Tag Archives: foreigners

Roy Hodgson says it is not impossible for England to win the World Cup

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We could do a Chelsea! Hodgson says it is not 'impossible' for England to win the World Cup

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UPDATED:

11:29 GMT, 23 December 2012

England boss Roy Hodgson claims it is not 'impossible' the country could win the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

Hodgson pointed to Chelsea's against-the-odds Champions League triumph last season, when they knocked out Barcelona and then beat Bayern Munich on penalties, as evidence that the fancied sides can be beaten.

He told Sportsweek on Radio 5 Live: 'You could say we are far from being favourites (for the World Cup) so therefore it's (winning it) not a likelihood. But you've got to shy away from 'impossible' in football.

Confident: Roy Hodgson says it is not impossible for England to win the World Cup, although says they won't be favorites

Confident: Roy Hodgson says it is not impossible for England to win the World Cup, although says they won't be favorites

'There are plenty of events that we could point to in footballing terms that you could have said were impossible, but people have done it.

'It wasn't likely that Chelsea would become champions of Europe, especially having to change their manager in mid-stream but they did.

'That was by beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two of the best teams in Europe along the way, so I'd like to keep that dream alive.'

Hodgson took over from Fabio Capello in May following the Italian's resignation and he led England to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 in his first major championship at the helm.

The former Fulham boss claimed England have enough quality players to challenge the world's top sides.

Work to do: England are second in the qualifying group, two points behind Montenegro

Work to do: England are second in the qualifying group, two points behind Montenegro

He added: 'I hope that I will never been tripped into saying, 'well, we don't have enough players or there's not enough players good enough to play for England' because that would be a very sad indictment.

'I know there are a lot of foreigners in the league, but there's plenty of English ones. There were seven Englishmen playing for Manchester United the other day and they're top of the Barclays Premier League.

'I hope I'm not going to be tricked into saying that some time to disguise my disappointment in a defeat or to try and shift the blame to somebody else.'

But Hodgson admitted the huge pressure to succeed at major championships took its toll on the players.

He added: 'I would like to see a little bit more kindness sometimes offered to the players, because there's no doubt in my mind there are as aware of anybody we need to win, we need to bring something back to the English public.

Job to do: Hodgson along with his coaches Gary Neville and Ray Lewington are aiming to get England to the World Cup in Brazil

Job to do: Hodgson along with his coaches Gary Neville and Ray Lewington are aiming to get England to the World Cup in Brazil

'But sometimes if you put so much pressure on these young people there's no doubt they can be hampered by that rather than encouraged.

'And it's that delicate balance of having the expectation which propels you forward because you want to succeed and you want to show people you can meet their expectations or freezing a little bit because you feel, 'whatever I do is never going to be good enough'.'

England currently sit second in World Cup qualifying Group H, two points behind Montenegro after four games.

Hodgson said: 'We are aiming to finish on top of the group and not have to go through a play-off situation where you can quite easily lose as well.

'If we can't win the group let's hope to God we can come second and give ourselves a chance at least in the play-offs because the goal is to reach Brazil in 2014.

Paying the penalty: Ashley Young was one of the players to miss during the Euro 2012 shoot out with Italy

Paying the penalty: Ashley Young was one of the players to miss during the Euro 2012 shoot out with Italy

'In an ideal world we would do it by winning the group and sailing through and be ready when it comes around, but there's no guarantee of course that winning the group and sailing through your group stages helps you when you get to the final competition. We've seen that with England.'

England went out of Euro 2012 following yet another penalty shootout defeat and Hodgson admitted he would be in favour of taking spot-kicks after friendlies next year to prepare players for the real thing in front of a packed crowd.

'It would be a good idea,' he added. 'You might be able to agree with one of our opponents that, 'if the game ends in a draw let's have a penalty shoot-out'.'

Hodgson also would not rule out going back to club management after his time with England.

Not a fan: Hodgson says things written about him on Wikipedia are not all true, he is not a big Rolling Stones fan

Not a fan: Hodgson says things written about him on Wikipedia are not all true, he is not a big Rolling Stones fan

Asked if the England job would be his last in football, he said: 'It would be nice to think it could be, it would be nice to think I could be in the job for a sufficient period of time when the time comes to an end to say, 'that's been a great career, I've enjoyed it, I m quite old, now it's time to pass over to younger people'.

'(But) it's a dangerous thing to say as well. Football's in your blood.'

Hodgson also urged people not to trust everything they read about him.

He added: 'I was told by my sister that on Wikipedia I have two sons and I don't know where the other one's come from because my wife and I only have one, Christopher; and that I'm a great Rolling Stones fan and, with great respect to the Rolling Stones, I was brought up with soul music and rhythm and blues.

'There're a lot of things that can the written about you. Another thing I heard strangely enough was that I'm a harmonica player. Someone less musical than me would be hard to find.'

Michael Laudrup tells Pablo Hernandez not to try so hard

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Stop trying to impress! Laudrup tells record signing Hernandez he will adapt to new league

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UPDATED:

21:47 GMT, 21 October 2012

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has told record signing Pablo Hernandez to stop trying so hard in his efforts to impress in the Premier League.

