it on. You have got to start quickly, and it was a long 45 minutes for us. But I am grateful that we got to half-time."
That the Wearsiders walked off with boos ringing in their ears only 1-0 down was something Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez was to live to regret after his side dominated the opening 45 minutes.
Simon Davies' 32nd-minute free-kick did the damage, but the visitors should perhaps already have been in front after the normally lethal David Healy latched on to Danny Higginbotham's suicidal pass across goal, but contrived to fire wide of the empty net from 20 yards.
Sunderland's improvement after the restart was marked, although it was not until the 70th minute that they really threatened with keeper Antti Niemi blocking Grant Leadbitter's shot after the midfielder broke through the cover.
The Finn repeated the feat at the death when confronted one-one-one by Stokes, but by then Jones had climbed highest to power home his fourth goal of the season from a Leadbitter cross to level.
Asked what he had said at half-time, Keane replied with a smile: "Not too much. Half-time came at a good time - I'm not sure for the players, but for me and the staff. It was a chance to make a few points to them, and credit to them, they took it on board. It was certainly a game of two halves. They were unrecognisable from the first half."
The result was all the more creditable after full-back Greg Halford's second dismissal of the season on 67 minutes for two bookable offences, a misdemeanour which will land him a two-match ban.
But if Halford was disappointed with his afternoon's work, his mood was more than matched by that of Sanchez, who has now seen his side go nine Barclays Premier League games without a win.
He said: "I see some results going on in the Premier League, I see sixes and sevens and fours and fives and threes. We had one bad half against Portsmouth and were beaten 2-0, and that's our worst game of the season. We have been in every other game against top teams from Arsenal all the way down to the Derbys of this world when we played with 10 men. We can compete, but what we cannot seem to do at this moment in time is gather three points from one game. We have to gather them from three games, which does make it rather difficult. But if we play like that in 90 per cent of our games, barring the last five minutes, we will be okay."
28 October 2007
Manchester City are set to hold talks with Nigerian starlet Macauley Chrisantus next week.
The 17-year-old striker was one of the stars of the recent World Under 17 championship as he helped Nigeria seal the title.
Christantus is currently plying his trade in his homeland with Abuja but a move to England could soon be sealed.
The youngster's agent, Adam Mohammed, confirmed that he and the player are set to hold talks with Sven Goran Eriksson.
"I can confirm Sven has written inviting myself and the boy for a discussion and we will be in England next week to conclude talks," he told the News of the World.
Mohammed admitted that an application for a work permit could be a stumbling block, but he voiced his optimism that one would be granted second time round.
"But there may be a snag with the issue of a work permit," he added.
"However, if it is refused first time we will get it second time if the club appeals."
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, Internazionale and Milan are also reportedly keen to snap up the youngster, but it appears that City have won the race to secure Chrisantus' services.
Meanwhile, Eriksson has called on striker Georgios Samaras to utilise his strengths, which he believes are his ability to be a powerful target man.
"Georgios has to decide what type of players he wants to be. He shouldn't be doing lots of tricks; he should be using his physical power. For me he is a central striker - and a good one," Eriksson told the News of the World.
"There is a big difference between the Samaras that I see now and the one I saw when I arrived in July. He could have gone in the summer but said he wanted to fight for his place and I'm happy that he did."
27 October 2007
Emmanuel Adebayor may well be enjoying his best season since moving to Arsenal, but he has told Gunners fans he intends to be a world-beater.
Adebayor has scored six league goals already this season, leaving him needing just another three to surpass his previous best tally of eight in an Arsenal jersey.
The Togo international could be heard singing the praises of Theo Walcott earlier in the week, predicting the teenager can surpass Thierry Henry, and Adebayor intends to achieve similar superstar status himself.
"In the game I'm very good," he told The Mail.
"I'm strong, I'm fast, I can jump high, my passing is good, my holding of the ball is per ... at the moment is very good. I nearly said perfect. But nothing is perfect, and I still need to work more on my finishing. I'm not saying I'm going to be the best player in the world, but I am going to be among them. When you talk to young players they all want to be Kaka, Ronaldinho, Henry. Their ambition is to be big and my ambition is to be big.'
A facet of Adebayor's game is his pace, which he reveals is only inferior to Armand Traore in the current Arsenal squad.
The powerful striker's performances have earned him comparisons to Chelsea's Didier Drogba, comparisons Adebayor is pleased to hear.
"A lot of people are saying that and it's a good thing, because Didier is one of the best," he added.
27 October 2007
Xabi Alonso will not allow his friendship with fellow Spaniard Cesc Fabregas to get in the way of trying to beat runaway Arsenal on Sunday.
