Tag Archives: wilderness

Ian Wright says Arsenal fans trusting in Arsene Wenger are deluded

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If you trust in Arsene you're deluded! Wright joins other Gunners legends and turns on Wenger

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UPDATED:

17:44 GMT, 14 December 2012

Ian Wright has labelled Arsenal fans 'deluded' if they still support Arsene Wenger as manager, joining a host of Arsenal legends in rounding on the Gunners' boss.

Speaking on Absolute Radio, the former Arsenal striker said: 'There’s a lot of deluded Arsenal fans, who are out in the wilderness, still saying “In Arsene We Trust” and all that.

'It is a unique position that Wenger is in – I think that any other manager in any country, in any world, with a record like this and no prospect of light at the end of the tunnel – they would have been gone by now.

Speak your mind: Ian Wright blasted Arsenal fans who still backed the sentiment of 'In Wenger we trust'

Speak your mind: Ian Wright blasted Arsenal fans who still backed the sentiment of 'In Wenger we trust'

And Wright, one of Arsenal’s greatest ever forwards, has called on Arsenal and their manager to start being honest with their supporters.

'When you hear him do interviews after a game and say that he has a great team with a good spirit – well, hang on a minute, we really are not seeing that.

'He may be seeing something in training that we aren’t seeing but he doesn’t tell the truth and say what is happening. And what I’ve said for years and years is that I want some transparency.

'I just want to know, what is going on Have you (Wenger) got any money to spend or haven’t you Is it the board not giving you the money to spend or is it the case that the board are giving you money to spend but you aren’t spending it

'Is that too hard a question to answer Arsenal, with the size of that club that I love, should not be in the predicament that it finds itself in right now.'

However, Wright does not believe that Wenger will choose to leave the club out of his own volition, telling presenter Christian O’Connell replied: 'No. He won’t step down. I don’t think he’s that kind of person.'

The former England striker is the latest in a series of former Arsenal heroes who have blasted Wenger since Arsenal’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Bradford in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.

Pressure: Arsene Wenger is under the cosh at the moment with fans and former club legends turning on him

Pressure: Arsene Wenger is under the cosh at the moment with fans and former club legends turning on him

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who spent three years at the club in the 1990s, has this morning claimed that Arsenal are now seen as a stepping stone to greater things and fears that the club will struggle to attract top-name signings given their current form.

Petit, 42, said: 'The big worry today is that even if Arsenal have the money who are they going to get to join the club now

'The idea they have been giving off for seven years is that it’s a club which doesn’t win trophies and at the end of the season their best players will leave.

'The feeling is that Arsenal are creating a generation of players who will leave in the hope of going to another club in order to win something.'

Meanwhile, Wenger has also come under fire from former Arsenal boss George Graham, who has criticised the manager and the board for their lack of ambition in the transfer market, and does not believe that the club are capable of winning another Premier League title.

Graham, who also managed Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur, told The Sun: “I don’t think Arsenal are ever going to compete with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Struggle: Emmanuel Petit (left) said big name players might not want to join the club

Struggle: Emmanuel Petit (left) said big name players might not want to join the club

'I thought they could have competed with United because they don’t spend the money the other two do, but Arsenal are not going to compete with them either.

'They have got a structure at the club on transfers and wages. They are very strict on those. They have more or less said to fans that is the way they are going to run the club.

'They can still pick up cups and qualify for Europe, but will they win the Premier League title again I can’t see it.'

However, former Gunners’ midfielder Ray Parlour has defended Wenger, explaining that Wenger will be dealing with the issues behind the scenes.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he explained: 'I played under Arsene Wenger and thought he was a great manager when I was there. He was always one of those managers you could talk to.'

Silverware: George Graham (right) and Tony Adams at the end of the 1990-91 season in which Arsenal won the title and the former picked up the manager of the year trophy

Silverware: George Graham (right) and Tony Adams at the end of the 1990-91 season in which Arsenal won the title and the former picked up the manager of the year trophy

'Arsene Wenger is one of those sort of guys who will always try to stick up for his players.

'We would have meetings after games and it would all come out in the dressing room, which (is how) it should be. It is a private matter between the players, the manager and the staff.

'It was quite embarrassing to lose to Bradford, there is no doubting that, but I think he is one of those guys who does criticise people behind the scenes instead of in the press.'

