Saturday, March 24, 2012
Time	Home		Away	Venue
12:45 GMT	Chelsea	v	Tottenham Hotspur	Stamford Bridge
15:00 GMT	Arsenal	v	Aston Villa	Emirates Stadium
15:00 GMT	Bolton Wanderers	v	Blackburn Rovers	Reebok Stadium
15:00 GMT	Liverpool	v	Wigan Athletic	Anfield
15:00 GMT	Norwich City	v	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Carrow Road
15:00 GMT	Sunderland	v	Queens Park Rangers	Stadium of Light
15:00 GMT	Swansea City	v	Everton	Liberty Stadium
17:30 GMT	Stoke City	v	Manchester City	Britannia Stadium

Verm warfare

By PHIL THOMAS

THOMAS VERMAELEN says Arsenal's fighting spirit can see them home in the scrap for third place. 

The Gunners moved into the top three for the first time this season with a gritty 1-0 win at Everton on Wednesday, while Tottenham stumbled to a home draw with Stoke.

It is a world away from the dismal days of their worst start to a season in 58 years, when Arsene Wenger's men lay 17th at the end of September.

Things were so grim for the Gunners that people were even questioning whether it was time for Wenger to go, while the team was written off as lacking the stomach for a real battle.

Yet after Vermaelen's second goal in as many games made it six league victories on the bounce at Goodison Park, the Belgian centre-back is convinced Wenger's men are in the top three to stay.

He said: "We're always confident, especially if we keep winning games as we are. We've had some good results against some difficult teams.

"Look at the win at Everton. They have beaten teams like Manchester City and Spurs, so everyone knows it's not an easy place to come and get a result. But we showed good mentality again, winning a lot of duels at the back and that's why we got the three points."

There was a time when even reaching the Champions League qualifiers looked no more than a pipe dream.
But with Tottenham picking up just one point from the last 12, third spot — and an automatic place at Europe's top table — is now suddenly Arsenal's for the taking.

Vermaelen, 26, added: "We certainly won't be looking at Tottenham, only ourselves. We have some difficult games. Everyone can beat everyone else in this league and, of course, we had a few ups and downs earlier in the season.

"Being in the Champions League is very important and we know finishing third gives you straight qualification for it.

"Finish fourth and you have to play a qualifier. But it's not going to be easy because there are still a lot of games to play. We'll just stay focused and see how far we go."

 

Diego’s hand for Tevez

By MARTIN BLACKBURN

DIEGO MARADONA says he told Carlos Tevez to end his Roberto Mancini feud — and fire Manchester City to the title.

Ex-skipper Tevez made a stunning return after a six-month absence, setting up the winner against Chelsea.

Argy legend Maradona said: "I told Tevez three months ago that he had to talk with Mancini as soon as possible.

"I said that because he was losing money — but also because he needed to play football again.
"I told Tevez, 'you must go back now'."

The pair spoke when Tevez was AWOL in Argentina in January. They have been close since Maradona was Argentina boss.

City star Samir Nasri reckons the title race has swung in their favour with Tevez's return.
He said: "He is one of the best — really, really hard to stop."

£40m net Rom’s mega-bucks offer to Guardiola

World Exclusive By ANDREW DILLON

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH is ready to hand super-coach Pep Guardiola a four-year deal worth £40million AFTER TAX to become Chelsea boss

The club's billionaire Russian owner refuses to give up on his quest to lure Barcelona's all-conquering manager.

And that includes making Guardiola the highest-paid boss in the world with a money-no-object offer worth £10m a year in cash, according to one Blues insider.

Guardiola's Nou Camp deal is up at the end of the season and Abramovich will not call off the chase while the manager leaves his future up in the air.

He currently earns around £8m a year NET at Barca but Rom can eclipse that with his staggering offer.
Sacked Andre Villas-Boas was paid about £4.5m a year and Chelsea coughed up £13m compensation to his previous club Porto to release him last summer.

When you add AVB's £9m-plus pay-off, it means Abramovich has forked out in excess of £2BILLION since taking over at Stamford Bridge only nine years ago.

If he persuades Guardiola, 41, to become his EIGHTH boss, Abramovich will have spent almost £150m on managers alone in wages, compensations and pay-offs.

The other bosses who have cashed in along with AVB are Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

While Chelsea struggle off the pitch for a new manager, Gary Cahill is sounding a battle cry on it.
The England centre-back said: "We will roll our sleeves up and go again because we have huge games coming up in the next week or so."

Fabrice Muamba was 'dead' for 78 minutes - Bolton doctor

 

 

 

 

Fabrice Muamba was "in effect dead" for 78 minutes following his on-field collapse, the Bolton Wanderers club doctor Jonathan Tobin has revealed. 

