Rangers boss Walter Smith has hailed David Weir as his best value-for-money signing as the defender continues to defy all the odds.
Smith took Weir to Everton for less than £200,000 back in 1999, before calling on his services again as Scotland manager.
He then helped fulfil the player's lifelong ambition by signing him for Rangers after returning to the Ibrox helm in January.
Despite now being in the twilight of his career at the age of 37, Weir has been in outstanding form recently in the Premier League and the Champions League, as well as European Championship qualifiers with Scotland.
"We paid £180,000 for him from Hearts and I have to say he is the best pound-for-pound signing I've made," said Smith.
"He has done it on three occasions for me now as you have to look at what he did when he came back into the international team. From my own point of view, I don't think I could find anybody I could speak more highly of. Plus he is a nice lad as well."
Smith firmly believes Everton's loss has been Rangers' gain, after the Toffees sanctioned the switch to Ibrox almost a year ago.
He said: "At Everton, it was a natural thing for them to look at him and think 'how long can he go on?' But, when I see the way he is playing for us, he is beating that argument by making us aware that he brings something to the team that few people can do."
Smith added: "I don't know how he keeps going, but he doesn't like to take his days off. He does things properly, makes sure he gets plenty of rest and it seems to work for him. He has been terrific lately, not just for Rangers but for the international team as well. I said to him during pre-season training that maybe he shouldn't do as much as the rest of them, but he did every bit. He doesn't like to be looked upon as being different from anybody else and it has stood him in good stead. I think he is looking at a lot of players across Europe at the moment who are playing into their late 30s and sometimes 40s. He's only 37 so he's thinking he can keep going."
Smith believes Weir has been a shining example to his team-mates both on and off the park since his arrival at Rangers.
"I think Davie is good for any young player and even the guys in their late 20s, who want to play for as long as possible," he said.
"Any player who plays to that age has to sacrifice something and he dedicates himself to his profession. I would hope a lot of the other players look at him and try to pick up good habits from him."
27 October 2007
Tim Cahill made a goalscoring return to action and insisted the time has come for Everton to make their mark in Europe.
The Australia midfielder, 27, made his first senior appearance in almost seven months in Thursday's 3-1 victory against Greek outfit Larissa.
"Europe is very important to us because it is probably the thing that we've been missing," said Cahill, who signed a new five-year deal in the summer.
"We've been so close yet so far away and this is the added ingredient that we need. We've done well in the league in the last few seasons but doing well in Europe is what the fans and players like myself have been waiting for. I've always wanted to play in Europe and this is a massive boost for myself and the reason why I re-signed. This is possibly the next level for this football club. We're pretty much established in the Premier League and the next level was to get to Europe and to try to make this pinnacle and a stepping stone to even greater things."
The Australian international continued, "The team performance against Larissa was great and I was made up to get a goal. Overall, I'm just happy to get the minutes on the pitch. It's been very difficult but when you work with good staff it makes it easier and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was a bit of a shock that I started the game but I'm just happy to be a part of us doing well in Europe. I've done all I can to get myself fully fit and now it's about playing games of football now."
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
25 October 2007
David Moyes believes the burning sense of injustice coursing through Everton's squad will spur them to success after claiming the Merseyside derby was like 12 v nine.
Boss Moyes is still livid with referee Mark Clattenburg after Everton had Tony Hibbert and Phil Neville sent off in the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool.
The Scot remains convinced the official was influenced by Reds skipper Steven Gerrard and wrong to ignore Everton's penalty shout when Joleon Lescott was wrestled to the ground by Jamie Carragher.
But ahead of the Group A tie at home to Greek side Larissa, Moyes said: "We had to play 12 v nine on Saturday but the disappointment will make us stronger."
24 October 2007
Defender Alan Stubbs has called on his Everton team-mates to forget the derby defeat to Liverpool and secure a win against Larissa.
The veteran stopper has witnessed the Toffees secure just two wins in their previous eight games - against Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Cup and Middlesbrough in the Premiership - while they head into Thursday's opening UEFA Cup group game against Greek side Larissa at Goodison Park on the back of Saturday's disappointing and controversial 2-1 reverse against the Reds.
However, while the Toffees could be forgiven for feeling sorry for themselves, Stubbs wants the players to pick the good points from the defeat to Liverpool and get back to winning ways against the team which knocked Blackburn out of Europe this season.
Stubbs told the Daily Post: "We have got to forget about the derby. We have got a big game on Thursday and if we play the way we did from 15 minutes onwards to just after half-time, then I think we will be fine. Our performance was much better against Liverpool. The result was obviously very disappointing but coming away from the derby with a draw would have set us up nicely for the game against Larissa. We just have to dust ourselves down now and we have got a great game to lift ourselves up in. I wouldn't have thought we'd lost four of the last five if someone had asked me that. I don't think that's a fair reflection. But we have just got to keep going. Things will turn for us. We never got the rub of the green against Liverpool. We feel as if we have been robbed but performance-wise the manager was quite happy with us and we look forward now to going into Thursday."
24 October 2007
Tim Cahill and James Vaughan are both hoping to return from injury for Everton's UEFA Cup home clash against Larissa on Thursday.
Australian international midfielder Cahill has yet to feature for the first team this season having suffered a metatarsal break in a friendly against Werder Bremen at the end of July.
