Manchester City news 31st dec 09-

 I have to say i was a little sceptical when Mancini came to Man City and i was very disappointed in the way Hughes that the board handled the sacking now yes it is buisness and i guess it was going to happen BUT come on the way it was done was horriable to say the least we move on i guess and Mancini is here and if results keep up the way that they have in his first 2 games well we will all be saying "good move" i just hope Mancini keeps wearing that scarf as it seems like a good omen so lets look forward to a new year and new chapter in Man City football club's history and fingers crossed this is going to be the start of a great story................


case of bad timeing-
You'd think that a mid-winter break in Africa would be a welcome respite from the Manchester freeze for Kolo Toure, but City's skipper tells the Mirror leaving will be a wrench.

The Blues will not be the worst affected Premier League club as the African Nations Cup gets under way in Angola, although Emmanuel Adebayor will also be on duty for Togo.

But Ivory Coast defender Kolo tells Mirrorman James Nursey beneath the headline I'll Miss the City Life: "It is bad timing because we have just had two good results. Perhaps the competition can be staged another time in future.

"We have beeen working very hard on the tactics at City and have just had two clean sheets. I think we are doing well and hope we continue to. It was a really tough game at Wolves and we played well. We know we can score goals and will get results, as long as we defend together."

The Times presents its Window Watch with an eye on the imminent transfer business in the Premier League, and Gary Jacobs declares that "Roberto Mancini wants to bolster City's defence."

He adds: "Mancini is almost certain to sign a centre half and at least one full back. An audacious move for a world-class talent, such as Sergio Aguero, the Atletico Madrid striker, cannot be ruled out."

You can never have enough strikers, seems to be the watchword there. He also throws in half a dozen other names, with Inter Milan defensive pair Ivan Cordoba and Maicon predictable punts.

News in Brief - Thurs 31st Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

 Manager Arsene Wenger is convinced Abou Diaby can become one of the top midfielders in the Barclays Premier League. Diaby has performed well alongside captain Cesc Fabregas and Wenger feels the 23-year-old has grown in stature. "Since the beginning of the season I have always played him when I have the opportunity," the Arsenal manager said. "He looks to grow with his touch and now he is dominating the fight. What is very interesting in this formation is that, in Fabregas and Diaby, you have not one but two players who are good runners, can come out from deep and score goals."

Aston Villa

 Martin O'Neill was deflated after his side's second defeat in three days. The last-minute 0-1 reverse at home to Liverpool followed the 3-0 loss at Arsenal on Sunday. And the Villa manager felt the extra 24 hours Liverpool had to recover from their match against Wolves on Saturday may have been a factor. He said: "It's a blow, there's no doubt about it, a real, real blow to us. We will just have to reflect on it. It was said to me that it's been a poor Christmas and, of course, yes, in terms of results it has been, but we should have won. We played two games in 48 hours - this sounds very much like a bleat - but at this stage of the season those extra hours might have made a difference. Having said that, I thought we finished very strongly. There was a little period about 20 minutes into the second half where I thought we got a bit of control, came again very strongly. Their goalkeeper (Pepe Reina) has made a great save in each half, one from Stewart Downing and one from Gabby (Agbonlahor) later on. We have had two which have gone inches past the post. It's hard to take but we will come again."

Birmingham City

 Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan has confirmed he remains in talks with striker Marcus Bent over a second spell at the Riverside Stadium. The Birmingham City frontman has returned to the Midlands after his loan spell came to an end, but with Dave Kitson now back at Stoke and Leroy Lita suspended for Saturday's FA Cup third round match with Manchester City, Strachan's need is great. He said: "Dave was only going to be here for six weeks and I am still speaking to Marcus right now."

News in Brief - Tues 29th Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

 Cesc Fabregas took Arsenal to another level after coming off the bench to score twice against Aston Villa, according to Thomas Vermaelen. "He is the best midfielder I have played alongside," said the Belgian. "He's really smart in his game and in training if you play against him he's really difficult to defend against because I think he has eyes in the back of his head. He sees everything. He is a good captain too. He has a lot of qualities in football and I think that's important for a captain. He talks in the dressing room, not too much but just enough. For us he was very important on Sunday. He scored twice in 20 minutes so he was very important. I think before he came on we were the better team but we didn't create too many chances and when he came on we controlled the game more and we created some more chances. He played some good passes behind the defence, they were really dangerous. He has a great vision in the game."

Aston Villa

 Martin O'Neill is unconcerned at what reaction there will be to Villa's 3-0 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday. He said: "I'm not too bothered about who says what. I didn't get too carried away when we went to Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago and won there. It was three points, it was a boost to confidence and it was terrific. It changed a desperately poor record for us there as well, our first win there for 26 years. But equally any side can go to Arsenal and get beaten, so I wouldn't start to think the result was a major shock all over Europe."   

Match previews - tue 29th Dec 09

 Here are the match reviews from last nights games in the English premiership


Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Manchester City 3
   
Scorer: Tevez (32, 86)
Scorer: Garrido (69)
Attendance: 28,957    FT (21:41)

Two goals from Carlos Tevez and a Javier Garrido free-kick earned Manchester City their first away win in four months - and their second victory in three days under new manager Roberto Mancini.

Tevez continued his hot scoring streak with his seventh and eighth goals in his last seven appearances and his 11th of the campaign.

Substitute Garrido, frozen out of the first team picture by previous City manager Mark Hughes, netted the decisive second midway through the second period.

It was the first away win in eight league matches for City since the 1-0 success at Portsmouth in late August and moved them level on points with fifth-placed Aston Villa.

City always looked the more threatening once Mancini had reverted to a 4-4-2 formation midway through the opening period.

Craig Bellamy was a constant menace to the Wolves rearguard alongside Tevez and, with more clinical finishing, City could have doubled their final tally.

Wolves showed plenty of endeavour and rattled the visitors in the opening quarter of the match but they lacked quality in the final third despite the physical threat of Chris Iwelumo.

celtic news 28th dec 09

SPL - Celtic beat Hamilton to close on Rangers at top of SPL
CELTIC took three points and a clean sheet from their Boxing Day bash with Hamilton Accies, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Glenn Loovens and Niall McGinn.

It should have been a much more comfortable victory, with Celtic dominating and creating chance after chance. However, the failure to find the back of the net made for some nervy moments.

It wasn’t until the 91st minute when substitute McGinn scored with a superb strike, that the game was finally won.

The first half was punctuated by some outstanding bursts of entertaining play from Celtic, with quick attacks that took them straight through the heart of the Hamilton ranks.

Aiden McGeady was the primary instigator with his ability and tireless running and, with just eight minutes on the clock, he almost fired Celtic into the lead, pulling down a well-placed long ball by Landry NGuemo and hitting a low shot that Tomas Cerny touched round the post with his fingertips.