India v England: Alastair Cook"s best hope is to bat first and dig in for victory

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England's best hope is to bat first and dig in for victory but Indian spin onslaught looms

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UPDATED:

22:00 GMT, 13 November 2012

It is not just history but also all cricketing logic that tells you England’s attempt to earn their first series win in India for almost 30 years will end badly.

Not only are England attempting to go where very few have gone successfully before but they are doing so at the end of a year in which all their hard-earned progress has threatened to collapse around their ears.

This is arguably the toughest assignment in world cricket, tougher than home and away Ashes successes and tougher still than running into a South African brick wall last summer that saw England’s world No 1 status crumble.

The eyes have it: England captain Alastair Cook is ready to lead his team in the first Test in Ahmedabad

The eyes have it: England captain Alastair Cook is ready to lead his team in the first Test in Ahmedabad

Who could have foreseen, when England were thrashing India 4-0 less than 18 months ago, the chain of events that sees them as firm underdogs with plenty to prove under a new captain in this much-anticipated return series

The talk after that glorious Indian summer was of world domination but it has been followed by the return of old failings against Pakistani and Sri Lankan spin, that defeat by South Africa and the departure of captain Andrew Strauss at the start of a bitter dispute that saw Kevin Pietersen cast into the wilderness.

Pietersen is back now and his ‘reintegration’ has appeared to have gone well in the early weeks of this tour, but the real test of whether the team spirit Andy Flower holds so dear has survived will come here in the first Test.

That is when we will see whether Pietersen really does hold England in greater affection than the Delhi Daredevils these days and whether his fellow batsmen really have learned their lessons in playing high-quality slow bowling in conditions that remain alien to them.

Bristling with intent: Tim Bresnan (left) lays on the suncream in the nets to mock Jonny Bairstow's moustache for Movember

Bristling with intent: Tim Bresnan (left) lays on the suncream in the nets to mock Jonny Bairstow's moustache for Movember

Bristling with intent: Tim Bresnan (left) lays on the suncream in the nets to mock Jonny Bairstow's moustache for Movember

It is the batting that has let England down since their giddy rise to the top of world cricket and it is how the batsmen cope now against the spin threat of Ravi Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and possibly Harbhajan Singh that will go a long way towards deciding this series.

On the surface all looks well after the extensive practice provided by a Dubai training camp and three first-class warm-up matches. Five of England’s batsmen have scored centuries on tour already while Nick Compton, with three half-centuries full of nuggety application, has earned his chance to step into Strauss’s opening shoes alongside new leader Alastair Cook.

Yet all those runs have come against attacks lacking quality spin of any kind — even so, part-timer Yuvraj Singh was able to take five wickets against England in Mumbai — with India coach Duncan Fletcher’s fingertips all over a deliberate and canny policy to starve the visiting batsmen of the practice they need most.

It's catching: England wicketkeeper Matt Prior (left) dives during a fielding drill on Tuesday

It's catching: England wicketkeeper Matt Prior (left) dives during a fielding drill on Tuesday

There is little mystery about Ashwin
and Ojha — on paper they look weaker than the Pakistan pair of Saeed
Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, who caused so much consternation — but they have
proved far too potent for West Indies and New Zealand in India and
England’s spin demons are etched deep into their psyche.

It is a surprise to see that what little success England have had in India in modern times has invariably come when they have bowled first because surely their best chance in this four-Test series is to win the toss, bat and dig in for totals as near to 500 as possible.

Dangerman: India's new superstar Virat Kohli

Dangerman: India's new superstar Virat Kohli

A top three of Cook, Compton and
Jonathan Trott will earn few marks for artistic impression but they
could prove a mighty effective combination here where concentration and
discipline will be key. Only if these hardy competitors provide a
decent platform can Pietersen and Ian Bell, who just could take any
match away from India, be expected to dominate.

Samit Patel has been known more for his battle against the bulge than what he has done in the middle in his international career so far but this might be the series where he shows that there is more to him than meets the eye.

Patel is an accomplished player of spin and an under-rated spinner himself and he will take the No 6 position now confident that his time as a Test player has come. I just have a hunch that he will have a productive all-round series.

