Premier League: HR happy to take chance on Saha

Saha: Tottenham new boy

Saha, 33, joined Tottenham just before Tuesday night's 11pm deadline in one of the surprise moves of the January window.
The Frenchman replaces Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has headed for Lokomotiv Moscow for £8million while Steven Pienaar returned to Goodison Park for the rest of the season following Saha's exit.
Many have questioned Redknapp's judgement in bringing in an injury-prone striker past his prime, but he has a history of turning players who are supposedly over the hill in to good performers.
Redknapp reinvigorated the career of Paolo di Canio at West Ham, somehow managed to get Kanu scoring goals while he was at the twilight of his career at Portsmouth, and has also got the best out of 34-year-old William Gallas since he arrived from Arsenal two summers ago.
Redknapp is confident that he has not taken a gamble by signing Saha. He said: "He's got good movement, can score goals but probably needs a change. He's out of contract at the end of the year so (Everton boss) David Moyes has let him go.
"I can remember speaking to Rio Ferdinand and he said he was the best forward he'd played against."
Tottenham shipped out Sebastien Bassong on loan to Wolves and were awaiting confirmation on Wednesday morning that their bid to sign Blackburn's veteran defender Ryan Nelsen to replace him had gone through.
Nelsen, 34, was out of contract at the end of the season and has only played once for Rovers this term, making him an even more surprising choice than Saha.
Redknapp insists the New Zealander will have a big impact at Tottenham if the deal goes through, however.
"I think he's a great competitor and a good sort to have at your club," Redknapp said after last night's 3-1 win over Wigan.
"I have always liked him."
The arrival of both players is welcome given that Redknapp saw his injury list increase last night.
Rafael van der Vaart (calf), Kyle Walker (groin) and Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) all hobbled off through injury and are doubts for Monday's game at Liverpool.
Spurs are already without long-term absentees Gallas (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle), while Michael Dawson has only just returned from an Achilles layoff.
The only other bits of business concluded at Tottenham on Tuesday saw Vedran Corluka join Bayer Leverkusen until the end of the season and youngster Adam Smith sign for Leeds on loan for the rest of the current campaign.

Premier League: Dalglish says that Doubts were insulting

Dalglish: No late Reds business

Liverpool reportedly made an approach to sign Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez last week and offered England international Andy Carroll in exchange.
Dalglish had stated on Monday that he would not discuss the speculation and also confirmed he was not intending to make any late additions to his squad.
However, there were rumours on deadline day that the Reds would try to persuade City into letting Tevez move to Anfield on loan for the rest of the season.
The Reds ultimately signed no-one on the last day of the transfer window and Dalglish is disappointed that his previous comments had been questioned.
"We don't need to justify the rumours," said Dalglish after Tuesday night's 3-0 win at Wolves. "That is not our problem.
"You must think we tell you lies because we came out and told you yesterday (Monday) there would be nothing happening.
"It's a wee bit insulting when people don't believe you and I don't see why we need to be anything other than truthful."
Craig Bellamy was the star of the show as he ran the Wolves defence ragged in addition to netting his ninth goal of the campaign.
Dalglish said: "Craig was fantastic again. I wish his numbers were the other way around that, instead of being 32, I wish he was 23.
"Craig doesn't do anything that surprises you. He prepares himself really well for matches.
"He knows the best thing for himself within the framework of the team. When he gets the ball, you are expecting something to happen."

Premier League: AVB maintains Torres defence

Torres: Frustrating night at Swansea

The Spaniard once again drew a blank in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Swansea at the Liberty Stadium as he marked the anniversary of his £50million move to the Blues with another anonymous performance.
Torres has scored just five goals since his big-money move from Liverpool, and he has not found the net in the 17 matches since he got on the scoresheet in the Champions League win over Genk in October.
His last Premier League goal came when Chelsea beat Swansea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in September.
Torres is enjoying an extended run in the Blues team with Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou away on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the African Nations Cup. And while Villas-Boas is happy to put his faith in Torres, he hinted that the former Atletico Madrid forward may face a battle to keep his place when Drogba returns.
"It is normal, he is taking his time," he said of Torres.
"The confidence is there and we believe a lot in the player, he helped the team with his lay offs and passing and in this situation he has to continue to persist and maybe we can create opportunities that can help us win games.
"If we need to create more opportunities for him to score then that's what we need to do."
He added: "The two players (Drogba and Torres) compete for the striker position, when Didier arrives back it will be healthy competition and we know the significance of Didier to this team and his goals record.
"We will reassess things when Didier comes back and see how tired he is. His ambition is to stay with us and try and win trophies, so he will be a major plus for the team."
And Villas-Boas will have another headache to contend with after seeing Ashley Cole sent off when the England full-back was shown a second yellow card for his challenge on Swansea winger Nathan Dyer with five minutes to go at the Liberty Stadium, a dismissal that rules him out of Sunday's meeting with Manchester United.
Swansea had led thanks to Scott Sinclair's stunning 39th-minute volley against his former club, but were denied a repeat of their famous victory over Arsenal when Jose Bosingwa's stoppage time ball across the box took a wicked deflection off Neil Taylor to beat Swansea keeper Michel Vorm.