Then, six minutes later, another burst forward and brilliant piece of play helped set in motion the chain of events that led to Loovens’ strike.

McGeady looked off balance when he initially took the ball in the corner, penned in by Mark McLaughlin. However, with a quick feint and twist he was away and driving in a cross that Robson just failed to connect with and dropped to Georgios Samaras and then Scott McDonald at the back post.

Then, from the resulting corner, Loovens sprinted forward and rifled home a sweetly struck left-foot volley to make it 1-0.

It was a great finish from the big defender and in the wake of this strike, Celtic went on to dominate play, with Samaras and McDonald thwarted by a combination of last ditch defending and good goalkeeping on a couple of occasions.

The only ingredient lacking in the performance was goals and the fact that Celtic had been able to take just one from the visitors, despite all their possession, may have given Hamilton hope in the second half.

Within two minutes of the restart, Barry Robson had a glorious chance to rectify matters when he was put through on goal by NGuemo, but scooped his shot high over the bar.

Samaras went on to squander another decent opportunity after NGuemo and Marc Crosas combined in midfield and played in McDonald and from this moment, Hamilton began to play with more urgency.

But still the chances continued to fall for Celtic and Loovens again came close, seeing his header from a Robson corner cleared off the line, while McGeady stung the palms of Cerny with a shot from the edge of the box.

This was Tony Mowbray’s cue to make a change, taking off McDonald and Robson for Niall McGinn and Marc-Antoine Fortune, who immediately fired a shot on goal.

Chances continued to fall for Celtic. Fox saw a free kick parried, Fortune hit the post, Samaras fired wide and McGinn volleyed over. Meanwhile Hamilton had just one notable attempt on goal, a shot by Flavio Paixao that was saved by Boruc.

Match reviews - Sat 26th & Sun 27th Dec 09

With the sports media all looking at who Mancini picks for his 1st ever man city match even more impotant was can the 11 players he did pick win well the answer was yes they won read what i have to say in "my opinion" which will be posted later today until then here are sat,sun match reviews.........................

Manchester City 2
Stoke City 0
Scorer: Petrov (27)
Scorer: Tevez (45)
   
Attendance: 47,325    FT (16:55)

Roberto Mancini made a winning start to life as Manchester City manager.

Martin Petrov and Carlos Tevez supplied the first-half goals that marked Mancini's coronation after he replaced the sacked Mark Hughes.

Yet the Italian would also have been aware it took two brilliant Shay Given saves, the first to deny Tuncay when the sides were still deadlocked, and another to turn away a ferocious James Beattie effort, for City to consolidate their place in the top six.

It was Robinho and Petrov who combined to put City in front just before the half hour.

In fairness, Robinho's contribution was wholly accidental as he scuffed his shot after being set up by Tevez.

The ball ran on to Petrov, who fired past a despairing Thomas Sorensen at the far post.

half chance

As the Bulgarian had started on the left of a four-man midfield and had just been switched to the right, it could be claimed as a tactical masterstroke, even if a poor finish from a similar position moments later suggested the Bulgarian cannot entirely be trusted on that side of the field.

Tevez was the star man for City and it was appropriate he should snaffle the second in first-half stoppage time when Gareth Barry cushioned a header into his path, allowing the Argentine to lift the ball delicately over Sorensen.

Yet, as he reflected on such an advantageous position, Mancini would have been aware City were indebted to a brilliant feet-first save from Shay Given to deny Tuncay when the scores were still level.

Tony Pulis was so unimpressed by his side's efforts that he made all three substitutions in a 10-minute spell right after the re-start.

Match previews - Sun 27th Dec

All this weekends english premier league games match reviews will be posted tomorrow and will be back to normal after that which means all reviews will be posted the day after the games are played along with the reviews i will be posting a new section called "my opinion" which will be as it says my opinion but only on matchs i have watched this will start with the first post tomorrow till then here are todays match previews..................

A look ahead to Sunday's fixtures in the Barclays Premier League.

The day's Barclays Premier League programme begins with Arsenal playing host to Aston Villa, then Hull City entertaining Manchester United.

Arsenal versus Villa is a huge match with both teams level on points and vying for an end-of-season place in the league's top four.

United seek to catch league leaders Chelsea with victory over Hull, who hope they can move away from relegation trouble.

Hull v Man Utd

Injury-plagued United go to the KC Stadium with the task of starting a new winning streak after suffering two defeats from their last three league outings.

Sir Alex Fergsuon's men will be happy for a repeat of last season's win over the Tigers as they bid to retain their Barclays Premier League crown.

Hull have not scored in their last three Barclays Premier League matches, while United are the only Premier League team not to drop any points from leading positions.
Arsenal v Aston Villa

Arsene Wenger's Gunners, who have a match in hand on their championship rivals, can put pressure on the leaders with victory at home to Aston Villa.

Villa have four Barclays Premier League victories in a row, and if they win at the Emirates Stadium, they will equal their longest ever run set in 1996 and repeated in 1998. The Villans are the only Barclays Premier League side to have never lost at the Emirates Stadium.

This match sees the division's best front line (Arsenal 44 goals scored) against the meanest defence (Aston Villa 14 goals conceded).

Barclays Premier League fixtures

Click on the fixtures below to view the match previews

Arsenal v Aston Villa (Referee: Phil Dowd)

Hull v Man Utd (Alan Wiley)
 

Related articles by Zemanta

• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to scrap throw-ins (telegraph.co.uk)
• Villa can capitalise on Big Four slip-ups (guardian.co.uk)
• Aston Villa Preview: A Land Of Opportunity (aculturedleftfoot.wordpress.com)

SPL Match reviews 27thdec 09--

Match reviews for yesterdays spl are a little shorter than normal this week all should be back to normal next time...............................................................
Treble joy for MacDonald

Peter MacDonald claimed the first Clydesdale Bank Premier League hat-trick of the season as St Johnstone came from a goal down to defeat Motherwell 3-1 at Fir Park on Boxing Day.

Steve Jennings headed the hosts into a first-half lead but MacDonald - who has missed most of the campaign because of injury - completed his treble in the space of 17 minutes after the break to move Derek McInnes' side seven points clear of the danger zone.

Celtic earned a 2-0 home win over Hamilton Accies to close the gap on Rangers - who play Hibernian at Easter Road at 12 noon on Sunday - to a single point. Glenn Loovens converted a Barry Robson corner on 14 minutes but the hosts missed some good chances and Accies had a goal disallowed. Niall McGinn netted a fine second from the edge of the area in stoppage time.

Dundee United's first game since the departure of Craig Levein ended in a 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock at Tannadice. Peter Houston's men missed a number of chances but Jim Jefferies' Killie, who edged two points ahead of Falkirk at the foot, had two goals disallowed.

