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text-decoration:none; } img {border:none;} The Sport Review: “Carling
Cup hangover could hamper Chelsea at Eastlands” plus 6 more- Carling Cup hangover could hamper Chelsea at Eastlands - F1: Williams hoping for positive Singapore weekend - ECB demands apology from Ijaz Butt over allegations - Arsène Wenger hopeful over Cesc Fàbregas injury - Football bodies unable to issue sanctions over racist banner - Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City suffer early exits - Panesar and Tremlett named in England Ashes squad Carling Cup hangover could hamper Chelsea at Eastlands Posted: 23 Sep 2010 03:46 PM PDT Do Chelsea have any weaknesses? It is a question many will have answered in the negative during an imperious five-match winning streak at the start of their Premier League campaign. But last season there was at least one major fault line in Carlo Ancelotti’s team and it is one that may be exposed again on Saturday when they visit Manchester City. The trip to Eastlands is the first major test of the season for Chelsea and it might be more difficult than the odds indicate – the league leaders 2.22 in the early betting and City 3.75. City won 2-1 in this fixture last season – a reverse that was just one in a string of poor away results for Chelsea against the teams just outside the elite. Ancelotti’s players were able to raise themselves for the biggest away games last season—winning at Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool—but it was their opponents who seemingly found the extra motivation when Chelsea visited the teams that filled places four to ten in the final league table. In that category, Chelsea had just one win (the late-season 2-0 victory at Liverpool) out of seven. They lost four (at City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton) and drew two (at Birmingham and Blackburn). Chelsea’s wide-margin wins in their first two away games have been against early strugglers—6-0 at Wigan and 3-1 at West Ham—and have told us nothing new. Clearly they have the ability to win anywhere, as last season’s results at United and Arsenal proved, but for now they are something of an enigma in the tougher away games against teams such as City. For once, all the negative headlines might just have a point this week. When the critics jump on the nine Premier League teams that were knocked out of the Carling Cup, with claims such as ‘Crisis deepens’ and ‘Poor start to season continues’, it could be worth taking note. At the same stage of the Carling Cup last season, six Premier League teams were knocked out and all six went on to lose the following weekend in the league. Another striking statistic is that, of the seven Premier League teams who were out of the Carling Cup by this stage last season, five went on to finish in the bottom six. So much for the Carling Cup being a competition of little significance, because as a barometer of early-season form among Premier League clubs, it appears to be very significant indeed, even allowing for all the squad rotation. In the three seasons since the Carling Cup calendar was rearranged to the current schedule, midweek cup losers have lost 15 out of 21 in the Premier League the following weekend, with just four winners – only two of which were against teams that were coming off a midweek cup win. And in each season at least four of the bottom six had been knocked out of the Carling Cup by this stage – a good indicator of the probable strugglers. If the pattern continues, Manchester United are bankers at Bolton on Sunday, while West Ham could spring an upset at home to midweek cup losers Tottenham. And don’t be surprised if Blackburn are beaten at Blackpool, who did not play in midweek. Reproduced with permission from betting.betfair.com. © The Sporting Exchange Limited F1: Williams hoping for positive Singapore weekend Posted: 23 Sep 2010 03:33 PM PDT Williams technical director Sam Michael is hopeful his team will be competitive in the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend after success in the night race in recent years. The FW32 will feature the last upgrade for the season for Williams with five races remaining and Michael said he was hopeful that the team would fight for points with both drivers for a second straight race, after Monza two weeks ago. Michael said: "Previous Williams cars have been competitive around Singapore's street circuit so the FW32 should be as well. "With some further upgrades for the car which should improve our recent good form further, we’re looking to have both drivers in the top ten in qualifying and then fighting for points in the race. "As the season has progressed, the level of competitiveness throughout the grid has increased with closer lap times across the board. We don't anticipate this race to be any different." Drivers Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hülkenberg