Premier League: Rovers boss eager to move on

Kean: Happy with Rovers' signings

The Rovers boss fended off interest for wantaway defender and captain Chris Samba and striker Junior Hoilett, who have both been linked with several clubs.
Keith Andrews was the only confirmed departure from the north west club on deadline day - although veteran Ryan Nelsen may be belatedly unveiled as a Tottenham player if his move went through in time last night - while Rovers secured two late additions before the window closed.
Midfielder Andrews, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Championship side Ipswich, moved to West Brom on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
Earlier on Tuesday, Blackburn secured the services of defender Marcus Olsson - who joins his twin brother Martin - on a free transfer from Swedish side Halmstad, with QPR defender Bradley Orr moving to Ewood Park on a two-and-a-half year deal.
They join striker Anthony Modeste who moved to Blackburn from Bordeaux on loan earlier in the month, with Rovers midfielder David Dunn signing a contract extension until June next year.
Despite only bringing three new players to the club, Kean is confident he has done enough to ensure Blackburn avoid relegation.
"We've managed to get three new players in," Kean said ahead of tonight's match with Newcastle. "We did our business on the way in and are done and dusted."
And the Rovers boss believes that Samba, who handed in a transfer request last month, with knuckle down and rediscover his best form now the window has closed.
"We were very strong with our statement earlier on," Kean said.
"We want him to be part of the club, he signed a long-term deal and we want him to get back on it and get his head around the fact that he's going to be here.
"In the last window and windows before that, as soon as it closed and he got his head around being here, his performance levels were excellent.
"It's never nice when someone makes a transfer request, but a contract is a two-way thing. We never accepted the transfer request and we want him to be a part of what we're trying to do here.
"I know he's put in his request, I'll need to speak to him and say 'We need to move forward now, we need to get you back in the frame, we need to get you mentally prepared properly and there are no physical problems'."

Premier League: Mick accepts Wolves complaints

McCarthy: Not happy after home defeat

Second-half goals from Andy Carroll, Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt at Molineux completed a memorable seven days for the Reds after their Carling Cup and FA Cup triumphs over the two Manchester clubs.
But Wolves have now gone nine league games without a win - a run from which they have collected just four points - and there were boos at the final whistle on Tuesday night.
McCarthy said: "After the last home game (against Aston Villa), there were huge rumours that I wouldn't be here.
"I can't imagine there will be any less after this game. We will see. I can hear what the fans are saying and I fully understand it.
"It was an unacceptable performance from us in the second half and watching that was unacceptable for me or anybody else.
"That's as bad a performance as we've had here or away. Fans pay good money to come and watch and they expect better and I understand that.
"If I had been watching, I'd have probably responded like that as well."
McCarthy added: "The lads are hurting, there are none of them that have come and not tried.
"But once we've conceded, we've gone on to be beaten by a considerably better side who have just beaten Manchester City and Manchester United.
"If you give them goals then it becomes hard work but I understand people's reactions."
The only consolation for McCarthy was the signing of Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong on loan until the end of the season shortly before the transfer window closed.

Premier League: Pranjic 'almost joined Toffees'

Pranjic: Out of favour at Bayern

The Croatia international is out of favour at the Allianz Arena and was open to the prospect of moving on in January.
Everton were prepared to offer him a route out of Bayern, with David Moyes leaving it late to bolster his Goodison Park ranks.
Pranjic, who can operate in defence or in midfield, saw Bayern block his path, though, with their unrealistic demands causing talks to break down.
"I had an agreement with Everton for two-and-a-half years," the 30-year-old told Sportske Novosti.
"I was ready to board a plane and I was really happy because I knew that Everton were serious and that they had big plans for me.
"But now it is all over and this is a catastrophe. I can't describe the negative feelings I have.
"Bayern wanted so much money that everybody knew that Everton would not pay.
"I'm so unhappy because I was sure that I would be leaving Bayern. I don't play and now the opportunity to play in the Premier League has gone. I'm so unhappy."