Csaba Laszlo's Hearts have jumped to fifth in the table thanks to a 1-0 win at bottom club Falkirk. In a game of few chances, Michael Stewart's 43rd-minute penalty - awarded after Darren Barr had fouled Jose Goncalves - proved decisive at The Falkirk Stadium.

St Mirren's match with Aberdeen in Paisley was postponed on police advice after snow made the area surrounding the stadium dangerous.

 

Related articles by Zemanta

• SPL: Unconvincing Celtic close on Rangers (soccernet.espn.go.com)

Match previews - Sat 26th Dec

 Boxing day football nothing better is there and some great matches to watch today on my list to watch is the Chelsea game kick of at noon great time to start the day of live on espn the Man city game will have all eyes on it and i can not wait to watch that game i will have to avoid all score results as i want to watch the full game later on bt-vision big questions what will Mancini's line up be who will be playing what will his formation be loads of presure on Mancini to gat a result today and Chelsea questions can they get a win with players away for international games can Birmingham keep up there good performance will Liverpool's luck change derby matches are always full of action and the derby matches today should be packed with action Fulham V Spurs should be worth a watch a London derby has always got people talking and this will be an important match for Spurs watch out for full match reviews(english premier league and the scottish spl)i will post them tomorrow morning along with tomorrows previews for the matches being played tomorrow along with some club news remember if you would like to see more news on your club just leave comment or look in sidbar on how to contact me......................................................................................................................(spl match previews are in another post i posted on thursday)

A look ahead to Boxing Day's fixtures in the Barclays Premier League.

Birmingham City and Chelsea kick off the festive programme with the early match on Boxing Day (12.45pm).

A key fixture is the meeting of bottom two clubs West Ham United and Portsmouth at Upton Park.

In what promises to be enthralling day of action ends when Liverpool host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield, kick-off 5.30pm.

Manchester City news 24th&26th dec 09--

Mancini salutes loyalty-

Roberto Mancini has dismissed any notion of disquiet in the Carrington camp - and goes so far as to salute the City players' loyalty to former manager Mark Hughes.

New Blues boss Mancini, facing his first game in charge on Boxing Day at home to Stoke, was relaxed enough to make light of rumours that the change-over had been problematic.

He said: "I have good communication with the players, and I have a good relationship with the players. I appreciate that some players were close with Mark. It's a good thing for a manager.

"I hope that when I leave Manchester in ten or 15 years after five Premier titles and four cups, the players will have the same feeling for me!"

Mancini, who won a hat-trick of Serie A titles at Internazionale, insists he can repeat his Italian successes with a combination of hard work and the right attitude from the squad.

Accepting that it will take time to stamp his own style, he said: "I hope the players understand my thinking, and in three or four weeks it's possible. We've worked well for four days.

"Inter Milan is a good job. I arrived at Inter when they hadn't won (a title) for 18 years and after one year we won the cup, and then after that the championship and the cup.

"The top four is still the target. If we do a good job in the next five or six months and get in the top four, then next season we can arrive on top.

"For this we must change the mentality. We must want to win always, home and away. If we have this mentality we can change the situation, and I think that the players have this mentality."

Although his Premier League playing experience was limited to four games for Leicester in 2001, he is under no illusions about his tough baptism as manager tomorrow.

Mancini said: "Stoke is a difficult, physical team, typically English. I watched them against Villa - they played well. It will be hard for us. But I hope it will be a good day for the supporters."

celtic news 26th dec 09-

Mowbray took gamble says new signing-
South Korea international Ki Sung Yueng admits Tony Mowbray has taken a gamble by bringing him to Celtic.

The former FC Seoul signed a four-year deal for a reported £2m on Monday.

The 20-year-old also feels he will need to work hard to feature for South Korea at next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

"The manager is gambling because he doesn't know much about me," said Ki. "But it won't take a long time to settle in."

The Young Asian Player of the Year is aware that manager Mowbray has not seen much of him in action but is confident he can impress at his new club while keeping an eye on his World Cup dream.

"I join Celtic in January and that means there is not much time," said Ki.

"It is very important for me to be playing regularly, otherwise my manager at South Korea is not going to be too happy.

Some English premier league club news sat 26th dec 09--

Chelsea boss Ancelotti puts faith in young duo --
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is hoping young strikers Fabio Borini and Daniel Sturridge will score goals while his first-choice forwards are unavailable.

Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou leave for the African Cup of Nations on Sunday and Nicolas Anelka is injured.

Borini, 18, and Sturridge, 20, have yet to score for the club.

But Ancelotti said: "I have a lot of confidence in my strikers. Not only Drogba, not only Kalou, not only Anelka. Also Sturridge and Borini."

Drogba and Kalou will be available for Chelsea's visit to Birmingham on Boxing Day but the following day they fly out to join up with the Ivory Coast's training camp - two weeks before the tournament beings on 10 January.

And with Frenchman Anelka - Ancelotti's only other established striker - ruled out because of a muscle problem - Chelsea will be forced to field an unfamiliar front line against Fulham on Monday.

celtic news 24th dec 09-

Derby may mean nothing
Marc Crosas has warned Celtic they cannot fall further behind in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title race ahead of the Old Firm derby.

The Hoops slipped four points adrift of Rangers at the weekend with Walter Smith's men due to visit Parkhead on January 3.

Tony Mowbray's side first host Hamilton on Boxing Day before travelling to Kilmarnock and Crosas is determined to focus on those two games without worrying about the new year clash.

The former Barcelona midfielder said: "The Christmas period isn't going to decide who wins the title but whoever comes out on top will be in a better position.

"We have three very important games coming. Everybody will be talking about the Rangers game but if we don't get positive results against Hamilton and Kilmarnock, winning the derby would be for nothing.

"It's important we go into every game with the same attitude and focus. They are all equally important and if we can come out of the Christmas fixtures in a good position, we will be set up for the second half of the season." Read spurs transfer they want  Boruc for Keane 

Manchester City news 24th dec 09--

Hard work ahead--
Christmas may be just around the corner, but with the country looking forward to a few days off there's hard work in the offing at Carrington.

Several papers report that Roberto Mancini is working the squad hard as he assesses his options ahead of his first game in charge, with The Times saying that his rigourous regime is "effectively cancelling Christmas".

With an eye on the imminent transfer window the Mail says that the boss will use the Stoke and Wolves games to consider where he may need to add to the squad:

"It is understood that Mancini, unveiled at Eastlands on Monday, has not yet given City’s board a definitive list of transfer targets. He would, it is known, rather wait until he has assessed his squad over forthcoming games at home to Stoke City on Boxing Day and away to Wolves two days later.

"Nevertheless, it is clear that he will keep a particularly close eye on Robinho. Mancini has a reputation in his home country as a coach with a penchant for attacking football but also with an intolerance of those players who do not follow his own code when it comes to industry, work rate and commitment."

