Wilshere's Return to Arsenal Action

Arsenal's 20 year-old midfielder Jack Wilshere had the worst possible start to his season, after being told during the clubs pre-season schedule that he will be out for at least the first half of the competitive season requiring surgery to correct a stress fracture in his right ankle.

Four months on, and Arsenal have been given a major boost with news that Jack Wilshere is thankfully close to a return from his unfortunate injury. The Arsenal medical team are hoping to have the English midfielder back in first team training later this month or early in February, meaning he will be available for Arsenal's push for the top four in the League and progression in Europe during the second half of the season.

His rehabilitation process will of course include at least a few weeks of training to get back to match fitness and regain his footballing sharpness, so he will obviously not be thrown into first team action immediately but will rather be slowly introduced back into the side in stages. Wenger will be hoping that Wilshere is available for Arsenal's clash with Blackburn on February 4th or Sunderland a week later with the possibility of playing a part in the clubs first leg Champions League second round game against AC Milan on the 15th.

Arsenal cannot afford to take anymore risks with Wilshere's fitness, as it is likely that Wenger overplaying the youngster last season caused the players stress fracture. The problem is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" and also heavy continuous weight on the ankle or leg - in Wilshere's case, the ankle. Wilshere's "stress fracture" will not have appeared suddenly, but over time through repeated traumas, which when added together, week in, week out of playing football, were enough to cause severe pain to the ankle.

He appeared in an amazing 49 games last season in all competitions, which shows the importance of the young midfielder. His aggressive style of play, combined with his excellent vision and ability to find a pass and link up play from defence to attack has been missed at Arsenal, and his return will be hugely welcome on the back of two successive disappointing results against Fulham and Swansea.

Arsenal face Manchester United on Sunday, and on the back of a loss to newly promoted Swansea, Wenger has called on his side to "wake up" and "be focused" as they hope to exact at least some revenge on the side which hit eight past them at Old Trafford earlier in the season. The Arsenal manager said: "It is a massive opportunity [next Sunday] because you feel we have given six points away in the last two games in a way that is unbelievable. It is time for us to wake up and be focused."

A huge problem which was apparent against both Fulham and Swansea was Arsenal's defensive frailties. Having scored an equalizer through Theo Walcott, the side then conceded seconds later thanks to a severe lack of focus and naivety at the back. They cannot afford that against Manchester United, and will hope to avoid mistakes with key defenders such as Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna hopeful of a return.

View the original article here

Read More

Legal Action And A Powerful Ant

So the news is back! Sorry for the delays with some of my recent articles, but Wordpress has been acting up. The transfer window is very much alive, unfortunately.

• Juventus continue to pursue a striker in La Liga, but it’s no longer Sergio Aguero, instead Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi might be on his way to Turin. His agent confirmed that Juventus and Villarreal are discussing a possible transfer, and reports claim that the Bianconeri have made a 25 million bid. Although the Spanish side want 5 million more.


• Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has insisted that Marek Hamisk can leave if a bid of 100 million is made. I swear he had a straight face on while talking to Corriere dello Sport: “Unless an indecent proposal of €100 million arrives, Hamsik will stay where he is”.


• Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo has rejected a contract renewal according to Andrea Della Valle. The Honorary President has admitted: “He evidently doesn’t want to stay here. Now he needs to tell us, and quickly, where he wants to go and play.” The Italian Internationale’s contract expires in 2012.


• Liverpool’s Raul Merireles has quashed rumours linking him with a move to Serie A, with Inter and Juventus the two clubs mentioned. When asked would he be at Anfield next season he responded: “Of course”.


• Back to Juventus, and Corinthians President Andres Sanchez claims they made a 52 million bid for Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez. After his own club made a 35 million offer for the Argentinian ace. The striker seems set to move back to South America after he announced he was leaving City for personal reasons.

Giovinco Is Happy The Way Things Have Gone

Sebastian Giovinco claims he has no regrets about staying at Parma instead of going back to Juventus, although he didn’t keep it at that. Also accusing Italians of being xenophiles.

“I am happy with the way things have gone. Juventus? They were the ones that sent me away. If I was to come back they would have to convince me. Parma have allowed me to break into the international setup”.

La Formica Atomica better be careful...

Italian magazine that interviewed him, Calcio 2000, persisted to ask strange questions: ‘Would my career have been easier if I was called Giovinho, prob yes’. The ‘Atomic Ant’ better be careful because Parma are not going anywhere fast (no offense), and bigger clubs could right him off based on his attitude.

2006 Scudetto Legal Action

Current Juventus President Andrea Agnelli has threatened to take legal action if the FIGC do not revoke the 2006 Scudetto from Internaztionale Milano. The FIGC will convene on Monday to make a decision, although it looks unlikely that the Scudetto will be removed, as it looks as though they are not legally permitted. Agnelli pressed his view by saying:

“It’s not time for bureaucracy, it’s time for essence. The dialogue will be restored only when these conditions will be guaranteed. People’s respectability isn’t at stake, especially the honourableness of those who cannot argue. We’re playing for the credibility of the system.”

Since the Calciopoli II trial in Naples evidence has emerged that Inter were also involved in match-fixing. A executive committee have spent the last month examining the evidence. Many Juventus fans have  been up in arms, as it looks as though Inter will not be punished. As Calciopoli continues to show it’s ugly head.

Follow me on the twitters @dylan_fahy

View the original article here

Rangers face UEFA action over chants

UEFA has announced that Rangers face disciplinary action over alleged discriminatory chanting.



The club's fans have been reported for chants during their Europa League last-16 first-leg tie against PSV Eindhoven on March 10.



A UEFA spokesman said: "There is a disciplinary case open against Rangers. It will be discussed on April 28 by the control and disciplinary committee in Nyon."



In a statement on the club's official website, Rangers chief executive Martin Bain said: "We are utterly dismayed to be informed by UEFA that it is to take disciplinary action against the club. We will defend the club's position vigorously at the hearing which is scheduled for later this month.



"UEFA has already made clear in previous disciplinary hearings that sanctions against Rangers have been mitigated by the extensive work the club does to tackle sectarianism.



"A high-ranking UEFA delegation also described our club as exemplars of best practice in this area and only a few weeks ago the First Minister complimented us on the efforts we make as a club.



"Our position regarding sectarian and offensive singing has been made clear time and again - we condemn it and those who indulge in it only damage the interests of the club.



"We have worked closely with our supporters groups to try to deal with this issue and believe that few other clubs make as big an effort to tackle anti-social behaviour.



"We are not saying there is not a problem but we are saying that for many years now we have made strenuous attempts to address it. We do, however, believe that it is absurd to think that only Rangers supporters sing offensive or sectarian songs.



"That is patently not the case and we are left to conclude that there is a disproportionate focus on Rangers. It has also become clear there are people who have been determined to undermine our club at any cost and have constantly lobbied UEFA and other organisations to take action against Rangers."



The disciplinary case is the fourth Rangers have faced at the hands of UEFA in the last five years.



In November 2009 they were fined £18,000 after their fans clashed with Romanian police during a Champions League match against Unirea Urziceni. Two years earlier, the club were fined £8,280 on an improper conduct charge for fans' behaviour at a UEFA Cup game against Osasuna.



The Scottish champions were fined £13,300 for supporters' discriminatory chanting and £9,000 following an attack on their opponents' team bus during an away game against Villarreal in 2006.



View the Original article

Read More