Cardiff have signed Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on a month's loan.
The 20 year old goes straight into the squad for the visit of Scunthorpe on Saturday after a proposed move to Coca-Cola Championship rivals Coventry collapsed earlier this week.
"The Bluebirds confirm the signing of Kasper Schmeichel from Manchester City initially on a month's loan," read a Cardiff statement.
"The keeper will link up with the squad and will take the number one shirt vacated by Ross Turnbull, who has returned to Middlesbrough."
27 October 2007
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared Owen Hargreaves fit and ready to start against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The England international has been restricted to just three appearances since his £18million move from Bayern Munich after failing to shrug off a knee problem.
However, an injection to cure swelling caused by tendonitis appears to have worked and the 26-year-old is now in line to face Boro.
"Owen is fit to start tomorrow (Saturday)," said Ferguson.
"It's been frustrating for him, missing games is not what he came here for. He's come here for a big fee and he must be a bit disappointed with the way things have gone. But it is a long season and he is back now which is terrific news for us because it gives us a better chance of doing well."
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
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is confident new recruit Anderson can plug the gap vacated by the injured Paul Scholes.
Scholes is tipped to miss Saturday's clash with Middlesbrough - and possibly next weekend's summit meeting with Arsenal - with the knee injury he picked up in training prior to Tuesday's Champions League win against Dynamo Kiev.
But 19-year-old Anderson, a £17million summer signing from FC Porto, proved more than a capable understudy in Ukraine and is expected to get the nod to continue alongside either Darren Fletcher or John O'Shea, with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick still out injured.
Team-mate Rooney is pleased Anderson is finally settling down and is confident he can flourish in Scholes' absence.
"Anderson has come in and done really well," said Rooney.
"A lot of people don't realise how young he is. But he has great confidence and belief in his own ability and has produced some good performances recently."
25 October 2007
Chelsea's Frank Lampard believes Didier Drogba is irreplaceable, and he has emphasised the importance of holding onto their star striker.
Drogba's recent revelations put his Blues future in doubt; however he has since expressed his regret at his comments and demonstrated his commitment on the pitch.
The Ivory Coast international netted the opener in the weekend victory over Middlesbrough, and then wrapped up the points in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph over Schalke.
Lampard believes Drogba is the best in the business when it comes to playing as a lone striker, and he has urged the club to ensure he is happy at Stamford Bridge.
"It is important for Chelsea that he stays. Players like Didier you want alongside you," he told the Evening Standard.
"He makes his own decisions but when he is here and playing for us, even with all the controversy of the last week or two, he has put in two performances which show what he is all about. Didier is the best; it is as simple as that. There are different types of players, like Wayne Rooney, an absolutely fantastic, world-class player who comes off defenders and creates and scores. But as an out and out striker there is no one better than Didier. He has an all-round game with pace, power, is a team player, scores goals with his head and feet and holds the line. He is a great lad to have in the dressing room, will always fight to the end and the way he has played in the last 18 months there is no one better in world football."
25 October 2007
Sir Alex Ferguson believes his current crop of stars can go on to establish Manchester United as the world's undisputed top club.
Not content with breaking Chelsea's stranglehold on the Premier League title last season, United spent more than £50million over the summer to build on the success.
New signings Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Carlos Tevez and Anderson have already made telling contributions to the current campaign, taking the team second in the league.
Having clicked into gear in an attacking vein with 12 goals in the last three games, Ferguson now wants to see his side go on to achieve true greatness.
"The last time we had a youthful squad like this, back in 1999, we won the Treble," Ferguson told a national newspaper.
"Now it's time for a new Reds dynasty to step forward, to achieve even more. My mission, our mission, is to make United the undisputed number one club in England, Europe and the world. We want to be challenging, and winning, on all fronts. That's the United way. Never standing still, always striving for higher and higher standards."
It had looked as if The Red Devils were going to prioritise Europe this season, in this the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air disaster.
But Ferguson's latest statement of intent will now be a concern for boss Gareth Southgate, who takes his Middlesbrough side to Old Trafford in the league on Saturday.