The Mirror puts it in slightly starker terms: "Roberto Mancini has warned his Manchester City players they are on trial. The new no-nonsense boss at Eastlands insists he will assess all of the squad as he decides who to keep and who to offload next month."----------read more man city news

SPL Weekend preview's for 26th/27th dec 09--

A look ahead to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League games on December 26/27, with Marco Paixao (pictured) hoping to help Hamilton pull off a shock at Celtic Park.

Celtic (2) v Hamilton Accies (9) – Saturday, 3pm
Last five form: Celtic LWWWL Hamilton DLDWW
Referee: Stevie O’Reilly
TV: BT Vision on demand
Tony Mowbray’s men are looking to reduce the four-point gap on leaders Rangers against an Accies side they twice beat 4-0 on home soil last season. Celtic are unbeaten at Parkhead in the SPL for 16 months but lost 2-1 at Tynecastle on Sunday. Hamilton, who went down 2-1 to their opponents at New Douglas Park in October, have won their previous two league games but last weekend’s meeting with Dundee United was postponed due to a snow-bound pitch.

Dundee United (4) v Kilmarnock (11) – Saturday, 3pm
Last five form: Dundee United WDWDL Kilmarnock LLWDL
Referee: Craig Thomson
TV: Highlights BBC, Sky, ESPN
Peter Houston has been named caretaker boss of Dundee United after Craig Levein was confirmed as the new Scotland manager on Wednesday. Both of United’s league defeats this season have been at Tannadice – to Motherwell and Rangers – and they failed to score at home to Kilmarnock last term, drawing 0-0 and losing 2-0, although they won 2-0 at Rugby Park in November of this year. Killie have slipped to second from bottom and have scored just two away goals.

SPL news 24th dec 09--

Hibs warm up for Sunday showdown-

Hibernian beat the big freeze by training indoors today as they gear up for Sunday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with leaders Rangers at Easter Road.

The high noon encounter in the capital - live on Sky Sports - brings together two teams who drew 1-1 in a thrilling 90 minutes at Ibrox earlier this season.

Hibs are five points behind the champions but are on a 12-match unbeaten run in the SPL while Rangers have enjoyed a great December, notching up four wins out of four and scoring 15 goals.

Hibernian will be missing defender Sol Bamba who has to report for international duty with the Ivory Coast in preparation for the African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Hughes said of the ex-Dunfermline player: "Every time Sol goes away with the Ivory Coast, I think having that experience and rubbing shoulders with the boys - Drogba and the other boys - who play in the English Premier League makes him a better player.

"He's been pivotal to everything that we've done. He had to go and fill big Rob Jones' jersey and I think he's done it very, very well. Don't forget, he's been nursing a knee problem.

"What it does is open the door for someone else. Big Paul Hanlon's been playing left centre-half in bounce matches, he's been working very hard in the gym. Also, Ian Murray can go in there, young Lewis Stevenson can play left-back, and Steven Thicot has not had an opportunity."

read more spl news spl clubs get pay out,top goal scorers so far,Dundee utd search for manager

Some English premier league club news Thurs 24th dec 09--

English premiership news for Chelsea,Manchester UTD,Wigan,Birmingham,Hull,Arsenal

Anelka: Chelsea can cope without Drogba--
Injured striker Nicolas Anelka believes Chelsea can maintain their title challenge without Didier Drogba in January.

Drogba has impressed in the Barclays Premier League so far this season, netting 13 goals in the top-flight alone.

But Chelsea will be without the Ivory Coast striker for much of next month as he is set to participate in the African Cup of Nations.

Results in January could prove crucial at the title race hots up, and Anelka, who will miss upcoming matches against Birmingham City and Fulham with a calf problem, knows it will be harder to keep winning without his strike partner in January.

However, he has promised to score more goals during his colleague's absence once he returns to first-team action.

Mancini facing long road ahead-

Mark Hughes was still in a job, still making his final decisions as Manchester City manager, when Roberto Mancini began to scrutinize the squad he was about to inherit. It is a harsh reality of football, and one that should not surprise us anymore.
Although the manner in which Hughes was dumped may have been clumsy - many would say cruel - City would have been negligent not to have had a new man in place before wielding the axe. Not even a club with their track record for self-destructing would be that reckless.
• Harris: Mancini will accept 'no nonsense'
• Cook: Mancini prioritising defensive problems
• Cook defends Man City conduct

Roberto Mancini: Has plenty of work to do to get Manchester City into the top four.

Mancini, too, could hardly be expected to wait until his feet were firmly under the table at his new office in Carrington before casting an eye over the men who will work under him.The former Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter Milan coach is renowned in Italy for his meticulous preparation, and even those City fans loyal to Hughes would rather his successor knew Vincent Kompany from Vladimir Weiss before tackling his first game against Stoke City on Boxing Day.

Manchester City news 21st dec 09--

Yesterday's
Press
Conference------

 Yesterday, CEO Garry Cook and new manager Roberto Mancini together took to the stage to give journalists and, more importantly, our fans the complete picture of the events of the past few days and week.

The outcome was characterised in way which has suggested that the football club and Garry Cook has lied to its fans.  Manchester City Football would like to point out that this is absolutely not the case.

Speaking during the press conference, Garry Cook clearly stated:

“The decision to look at managerial options was taken only three weeks ago after the Hull game, but I think it is important for people to know that Roberto was only offered the job after the Spurs game; we negotiated on Thursday and finalised his agreement on Friday.”

Roberto Mancini, when questioned shortly after as to when he was first contacted by the club, he replied, “Two weeks ago, I met Khaldoon for the first time. But they called me the day after the Tottenham game. Not before.”

In light of the fact that both Garry Cook’s and Roberto Mancini’s responses are consistent, it is with some surprise that we and our fans read some of today’s reporting, as below:

celtic news 22 dec 09-

I was Larsson fan-
Ki Sung Yueng declared himself a fan of Celtic legends Henrik Larsson and Shunsuke Nakamura as he was officially unveiled by the club in Seoul.

The South Korea midfielder has been immersing himself in the history of Celtic since his move from FC Seoul was confirmed.                                                     (Ki in S.Korea signing shirts)

Ki said: "When I lived in Australia I watched a lot of Champions League games and at that time Henrik Larsson was still playing for Celtic. I was a fan of his, but I am already trying to learn more about the club. I also used to watch Shunsuke Nakamura when I was young, especially when he played for Celtic and he did a great job for the club."

The Asian Young Player of the Year, whose contract could keep him at Celtic Park for up to four years, added: "This club is one of the biggest and best clubs in the world and I know that playing for Celtic will make me a better player."

Ki is eligible to play for Celtic from January 1 following his protracted transfer, which was completed eight days ago.

