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Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel has signed a new deal at Ewood Park.
The former Liverpool custodian has pledged his future to Rovers by inking a 12-month contract extension to keep him at the club until 2010.
Friedel has established himself as one of the most consistent keepers in the Premier League since his arrival at Ewood Park in 2000.
The 36-year-old was delighted to extend his stay at the Lancashire outfit.
Not difficult decision
“I’m delighted to have extended the agreement by a further 12 months. It was not a difficult decision to make,” Friedel told the club’s official website.“Blackburn Rovers is home to me. This is my club and I have a special affinity with it
“When you sign with a club, you always hope that it will turn out to be long term and that has certainly proved true for me here.”
A deal is understood to have been agreed in theory with only minor details needed to be sorted out by Boro.
Wheater is actually out of contract at the end of the season and this has prompted speculation that Boro could lose the 20-year-old.
But the Teesside-born stopper has always looked more than likely to stay and he will put pen-to-paper in the coming weeks.
“We’re a long way down the line with that,” said Southgate.
“We’ve actually got a couple of meetings with David and his dad lined up in the next few weeks.
“David wants to be here, he’s made that clear, and it’s just a case of finalising things. We’re obviously very, very happy with what he’s doing.”
England future?
England manager Fabio Capello has even confirmed his liking for Wheater and Southgate says the Italian’s praise is fully justified.
“They’re absolutely warranted by the way he’s been playing. I think it’s good for him to stay with the Under-21s for now, but the opportunity is there,” said Southgate.
“With the new manager coming in, he’s only going to judge people on what he or his backroom staff have seen over the past two months so there are opportunities for everybody.”
Wheater himself says he is fully committed to Boro; “There’s nothing better than playing for Middlesbrough and hopefully I can stay here for a very long time.”
The Manchester United chief is renowned for not holding back on his teams – should they be failing to live up to his own high expectations.
Known as the ‘hairdryer’ treatment, Ferguson’s most infamous incident came in 2003 following United’s FA Cup defeat to Arsenal when he kicked a boot which hit David Beckham in the face leaving him with several stitches.
But the Scottish legend says he does not enjoy that side of the game.
“I don’t enjoy it if the team isn’t playing well,” Ferguson told the Daily Mirror.
“I’d rather not be in that position. It’s much better to come in at half-time and everything has gone according to plan.
“Here, of course, more often than not it does, simply because of the players we have. But that brings its own challenges.
“That’s when you need to talk about concentration and the necessity of not taking our foot off the pedal or the importance of going for that killer goal.
Team talk
“So there are two types of team talk – one if you’re doing well and another if you’re not.
“The observations on the first-half are the most important thing. You only have about seven or eight minutes to rectify or resolve the situation if the match isn’t going to plan.
“You should never dodge any issues. I don’t know what team talks are like in other dressing-rooms but I try to get to the nub of the problem and solve it as quickly as I can.
“After that, you have to motivate your players to start the second half.
“As manager you have to produce the right words and the right volume to make players very aware of their – responsibilities and how they can improve.”
Holloway knows all about Sinclair’s qualities having worked with him during his time in charge at Plymouth.
Sinclair is well down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea could be prepared to loan him out again to gain more first-team experience.
Holloway has enquired about Sinclair’s availability and is waiting to find out if he will be successful or not.
“Someone like Scott who I have borrowed before would be a great option,” Holloway told Radio Leicester.
“We’ve asked about him and we’re waiting.”
Davis was unavailable for the 1-1 draw with Birmingham at the weekend and is keen to find the cause of the problem as soon as possible to enable him to be involved in the Rams’ relegation battle.
With Tottenham next up for Derby on Saturday, Paul Jewell is also set to be without Stephen Pearson for the foreseeable future and has seen his preparations disrupted further by international call-ups.
Not ideal
“Claude will see a specialist regarding his knee problem and Pearo has had a few problems with his groin and hamstrings,” the Rams’ boss told the club’s official website.
“We’ve got 10 players away on international duty or get-togethers as well so it’s not ideal preparation for us on the training pitch this week, but of course it’s the same for Tottenham too.
“It’s a nightmare time because you are waiting for Thursday afternoon or Friday morning and you hope all the international players return fit and well.”
Survival football
Despite currently finding themselves cast adrift at the foot of the Premier League, Jewell has revealed that the mood in the camp remains upbeat after two hard-fought points against Manchester City and Birmingham in their last two games.
“It’s been positive in training and we would have liked in training to build on the two results we have just had, but unfortunately that can’t happen,” he said.
“I don’t think we are playing great football at the moment, but that goes for all clubs in the lower reaches of the Premier League right now because they are all playing survival football.
Planning for future
“We had a bit of a blip against Preston (in the FA Cup) but other than that we have picked up a bit, it’s a slight improvement but I also know it’s going to be a long time before I get to where I want to be.
