Euro Football

Riggott unsure of Boro future
by Chris Stanton, 05 May 2008

Chris Riggott revealed a decision will be taken this summer regarding his long-term future at Middlesbrough.

By his own admission, Riggott was surprised to be recalled from a loan spell at Stoke to play in Boro’s last match at home to Portsmouth.

The defender even opened the scoring for Boro on his return to the team, however the former Derby man remains unsure whether he is part of Gareth Southgate’s squad going forward.

Riggott concedes he was disappointed to be recalled by Boro on the eve of Stoke’s decisive fixture in The Potters’ successful quest for Premier League football.

“It’s been different!” Riggott reflected on his Boro recall. ”I wasn’t expecting it, put it that way. It just shows that anything can happen in football.

“I got a call on Thursday night and, at first, was a bit gutted to think I would miss out on Stoke’s big match.

“It took me a few minutes to get my head around the fact that I wasn’t going to play in the big game for Stoke, but that’s all it took. I am contracted to Boro, they pay my wages and they’ve always been good to me.

“As for what happens next and whether I’ve got a future at Boro, we’ll see what happens in the summer.”

Source: sports.setanta.com

Falkirk v Hearts preview
by Brian Etherson, 05 May 2008

It’s the final SPL game of the weekend live on Setanta Sports 1 (kick off 7.45pm BST) and Falkirk will be hoping for a serious change in fortune in front of goal as they have gone 221 minutes without scoring.

Falkirk’s defensive record at home is actually very impressive when compared to other sides within the league and by my reckoning Hearts will find it tough to break down John Hughes’s side whose side have only conceded 14 goals at home, which incidentally is fourth best in the league despite lying in eighth position.

For all the latest odds ahead of the game with William Hill click here

Hearts are losing more goals on the road than they are scoring making Monday’s clash almost impossible to call, but Stevie Frail is likely to call upon young Gary Glen to fire the side to a victory which would put them on top of the bottom half of the table.

Hearts are on their best run of the season at the moment and they will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to eight by inflicting a defeat on The Bairns or taking a point at the very least.

The Tynecastle outfit have scored in their last four games away to Falkirk but they have only won one of those matches, which backs up the point that they will find it very hard to get an away victory.

Two wins in their last 10 games has put unnecessary pressure on Falkirk and they will be more than keen to get back to winning ways and put an end to the goal drought and Hearts’ last defeat was the embarrassing 4-0 hammering by Rangers at Tynecastle in February which sparked off all kinds of accusations post-match from both the managers and supporters of the capital outfit.

Falkirk are still without Tim Krul, Dean Holden and Brian Allison.

Arnau Riera sits this one out after his controversial red card against St Mirren last week and Robbie Neilson is still struggling with a pelvic problem.

French striker Christian Nade will miss the game through injury, Andrew Driver is expected to be reinstated to the first team and Eggert Johnson and Christos Karapidis are both expected to be declared fit for the club’s final visit to Falkirk and Laryea Kingston is also expected to start the game.

Source: sports.setanta.com

Team of the Season: Right midfielder
by Adam Marshall, 05 May 2008

With our defence now sorted, we move into midfield but there really is no contest for the first slot on the right-hand side.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year is simply an automatic selection so it would appear pointless putting up any opposition to his place in our team.

The Manchester United marvel took his season’s goal tally to 40 with the brace against West Ham, 30 in The Premier League, and was selected by all 15 of our reporters and experts.

One correspondent did also select David Bentley and opted for Ronaldo in a forward role so we will give Bentley the chance to get into the team in another role and Tim Sherwood selected the Portuguese star as an attacker so, again, his choices will be allocated another position.

Experts’ view:

Tim Sherwood: No-one can argue with Ronaldo. He has to be in everyone’s team of the season. Once again he’s been consistently the best player in The Premier League. Adebayor missed out as a result. Although Ronaldo’s still classed as a midfield player, he’s spent most of his time as a striker. Adebayor’s had a great season but has got a bit tired towards the end.

Ashley House: Cristiano Ronaldo? Erm…where do you start? Goals, tricks, awareness, understanding…in fact, more to the point, where do you stop?!

Ronaldo is joined in our team by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who came out on top in our poll for the centre back slots.