Celtic revealed that 90 journalists and more fans attended the presentation, with Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell also attending to mark the reported £2million transfer.

News in Brief - Tues 22nd Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

 Due to adverse weather conditions, Arsenal made the difficult decision to cancel Members' Day on Tuesday at Emirates Stadium. The club would like to apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused but stress that the well-being and safety of their supporters is of paramount importance.

Aston Villa

 John Carew believes Aston Villa will learn from last season's experiences in trying to ensure they hold onto a Champions League spot during the second half of the current campaign. Villa looked good for a place in Europe going into the final months of the season, but Arsenal caught them and ultimately qualified for the Champions League. "I think the young players here, who had talent last season, have all turned into England internationals (Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner, Ashley Young)," said Carew. "They have gone from being inexperienced to experienced players and being more consistent and doing amazing performances every week. The squad is also bigger and we have more possibilities. One player can go out of the team and another one can come in and do the same job. I think the run we had towards the end of last season is less likely because I think we will learn - and are learning - from last season. We are one year older, one year more experienced, have a bigger squad, and we have been in more or less the same situation before. In football you learn all the time, you learn until your career is over, and you've still not learnt everything then. I think we have developed as a team and have got better and I think this year we will be competing for the top four." 

celtic news 21 dec 09-

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray refrained from criticising his defence as publicly as he had earlier in the season but there was no mistaking his concern after the 2-1 loss to Hearts.

Georgios Samaras gave Celtic the lead, but Gary Caldwell was then sent off as Hearts hit back to take all three points.

Mowbray said: "It's something that we have tried hard to eradicate but we conceded in an all too familiar fashion. You change things on the training ground and we get back to work.

"It's a daily thing about working with all parts of the team.

"There were plenty of positives but the big negative is that there are no points. We were disappointed in the way that we lost the second goal. However, we had a lot of opportunities but didn't take them.

"I haven't seen the red-card incident again but I don't think too much changed. We made enough chances."

Manchester City news 21st dec 09--plus the history of city

Manchester City's disgraceful treatment of Mark Hughes obscures the fact they were probably right to sack him.

In a macabre show of disrespect to a manager who has lost twice in 17 games, Hughes was sent out to manage the team to a 4-3 win against Sunderland, while his replacement was in the same stadium getting the red carpet treatment.

Despite Hughes's protestations to the contrary, he must have known the game was up. It is just a shame he did not decide to sign off in style by putting Robinho in goal, Shay Given in the midfield engine room and - just for larks - perma-crock Roque Santa Cruz up front!

Well, OK, he actually did the last one, but Santa Cruz let the side down by scoring and playing rather well. Read more and get the news from the papers plus a added bonus today the history of City and trophy's we have won yes we have won some.

News in Brief - Mon 21st Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

Arsenal Arsene Wenger was delighted with Arsenal's battling qualities after they enjoyed a comfortable victory over Hull at the Emirates Stadium. Goals from Denilson's sublime free-kick, Eduardo and Abou Diaby moved Arsenal back into third place in the Barclays Premier League. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia also deserved much credit when he saved Geovanni's second-half penalty with the home side 1-0 in front. "We had to fight," said Wenger. "It took us some time to get into the game and to find the pace. We didn't look very fresh in the first half. But we got in front in the second half, and if there was a turning it was the penalty they missed. The penalty looked really, really harsh but we scored straight away a second goal and had plenty of chances after that. We scored the first goal just before half-time and they had to come out in the second half. In the first-half they played in their half and were well organised and closed us down. We had to respond physically and we had a good response."

Aston Villa

Aston Villa Martin O'Neill hailed his side's single-goal success over Stoke as their "best win of the season" as they sustained their push for a Champions League spot. Substitute John Carew's second-half header - his fifth goal of the season - was enough to earn a fourth successive win for Villa. It came at the end of a demanding week which had seen them win at Manchester United and Sunderland while Stoke had an eight-day break from action. O'Neill was concerned how much energy his side had left after their two away triumphs but they maintained the pressure on the leading clubs in the battle for a top-four place. O'Neill said: "My own view is it may well be our best win of the season so far. We had to really dig deep. There were passages in the first half where we played really well but Stoke were dangerous all the time. We got the goal and there were a lot of last-ditch tackles with players prepared to put their bodies on the line. We got over the line and it was a great win for us after going to Old Trafford last Saturday evening and then away to Sunderland in midweek."  

Match preview for Mon 21st dec plus Sun 20th match reviews

 Here is the preview for tonights match plus all yeaterdays match reviews for the premier league --------------

Match preview - Mon 21st Dec
A look ahead to Monday's fixture in the Barclays Premier League.

Wigan Athletic host Bolton Wanderers in an intriguing match at the DW Stadium.

Wigan v Bolton

Neither side has defended well this season, so goals could be on the cards on Monday night.

Bolton may be conceding goals, but at least they are scoring them at the other end. Three strikes from Ivan Klasnic have helped them to a 3-3 draw with Manchester City and a 3-1 win over West Ham United in their last two matches.

Wigan have conceded the most goals in the Barclays Premier League this season, due in no small part to last month's 9-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Bolton are the only side in the top flight yet to keep a clean sheet this season. However, key defender Gary Cahill has become adept at scoring down the other end. His five goals so far make him the club's joint top scorer.

Hugo Rodallega is Wigan's top scorer but his late penalty miss away to Stoke last weekend proved costly as the sides drew 2-2.

Barclays Premier League fixture

Click on the fixture below to view the match preview

Wigan Athletic v Bolton Wanderers (Referee: Alan Wiley)

SPL managers have there say after teams match

What the managers said after Saturday's games in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League:

Aberdeen 0-2 Hibernian

Mark McGhee "I thought we were the better team for most of the game but how do you measure who is the best team? It is the one that gets the most goals. That is what it is all about and we are finding it very difficult to get the ball in the back of the net at the moment."

John Hughes "That was a massive win for us. Pittodrie is always a hard place to come and we knew they would be hurting after losing to Hamilton last week. I'm delighted we are going back down the road with the three points as I'm honest enough to say I thought Aberdeen were slightly the better side in the first half."

Kilmarnock 1-2 Falkirk

Jim Jefferies "The second-half performance was the big disappointment. I thought we were really poor and Falkirk deserved to win. Billy Brown and I questioned their commitment and application because there was not one change to the team that played against Hibs last week and it was like two different teams."

Eddie May "I had a go at Ryan Flynn last week but he and Scott Arfield came out and played with a smile on their faces. We have another good game coming up on Boxing Day, hopefully we will have a fantastic support at the Hearts game and hopefully if things go our way we can come off the bottom of the table."

Rangers 6-1 Motherwell

Walter Smith "The first goal was terrific. I always feel in home games you need to get off to a good start and that was a fantastic goal. Kenny Miller's overall play has been excellent, and Kris Boyd as well. They have been helping the team extremely well and getting goals."