Premier League: Terry trial scheduled for July

Terry: Denies charge

The player did not attend a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday, but his barrister George Carter-Stephenson QC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Terry, 31, is accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence over video footage which appears to show him shout an offensive comment at QPR defender Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.

Leading figures in soccer call on Blatter to step down

Leading figures in the world of soccer, including superstar David Beckham, on Thursday blasted FIFA President Sepp Blatter for controversial remarks he made on racism in an interview with CNN World Sport.

The head of world football told CNN's Pedro Pinto there is no on-field racism in football and that any player who has been abused should simply shake hands with his opponent at the end of the match and move on.

Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, a former England captain, expressed his outrage on Twitter, blasting Blatter's comments as "so condescending it's almost laughable."

"I think the remarks were appalling, personally," Beckham said in an interview with CNN's Paul Vercammen. "All I care about is keeping racism out of soccer and out of sport. Because it's not just in sports it's in life in general. So it has to be stopped and we're part of that."

Beckham, who plays in the United States for LA Galaxy, said something should be done, but he stopped short of saying Blatter should step down.
The chief executive of England's Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, told CNN that Blatter should quit.

"He should step down," he said. "This is the straw that broke the camel's back. We need football to set a good example, so this is inexcusable.

The Swiss was re-elected unopposed as the head of football's governing body in June after his main rival was suspended amid corruption allegations. The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was also dogged by bribery allegations.

Soon after Blatter gave his interview to CNN on Wednesday, his position appeared to be undermined when the English Football Association charged Liverpool's Luis Suarez with racism toward a fellow player.

Suarez allegedly taunted Manchester United's French defender Patrice Evra. Suarez, from Uruguay, denies the claims.

London's Metropolitan Police are also investigating allegations of racism against Chelsea and England captain John Terry. He denies claims he racially abused the brother of Rio Ferdinand, Anton, during a Premier League match.

Blatter: No on-field racism in football

The UK sports minister Hugh Robertson echoed calls for Blatter to quit. "Racism is a criminal offense in this country and anybody who is caught will face criminal sanctions," he told CNN.

"What Sepp Blatter has said, in this country, is just completely wrong as well as morally indefensible. This is the latest episode that calls into question whether this man should be the head of world football. For the sake of the game, he should go.

"We have been consistent in our calls for improved governance at FIFA and this underlines the need for that once more. We must never be complacent in our efforts to tackle racism. There is no place or excuse for it either on or off the pitch."

The "Kick It Out" group, who campaign against racism in football, said Blatter's comments were worryingly out of touch.

"Shaking hands to compensate for a racial slur is not what the game has signed up to, and trivializes the work of campaigns like Kick It Out."

Blatter clarified his comments in a statement on FIFA's website that carried a picture of him embracing Tokyo Sexwale, a prominent South African politician who has campaigned against racism.

Ferdinand responded to the picture on his Twitter account, saying: "Fifa clear up the Blatter comments with a pic of him posing with a black man..I need the hand covering eyes symbol!!"
Thursday, Blatter responded to Ferdinand directly on Twitter, writing: "The 'black man' as you call him has a name: Tokyo Sexwale. He has done tremendous work against racism and apartheid in Africa.

"We have done several joint activities to raise awareness on the struggle against racism in South Africa. FIFA has a long standing and proud record in the area of anti-discrimination which will continue."

Later Ferdinand replied: "To say what you said about racism in football spoke volumes of your ignorance to the subject. If we want to stamp out racism in society a football pitch is a good place to start -- loved by billions of people around the world (sic)."

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said racism was still prevalent in football, but the top tier in the English game was fighting hard to eradicate it.

He said: "Racism certainly still exists in football, albeit reduced, but there are still issues, of course there are, and we're not complacent about that.

"But I think it's a bit of a stretch to say it doesn't exist because it does."

"The English game had led and been at the forefront of reducing incidents of racist behavior -- it's totally unacceptable, everybody in the game in England understands it is totally unacceptable.

"We have that reputation, as far as I'm aware, that reputation is still intact but the game will deal with whatever is thrown against it. There is no place for it in football, let alone in England, and we will strive to eradicate it."

Sports journalist and London Evening Standard columnist Mihir Bose said Blatter's views demonstrated that he is out of touch with the modern game.

He told CNN, "This won't topple him. It will damage him further but you could argue he was damaged goods anyway.

"Blatter wants to be a showman, he wants to be in the public eye ... but these comments are incredibly insensitive and crass."

Bose said that although great strides have been made in the fight against racism in football, there is still much work to do.