Indeed he has not played for the Toffees since the game at Sheffield United on March 3 when he picked up the same foot injury first time around.
However, having just missed out on returning for the Merseyside derby, boss David Moyes will check on Cahill's fitness ahead of the opening group game against the Greek side at Goodison Park.
Striker Vaughan is also in line to feature after recovering from a shoulder operation and three-month lay-off having dislocated the joint at Preston in a pre-season clash, while midfielder Thomas Gravesen is fit following a recent knee injury.
23 October 2007
Rafael Benitez does not expect his weekend substitution of Steven Gerrard to have any long-term implications for Liverpool.
Gerrard was replaced during Saturday's 2-1 win at local rivals Everton and has admitted to being 'hurt and disappointed' by the decision.
Reds boss Benitez has discussed the matter with his skipper and feels his decision was justified by Lucas Levia's role in securing the decisive penalty.
"Normally you can understand the reaction because it's a derby and it was special," said Benitez on Sky Sports News.
"Stevie is a key player and I think everything will be the same, in terms of if I need to use him I will use him for sure, and if I need to replace him he knows that it's thinking about the best for the team. After talking to him he knows my idea. As a manager you need to make decisions in the moment. In this case Lucas Levia was a big part of the victory, so I think that everything was okay."
Liverpool now head to Istanbul to tackle Besiktas on Wednesday and Benitez is aware of the importance of winning the match following one point from two UEFA Champions League games.
He added: "It's clear we need to go to Istanbul and try to win, and see what happens in the other game. We just have to wait, keep working and think about winning every game. I think they (the players) have the experience, they don't need to say anything. They know how important it is to win the game, keep focused and do the right things during the game."
22 October 2007
Mark Clattenburg will not referee a Premier League match this weekend after being criticised for his handling of the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
He incurred the wrath of Everton after sending off Tony Hibbert for fouling Steven Gerrard in the box.
Dirk Kuyt scored the penalty and 10 minutes later was only booked for a two-footed lunge at Phil Neville.
It meant Kuyt was still on the pitch to take the last-minute penalty that gave Liverpool a 2-1 victory.
Kuyt admitted afterwards the tackle "looks bad", adding: "Maybe I was a bit lucky."
But Everton defender Alan Stubbs was among the players unhappy at Clattenburg's performance.
"It was a two-footed lunge. If a player leaves the ground with both feet, that's a red card," he said.
"In the laws of the game if a player goes in with two feet and makes a lunge, and that is what it was, it's a red."
On the penalty Stubbs added: "The referee went to book Tony Hibbert holding a yellow card, Steven Gerrard walked past him (the referee) and it changed to a red. We saw the replays. That's disappointing. We were 1-0 at half-time and on top, we had control of the game."
At the end Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher appeared to haul Joleon Lescott to the ground as Everton's nine men fought for an equaliser.
And Stubbs raged: "If the referee looks at the decision again he will see the penalty appeal was right. Their lad had his arms all around Joleon, what was he supposed to do? It's a stonewall penalty. The referee was close, but that means nothing. He was close to a lot of things and didn't give them. We are disappointed because we have lost. But there was zero feedback from the referee, I think they should have to come out after a game and explain themselves. We have to explain ourselves if we make bad decisions or mistakes, why not referees?"
22 October 2007
David Moyes could be in trouble with the Premier League after suggesting that Mark Clattenburg was influenced by the Liverpool players in Saturday's Merseyside derby.
Clattenburg gave Liverpool two penalties, but perhaps more importantly denied Everton two of their own as Rafa Benitez's side ran out 2-1 winners.
Moyes was also annoyed that Tony Hibbert was sent off for conceding the first penalty, when Clattenburg initially appeared to produce a yellow card but took out the red after Steven Gerrard protested.
"They (Liverpool players) were always in there with him and maybe he wants to be friendly with them," Moyes said in The Guardian.
"That is as tough as I have ever had it from a referee, especially in a big game. Just incredible. Didn't he go to Asia with Liverpool for the Asian Cup this summer?"
Benitez himself had some words to say about the final penalty decision, when Jamie Carragher appeared to drag Joleon Lescott over in the penalty area in the final seconds of the game.
"In England you don't like to see players diving so it was a surprise to me," Benitez said after the game.
Two Dirk Kuyt penalties gave Liverpool the points after a Sami Hyypia own goal had put Everton ahead in the first half.
22 October 2007
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez remains adamant that he made the right decision to substitute skipper Steven Gerrard late on in the 2-1 Merseyside derby victory at Everton.
Gerrad reacted badly to being substituted 19 minutes from time at Goodison Park, with Benitez opting to bring on Lucas Leiva in the England man's place.
However, the tactic worked as the Reds stole victory with a last-minute penalty, in a controversial clash dominated by the bizarre decisions of referee Mark Clattenburg.
Benitez told the Daily Post: "The idea was clear. We were playing with 11 players against ten, we had plenty of possession and we needed to control the ball. I needed to change a player for playing between the lines around the midfielders. Gerrard is a fantastic player, there is no doubt about this, but you are playing the game and you need to take decisions to win the game. If I'd had needed to change Pepe Reina because he was nervous I would do it. Sometimes you need to wait, sometimes you need to do it. He wanted to play for sure. I tried to talk to him, but he was disappointed. The clever decision will be to look at it with him later and analyse why the decision was made. I think he will understand, because it is normal to do the best for the team."
