The Sports Pink, January 12, 2013

14.1 MB·English

by  Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd

Saturday, January 12, 2013
MAYUKA’S
CUP DREAM
55p
Supporting LOCA L sport SSaaiinnttss ssttaarr oonn
ccuupp dduuttyy ffoorr
ZZaammbbiiaa –– FFuullll
CHERRIES: LATE GOAL
AAffrriiccaa CCuupp ooff
HALTS PLAY-OFF PUSH NNaattiioonnss
pprreevviieeww::
PPaaggeess 1188--1199
Bournemouth v SwindonSSreport –UUpage 5RRVVIIVVAALL
SAINTS
BBOOOOSSTT
Januarysaleshits
andmisses
–page17
TERRY PAINE
Controversial spot-kick
sees Saints pick up a
precious away victory
Saintslegend’s
EXCLUSIVEcolumn
–page7
VILLA 0 SAINTS 1 FLASHPOINT: NON-LEAGUE
JayRodriguez
SAINTS gave their survival
goesdowninthe
hopes a massive boost as they boxtoearn
won only their second away Saintsa
gameoftheseasonatrelegation contentious
rivals Aston Villa in controver- penaltyintheir
sialcircumstances. winoverVillaand,
mainpic,Rickie
The 1-0 victory at Villa Park was
Lambert
secured by Rickie Lambert’s first
halfpenalty,butthehometeamwere celebratesafter
furiousabouttheawardofthespot convertingthe
kick with suggestions that Jay spot-kick.
Rodriguez went down without any
contact. DailyEchopicsbyChris
lFullreport:Pages2-3 Moorhouse.
Thelatestfromthe
non-leaguescene
VILLA V SAINTS MATCH REPORT AND REACTION – SEE PAGES 2-3
–startspage24
2
THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013
Saints
Spotlight
Inside ASTON VILLA 0 SAINTS 1: Controversial penalty
PENALTY KING
BEAUTIFUL SOUTH:
Saints must keep
hold of young stars
SAINTS A VITAL
Page 6
TERRY PAINE: Saints
legend’s exclusive
weekly column
Page 7
SAINTS gave their survival Adam Leitch
hopes a massive boost as
theywononlytheirsecond
away game of the season
FOOTBALL: Premier [email protected]
at relegation rivals Aston
League’s monied Villa in controversial cir- CHIEF SPORTS REPORTER
clubs are in a cumstances.
The1-0victoryatVillaPark
different league was secured by Rickie topcorner.Asthegamesettled intothefarcornerbutitwent
Lambert’s first half penalty downitstartedtobecomealit- wide.
Pages 10-11 butthehometeamwerefuri- tlemoreofabattle. Luke Shaw was the next to
ousabouttheawardofthespot But to Saints’ credit it was haveagofromtheedgeofthe
kickwithsuggestionsthatJay theywhohadthegreatercom- area but he dragged his low
Rodriguezwentdownwithout posureontheball. shotwideofthefarcorner.
SAINTS NOSTALGIA: anycontact. They threatened on 16 min- Saintswerereallystartingto
Theonlybadnewsoftheday utes when Jay Rodriguez got exertsomeseriouspressureon
1976 raises hopes wasaLukeShawbeingcarried away down the right and Villa and Puncheon had an
offwithaseriouslookingknee squared a low cross into the effortthatwentoverthebar.
of a Bridge upset injury. box that Ciaran Clark had to Saints had a massive stroke
Therewasaverybrightstart stabaway. ofluckon34minutesasthey
Pages 12-13 tothegame. Saintswerecomplainingofa wereawardedahighlycontro-
Farfromthenervyandtight nastystudsupchallengewhen versialpenalty.
affairmanyhadexpectedboth GastonRamirezwentdownby Villa didn’t help themselves
teams were showing a deter- thetouchlineholdinghisknee, byclearingaballfrominside
minationtogoforthejugular but referee Mark Halsey saw the area against one of their
fromthestart. nothingwrongwithit. own men, which meant that
Thefirstshotofnotecameon Jason Puncheon crafted a BradGuzanhadtodiveatthe
NON-LEAGUE: Six six minutes from Christian goodchanceon23minutesas feet of Puncheon to push the
Benteke, who cut back inside he created room for a right ballawayfromhim.
pages of news from onto his right foot but fired wingcrossthatpickedoutthe It broke towards Rodriguez and Halsey pointed to the
over from 12 yards out as he headofRodriguezatthenear who went down as Enda penaltyspot.
around the region’s tried to bend one into the far post.Hetriedtoflickhiseffort Stevenschallengedfortheball Villa were adamant that
Rodriguezhadn’tbeentouched
non-league scene butRickieLambertshowedno
mercyashesteppeduptosend
Pages 26-31 aaaapp333 aaaapp333 macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG Guzanthewrongwayfor1-0.