"Much of the racist attitudes that saw bananas being thrown onto the field at black players has gone, but there is still a pervasive racism," he added.

"White players feel racism has been conquered but there remains a feeling of discrimination in the game which is why black players have reacted with outrage at Blatter's comments.

"They feel there is still not a level playing field -- they feel all they have fought for over the years has been devalued."

Can European soccer stamp out racism?

There have also been several instances of racism in European football this year.

Former Brazil player Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch during a game in Russia when a banana was thrown at him and Chelsea's Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun was taunted during a game in Malaysia.

Spain named top seeds for Euro 2012

Defending champions Spain will head the list of group seeds in next month's draw for the Euro 2012 finals.

The 2010 World Cup winners will be in Pot 1 along with the Netherlands and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine on December 2, European football's ruling body UEFA announced on Wednesday.

Poland, 28th in the European rankings, will be in Group A and 15th-placed Ukraine in Group D for the 16-team tournament, the last before an expansion to 24 nations.

Pot 2 comprises three-time champions Germany, 1968 winners Italy, England and Russia -- who as the Soviet Union won the first tournament held in 1960.

How should football tackle racism?

Greece, the 2004 champions, are the only qualifying group winners in Pot 3, which also features the best runners-up Sweden and playoff winners Portugal and Croatia.

Denmark and two-time champions France won their qualifying groups, but face the prospect of being drawn with two other major nations after being put in Pot 4 due to a low coefficient rating for results over the past few years.

Playoff winners the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic are also in the bottom pot.

Ronaldo nets double as Portugal book Euro 2012 passage

Meanwhile, Turkey coach Guus Hiddink has agreed to stand down from his position after failing to qualify from the playoffs.

Tuesday's 0-0 draw in Croatia meant a 3-0 aggregate defeat for the 65-year-old Dutchman, who won just seven of his 17 matches in charge.

Hiddink ruled out a return to the Netherlands, where he had been wanted by Ajax, but has been linked with a possible position at his former English club Chelsea.

"I'm not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis, but maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras," he told Dutch website Voetbal International.

"Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant."

Arsenal thrilling win against Chelsea

A Robin van Persie hat-trick earned Arsenal a thrilling 5-3 win over their west London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Chelsea started the match strongly taking the lead in the 14th minute when Juan Mata delivered an inch-perfect cross for Frank Lampard to guide a header past Szczesny in the Arsenal goal.

The home side continued to dominate possession but Arsenal hit back in the 36th minute when Aaron Ramsey threaded the ball through to Gervinho who selflessly squared the ball back for van Persie to side-foot past Petr Cech.

Chelsea had a goal disallowed two minutes later with Ramires being ruled offside, but earned a deserved halftime lead when John Terry bundled the ball home from a corner kick in the 45th minute.

Arsenal were far from finished though and hit back four minutes after the break as Alex Song played in Andre Santos who squeezed a shot underneath Cech to level the scores at 2-2.

Six minutes later, Theo Walcott gave the Gunners the lead -- unleashing a fierce shot inside Cech's near post after outwitting three Chelsea defenders.

A 25-yard strike from Mata restored parity for Chelsea in the 80th minute, but van Persie put Arsenal ahead again five minutes later, pouncing on a mistake by John Terry to slot home his second before lashing home his third in injury time to seal a remarkable win.

Manchester United bounced back from the 6-1 battering from their city rivals last weekend edging past Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.

Havier Hernandez was on hand to side-foot home from a Patrice Evra cross in the 19th minute to give United the lead after they had made a bright opening to the match.

Everton battled their way back into the match and came close to an equalizer -- Leighton Baines hitting the crossbar from a free-kick, while David De Gea saved smartly from Leon Osman.

But despite the pressure, United held firm to cement second place in the table behind leaders, Manchester City who enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Edin Dzeko opened the scoring for City in the 52nd minute with Aleksandar Kolarov adding a second 15 minutes later.

City's Belgian defender Vincent Kompany was sent off in the 75th minute for a challenge on Kevin Doyle -- the resulting penalty was converted by Stephen Hunt.

But Adam Johnson (who came on for Dzeko midway through the second half) netted in injury time to ensure Robert Mancini's side maintained their five-point lead at the top of the table.

First half goals from Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll proved enough for Liverpool who beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at The Hawthorns.

Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the 9th minute when Luis Suarez was bundled over in the box -- Adam making no mistake with the spot kick.

Suarez was involved again in the second, setting up Carroll who poked a shot past advancing West Brom keeper Ben Foster.

Despite a host of chances in the second half Liverpool couldn't extend their lead, but the win lifts them to fifth. West Brom are 13th with 11 points.