The bowling has stood up well in the face of England’s annus horribilis but their hopes now have not been helped by question marks over three members of the first-choice attack.

Stuart Broad looked fully fit in the nets on Tuesday but Steven Finn was not able to bowl and seems certain to miss out on the first Test with Tim Bresnan set to step in for him. Graeme Swann, meanwhile, will be short of overs even though he has now returned here after spending some time at home with his unwell baby daughter.

Getting loose: India batsman Yuvraj Singh receives a massage at The Sardar Patel Stadium

Getting loose: India batsman Yuvraj Singh receives a massage at The Sardar Patel Stadium

India were a shambles in England last year but are a totally different proposition at home and will be desperate to make up for the embarrassment inflicted upon them when they lost the status of top Test dogs themselves.

Yet they have their own issues to contemplate. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have gone while Sachin Tendulkar cannot go on for ever and both Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have been showing signs of their age.

If Ashwin and Ojha hold the bowling key, then much could depend with the bat on India’s new superstar Virat Kohli, who has enjoyed the bulk of his success so far in limited-overs cricket and has only played in 10 Tests.

Cook has been surpassing expectations ever since he was plucked from an A tour in the Caribbean to score a hundred on debut in Nagpur six years ago and at least he knows that few will expect England to still be in the series when he returns to the scene of that initial triumph for the final Test next month.

If they are, then much of the misery of the last year, including the turmoil of the Pietersen saga, will have been forgotten and England will be back on track. But it will be a mighty difficult task. I expect India to win by two clear Tests.

Scott Harrison sentenced to four years in prison

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Harrison sentenced to four years in Spanish prison after brothel brawl

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UPDATED:

08:51 GMT, 6 November 2012

Shamed former world champion Scott Harrison has been sentenced to four years in a Spanish jail after being convicted of assault.

The Scotsman, 35, returned to the ring in June after almost seven years in the wilderness and had hoped to fight for another world title.

But Harrison, who intends to appeal the verdict, was found guilty of assaulting three men at a brothel after a trial in Malaga.

Return: Scott Harrison (right) in action against Joe Elfidh in September

Return: Scott Harrison (right) in action against Joe Elfidh in September

He received two years each for the two most serious assaults and a fine for the attack on the third victim.

Harrison's dad Peter told the Daily Record: 'Scott will be appealing this, 100 per cent.

'He has already said he is innocent and that remains the case. He’s down but determined to clear his name.

'Scott is a victim here – and I’m not just saying that because I’m his dad.'

Harrison was only released from a Spanish prison in September last year after spending 30 months behind bars for an assault in 2005.

But despite the sentence, Harrison hopes that by appealing, he can continue his comeback in the ring by fighting John Simpson in Glasgow on December 1.

Guilty: Harrison in a Spanish court

Guilty: Harrison in a Spanish court

He has also set his sights on a Scottish showdown with WBO world champion Ricky Burns.

Lead judge Julian Cruz said: 'Harrison is not a first-time offender and his criminal record reflects a prior assault conviction.

'We’re also taking into account the dangerous nature of this attack, the serious injuries inflicted and the fact one of the accused was a professional boxer with extensive experience in fighting.'

Harrison, from Cambuslang near Glasgow, was warned it could take up to a year before his appeal is settled.

But a Spanish legal source said: 'For the appeal to be successful, Harrison will have to show the other witnesses, or victims, lied. Because there is an appeal, everything will be frozen until the appeal is heard.'

Harrison looked sluggish when fighting on the undercard of Burns' stunning victory over Kevin Mitchell in September when he struggled to a points win over Joe Elfidh.

That followed a knockout win over Gyorgy Mizsei Jnr earlier on his return, a far cry from his glory days as a featherweight world champion.

Darren Barker v Kerry Hope on Lee Purdy v Carson Jones December 8 undercard

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London return for Barker against Hope on Purdy-Jones undercard in December

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UPDATED:

12:32 GMT, 22 October 2012

Darren Barker will hope to put an injury-plagued year behind him when he tackles Kerry Hope in a battle of the former European middleweight champions in London on December 8.

After undergoing hip surgery following his defeat to Sergio Martinez over 12 months ago, he tore tendons in his arm just weeks before his scheduled return against Simone Rotolo last month.