Doctors say it is too early to predict whether he will play football again.

But Dr Tobin said he is amazed by the 23-year-old's recovery so far.

In an emotional interview, Dr Tobin said: "It was 48 minutes when he collapsed to reaching hospital and a further 30 minutes after that. He was, in effect, dead at that time."

He added: "We were fearing the worst and didn't think we would get the recovery we had. It's incredible."
Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest in Wanderers' FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Dr Tobin told BBC Sport's Dan Roan how Bolton physio Andy Mitchell was the first to spot the player had collapsed.

The doctor recalled: "He screamed, 'Get on the pitch, get on the pitch'. It was obvious something major was happening."

Dr Tobin said Muamba was given two defibrillator shocks on the pitch, one in the players' tunnel and a further 12 in the ambulance on the way to hospital but none worked.

The doctor said it was only when medics at London Chest Hospital took over that the situation began to sink in. He added: "I went into the corridor and cried.

"This is Fabrice, not someone who has gone down in the street. I know him, know his family, joke with him every day."

Tottenham club doctor Shabaaz Mughal was among those who rushed to Muamba's aid. He said: "He appeared to take a couple of gasps but was then unresponsive."

The pair were further helped by Dr Andrew Deaner, Consultant Cardiologist at London Chest Hospital, who was at the game as a fan, and ran on to the pitch to lend his expertise.

He said: "As soon as I saw them start CPR, something twitched in me. You always hope that, if you have a defibrillator and get there quickly, they will respond to at least two or three shocks. The longer the resuscitation, the less the chances of survival. But this is a very fit 23-year-old and those attending him are trained in CPR.

"If I was ever going to use the term miraculous it could be used here. He has made a remarkable recovery so far.

"Two hours after [regaining consciousness] I whispered in his ear, 'What's your name?' and he said, 'Fabrice Muamba'. I said, 'I hear you're a really good footballer' and he said, 'I try'. I had a tear in my eye."
The consultant added: "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves but, as things stand, his life is not in danger at this time.

"It is early days so it is not possible to say [if he will play again]."
Dr Sam Mohiddin, the Consultant Cardiologist now looking after Muamba, said: "Fabrice has continued to demonstrate positive signs of recovery.

"His outcome has been extraordinary as a result of extraordinary care.
"He has exceeded our expectations but this remains very early in what could be a very lengthy recovery period.

"The critical thing was the rapid, prompt and very effective CPR at White Hart Lane and expertise from the London ambulance service.

"Normal life is within the spectrum of possibility."

 

Carlos Tevez key for title push - Roberto Mancini

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says Carlos Tevez can play a crucial part in their Premier League title pursuit after six months out.

Tevez has been a virtual outcast since he allegedly refused to play in the Champions League loss at Bayern Munich.

But he set up Samir Nasri's winner in the 2-1 win over Chelsea to reduce Manchester United's lead to a point.

"In 10 days or two weeks Carlos will be fitter and in better form and it will be important for us," said Mancini.

"He is maybe not 100% but he knows football and it was an important, incredible assist for Samir's goal.
"When he plays he knows where he should take the ball. He is an important player but he maybe needs another two or three weeks.

"I spoke to Carlos after the game and he was happy, like the other players, but I have been speaking to him every day for the last month and it is normal."

The Argentine came on as a substitute after Gary Cahill's deflected shot put Chelsea ahead, superbly creating Nasri's winner five minutes from time after Sergio Aguero had equalised from the penalty spot.

And Mancini believes City's show of character in making the comeback could also be vital in the title run-in.
"We had the desire and we wanted to win," the Italian manager told BBC Sport. "The guys were fantastic because they wanted to win until the last second.

"Tonight we took three points but not only three points, more than three points.

"It was an really important goal for us. I think that after tonight something changed inside us.

"We have nine games to go and we have a very difficult game on Saturday against Stoke, but this game might not only be important for the three points but for what happens after this victory."

Mancini removed Mario Balotelli at half-time, replacing him with Gareth Barry, and was blunt about the reasons behind the decision, explaining: "I did not like how he played. It was a tactical substitution."

 

Harry wants bottle

Tottenham 1 Stoke 1 

HARRY REDKNAPP last night ordered his Tottenham wobblers to show more fight in the run-in. 

Spurs slipped to fourth place, a point behind Arsenal, despite an injury-time leveller from Rafael van der Vaart.

Tottenham were 12 points ahead of the Gunners at the start of February but go to Chelsea on Saturday looking for a first win in five Premier League games.

Redknapp said: "We have to show some bottle, get above Arsenal again and stay in front of Chelsea.
"It's all to play for and we can still finish above Arsenal.