The United partnership won through so our side looks like this: David James, Bacary Sagna, Ferdinand, Vidic, Gael Clichy.

Source: sports.setanta.com

Four more years for Rovers’ trio
by Chris Stanton, 05 May 2008

Stephen Warnock, Matt Derbyshire and Martin Olsson have all agreed new four-year contracts with Blackburn.

Warnock has been rewarded for the giant strides he has made since establishing himself as a Premier League regular following a £1.5 million move from Liverpool in January 2007.

The 26-year-old left back still had over two years left to run on the contract he penned upon signing for the club but had no hesitation in extending his stay.

He told the club’s official website: “It is fantastic, I think the club offering me a new deal is reward for what I’ve been doing and obviously I’ve been doing something right.

“It is a massive thing to be offered a new contract and when you see how the club is progressing and how things are going then you want to be part of that, and things are going well so I can’t really argue.”

He added: “I played a full season while I was on loan at Coventry and I kept myself fit and I think that is what happens when you are playing week in, week out. You seem to keep fitness a lot better and stay away from injuries.

“When I was at Liverpool I was in and out of the squad and in and out of the team and it was hard to take because you think you are good enough to play, but coming here the manager has given me a great opportunity and I like to think I’ve taken it.”

Striker Derbyshire and defender Olsson, who both made appearances as substitutes against Derby on Saturday, have also signed deals until 2012.

For 19-year-old Swede Olsson it is his first first-team contract.

“I’m very happy to have signed a new deal, it is what I’ve been working hard for, to get a contract with the first team,” Olsson said.

“I’ve been doing well, I’ve been working hard, I came here two years ago and now I’m delighted to get that first-team contract.

“I’ve been in the squad a lot of times and on the bench too in some games, so my aim for next season is to be more involved and play more first-team games.

“I’m learning all the time in training and I’m delighted that the manager has shown this faith in me.”

Derbyshire, meanwhile, said he was ‘ecstatic’ to agree fresh terms with his boyhood favourites.

Source: sports.setanta.com

Torres filled with pride
by Alex Livie, 05 May 2008

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has spoken of his delight after equalling Roger Hunt’s 46-year record of scoring in eight consecutive home league games.

The Spaniard has had a blistering campaign for Liverpool and netted the winner against Manchester City to equal Hunt’s record from the 1961-62 season.

Torres has lamented missing out on silverware in his first season in Liverpool colours, but was happy to write his name into the Anfield history books.

“I’m very proud,” said the Spanish star. “I knew about the record before the game and I am pleased to have scored again. Now I will try to do even better next season.

“The first season is normally always difficult but it has been made easy for me by my team-mates. It’s thanks to them that I can keep scoring and keep improving.”

Reflecting on a trophy-less season, Torres added on the club’s official website: “We want to win trophies every season.

“Maybe next season - we will have to keep improving.

“For the fans the most important is the league because this club has gone too many years without it. Maybe next season. We are a strong team and we can win every game.”

Source: sports.setanta.com

We must secure Owen deal - Keegan
by Dan Quarrell, 04 May 2008

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has urged the club to hold hasty talks with Michael Owen to prevent him from leaving for free when his contract comes to an end.

Owen’s current deal, reported to be in the region of £5 million-a-year, is set to expire next season and Keegan is keen to see an extension finalised quickly.

“He has every right to be free at the end of next season and go anywhere he wants,” he said. “That’s why I said eight weeks ago we should tie him up.

“If we don’t, and we lose him, then what can I say? It shouldn’t happen and it probably won’t happen. But it could.

“He’s not knocking the door down saying what’s happening and I’m not pushing things either: I said what I said and I think Michael knows how I feel.”

Owen has returned from persistent injuries at St James’ Park to produce some sparkling form for The Magpies in their recent good run and Keegan is quick to emphasis the value of the England striker to his side.

“In a playing sense, he’s been asked different questions and the answers he’s coming up with are world class,” he said. “In the position he’s playing in for us, nobody in the world could do a better job.

“He’s linking us up and scoring goals. Instead of having one player up front we’ve got two. It’s like we’re playing with 12 men sometimes.”

Source: sports.setanta.com