But Barker will finally feature at the Olympia on the same bill as Lee Purdy's clash with Carson Jones and British lightweight champion Gavin Rees' potential fight against forgotten man John Murray.

Christmas cracker: Darren Barker will fight Kerry Hope at London's Olympia on December 8

Christmas cracker: Darren Barker will fight Kerry Hope at London's Olympia on December 8

Welshman Hope won and lost the European title against Grzegorz Proska in four months earlier this year.

Rees, meanwhile, added the British strap to his European belt when he beat Derry Matthews in July while Murray has been in the wilderness since losing to an overweight Brandon Rios last December, which followed defeat to Kevin Mitchell.

Terms have been agreed for that fight but it is subject to confirmation.

Kevin Pietersen is not solely to blame – Paul Newman

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Paul Newman: Flawed KP not the only one at fault, but faces long road back

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UPDATED:

23:39 GMT, 15 August 2012

Kevin Pietersen has clearly registered so many own goals in recent times that he could release his own Christmas compilation DVD of the year's biggest sporting bloopers.

Yet there is another side to every story and part of the ECB’s investigation into this whole sorry saga must concentrate on what else could have been done to avoid the alienation of one of England’s best players.

Pietersen, it was made clear on Wednesday, faces a long battle to ever be welcomed back into the fold but questions need to be asked as to whether a dressing room in which team spirit and unity are so important has played any part in forcing such a gifted, if flawed, individual into the wilderness.

Dressing room unrest: Strauss has to focus his charges' minds on the job in hand

Dressing room unrest: Strauss has to focus his charges' minds on the job in hand

More from Paul Newman…

Paul Newman: No 1 priority for Strauss must be his own future
08/08/12

Paul Newman: Smash-hit Styris can't hide need for overhaul of county T20 game
25/07/12

Paul Newman: Let's enjoy Pietersen. We'll miss him when he's gone
18/07/12

Paul Newman: Smith looking vulnerable as Boucher era comes to end
11/07/12

Paul Newman: Tremlett is back and ready to hit the heights once more
04/07/12

Paul Newman: It's hardly the Ashes but Aussie duels will set hearts racing…
27/06/12

Paul Newman: Rotation is right way to protect England's top players
20/06/12

Paul Newman: Flower must stay firm while IPL is calling the shots for KP
13/06/12

VIEW FULL ARCHIVE

For, I understand, there is concern among those close to the England team that some of the senior players may have become just that bit too powerful and maybe need to be reminded ultimately that it is the captain and management who are in charge rather than them. If England want to pick Pietersen again it is up to the selectors, not the players.

Pietersen was derided for saying ‘it is not easy being me’ in the England dressing room but the ECB have to decide whether that is totally his fault or if the line between banter and bullying has been crossed at times.

It takes all sorts and some people are more sensitive than others. Concessions might have to be made now on both sides for the good of English cricket. England, surely, are a better team with Pietersen and the challenge is to somehow see whether the current situation where, frankly, Pietersen is loathed by many of his senior team-mates can somehow be salvaged.

When Marcus Trescothick first entered the England dressing room in 2000, it became clear to then captain Nasser Hussain that the newcomer was uncomfortable with much of the mickey-taking that constituted everyday life in the team. Further investigation suggested that Trescothick might have been teased about his weight when he was young, so Hussain made sure he was never the subject of any jibes.

Jonathan Trott is clearly the butt of much banter within the current England dressing room for being a little different, but the players like him because he goes along with the jokes and takes no offence at being joshed for being something of an outsider.

It is clearly a different situation with Pietersen if he can genuinely take offence at his team-mates laughing along with a Twitter parody that was hardly offensive towards him.

Win or bust: England have to win the final Test to retain their No 1 status

Win or bust: England have to win the final Test to retain their No 1 status

Win or bust: England have to win the final Test to retain their No 1 status

A very modern crisis

Looking back on the last week, it is clear the biggest crisis of Andrew Strauss’s England captaincy has been a very modern affair.

Texts, tweets and a YouTube video have been at the centre of it all, which just goes to show how times have changed.

I would love to know what giants of cricket writing past such as John Woodcock and the late great Ian Wooldridge would have made of it all.

I don’t suppose their verdicts could have been encapsulated in 140 characters, that’s for sure.