are also hopeful of a strong performance in Singapore, with Hülkenberg experiencing his first night race in Formula 1. "I’m feeling more and more comfortable in F1 and in our car which is helping me to get the most out of a race weekend,” said Hülkenberg. “I’m definitely getting more out of the FW32 than I was at the start of the season and I hope I can convert that into some more point-scoring finishes for the team. "Singapore looks like a cool track. It will be my first time there, but I have been using the simulator so at least I know the layout already and I like street circuits.” And Barrichello added: "Singapore is a lovely place to go and it's completely different to the other races on the calendar. “The track is a fairly typical street circuit and it benefits from a variety of corners. It can be a challenge to find the optimum set-up, but that makes it more interesting, and one of the reasons I like going there so much. "Driving a night race is similar to watching TV in standard, not high definition; there's just a bit less precision. “Singapore is a lovely track to drive, there's always plenty of fun during the race and it's a good event for Formula 1. There's just something special about it." Williams could overtake rivals Force India in the constructors' championship with a solid performance this weekend with the Indian team just 11 points ahead of Williams on 58. ECB demands apology from Ijaz Butt over allegations Posted: 23 Sep 2010 03:25 PM PDT The ECB have demanded a "full and unreserved apology" from Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, in the wake of his match-fixing allegations. Butt claimed he heard from bookmakers that England were paid to lose Friday's one day international at the Oval. The Pakistani chairman told India's NDTV television channel: "There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players were paid massive amounts of money to lose." In a letter, the ECB warned that legal proceedings would commence should no such apology be received. This news comes on the back of former England captain Michael Vaughan's plea for England to take legal action. "I'd be making a few phone calls to legal sources to try and take this a little bit further," said Vaughan. "I can't think of anything worse than your name mentioned in terms of fixing a game of cricket." An apology from Butt is expected after he told BBC Radio Five Live he has no proof and was simply stating what he had heard. Arsène Wenger hopeful over Cesc Fàbregas injury Posted: 23 Sep 2010 03:05 PM PDT Arsène Wenger is hoping Cesc Fàbregas will recover from a hamstring injury in time to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 3 October. Fàbregas picked up the strain after Anton Ferdinand's attempted clearance bounced of the Arsenal captain's leg and looped in for the Gunners' freakish opener at Sunderland last weekend. “I hope that he will be ready for the Chelsea match and that he will be fine," said the Arsenal manager on Thursday. “But at the moment we don’t know, it’s too early.” Meanwhile, Tomas Rosicky believes 18-year-old Jack Wilshere is ready to fill Fàbregas' boots in the centre of midfield. The English youngster sparkled during the Gunners' 4-1 Carling Cup victory at White Hart Lane and Rosicky, 29, says Wilshere has already shown his star qualities. “Jack is a great talent and for his age he has a great football brain and he has a big future," said the Czech Republic midfielder. “The thing that impresses me most about him is that when he has got the ball he is very calm and that’s something the guys don’t always have. “Sometimes younger players panic a bit when they have possession but with him you don’t see it because he’s very comfortable on the ball. That is the first quality that you are looking for and he’s very good at that. Rosicky added: “We will see because it depends on which position the boss wants to play him. He can play as a line midfielder (playmaker) because he is a great player but all of the players showed they are ready.” Football bodies unable to issue sanctions over racist banner Posted: 23 Sep 2010 02:37 PM PDT FIFA and UEFA have admitted they are powerless to take action against Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow after a racist banner was displayed at a recent match. Fans appeared to celebrate Peter Odemwingie’s summer move to the Premier League with a banner showing a banana and displaying the message: “Thanks West Brom”. But both governing bodies have released statements saying they cannot issue sanctions to the club nor the Russian Football Union. “Only the competition organiser can issue sanctions,” read a FIFA statement. “If it was a league match, the Russian FA would be responsible, and if it was a UEFA competition match, UEFA would be responsible.” UEFA revealed the same situation: “This issue does not come under UEFA’s jurisdiction, since it is, of course, up to the national associations to regulate and run their domestic leagues, including disciplinary matters.” Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City suffer early exits Posted: 23 Sep 2010 09:21 AM PDT Double winners Chelsea, seven-time League Cup champions Liverpool and two-time winners Manchester City all made premature exits from the Carling Cup on Wednesday night as a string of upsets stole the headlines. Those who insist England’s third-rate cup competition is meaningless and merely a chance to utilise untested youth players were in fact treated to an exhilarating night of knock-out football. Roy Hodgson rested Fernando Torres, Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina and Steven Gerrard for Northampton Town’s visit to Anfield. It was a decision which backfired with Liverpool’s lack of strength and depth embarrassingly punctuated by a side languishing in 17th place in League Two. Despite an early strike from Milan Jovanovic giving the home side a crucial early breakthrough, the second string Reds struggled to compete with Northampton. Billy McKay levelled matters for the minnows and Michael Jacobs then scored what appeared to be the winner in the 98th minute of extra time. With five minutes of extra time remaining, it seemed David N’Gog had save Liverpool’s blushes with his 116th-minute strike. The Anfield outfit had only lost on penalties six occasions but misses from N’Gog and Nathan Eccleston provided Abdul Osman the opportunity to secure a famous victory over the five-time European champions. Osman duly obliged and a rain drenched Hodgson could only apologise to the Liverpool supporters for a dismal display. Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge a hat-trick of injuries to Gael Kakuta, Salomon Kalou and Yossi Benayoun left Chelsea reduced to 10-men as they sought to reverse a 3-1 deficit. Patrick van Aanholt put Chelsea into an early lead before goals from Shola Ameobi and Ryan Taylor put the Toon in front. Ameobi’s speculative long-range effort in the second half then cemented a two-goal cushion. With Chelsea a man down Nicolas Anelka seized the initiative and the Frenchman’s brace restored parity as the tie inevitably headed towards extra time. However, a late Gutierrez corner was met by Ameobi who completed his three-goal haul and put Chris Hughtons’ men into the next round. At the Hawthorns, newly promoted West Brom came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City. The Italian manager had eyed the Carling Cup as a possible first trophy of his reign but was denied by fellow countryman Roberto Di Matteo – the former Chelsea midfielder masterminding the Baggies comeback. Panesar and Tremlett named in England Ashes squad Posted: 23 Sep 2010 09:03 AM PDT Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett have been named in England's 16-man Ashes squad for this winter's tour to Australia. The final 16 offers no real surprises, with the eleven who lined up in England's last Test match against Pakistan all winning places on the tour. Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan, who have both recently recovered from injury, join the party along with Surrey wicketkeeper Steven Davies to provide cover for Matt Prior. Those who have narrowly missed out include Ajmal Shahzad and Adil Rashid, the latter after many had tipped him to cover for Graeme Swann after an outstanding summer. National selector Geoff Miller explained the reasons behind the selections of Tremlett, Panesar and Davies. He said: "We feel that Chris Tremlett's inclusion will add a real threat of pace and bounce to our bowling attack given the conditions in Australia. Chris will be vying for a place in the final team". Panesar has been rewarded for hard work since his move to Sussex. "Monty has gone away and worked on his bowling since his last England appearance and he continued to be an attacking threat with the ball in his hand", said Miller. The selector also complimented Steven Davies' improvements: "His glove work and batting have continued to reach new levels". England Ashes Test squad: Andrew Strauss (captain, Middlesex), Alastair Cook (vice-captain, Essex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Steven Davies (wk, Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Monty Panesar (Sussex), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matt Prior (wk, Sussex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Surrey), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire). You are subscribed to email updates from The Sport Review To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 -- Posted By Mas Item Arekjowo to The Sport Review at 9/24/2010 12:07:00 AM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gugukluhayat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. 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