“The summer starts now regarding recruitment of players and players we are looking to move on. It’s a long drawn-out process but hopefully by the start of next season we will be where we want to be.
“It takes time to turn around a losing mentality but by the start of next season you will see major improvement from top to bottom.”
Baros joined Pompey from Lyon in the January transfer window on loan until the end of the season.
The Czech international has started Portsmouth’s last two fixtures against Manchester United and Chelsea.
However, manager Harry Redknapp boasts strength in attack, with David Nugent, John Utaka, Jermain Defoe and Nwankwo Kanu all vying for starting roles.
Return
Nugent is currently sidelined through injury, but Utaka and Kanu will soon return from the Africa Cup of Nations following Nigeria’s exit.
Baros is confident he will not buckle under the pressure of performing, though, and is thoroughly looking forward to the remainder of the campaign.
“Football in England is absolutely different to football in France, but nothing is new for me as I spent five years in England before,” he told Pravo.
“I have played just two games. I know all my new team-mates but we are not attuned so far. That will come soon.
Potential
“We want to get into Europe, and the potential of achieving that is there.
“We are not at our full strength yet – four players are still at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Competition will be large, but they have not bought me to make me sit on the bench. I have never been afraid of competition.
“I know it will not be easy. I don’t expect to play in every single game.”
The Trotters sold their star striker in a big money transfer to Chelsea in the January transfer window.
And despite bringing in the likes of Tamir Cohen, Gretar Steinsson, Matt Taylor and Gary Cahill – Megson has admitted he still has a lucrative transfer kitty.
“What we spent in the transfer window wasn’t the money we got for Nicolas – it was already here,” Megson told The Sun.
Bolton, who defeated Reading 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, are concentrating on Premier League survival this season.
And it is expected the Anelka funds will then be used to bring in a new forward when the transfer window re-opens in the summer.
The 19-year-old made his debut earlier this season and has now made six Premier League appearances – including two starts for Sven Goran Eriksson.
Etuhu, though, is quick to attribute his progress to City’s highly-acclaimed academy.
Progress
“The academy made a very, very big impression on me,” Etuhu told the club’s website.
“They develop your skills, develop your mental strength and you can’t fault the academy.
“It makes you a man really, the way it works, brings you up and makes you a respectable person.
“Alex Gibson, Jim Cassell and the staff, not only do they make you a good footballer, but they bring you up to become someone with respect and dignity.
“That’s a very big thing being a footballer – aside from just playing on the field.”
The Reds picked up their first Premier League win of 2008 with a scrappy 3-0 victory over Sunderland last weekend.
Liverpool travel to Chelsea on Sunday looking to build on the win against Sunderland and Finnan insists they must improve their results against the top three in the league.
“We’ve got a big game coming up next Sunday and we’ve got to get as many points as possible to try and get in that top four,” said Finnan.
Relish
“These are games you relish as a player. You want to be playing against the top clubs and hopefully it will bring out the best in us.“We need to do better away at these grounds because we haven’t really done that well at them in recent years, but hopefully the win against Sunderland will give us the confidence to go and get a result at Chelsea.”
Finnan admitted the atmosphere at Anfield was strange against Sunderland as they struggled to break down their struggling opponents in the first half before running out 3-0 winners.
“The boss obviously rotates a lot and it’s nice to get on and be part of a good win,” added Finnan.
“We needed that and it might have been a bit of a scrappy first half but I think we deserved it in the end.
Strange
“It was a strange sort of atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch, especially in the first half.“But once we got the goal in the second half it lifted everyone and we went on from there and got the victory we were looking for.”
The Reds picked up their first Premier League win of 2008 with a scrappy 3-0 victory over Sunderland last weekend.
Liverpool travel to Chelsea on Sunday looking to build on the win against Sunderland and Finnan insists they must improve their results against the top three in the league.
“We’ve got a big game coming up next Sunday and we’ve got to get as many points as possible to try and get in that top four,” said Finnan.
Relish
“These are games you relish as a player. You want to be playing against the top clubs and hopefully it will bring out the best in us.“We need to do better away at these grounds because we haven’t really done that well at them in recent years, but hopefully the win against Sunderland will give us the confidence to go and get a result at Chelsea.”
Finnan admitted the atmosphere at Anfield was strange against Sunderland as they struggled to break down their struggling opponents in the first half before running out 3-0 winners.
“The boss obviously rotates a lot and it’s nice to get on and be part of a good win,” added Finnan.
“We needed that and it might have been a bit of a scrappy first half but I think we deserved it in the end.
Strange
“It was a strange sort of atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch, especially in the first half.“But once we got the goal in the second half it lifted everyone and we went on from there and got the victory we were looking for.”
The Gunners currently top the table on 60 points, two above second-placed Manchester United.