The KP Genius account, created by friend of the players Richard Bailey, never used the extreme material of, say, notBigSam, which is a sometimes hilarious if crude parody of Sam Allardyce.

The West Ham manager is said to take it as a compliment but if Pietersen cannot see the funny side then perhaps his team-mates should try to understand that not everyone can laugh at themselves.
Matt Prior is certainly not one of the England players who has maybe got a bit too confident for comfort.

So much has happened in the last week that his role in trying to bring sense to the situation has largely been forgotten but it was Prior who took it on himself to ring Pietersen on Saturday to try to thrash out the differences the batsman had with the team.

Ultimately it came to nothing because of the delay in Pietersen’s half-hearted apology but Prior’s selfless actions might need to be repeated by the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad — a very strong and close triumvirate within the England team — if peace is ever to break out.

None of this is to excuse Pietersen because he has clearly had a shocker in every respect.
If ever there was the perfect example of a public relations cock-up then Pietersen’s camp has provided it, not least in the shape of the ridiculous Piers Morgan, who has ranted on and on – apparently on Pietersen’s behalf – but who has only succeeded in making things worse. The first thing Pietersen should do is tell him to put a sock in it.

Yes, most of the concessions need to be made by Pietersen if he is ever to regain the trust and respect that Andrew Strauss said yesterday had been lost. But others need to follow Prior’s example and try to meet him halfway.

Business as usual: England went through their training routine at Lord's on Wednesday

Business as usual: England went through their training routine at Lord's on Wednesday

Business as usual: England went through their training routine at Lord's on Wednesday

BUMBLE'S FINAL WORD

Listen to all the England players who have spoken this week and they have made it clear that they are quite happy Kevin Pietersen is not with them for the Lord's Test.

The talking has to stop now. They have to show they are not weakened and go out and win this Test match. The show must go on now. Jonny Bairstow is not KP but he is a mightily promising young player and, from a personal point of view, I hope he is the top scorer in an England win.

The king is dead, long live the king!

Jonny be good: Pietersen's absence hands Bairstow a golden opportunity to stake his claim

Jonny be good: Pietersen's absence hands Bairstow a golden opportunity to stake his claim

Dwain Chambers says clash Usain Bolt will help him

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A clash with Bolt can only help my own times, says Chambers

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UPDATED:

21:02 GMT, 23 May 2012

Dwain Chambers believes his 100 metres showdown with Usain Bolt on Friday can kickstart a dramatic improvement in his times two months out from the Olympics.

The 34-year-old takes on the world's fastest man for the first time in an individual race outside of a major championship when they meet at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.

All smiles: Dwain Chambers jokes with Wallace Spearmon after the 150m event at the Great CityGames in Manchester on Sunday

All smiles: Dwain Chambers jokes with Wallace Spearmon after the 150m event at the Great CityGames in Manchester on Sunday

The Jamaican leads the rankings this year with 9.82 seconds, while Chambers' only outing over the distance so far resulted in a pedestrian clocking of 10.52secs.

That came in Puerto Rico earlier this month in his first race since the court ruling which declared the former drug cheat eligible to compete for Great Britain at London 2012 – although he clocked a 100m split of 10.26s in a straight 150m race in Manchester last Sunday.

He will expect to go quicker against the Olympic champion and world record holder in the Czech Republic and is relishing the chance to test himself at a high-profile grand prix meeting after so long in the wilderness.

'No matter what happens, whenever you get a chance to race against Usain you can only get the best out of yourself,' Chambers said.

'He's in 9.82 form and he's probably going to get faster and faster so I've just got to do my best to keep close to him.'

The main attraction: Usain Bolt in Ostrava on Wednesday

The main attraction: Usain Bolt in Ostrava on Wednesday

Chambers, who served a two-year suspension after testing positive for a banned steroid in 2003 and was subsequently snubbed for years by the major meetings, admitted a sub-10 time 'would be nice'.

The Olympic 'A' qualifying standard of 10.18 is his first target, though, and he feels racing athletes of the calibre of Bolt will be crucial to his preparation for the summer showpiece.

'It's going to make a massive difference because compared to the level of competition I've been running against for the last few years, the quality is higher,' the Londoner said.

'In order to beat the best you've got to compete against the best in the world and those opportunities weren't available to me.