Jim Gannon "I'm not going to be overly critical of our young players. Rangers have got quality. I don't think it was a particularly special day for them, I think they are capable of scoring that amount of goals. We invited a bit of trouble by poor passes. You can't have tactics without technique."

St Johnstone 1-0 St Mirren

Derek McInnes "Any point we're going to earn in this league is going to be hard-fought and none more so than in this game. At times, we were disappointed and frustrated we didn't show more quality than we did, but we showed enough of the other qualities that are needed to get points. We've played a lot better than that and come away with nothing."

Gus MacPherson "Craig Dargo's miss was a turning point, it was a one-on-one situation. Craig will be disappointed, it was a good save, he's made the goalkeeper work but two minutes later we found ourselves 1-0 down. It's about taking your chances when they come along."

Match previews - Sun 20th Dec

Here are todays match previews -------------
A look ahead to Sunday's fixtures in the Barclays Premier League.

Chelsea aim to stretch their advantage at the top of the Barclays Premier League as they visit West Ham United.

Earlier Wolverhampton Wanderers host Burnley and Everton meet in-form Birmingham City at Goodison Park

Match reviews for 19th dec 09

Here are all yesterdays match reviews for English premiership-----------------

Portsmouth 2
Liverpool 0
Scorer: Belhadj (33)
Scorer: Piquionne (81)
   
Attendance: 20,534    FT (14:40)

Liverpool suffered a wretched trip to Portsmouth after Javier Mascherano was dismissed during a miserable defeat at Fratton Park.

Pompey's victory, with the goals coming from Nadir Belhadj and Frederic Piquionne, will ignite hope of survival in the Barclays Premier League.

However, Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four are uncertain - they missed a chance to record back-to-back league wins for the first time since September.

It means Avram Grant maintains his unbeaten record against Reds manager Rafael Benitez after recording two wins and two draws during his time at Chelsea in the 2008 season.

New manager for City and match review plus who signs till 2012?

Change of manager at City ------ I thought that the press conference was going to be a vote of confidence for Hughes last night but with Roberto Mancini at the club all day yesterday it was in the back of my mind that hughes bags were packed and a taxi waiting for the final whistle to blow on his city carrer in my mind it is business after all BUT i thought to sack him now is a little harsh after all it takes time time to build a good team and Hughes needed at least another season and the team needed at least another year to really get to grips with playing the football we no they can play every week we want to see that not once in a BLUE MOON so maybe that was the final straw for Hughes as we have seen some great football from City this season so far BUT we have also saw some terriable defensive football i mean how many times have we been left shouting "MARK HIM THERE MARK THAT MAN" just before they score yes we all do it i am sorry to see Mark Hughes go i just hope it is a good move for the club i think only time will tell that story so a new chappter starts for Manchester City with Roberto Mancini as manager good luck to him and once again sorry to see Hughes go and good luck to him as well.
 
(read the official post from mcfc.co.uk the online home of man city)

Manchester City news 19th dec 09-

Zabaleta signs ---
Pablo Zabaleta is staying at City for the long haul - even though it means regular portions of mickey-taking at his local fish shop until the popular Argentine scores another goal.

Zaba, who arrived at the City of Manchester Stadium 15 months ago from Espanyol, signed a new four-and-a-half year deal today to commit himself to Mark Hughes' Blue Revolution.

He revealed he has not only fallen for City's passionate fans but also the English way of life - not least his favourite fish and chips and a trip to the Blackpool illuminations.

The tough-tackling defender's only goal so far in over 50 games for the Blues was a spectacular winner against Wigan in January - the subject of ribbing whenever he nips out for a fish supper.

Pablo takes the inevitable good-natured verbal battering with a pinch of salt. He says: "The guy at our fish shop always says it's easy to remember my last goal - it's the only one!

"But I only used to score once a season in Spain and Argentina - my first job is always to defend, although I'm happy to play where the manager wants in the best league in the world.

"My English lessons are finished now, I will continue to learn with my team-mates at Carrington. I'm delighted to sign because I'm so happy playing for Manchester City and I love living here.

"My cleaning lady said we should go to see the Blackpool illuminations, and they were fantastic. And right along the front there were so many fish shops, so it was a great place to be!"

Zaba is gearing up for a busy Christmas spell, starting with Sunderland. He revels in home games, saying: "We play in front of over 40,000 passionate fans. It's so different from Spain.

"We need to aim for nine points from these next three games to keep fighting for a good position. If we play well enough we can get into the top four. We have the players for big things."  

Europa League news -19th Dec 09(the draw plus everton sign ?)

Europa League draw -
Barclays Premier League clubs face some tricky ties in the Europa League draw.

Liverpool will play Romanian side Unirea Urziceni in the last 32 of the Europa League.

Like the Reds, Urziceni, coached by former Chelsea star Dan Petrescu, finished third in their Champions League group to drop into the Europa League.

They beat Glasgow Rangers 4-1 at Ibrox during their Champions League campaign and could prove tough opponents.

home leg

City rivals Everton have been handed a match with Sporting Lisbon - a side who topped their Europa League group which also included Hertha Berlin, Heerenveen and FK Ventspils.

Fulham fared the worst of the English sides in Friday afternoon's draw - they must face Shakhtar Donetsk, who won last season's UEFA Cup. The Ukrainian outfit scored 14 goals in their six group matches.

All the English sides are due to play the home leg first on 18th February, but with Liverpool and Everton unable to play at home on the same night, UEFA must decide which tie to flip.

The draw for the last 16 was also made on Friday.

Should Liverpool progress, they will face either Lille or Fenerbahce at that stage - a tie which could result in them returning to Istanbul, scene of their famous 2005 Champions League success.

Everton could also be heading to the Turkish capital as they will meet either Galatasaray or Atletico Madrid if they beat Sporting.

Again, Fulham took a hit in the last-16 draw - they will meet Ajax or Juventus if they see off Shakhtar.get the full draw and read Everton news who they have sealed deall with

SPL Weekend previews 19th dec 09

Weekend previews

It's another big weekend in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League as the 12 clubs aim to go into Christmas on a high. Ross Forbes (pictured) is hoping to help Motherwell topple leaders Rangers at Ibrox while Celtic are away to Hearts on Sunday. Hibernian put their unbeaten run on the line at Aberdeen, in-form Hamilton host Dundee United and the bottom four are in direct opposition.Is your team on t.v ? find out below are all the channels were you can watch the SPL this weekend.

Match previews - Sat 19th Dec

A look ahead to Saturday's fixtures in the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester United have the chance to move back level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

With the leaders not in action until Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson's men will hope to apply pressure by winning at Fulham who have taken 13 points from a possible 15 at Craven Cottage.