The Spaniard has endured a tricky start at the Liberty Stadium and has yet to show the talent that persuaded Laudrup to spend 5.55million to land him from Valenica on deadline day.

But the winger scored his first Swansea goal in the 2-1 win over Wigan on Saturday and Laudrup believes Hernandez will shine if he learns to relax.

Hitting the back of the net: Pablo Hernandez scored his first goal for Swansea

Hitting the back of the net: Pablo Hernandez scored his first goal for Swansea

He said: ‘When you come to a new club, with a new culture, you want to create a good impression.

‘Sometimes when you do that you try to do too many things at the same time. Of course there is a difference between playing here and playing in Spain.

Trying to impress: Michael Laudrup says Hernandez is trying too hard

Trying to impress: Michael Laudrup says Hernandez is trying too hard

This league is much more physical than Pablo is used to, which is why I have taken time with him. Sometimes I bring him on from the bench, sometimes you play him.’

Laudrup added: ‘Every player, especially foreigners, need time to adapt so it is important to get your first goal. You can see he is doing better and adapting more. Good players can play anywhere.’

Swansea prepare Mark Davies bid

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Swansea prepare 6m bid for Bolton ace Davies as Laudrup eyes Allen replacement

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UPDATED:

09:20 GMT, 15 August 2012

Michael Laudrup has upped the ante in his bid to sign Mark Davies after launching a 6million raid for the Bolton midfielder.

The Swansea manager is keen to bolster his options in the centre of the park after selling Joe Allen to Liverpool for 15m.

Bolton rate Davies at around 10m, and according to The Mirror, will rebuff Swansea's latest approach.

Making his Mark: Davies (left) is wanted by Swansea boss Laudrup

Making his Mark: Davies (left) is wanted by Swansea boss Laudrup

And Laudrup admits he has become frustrated by the the prices clubs ask for British players.

'For me it's not a case of saying I have 14, 15, 16 or 100million to spend,' he said.

'Or saying I have all this money so I need at last 80 per cent of it to buy a replacement, let's buy some big names.

'The bigger clubs, the players there don't want to leave and even players from other clubs in the Premier League are expensive.

All change: The Dane is keen to replace Allen who was sold to Liverpool

All change: The Dane is keen to replace Allen who was sold to Liverpool

'The problem is, for example, what would an offensive midfielder in the Premier League scoring 15 goals a season be worth He would be worth more than the 2million we paid for Michu.

'We have to be careful not to always go for foreigners but in Britain you would have an issue with value for money.'

London 2012 Olympcis: Ruslan Panteleymonov hits out at Myroslav Dykun

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'Plastic Brit' Dykun under fire from compatriot after failing drugs test

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UPDATED:

14:58 GMT, 4 May 2012

The ‘Plastic Brit’ wrestler revealed by Sportsmail to have failed a drugs test has come under attack from a Great Britain gymnast who was also born in Ukraine.

Ruslan Panteleymonov said Myroslav Dykun’s positive test was a side effect of British Wrestling’s policy to import talent from abroad, because procedures overseas could not always be depended upon.

Panteleymonov, who came to Britain to study at university 12 years ago and has therefore never been termed a ‘Plastic Brit’, also argued the decision to promote Dykun from sparring partner to team member after he gained eligibility was ‘not right’ and made a mockery of international competition.

Under fire: Wrestler Myroslav Dykun has failed a drugs test

Under fire: Wrestler Myroslav Dykun has failed a drugs test

Over the past few years, several Eastern European wrestlers initially flown in to provide training assistance have instead become British representatives themselves and five have married British wrestlers in recent years, though British Wrestling deny these are shams.

. He now lives 10 minutes outside Leicester.

Hitting out: Gymnast Ruslan Panteleymonov criticised Dykun

Hitting out: Gymnast Ruslan Panteleymonov criticised Dykun

Asked if he understood why some people would be against British Wrestling’s mercenary tactics, the 28-year-old said: ‘Yes I do, because it’s not right.

‘The English guys who were training and competing before, they’re doing their preparation, doing everything, trying, and then some foreigners come and they say, ‘Alright, we compete now.’

‘This is not really nice because every single country could go and do the same, buy somebody just for one competition. You don’t go as a nation. You don’t feel that if every other athlete is going to be from Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, and you don’t have your own athletes.

Shortcut: 'Plastic Brit' Dykun (red) was born in Ukraine

Shortcut: 'Plastic Brit' Dykun (red) was born in Ukraine

‘I’ve trained here more than I used to in Ukraine. You can say I’ve become a great gymnast, or a good gymnast, here. Not in Ukraine, it came here.

‘I feel like this is home. I know my family are still over there but every time I tell them, “It’s my home here.”’

Panteleymonov does not know Dykun and declined to comment on his individual case, but said it showed why more checks should be in place when an athlete switches nationalities, as prior testing may not have been as rigorous.

‘If you invite somebody too late, you don’t know if they took any drugs before,’ he said. ‘You need to keep checking regularly, for doping controls.’