TherewerenosignsofaVilla
SHAW RAMIREZ HOLMAN LOWTON recovery and in fact it was
YOUTH aaaapp333 aaaapp333 aaaapp333 macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG SlayinStothsaexwwthenoddliodtohkeeisrdulpemearodbr.elylikteo-
FOOTBALL: BORUC HOOIVELD SCHNEIDERLIN LAMBERT WEIMANN DELPH CLARK GUZAN biunrssidtedoownnlythteolseefteaGnduzcaunt
Pages 36-37 aaaapp333 aaaapp333 aaaapp333 macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG snaveaerwpiotsht.hislegsatthe
YOSHIDA CORK RODRIGUEZ BENTEKE WESTWOOD BAKER When the half time
whistle went it was
SAKIDNATVISS,SSEUABBOSRNE, aaaapp333 aaaapp333 macGroCnEANSITNIONSG macGroCnEANSITNIONSG VIMLALRASHSAULLB,SVLAAR, Sfaaairsntttshheewyhhleaodppwbiyeerraessiibdnye-
FIX,WARD-PROWSE,DE CLYNE PUNCHEON N’ZOGBIA STEVENS IRELAND,LICHAJ,AGBON- glegoal.
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Therewasabriefscareon50
minutesasArturBorucfailed
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SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013 THEDAILYECHO 3
Saints
Spotlight
gets Saints a priceless away win
RICK GETS
VICTORY...
BATTLE:MorganSchneiderlinischallengedbyAstonVilla'sAshleyWestwood.
Adkins leaps to
J-Rod defence
NIGELAdkinshasdefendedJay
Rodriguez,admittingtherewasnocontact
ashewonthedecisivepenaltyatAston
Villabutinsistinghismandidn’tdive.
AstonVillawerelividasMarkHalsey
gaveapenalty,convertedbyRickie
Lambert,thatprovedtobethedifference
COOLASICE:RickieLambertfireshomefromthespot. inthehugerelegationclashatVillaPark.
Rodriguezwentdownintheareawithout
beingtouchedbyEdnaStevensbutAdkins
to hold a fairly routine low the Villa defence with Saints theedgeoftheareaandcurled
wasadamanthismandidn’tdive.
Andreas Weimann shot from adopting similar tactics to in a right footed shot but it
Hesaid:“It’snotadive.Theladwould
20yardsoutbutMayaYoshida those they used at Stoke and wentjustover.
was on hand to clear just turning their opponents with Saintsmaywellhavejustifi- havekickedhim.Attheendofthedaythe
beforeAshleyWestwoodcould longballsateveryopportuni- ablyfelttheyshouldhavebeen challengehascomeinandourplayerhas
gettoit. ty. more than one goal up but evadedthechallengeandtherefereehas
Uptheotherendonlyalast Thistimehesquaredacross with ten minutes remaining hadadecisiontomakeandthereferee
ditch challenge stopped the face of goal but Stevens that was their lead and they hasgivenapenalty.
Rodriguezfromgettingashot wastheretoturnitawayjust desperatelyneededtoholdon “Iftheplayerhadn’ttakenhislegoutof
inafterhewasplayedin. before Puncheon could finish toit. thewaytherewouldhavebeenclearcon-
Benteke really should have it. Saints tried to shore things tactandyoucan’tdisagreewiththat.
equalised on 52 minutes after Themidfieldercamesoclose up with the dangerous “Asthereisn’tclearcontact,andI’mnot
another goalkeeping error togettingasecondandsurely Puncheon replaced by Steven disagreeingwiththat,therefereehada
fromBoruc. decisive goal for Saints as he Davison82minutes. decisiontomakebutwecouldhavehad
This time the keeper dived worked his magic, cutting in There was a lot of pushing sevenoreightthisseasonwehaven’t
top his right to save Stevens’ fromtherightontohisleftfoot and shoving on the pitch as done.”
shotfromtheedgeareabutput and squeezing in a low shot VillawerefuriousthatHalsey Headded:“It’samassivewinforus
it straight back to Benteke fromtheedgeoftheareathat stopped play for a Saints awayfromhomeagainstateamcloseto
eightyardsoutbuthesidefoot- beat Guzan diving to his left injury that wasn’t head relat- usinthedivision.Wewereabletoget
ed over the bar when he but clipped the outside of the ed. threepointsandkeepacleansheetwhich
shouldhavescored. postandrolledaway. But it was bad news for isverypleasing.”