Arsenal have reached 90 points once in their history – in the 2003/2004 season where they went the entire league campaign unbeaten.
Chelsea have surpassed that landmark twice before, with totals of 91 and 95 in 2005/2006 and 2004/2005 respectively.
Phenomenal
United have also exceeded 90 points, with totals of 91 and 92 in 1999/2000 and 1993/1994 respectively.
This season’s charge for the title looks set to be the fiercest in years and Wenger believes the victors will have to better 90 points.
“We have 60 now and that is phenomenal. I don’t know how much will be needed but it looks it will be around the 90s,” he told the club’s official website.
Richardson sat out recent games against Tottenham and Birmingham with the injury, but attempted a comeback in the weekend trip to Liverpool.
However, the former Manchester United winger lasted just seven minutes of the 3-0 defeat and is now unlikely to feature in Saturday’s crunch clash with Wigan at the Stadium of Light.
Surprise
Keane was happy with Richardson’s training during the week and expressed his surprise that the 23-year-old failed to make it through his comeback game.
“It’s the same injury that he had before,” Keane told the club’s official website. “He had trained well all week but match situations are different, it’s disappointing.”
The Black Cats are however boosted by the return of Dickson Etuhu for the visit of Wigan this weekend after Nigeria were knocked out the Africa Cup of Nations by Ghana at the weekend.
The defender struggled to hold down a first-team place at the start of the season, but having made a goal scoring return during the 2-1 victory over Manchester United in December he has since formed an impressive partnership with Matthew Upson.
Currently the longest serving player at the club having progressed from the academy ranks, Ferdinand is now hoping that his recent fine form will allow him to push into Fabio Capello’s England reckoning after the disappointment of missing out on the Italian’s first squad.
Feel free
“I am enjoying myself,” he told West Ham’s official website.
“This is the first time in a long while where I am playing with nothing over my head and I feel free.
“I am concentrating on nothing but football and I think that is showing in my play.”
He added: “I was disappointed (to miss out on England) but all I can do is play well for West Ham United. That is what I am going to try and maintain.”
No excuses
Ferdinand has been a key factor behind the Hammers having the best defensive record outside of the ‘big four’ and admits that the 1-0 defeat at Wigan on Saturday came as a huge disappointment to everyone at the club.
“It is disappointing not to take something from Wigan. I thought we deserved something,” he said.
“They didn’t have many chances, we didn’t have many chances. It was more like a game that should have been a bore draw.
“The pitch didn’t help us. We like to pass the ball, it didn’t help but we can’t use the pitch as an excuse. We have to play on what is given to us. We were unlucky and should have come away with something.
“We go out on the pitch to keep clean sheets. We have been doing well in recent times but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Reina became the fastest shot-stopper in Liverpool’s history to reach 50 clean sheets as the 25-year-old produced another shutout in the 3-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday.
And Reds manager Benitez believes that the feat is all the more impressive because it eclipses the previous record of Liverpool legend Ray Clemence.
Reina – who joined the Reds in 2005 in a £6million move from Villarreal – racked up 50 clean sheets in 92 games to surpass Clemence’s previous benchmark of 95 appearances.
“I have been talking about how good ‘Pepe’ (Reina) is for a very long time,” said Benitez.
Terrific performance
“For him to keep 50 clean sheets since he joined the club is a terrific performance.
“And it is a goalkeeper of Ray Clemence’s quality that he has beaten. Not just any goalkeeper but one of the club’s greats in Clemence. That shows how good Reina has had to be.
“But it also underlines the standard of defending. A keeper cannot have 50 clean sheets if the players in front of him are not doing their job.
“Now this is something we must repeat, another 50 cleans sheets from Pepe in the same way would be ideal for us.
“It is much easier for our strikers to score goals if they know we do not have any problems in defence.”
Calum Davenport is thankful he will be able to play football again after breaking a bone in his neck on his Watford debut.
The defender joined The Hornets as cover for Danny Shittu, who has been on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, disaster struck for the West Ham man after he broke a bone in his neck after team-mate Darius Henderson landed awkwardly on him in his debut against Charlton.
Davenport believes the injury is going to make him a better person and that he is just thankful his football career is not over.
“I’m definitely going to have a different aspect on everything that I’m doing to be honest,” he told Sky Sports News.
“I think there was a lot of swelling and bleeding around my neck and obviously I broke a bone.
Worrying
“It was quite worrying for me, but thankfully I’m still walking because some people don’t come through it.
“I’m going to be alright. It’s a long road but I’m going to come through it.
“It’s difficult when you’re picking up injury after injury to stay motivated and to see any light at the end of the tunnel, but I’ve got a good family around me who can pick you back up when you are feeling low.
“It’s made me a better person. Even in the last two weeks since it happened I look at things differently. I was lying there thinking the worst.
“I’m just thankful that I’m still going to be able to play football which is something I love.”
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