"There's a long way to go yet and Arsenal won't win every game, will they? I still want to finish third."
Cameron Jerome prodded Stoke ahead at White Hart Lane before Van der Vaart rescued a point.
Redknapp added: "Stoke were always going to be dangerous on the break and from set-pieces.

"I said to the lads before the game 'Don't foul' — and we conceded a free-kick and paid the penalty."
Potters boss Tony Pulis said:

"Cameron's done smashing. He took his goal brilliantly, it was a real goalscorer's goal."

 

 

Baby Gaga

Singer wants her own 'soccer team' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LADY Gaga wants to have enough nippers to man her own football team. 

In what she claims is her last interview "for a long time", the star told Oprah Winfrey: "Yes, I want kids – I want a soccer team and I want a husband."

Gaga added: "Well, you know, I'm being superfluous. I don't want to have one kid. I want to have a few. Though not yet."

At least she'll have enough meat in the freezer to feed them all.

Darkest Depps 

MOVIE hunk Johnny Depp looks slightly less than fang-tastic in his latest role - as a blood-sucking vampire.

Covered in ghostly white make-up and sporting a set of scary-looking claws, the Pirates of the Caribbean heartthrob once again proves he prefers quirky parts.

His gothic get-up recalls his big-screen screen debut as the bizarre man-made Edward Scissorhands, directed by long-term pal Tim Burton.

Johnny, 48 — who starred in the 1990 hit — tops the bill in the director's latest horror movie Dark Shadows.

Depp plays vampire Barnabas Collins in the film, following his run-ins with monsters, witches, warewolves and ghosts.

The film, which is based on a cult 1960s US TV series, also stars Brit Jonny Lee Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer.

At this year's Golden Globes, host Ricky Gervais introduced Johnny - who also starred in Burton's sitcom Life's Too Short - as "the man who will literally wear anything Tim Burton tells him to".

Bolton ready to play again

BOLTON have confirmed their game against Blackburn this week WILL go ahead.

And the club are also set to fulfil their FA Cup quarter-final with Tottenham, after Sunday's clash at White Hart Lane was halted by Fabrice Muamba's cardiac arrest.

Boss Owen Coyle said: "We spoke together with the players as a group this morning and I talked with Fabrice's family last night.

"Fabrice's father Marcel and his fiancee Shauna were keen that we fulfil our fixtures.
"Once the players knew this, there was no doubt in our mind that we would play the matches."
The re-arranged cup game has now been set for Tuesday March 27 at 7.30pm.

BACK TO FOOTBALL ... Owen Coyle's side will face Blackburn this weekend

Published: Today at 13:50

Rosicky - I feel young playing in this team

Tomas Rosicky says he is loving life in the current Arsenal team because the more youthful members of the side make him “feel young”.

The 31-year-old has been in superb form in recent months and has flourished alongside the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Song.

While Rosicky is happy to take on a mentoring role as one of the more senior members of the squad, he admits he is getting a lot from the younger crop too.

“This is still a group of very young players who need to have players they can grow next to,” he told Arsenal Player.

“For me, it is fun to be with the young guys because they make me feel young as well!”

Rosicky says he is happy to hand out advice to the rest of the team, having learned a lot over the course of his career.

“Sometimes the heat of the moment can get to you - you want it so much, so badly, that it will affect your performance,” he said. “It can make you tense and not relaxed like you had been.

“I was like that at a young age, I got caught up in the heat of the moment many times. When you go through your career and the difficult moments, you know how to cope with that.

“Sometimes success is closer than you think. When you have negative experiences during the season it can affect your future. It is difficult but you have to try not to be affected by negative stuff and fight through it.”

Lionel Messi is highest-paid star in the world

 

he brilliant Barcelona wing wizard has been tipped to earn a jaw-dropping £27.4million this year from wages, bonuses, sponsorships and endorsements.
His annual £13m salary gets topped up nicely through a number of deals with leading global brands, including adidas and Pepsi, and it seems like the sky is the limit for the Argentine.

Messi just heads off the enduring money-making machine that is David Beckham, whose wallet shows no sign of thinning out despite playing his football in America with LA Galaxy.Becks, 36, is set to earn £26m as his worldwide claim shows little sign of diminishing, especially as his latest deal is to be Samsung's global ambassador for the Olympics.

He leads Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, whose wages match his amazing record of 98 goals in 90 games for the La Liga leaders.

The list of the world's richest footballers and coaches, complied by France Football, sees Wayne Rooney in fifth place behind Samuel Eto'o, who plays for mega-rich Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala.

Rooney earns £17m against Eto'o's £19.3m. The Manchester United striker picks up £8m a season from his latest five-year contract and, although he ran into trouble with Coca-Cola last year following off-the-field skirmishes, commercial interest in the England superstar is soaring again.