'Now that they are, I've automatically got to get myself into a different mindset.

'I'm going to be going up against runners who are effectively sub-9.8 runners and I haven't been in that calibre for a long time.'

The truth is Chambers has never been in that calibre, with his personal best 9.97 set way back in 1999.

Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers

The tales of a career: Chambers at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton (left) and running in Birmingham back in 2008

But he added: 'I have all the capabilities, I just need to get my mind sharper and my movements quicker. All these factors change. The intensity increases, the pressure increases and your expectations increase as well.

'I haven't had many chances to run against the fastest guys in the world. I have one now and I'm just looking forward to that.

'I'm still on a kind of rollercoaster and trying to find my feet and get myself prepared for competitions that I never expected to be in.'

Chambers will also be up against Jamaican Lerone Clarke and and American Darvis Patton, whose best this year are 9.99 and 10.04 respectively, as well as last year's World Championship bronze medallist Kim Collins.

Chambers prepared for the summer season by training in Jamaica alongside former world record holder Asafa Powell and was in the Caribbean when the ruling overturning the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban was announced.

He returned to Britain ahead of his 150m run at the Powerade Great CityGames, where he got a warm reception on his first paid appearance on home soil in six years.

Chambers will also run as part of a Great Britain 4x100m relay team at the Rome Diamond League meeting next Thursday after for so long being left out of the relay picture because of his Olympic ban.

Kenny Dalglish backs Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones

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Dalglish backs 'strong' Jones to come through Everton assignment unscathed

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UPDATED:

12:53 GMT, 13 April 2012

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is confident third-choice goalkeeper Brad Jones has the character to come through his biggest test since arriving at Anfield.

The Australian international is set to face Everton on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in what will be only his fourth appearance for the club and his first start in 16 months.

Since arriving from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2010 as former manager Roy Hodgson's signing, Jones has suffered a personal tragedy with the death of his five-year-old son Luca from leukaemia in November last year.

Reflection: Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has overcome personal tragedy

Reflection: Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has overcome personal tragedy

That made his footballing difficulties pale into insignificance as the fact he was never selected for any squad once Dalglish took over in January 2011 seemed almost irrelevant.

But with Jose Reina and Alexander Doni both suspended, the 30-year-old is now set for his biggest match at club level, having been on the bench for Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup win and UEFA Cup final defeat to Sevilla two years later.

Dalglish insists he has no doubts over the goalkeeper's temperament, even though the club had a last-minute unsuccessful appeal to have Doni's ban overturned.

'We're not here to delve into the players' personal lives, but what's happened to Brad would have tested most people,' Dalglish said.

'You can only guess what it must be like to go through what he's been through, but he has done. He's come through it a really strong character.

'We know that to do what he's done has shown a tremendous amount of strength of character.'

Jones, whose partner gave birth to another son Nico last week, would still have been in the wilderness at Liverpool had Reina's suspension not brought him a recall.

Spot on: Jones saved Yakubu's penalty as Liverpool beat Blackburn

Spot on: Jones saved Yakubu's penalty as Liverpool beat Blackburn

Dalglish's hand was forced further when Doni was sent off in Tuesday's 3-2 win at Blackburn, with Jones' first touch on his Liverpool Premier League debut being to save Ayegbeni Yakubu's penalty.

The club have recalled Hungarian Peter Gulacsi from his loan spell at npower Championship side Hull to provide cover for Saturday, after which Reina will be available again.

'He (Jones) will be happy he got a few minutes under his belt at Blackburn and I'm sure he enjoyed his first bit of action, saving a penalty,' Dalglish added.

'He'll be excited, as everyone else is, about playing. It's credit to Doni that he kept himself fit and active and sharp, and Brad's the same.'

Liverpool lifted the Carling Cup at Wembley less than two months ago, their first trophy for six years, but Dalglish does not believe that will have much bearing on the match with Everton, losing FA Cup finalists in 2009, in a much better run of form.

Perfect prep: Liverpool warmed up for Wembley by beating Blackburn

Perfect prep: Liverpool warmed up for Wembley by beating Blackburn

'The Carling Cup victory was a fantastic day for everyone connected with the club but you get your rewards for what happened on the day and you cannot live in the past,' the Scot said. 'We didn't, we haven't and we won't and we will look forward.