Saints weathered the Villa It was still Saints who were Saints, who saw impressive
pressure and almost bagged the better team and a quick youngster Shaw stretchered AHAPPY
another with Rodriguez forc- one-two saw Morgan offwithaveryseriouslooking hit the top of the bar. Saints MAN:
ingGuzantosavelowdown. Schneiderlin’sshotstoppedat kneeinjury. were lucky again as Boruc Nigel
Boruchadtomakeasimilar thenearpost. HewasreplacedbySteveDe savedatthefeetofAgbonlahor
Adkins
save moments later from Saints made their first Ridder. but from the edge of the area
Charles N’Zogbia’s left footed change on 76 minutes with Boruchadtomakeasaveto and Benteke sidefooted wide hailedhis
drive. Ramirez limping off and turn away Benteke’s down- when the empty net was gap- side’s
That was N’Zogbia’s last DannyFoxcomingon. ward header as Villa tried to ing. spiritafter
action as Gabriel Agbonlahor Villa responded with their rally. Boruc got booked for time thevital
replacedhimon63minutes. final switch with Jordan They nearly did on 89 min- wasting but it proved to be 1-0win
Rodriguez was proving such Bowery coming on for utesasNathanBaker’sheader worthitasSaintsheldonfora
atVilla.
a menace running in behind Westwood.Benteketurnedon fromacornerbeatBorucbut massivethreepoints.
CONTACT US - TEL: [phone]
4 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013
Saints
Spotlight
Dickson’s
‘big move’
CAPITALOneCupheroes
BradfordCityhavebolstered
theirranksbycompletingthe
loansigningofSaintsfull-back
RyanDickson–amoveCity’s
managementhavecalleda“big
move”forbothplayerandclub.
Left-backDickson,pictured
above,madehisdebutagainst
Oxfordthisafternoonatthe
startofaloanspellthatwillrun
untiltheendoftheseason.
The26-year-oldhasnotfea-
turedforSaintsinthePremier
Leaguethisseasonbuthehas
previouslyplayedforBrentford
andhadloanspellswithYeovil
andLeytonOrient.
ButBradford’s3-1winover
AstonVillaintheCapitalOne
Cupsemi-finalfirstlegmeans
hehasnowjoinedasideonthe
up.
CitynumbertwoSteveParkin
said:“Ryan’saplayerwe’ve
alwaysbeenawareofbut,with-
outbeingdisrespectful,we
neverthoughthewouldwantto
droptoourlevelcomingfroma ABOVE:
PremierLeagueclub. Saints’Jack
“It’sabigmovebutthelad Corkistack-
absolutelyjumpedattheoppor-
ledbyFabian
tunity,whichisthereactionyou
wanttosee. DelphofAton
“He’sobviouslyseentheVilla Villa.
gameontheTVandtherewere
noqualmsaboutcomingup RIGHT:
hereandjoiningus. Jason
“Ryan’saforward-thinkingfull
Puncheon
backandwe’resurehe’llfitin
nicely.” lookstogeta
crossin.
SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013 THEDAILYECHO 5
Saints Cherries
Spotlight
denied by
SAINTS SHOW THEIR
late goal
SURVIVAL INSTINCTS
Bournemouth 1 Swindon 1
ALATElevellerfromAndy Itwasagoalbefittingof
WilliamsdeniedCherries theoccasionasthegifted
victoryoverLeagueOne midfielderfoundthebot-
rivalsSwindonbutstill tomcornerofthenet
sawEddieHowe’smen withawell-placedleft-
Huge three points for Adkins’ men matchaclubrecordfor footeffortfromtheedge
anunbeatenrun. ofthebox.
Williamsnettedfive Cherrieshadahugelet-
minutesfromtimetocan- offwhenJamesCollins,
celoutHarryArter’sfirst- whohadscoredfour
halfstrikeasCherries timesin22minutes
GordonSimpson extendedto18their againstPortsmoutha
undefeatedsequence coupleofweeksago,
[email protected] sinceHowereturnedin missedanabsolutesitter.