Liverpool midfielder Alonso is hoping to make his comeback from a broken metatarsal in the clash which could define his club's Premier League season.
The seemingly fit-again 25-year-old surprisingly remained on the bench as his side stumbled to a shock Champions League defeat at the hands of Besiktas on Wednesday night.
The assumption was that boss Rafael Benitez was saving him for the showdown with Arsenal and Alonso's good friend and Spain colleague Fabregas.
Alonso told the Reds' official website: "He is one of their most important players and one of the most influential in the Premier League, no doubt about it. He has had a very good start to the season but hopefully this will not be repeated at Anfield. I will have a chat with him before the game, but he is one of the best around at the moment so I will not let friendship deflect me from trying to beat him."
Alonso has been impressed with the start Arsene Wenger's young Premier League leaders have made to the campaign as he looks to deny them a 13th straight victory in all competitions.
He said: "They are doing very well and are playing excellent football, probably the best football in the Premier League at the moment. They have a lot of mobility and plenty of players who are comfortable with the ball. They understand each other very well and that creates good football, and they are really nice to watch."
27 October 2007
Winger Jermaine Pennant will miss the remainder of Liverpool FC's bid to advance from UEFA Champions League Group A as he is expected to be sidelined for about ten weeks because of a fractured leg.
"For the last eight weeks Jermaine has undergone intensive treatment between matches," said a Liverpool statement.
"But following an acute exacerbation of the problem during the game against Beşiktaş [JK] it has now been decided he requires surgery."
Pennant, who was substituted in the 59th minute of the 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat in Turkey on Wednesday which left the Reds at the foot of the section, has a stress fracture of the right tibia.
Liverpool entertain Premier League leaders Arsenal FC on Sunday.
27 October 2007
Who has the loudest fans in the Premier League?
Decibel meter readings taken across home matches for all Premier League teams during August and September, showed that the loudest home crowd was Sunderland.
Average peak volume of the Sunderland crowd at home reaching 129.2 decibels & 150; louder than a rock concert (115 decibels) and almost as loud as an air raid siren/military jet (130 decibels).
As a volume of 110-115 decibels can cause hearing damage after just 15 minutes, football fans are being advised to wear ear protection if they want to hear the referees whistle clearly across their supporting career.
The findings are especially embarrassing for Arsenal and Manchester United, whose grounds dwarf the 49,000-seater Sunderland home ground by 11,000 and 21,000 seats respectively.
Quietest home fans were Fulham who could only muster an average maximum volume of 115.4 decibels at home.
And although not the loudest, Everton fans proved that they have the stamina to keep it up all match. Their chants were the most frequent (one every three minutes on average) and longest (52 seconds each on average) of all teams studied.
The ear-bending research was commissioned by 118118 who are searching for the best and loudest football chants in the country.
NOISE LEAGUE TABLE:
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Aston Villa
Everton
Chelsea
Middlesbrough
Derby County
Newcastle United
West Ham
Birmingham City
Arsenal
Portsmouth
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Liverpool
Manchester United
Wigan Athletic
Reading
Fulham
26 October 2007
Middlesbrough striker Jeremie Aliadiere has recovered from a hamstring injury and is expected to feature in this weekend's Premier League clash with Manchester United.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has not played since last month's game against West Ham United but his return is a major boost for Gareth Southgate and his struggling team.
The Boro boss told the club's official website: "We've missed Jeremie's pace and ability and his influence on the team. We've also got Robert Huth in light training and Emanuel Pogatetz has been in training with the team for a couple of days. When you start to get one or two players back into training, that's important because it gives the whole squad some light at the end of the tunnel."
Aliadiere has yet to open his goal account for Boro in six appearances for the club since his summer arrival at the Riverside Stadium from Arsenal.
26 October 2007
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says Rafa Benitez must challenge for the Premier League title to justify his transfer spending.
Speaking after Liverpool's loss to Besiktas in the Champions League, Hicks said that the league is the club's priority after Benitez based his pre-season spending on creating a squad capable of challenging Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Hicks and partner George Gillet sanctioned the purchase of Fernando Torres for £26.5million and Ryan Babel for £11.5million - among others - and are expecting a quick return on their investment.
Hicks told The Guardian: "One of the reasons we made the signings we did in the summer was to create the depth we now have. Rafa explained to George and me that is how you win the Prem, because you have to play every team twice. We totally support Rafa, nobody wants to win more than Rafa. But I know when we committed the resources for signings in the summer the whole idea was to have a team that could compete for the Premier League. We've not had the depth previously to do that. This squad is good enough to win things. It should be winning things. If it doesn't we'll have to look at the circumstances and have a meeting at the end of the year to understand what happened. I don't want to predict failure, I want to predict success."
Liverpool face unbeaten league leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.