Chelsea welcome Mourinho return -

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti offers olive branch to Internazionale coach Jose Mourinho Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to use Chelsea's Champions League clash with Internazionale as an opportunity to end his feud with Jose Mourinho. The pair clashed several times in Italy last season before Ancelotti, in his final year with AC Milan, moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer. Former Chelsea boss Mourinho insisted Ancelotti was "no friend of his" when the pair shared the San Siro stadium while Ancelotti claimed he was not a follower of the self-proclaimed 'Special One'. The Champions League draw has now pitched the 'Normal One' against the 'Special One' but Ancelotti is hoping to draw a line under their antagonistic relationship and will ignore any of Mourinho's mind games ahead of the tie. "If we don't have a good relationship, this game can be a good opportunity to return to a good relationship," said Ancelotti. "There were some problems, some questions and discussions in the papers. Only this. Nothing important. "I'm not ready to play mind games. I never will be ready to play these games. I prefer to play football matches. I have experience of what he'll do. I think that, for him, it will be an emotional game. He did a very good job here in Chelsea so to play against Chelsea won't be easy for him. He will do his best to win. "I said that Inter were one of the strongest teams in the second group, but we have to accept this draw."click to see video

Tough draw for English sides -

Milan midfielder David Beckham set for return to Manchester United in Champions League last 16- David Beckham is in line for a return to face his old club Manchester United after Milan were drawn against the Premier League side in the last 16 of the Champions League The England midfielder, who won the Champions League with United in 1999 before joining Real Madrid in 2003, will return to Milan in January for a second loan spell from Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham has not yet come up against the club where he made his name. United's director of communications Phil Townsend was pleased with the draw. "It will be fantastic," he told Sky Sports News. "I think everyone at Old Trafford will be absolutely delighted, it's what the Champions League is all about. "He (Beckham) will get a fantastic reception, as players coming back usually do at Manchester United. He was a terrific servant for the club and we all hope he will be playing." Chelsea take on former manager Jose Mourinho after being drawn against his current club Internazionale. Mourinho was dubbed the 'Special One' when he lead Chelsea to Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 before leaving early in the 2007-2008 season. Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay was delighted with the high-profile clash. "It's fantastic, it was the talk when we arrived here this morning and it's happened," he said. "It's fantastic for the fans and for neutrals and it will be quite spectacular, I'm sure. "I'm sure Jose will get a fantastic reaction from our fans. But at the end of the day he is the opposition and we'll look to go through over the two games." Arsenal take on Portuguese side Porto as all three English clubs play the first leg of their ties away from home after winning their groups. Arsenal secretary David Miles believes manager Arsene Wenger will be satisfied with a two-legged tie against Porto. "I think he will be relatively pleased," he said. "We have played Porto three times in four seasons so they are a team we know well." Spanish clubs avoided the big names with reigning champions Barcelona drawn against German side Stuttgart and Real Madrid up against French club Lyon. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted they were facing a tough task against the club of their former striker Karim Benzema. "It's an extremely difficult draw," Aulas told Eurosport. "They're a fantastic team and the final will be played in Madrid, we know how that motivates." Aulas added: "He (Benzema) was a great player for us and it's going to be something special for him to play against his former club." German giants Bayern Munich meet Serie A club Fiorentina and CSKA Moscow were drawn with Spanish club Sevilla. Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido admitted that the greatest danger for his side would be the freezing Moscow weather. "We're satisfied with this draw. I think the biggest handicap for Sevilla will be the cold, we could play in temperatures of minus 18," said del Nido. "CSKA Moscow is a great team but we're happy that we're not up against Milan, Inter or Bayern Munich," added Sevilla vice-president Jose Castro. Full draw: Stuttgart v Barcelona Olympiacos v Bordeaux Inter v Chelsea Bayern v Fiorentina CSKA Moscow v Sevilla Lyon v Real Madrid Porto v Arsenal Milan v Manchester United For the first time this year, the fixtures in the last 16 will be held over four weeks with half the ties on 16/17 February and 9/10 March and the others on 23/24 February and 16/17 March.


more about "Tough draw for English sides - ", posted with vodpod

Related articles by Zemanta

• Beckham gets dream Man Utd. matchup in Champions League (cbc.ca)
• Champions League draw: Jose returns to Chelsea (soccernet.espn.go.com)
• Don't miss Mourinho's return to Chelsea (guardian.co.uk)
• Draw contains dangers for English teams (guardian.co.uk)

Some spl news more soon

SFA to hold talks with Levein over Scotland job-
Dundee United have given permission for the Scottish Football Association to speak to manager Craig Levein about the vacant Scotland job, chairman Stephen Thompson has confirmed.There will be more on this later today--------More follows...Read on for more spl news--------------------

News in Brief - Fri 18th Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

Arsenal Arsene Wenger was disappointed his side failed to follow up Sunday's win at Liverpool with another three points at Burnley. The Gunners were below-par as Cesc Fabregas - who later limped off - opened the scoring, only for the Clarets to hit back for a well-deserved 1-1 draw. "I always wanted six points," Wenger said. "Really I expected more to drop two points at Liverpool than here but I believe Burnley had a very good time. They did not have one moment when they lost focus."

Aston Villa

Aston Villa Martin O'Neill admits Stoke will pose a tough physical test for his players this weekend. "Stoke have had no midweek game. But we go into the match on the back of two away performances - and two games we have won at tough venues in Old Trafford and the Stadium of Light," O'Neill said. "Now it's a case of resting up and getting prepared for this weekend physically. Mentally we will be right. Physically it will be very demanding - but that's the Premier League." 

Birmingham City

Birmingham City James McFadden believes Birmingham's "never-say-die attitude" is the key to their five-match winning run. "I've said all along I didn't think we played particularly well last season," McFadden said. "It was about getting out of the league and we got there in the end. But this season we've added some good quality players and we're on a good run and I think we deserve it because we've worked hard and played some good football at times and it's nice to be a part of it. We've got a settled side now, a great team spirit and a never-say-die attitude."

Some Premierleague news 17th/18th dec 09

Here is some news from man city,chelsea,bolton and the England world cup bid----------

Vladimir Weiss--"I am delighted to have signed this contract"-

Vladimir Weiss has signed a new contract with Manchester City, keeping him at Eastlands until 2012.

The 20-year-old Slovakia winger has been on the fringes of Mark Hughes' first-team squad this season but has made three appearances in the Carling Cup, scoring his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Arsenal.

Weiss, who signed for City as a teenager, has a host of international stars blocking his route to the first XI but is held in high regard by the club's coaching staff.

Europa League round-up - Thurs 17th Dec

Rapid Vienna 3 - 3 Celtic-

Celtic staged the most dramatic of Europa League comebacks to draw 3-3 against Rapid Vienna in the Ernst Happel Stadium.