Norwich City came from two goals down to earn a 3-3 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers -- a result which keeps Steve Kean's side in the bottom three. Norwich are in eighth place.

Sunderland also came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

Goals from Villa's Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov (20th minute) and Richard Dunne (85th minute) were canceled out by Connor Wickham, who scored seven minutes before half time and Stephane Sessegnon who stole a point for Sunderland seconds before the final whistle.

Swansea City continued their promising start to season with 3-1 over struggling Bolton Wanderers. The result moves them up to 10th place.

Bolton, meanwhile, are second from bottom with six points, one point ahead of Wigan who suffered their third home defeat of the season losing 2-0 to Fulham.

Goals from Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele lift Martin Jol's side up to 15th.

Wayne Rooney banned for three Euro 2012 matches

England striker Wayne Rooney will miss the Euro 2012 group stage after being banned for three matches for his sending off against Montenegro.

Uefa’s disciplinary panel, which described the incident as an “assault”, decided on the punishment at a meeting on Thursday.

Rooney, 25, was sent off for kicking Miodrag Dzudovic in the 2-2 draw in Podgorica last Friday.

It is understood the Football Association will appeal.

Rooney is “shocked” and “disappointed” at the punishment and that he will do whatever he can to support the FA’s appeal, should it choose to make one.

In the Premier League, the punishment for violent conduct is an automatic three-match ban.

But Uefa’s policy is to suspend the player for one game, with a panel deciding on a case-by-case basis what, if any, additional punishment there should be.

Instead of issuing a longer ban, Uefa had the option to hand out a warning or a fine.

Officials take into account the referee’s report, representations from the player and national body and the player’s disciplinary history.

A statement from the Football Association said: “Further to Uefa’s decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney, the FA awaits the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to Uefa or making any further public comment.”

There is a risk that should the FA lose its appeal against Rooney’s ban that Uefa could increase the length of the suspension to four games.

Former executive director of the FA, David Davies, believes England would be correct to lodge an appeal.

“There’s no doubt that there was a feeling around Europe that this was a serious offence,” he said.

“It’s been treated that way. Could an appeal possibly be described as frivolous? I don’t think it could. This is a test for the FA’s influence inside Uefa.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United team-mate Michael Owen expressed his surprise with Uefa’s punishment.

“Disappointing news regarding Rooney. Missing three games on such a big stage seems a bit harsh,” he stated on Twitter.

Everton midfielder and ex-United player Phil Neville added on Twitter: “Rooney banned for three games what a joke – if it was a Dutch, Spanish, Italian or German player they wouldn’t even get one game #fact.”

England coach Fabio Capello said he might leave Rooney out of upcoming friendlies to study alternative attacking options with Darren Bent, Jermain Defoe, Danny Welbeck and Bobby Zamora all vying for the lead striker’s role.

“There’s a huge incentive for four or five strikers to stake their claim to get his place – they’ve got a great carrot dangling between now and the end of the season,” former England captain and forward Alan Shearer .

“If they do well enough in the friendly games, then who knows, England manager Fabio Capello might decide not to take Rooney.

“But if it were me at this moment, he is our best player and even if the three-game ban still stands, then I would take him.”

Garth Crooks said: “We expected one [game ban]. Two would have represented a hammer blow. Three is like a dagger to the heart of the Football Association.

“The message that Uefa are sending out to players is that they aren’t going to tolerate any violent behaviour at the European Championships.

“This is a real problem for England. Capello now doesn’t know his best side.

“More importantly, is he going to take him to the tournament? It would be a very, very brave man to leave someone like Wayne Rooney out. He’s a top class act. The difficulty is, he has a temperament problem.”

Former England coach Graham Taylor said the severity of the punishment did not shock him.

“You simply cannot deliberately kick an opponent and expect to get off with a one-match ban and there is always the possibility you will get three games,” he said.

“This is what has happened. I can’t say I’m surprised by the decision.”

England Supporters’ Club spokesperson Mark Perryman said he was disappointed with the “immaturity” Rooney had shown in Montenegro.

“I’m gutted, absolutely gutted,” he said.

“I was there at Euro 2004 when he lit up the competition. He was petulant out in South Africa.

“I was out in Montenegro, and we couldn’t believe it. It was immaturity, and this isn’t a guy who is 18 or 19 years old anymore.”

Rooney was sent off in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal in 2006 after appearing to stamp on the groin of Ricardo Carvalho and then push former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Referee Wolfgang Stark put in his report that the former Everton man left the pitch in Montenegro without contesting the decision.