Newcastle United Nolberto Solano says that family reasons are pushing
him towards a transfer to West Ham United. “I want to go to London because
my wife and two children have moved there,” the Peru midfield player said.
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Manchester City Sven-Göran Eriksson will spend today trying to recruit
a goalkeeper in time for tomorrow’s home match against Derby County.
Eriksson is interested in Marco Amelia, of Livorno, and Jussi Jaaskelainen,
of Bolton Wanderers.
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Chelsea Alex, the Brazil centre back, trained with the squad for the
first time yesterday. John Terry, who is sidelined with a knee problem, was
also able “to play a small part” in the session and is believed to be ahead
of schedule in his recovery programme.
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Arsenal William Gallas, the captain, was delighted with the recovery
from one goal down in the 2-1 win at home to Fulham on Sunday. “It showed we
have a good spirit,” Gallas said. “We want to win, we want to fight. Maybe
we can win something.”
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Blackburn Rovers Benni McCarthy is a doubt for the Uefa Cup second
qualifying round, first leg away to MyPa, in Finland, on Thursday. The
striker had more tests yesterday after being knocked unconscious against
Middlesbrough on Saturday.
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Everton Victor Anichebe, the 19-year-old striker, has still to decide
whether he wants to represent Nigeria, his birthplace, or England, where he
has lived most of his life. Stuart Pearce, the England Under-21 coach, held
talks with the player last week.
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Liverpool Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun and Peter Crouch are
expected to be in the squad for tomorrow’s Champions League third qualifying
round, first leg against Toulouse. The trio did not feature in the win
against Aston Villa on Saturday.
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Sunderland In spite of an assured debut on Saturday, Dickson Etuhu
clearly has high standards. “For me, it could have gone better,” the
midfield player, a £1.5 million signing from Norwich City, said. “I had a
few chances to score and I should have.”
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Derby County Andy Griffin, the defender, believes that the team have
the right attitude to survive in the top flight. “A lot of the players have
not played in the Premier League, but they’ve got the desire and will to
win,” he said. “It’s a good recipe for success.”
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Portsmouth Kanu aims to beat his tally of 12 goals from last season,
but he will need to start matches. “I hope I start against Manchester
United,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised I was on the bench on Saturday. There
are a lot of good new players.”
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Manchester United Anderson, the new signing from FC Porto, says that
personal glory is secondary to the United cause. “I have to think of the
team,” the Brazil forward, who could be a substitute for tomorrow’s match
away to Portsmouth, said.
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Reading Dave Kitson is still angry with Ruud Gullit, the television
pundit, for his criticism of the striker after his sending-off against
Manchester United on Sunday. “Because it’s Ruud Gullit, we have to agree
with what he says,” Kitson said. “That’s disappointing.”
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Birmingham City Mikael Forssell, the injury-prone striker, feels that
his fitness is improving. “I don’t want to put a percentage on it,”
Forssell, who scored in the 3-2 defeat on Sunday by Chelsea, his former
club, said. “It was very special to score.”
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Aston Villa Gareth Barry has absolved Martin Laursen from blame for
his own goal in the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool at Villa Park on Saturday.
“Martin was unlucky,” Barry, the captain, said. “He couldn’t do anything
about it.”
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Fulham Carlos Bocanegra says he is confident about the club’s
prospects this season, despite the defeat away to Arsenal. “The pressure’s
there every year, but more out of personal pride we want to do well,” the
United States defender said.
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Middlesbrough There is a clear lesson to be learnt from the 2-1 defeat
by Blackburn Rovers. “I thought we dominated in large patches and looked a
threat,” Stewart Downing, the scorer, said. “But if we don’t take our
chances, we’re going to be in trouble.”
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Wigan Athletic Antoine Sibierski believes that his goal in the defeat
by Everton on Saturday proved that the team have the quality to unlock
defences. “There was great movement and this showed the kind of football we
are capable of,” he said.
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Tottenham Hotspur Martin Jol believes that his players will bounce
back from their defeat by Sunderland on Saturday. “There was a good sign in
the dressing-room because they were all blaming each other,” the manager
said.
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Bolton Wanderers Kevin Davies, the forward, could be out for up to six
weeks after tearing a hamstring in the home defeat by Newcastle United on
Saturday. “It is a massive blow as he is such an influential player,” Sammy
Lee, the manager, said.
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West Ham United George McCartney, the defender, has been recalled to
the Northern Ireland squad, after an absence of two years, for the European
Championship qualifying match against Liechtenstein at Windsor Park a week
tomorrow.
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