An experimental Hoops side found themselves three goals behind after only 19 minutes in the Group C dead rubber as Nikica Jelavic grabbed a double before strike partner Hamdi Salihi's goal threatened a rout.

However, before the interval, Celtic striker Marc-Antoine Fortune scored to stem the tide.

It still looked a long way back for Tony Mowbray's side but the former Nancy frontman doubled his tally in the 67th minute to set up a tense finale and, in stoppage time, Paul McGowan, making his first start of the season, fired in the leveller from close range to keep Celtic in third place.

A Group C campaign which began with a defeat in the heat of Israel against Tel Aviv concluded in freezing conditions in Vienna but, if nothing else, Mowbray will be warmed by the fighting spirit if his players.

Aside from McGowan's inclusion, the Hoops boss had given rare starts to Willo Flood, Mark Wilson, Paul Caddis and Niall McGinn.

However, on a freezing cold Austrian night, the ploy to keep players fresh for Sunday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at Hearts backfired spectacularly as the visitors founds themselves a goal down before a minute had lapsed.

McManus surrendered possession at the back to Rapid captain Steffen Hofmann and the ball was moved on to Jelavic who drilled a low shot from the edge of the box past Artur Boruc, with just 33 seconds on the clock.

Celtic and their small band of supporters were stunned and were visited by more woe in the eighth minute after their offside trap was cut wide open.

Salihi cut the ball across the six-yard box for Jelavic, who had scored in the 1-1 draw at Parkhead, to knock the ball over the line from a yard out despite the attentions of Hoops defender Glenn Loovens.

It became even more embarrassing for the Glasgow side in the 19th minute when Jelavic returned the favour for his strike partner, turning Loovens inside out before setting up Salihi who slid the ball in from eight yards for number three.

The Parkhead side were handed a lifeline in the 23rd minute when Wilson's cross into the box from the left broke kindly for Fortune who turned and slammed a shot from 10 yards high into the net.

Moments later, with Celtic having at last found some belief, McGinn forced a decent save from Rapid's stand-in goalkeeper Raimund Hedl with an angled shot.

The game had settled down and it was the Hoops, inspired by Fortune's strong running, who were edging possession.

Seven minutes from the break, though, Celtic midfielder Landry N'Guemo gave possession away to Veli Kavlak in the middle of the park and, after brushing past Caddis, his shot was deflected past for a corner which the visitors survived, albeit unconvincingly.

But it was Celtic who ended the half stronger and a minute before the break Hedl had to dive high to his left to push McGinn's long-distance drive away from the top corner, with the visitors failing to take advantage of the corner.

Celtic began the second half brightly and within minutes of the restart Hedl made yet another fine save from McGinn, who had been set up inside the box by McManus, by tipping a low drive past the post.

The Parkhead side were back on the ascendancy but it began to look as if it was not McGinn's night as Hedl blocked another angled drive from the Northern Ireland international, this time with his foot, before making a more comfortable save from his left-footed drive moments later.

Rapid had lost their early momentum, perhaps understandably, and as Celtic chased, harried and probed, they struggled to make any inroads towards Boruc.

Celtic got their just rewards in the 67th minute when quick thinking by Flood at a free-kick sent McGinn racing down the right channel and when his cross came in to the middle Fortune had the simplest of tasks to score from barely a yard out.

Graham Carey replaced McGinn to make his Celtic debut with around 13 minutes left and still the Parkhead side pushed for the leveller as the hosts continued to deteriorate.

And in the first minute of stoppage time McGowan drove in from close range after Marc Crosas had chipped into the box to end a disappointing campaign on a positive note.

# Mowbray salutes spirit

Celtic news 17th dec 09

manager: we're aiming to win in vienna (watch the game live tonight ITV 4 5.30pm)

TONY MOWBRAY has dismissed suggestions that tonight’s UEFA Europa League match against Rapid Vienna is meaningless and stressed they any Celtic side he takes charge of will try to win all the games they play in.

It was a strong Hoops squad – minus some injured players and the ineligible Zheng Zhi – that arrived in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon to prepare for the final Group C match.

And while Mowbray, who has named the same starting XI in Celtic’s last three matches, might tinker with his line-up, he expects the team he selects to more than compete with Rapid.

He said: “We have to respect the tournament. We are here to give a good account of ourselves, try to win the game and keep things going for Sunday.

“If we do decide to go down the route of making changes I expect a professional performance from the team. There will be a decent crowd and a good atmosphere, so it will be a good test for the players. We are looking forward to it."

Celtic currently sit on five points but even a win tonight would still leave them trailing behind Hamburg and Hapoel Tel-Aviv, who have already reached the knockout stages.

Had just one other result gone Celtic’s way – had they turned the draws against Rapid and Hamburg into a win – it could all have been so different, but the manager refused to dwell too much on the past.

“I talked about this after Hapoel game,” he said. “It has been a situation where we have missed opportunities to pick up more points. Every game has been tight and we could have taken more.

“It’s been a strange group with some strange results. Rapid beat Hamburg 3-0 and then lost to Hapoel by the same scoreline. Hamburg have also been very good on some occasions, but they came to Austria and lost 3-0.

“Frustration isn’t the right word. As the league unfolded we felt we had chances to pick up points but left it late. If we’d scored one of our three chances in Hamburg, we could be sitting here trying to get through.

“There have been fine margins but we’re here in Vienna to finish the group off and then got on with our season.”

News in Brief - Thurs 17th Dec

A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

Arsenal Andrey Arshavin has a pain threshold that the famous back four would be proud of, according to Arsene Wenger. The Russian playmaker barely trained last week after suffering an injury to his right foot but he played through the pain barrier at Anfield on Sunday and used that foot to devastating effect when he smashed the winning goal past Pepe Reina. That was reminiscent of Arshavin's bravery back in March when he scored his first goal for the club against Blackburn minutes after having stitches inserted in a foot wound. No wonder his manager is comparing the Russian with some of the toughest players to have pulled on an Arsenal shirt. "I have not met many with his pain threshold," said Wenger. "I've had a few [brave players] - the Nigel Winterburns, Bouldy, Dixon, Keown - they were tough boys. Andrey is a hard boy too, especially for a forward."

Aston Villa

Aston Villa Sunderland manager Steve Bruce tipped Aston Villa for a top-four finish after his side were beaten 2-0 at the Stadium of Light. Goals from Emile Heskey and James Milner secured victory for Martin O'Neill's side, and Bruce was quick to praise the visitors. He said: "If there is going to be one [team] that's going to be breaking into it [the top four], they are going to be there. They are big, strong, powerful - you look at their bench and they have got unbelievable strength in depth. I think this is Martin's fourth season and they are unrecognisable to where they were when he took over. The progress he has made and his players, it's an unbelievable difference."