'What beating Cardiff on penalties did got us a trophy and that was a very rewarding circumstance, but the Carling Cup win doesn't help or hinder anything we are looking forward to.

'We've never got ahead of ourselves at any stage and we won't now. Just winning the game will be important for us.

'The most important thing for us is to prepare ourselves properly, make sure that we are right and ready for it mentally, physically and tactically.

'Our greatest concern will be ourselves and we are always respectful of the opposition.'

Antonio Valencia: Carlos Tevez scoring winner for Manchester City is my worst nightmare

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Tevez scoring winner in Manchester derby is my worst nightmare, says Valencia

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UPDATED:

10:10 GMT, 26 March 2012

Antonio Valencia has revealed his fear that Carlos Tevez could be the man to wreck United's title dreams in the Manchester derby.

City and United are locked in a battle for the Barclays Premier League crown which could be decided when the two teams face each other on April 30.

And Valencia fears Tevez – who has only just returned to the City squad after five months in the wilderness – could score the goal to decide the match and title at the Etihad Stadium.

Red alert: Valencia is wary of the threat posed by Tevez in the title run-in

Red alert: Valencia is wary of the threat posed by Tevez in the title run-in

He told The Sun: 'If Carlos plays against us, I'm sure he'll be motivated. He's an excellent player, able to change a match in an instant. What he did against Chelsea was no surprise.

'But for Tevez to score the winner I hope it doesn’t happen. And for us to fail and lose the title will bring pain for months. But I’m confident in my team.

'There's a lot of pride in Manchester that our two clubs are the best in England. But now we are focused on Fulham because our challenge is to win all our matches and to arrive with an advantage over City on derby day.

'I'm not saying whether that game will decide the title but it's clear the winners will deliver a morale blow to the other club. So I expect a big battle and for us to avenge our 6-1 defeat at Old Trafford.'

Valencia, 26, is has been in excellent for United this term after putting recent injuries woes behind him.

Back in the fold: The Argentina international has returned for City

Back in the fold: The Argentina international has returned for City

Back in the fold: The Argentina international has returned for City

The Ecuador international suffered a horror leg break last season and, more recently, a hamstring problem. But he is determined to put that to one side as the season reaches its climax.

He said: 'I'm happy to be back. Initially, I feared my latest injury would affect me but this time the situation wasn't so grave.

'Now I dream about helping the team, making the most of my chances. It’s not easy getting into the first XI at United. That was why I was angered about my last injury.

'I have been working with the physios to advance my recovery and now the key for me is to avoid more injury problems.

'I've a good sensation about the end of season personally – and for the team. Certain blows have affected my career at important moments but I hope these episodes are over and now I think only about playing and winning.'

Fit and flying: Valencia has shrugged off recent injuries and is bang in form

Fit and flying: Valencia has shrugged off recent injuries and is bang in form

Tottenham striker Louis Saha keen to make France Euro 2012 squad

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Saha keen to earn his international spurs and place at Euro 2012

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UPDATED:

09:20 GMT, 16 March 2012

Louis Saha hopes his form for Spurs will earn him a place in France’s Euro 2012 squad and a starting place against England in opening game.

The 33-year-old made his return to the international set-up last month for the friendly with Germany.

The call up ended five years in the international wilderness as Saha missed out due to injury and now says he will have to be in top form to earn a place in the squad for Poland and Ukraine.

Keen to impress: Louis Saha is aiming to go to the Euros

Keen to impress: Louis Saha is aiming to go to the Euros

Saha told The Mirror: ‘My dream is to get into the squad for the Euros, I am working hard and I know the choice is up to the coach but I will fight until the last moment.

'We have to believe we can beat England. We know we have to get a result. We know our squad is not inferior to England.

'The victory over Germany has given us great belief. Greece showed in 2004 what is possible at the Euros.

Happier days: Saha was a regular in the France squad before injury blighted his international career

Happier days: Saha was a regular in the France squad before injury blighted his international career

'We want to play at our best because we have a strong squad, and if Greece won in Portugal then we must be up for that challenge.

'We’ve got a young squad and we’re making a lot of progress.

'The World Cup in 2014 could be our moment, but we shouldn’t discount this summer.'