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."
21 October 2007
Steve McClaren insists he is still fully equipped to be England manager.
McClaren's job prospects are hanging by a thread following Wednesday's stunning loss in Russia, which snatched Euro 2008 qualification out of England's hands.
Despite support from Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick and vice-chairman Sir David Richards in the aftermath of the Moscow misery, it is widely assumed McClaren will be axed should Russia win their final two games in Israel and Andorra next month and force England to miss a major tournament for the first time since the 1994 World Cup.
McClaren has pointedly refused to discuss his future, other than to confirm the matter, like qualification, is out of his hands and that he will not give up on England's chances until all 12 Group E matches have been completed.
Yet the former Middlesbrough boss still believes, as he always has, that he has the right credentials for the job.
"I thought I was equipped for the job at the beginning, I thought it after five games, half-way through, three-quarters of the way through and I feel that now," he said.
"We are building something. People can see that. It is for other people to judge whether I deserve more time. I enjoy the job. They are a great set of players to work for and the spirit has been excellent all the way through. The momentum has built up as we have gone on. Unfortunately, we have just lost that momentum."
There is actually merit in McClaren's words given the England coach who presided over the Russia failure is a vastly different beast to the one who handled the home draw with Macedonia and subsequent defeat to Croatia 12 months ago, a period which, in the final analysis, will prove fatal unless Israel's home form holds when Russia head to Tel Aviv on November 17.
From the depths of total humiliation during the first half against Andorra in Barcelona last March, McClaren's attitude has changed.
There has been less pandering to outside forces, more strong decisions, more vision, more focus, more steel, more resolve. Just about more everything. Unfortunately, it may count for nothingh even though the last England manager who failed to take a team into a major tournament and kept his job - Sir Bobby Robson - is proof that a trigger-happy approach is not always the right one.
Amid the feeding frenzy of the next month before England are in action again, against Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria 24 hours before the match which could seal McClaren's fate, the current coach must try to keep a clear head, just in case Israel do halt Russia's march and offer England a lifeline that must be grasped against Croatia at Wembley.
Among the subjects uppermost in his mind is how England's players, for all their multi-million-pound salaries and massive reputations, fail so often at big moments in big games.
"I very rarely make a snap analysis about a game but the mental side is certainly something we do talk about," said McClaren.
"Can we handle certain situations? That will be looked at again."
However, as he is only too aware, the major focus over the next four weeks will be on McClaren himself and the unhappy situation he finds himself in.
"Of course, I will think about it," McClaren admitted.
"I will deal with it as I have dealt with everything else. This is a big job. It is a high pressure job. I feel as if whatever has come at me, I have handled. We have all handled it and we have come through it. You can see that. We all want to achieve. It is my job to make sure we do."
Taken as an isolated game, there is no reason why Russia should win in Israel. England could not do it in this qualifying campaign. France, Switzerland or the Republic of Ireland failed to do it during the last World Cup qualifying phase either. And, as Russia failed to beat Israel on home soil, English optimism is not entirely based on quicksand.
"It doesn't feel like the end of the line because it isn't," said McClaren.
"We just have to hope Israel's approach is right and they get the result we want. It is out of our hands but we live in hope."
21 October 2007
Chelsea manager Avram Grant insisted that striker Didier Drogba is still 100 per cent committed to the club, following the 2-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Drogba had spoken of his desire to quit Stamford Bridge earlier this week, having seemingly become disillusioned by the shock departure of former manager Jose Mourinho.
However, Grant said after the Riverside success, in which Drogba scored: "I have seen Didier in the last month in training, in my room, on the pitch, I haven't had one problem. If he has done something off the pitch and he regrets it, it's good. He is not a negative person. If he was negative on the pitch or in the dressing room or when he spoke to me, that is another story. But it's not like this. Players need to speak on the pitch and he did that very well. I can tell you I have heard what the player said to me and how he has behaved on the pitch and off the pitch. When he speaks to me, he is very positive and when he is on the pitch, he is very positive. He is not a negative guy and that is what's important."