SPORTSREPORTER October,writesNEIL Thestriker,presented
PERRETT. withanopengoalfollow-
“THE bells are ringing for ArterfiredCherries ingadefensivemix-up,
the claret & blue” reads a aheadinthe26thminute contrivedtoslicetheball
withafinely-takeneffort horriblywidefrom12
banner in the Holte End at beforeWilliams’soppor- yardsafter35minutes.
VillaPark. tunistgoaldeniedthe RefereePhilGibbs
hostsallthreepoints.
Tollingmightbemoreappro- extendedthehalf-time
GoalkeeperDavid
priate following this result, as intervalbyfiveminutesto
JamesandstrikersLewis
Saints secured a huge victory allowgroundstafftomop
GrabbanandBrett
awaytooneoftheirmainrele- upasoddenpitch,with
Pitmanallreturnedtothe
gationrivals. thecontesteventually
startingline-upas
This fixture marked the first giventhegreenlightto
CherriesbossHowe
of a number of big battles on continue.
madethreechanges.
theroadforNigelAdkins’men Arterwentclosetodou-
ShwanJalal,Richard
inthesecondhalfoftheseason. HughesandMattTubbs, blingCherries’leadthree
If survival is defined by whohadallplayedtheir minutesintothesecond
results against teams around partinCherries’1-1draw half,themidfielderforc-
you then these are the games atWiganintheFACup, inghiswayintothe
that will prove pivotal in the droppeddowntothe penaltyboxbeforehis
club’s fight to stay in the bench. shotwassavedbyWes
PremierLeague. Robinsmidfielder Foderingham.
The likes of Wigan, Reading, NathanThompsonwas Jamesgotdowntohis
Sunderland and Newcastle fortunatetoescapepun- righttosmotheraspecu-
mustallbevisitedyet. ishmentaftergoing lativeeffortfromRobins
Winning away from home is throughthebackofMarc substituteChrisMartin
such a great challenge in the Pughinsidetheopening beforeGrabban’sheader
PremierLeaguethat,inalllike- 90seconds. fromaPitmancornerwas
lihood, some of those contests
AlivelystartsawJames deflectedpastthepost.
willnotgoSaints’way.
savesmartlyfromTommy Cherriesgoalkeeper
Getting off to a good start,
Miller,theformerEngland Jamesmadeasuperb
against Villa, was certainly
stopperpushingthe reactionsavewhenhe
important.
Swindonman’sthunder- stuckouthisrightlegto
On the face of it, few away
games have appeared more UPFORIT:RickieLambert. BELOW:LukeShawisstretcheredoff. ousdriveoverthecross- keepoutRitchie’sstrike
barinthethirdminute. afterRaffDeVitahad
winnablethanthisone.
Villawentintothisfixtureon TheemptyseatsaroundVilla AndasCherrieslooked centredfromtheleft.
thebackofahorridrun,having Parktoldtheirownstory. tobreakthedeadlock, Jameswasalsoon
conceded21goalsintheirpre- Saints fans, by contrast, goalboundeffortsfrom handtosaveaheader
vioussixmatches. packedoutacornerofthesta- SteveCookandHarry fromMartinbefore
On top of that, the club had dium and made themselves Arterwerebothcharged Foderinghamdivedfull
wonjustthreeleaguegamesin heardthroughout. downbytheSwindon lengthtohisrighttopush
theirlast23attemptsathome. They will really fancy their defence. Pitman’slong-rangedrive
ThrowinTuesdaynight’s3-1 chancesoffinishingabovePaul AndyWilliamsheaded roundthepost.
embarrassmentatLeagueTwo Lambert’s side now. Do that straightintothearmsof Foderinghamalsohad
side Bradford City in the first andthereisagoodchancethey JamesafterMatt tobeathisbesttosave
leg of their Capital One Cup willstayup. Ritchie’scrosshad anotherGrabbanheader
semi-final and you come up Rightnow,theyhaverisento pickedhimoutbeforethe beforeSwindonlevelled
with a team bereft of confi- 15th place, two points clear of Cherriesgoalkeeperhad fiveminutesfromtime
dence. thedropzone. alet-offafterhehad throughWilliams.
brvteeuiIscgttytiowsStroaeayfsrinnRoo’tfnitscltakyhtlioweethoackLeyaiasrmamscdpebovacmeaiorgnfntno’tds,artgacfaeoiwbrusaltretyo--, lengehiminthebox. Theyhadampleopportunityto WvbeiTIsetihnidtwegnoearsssstpdr,enartteyohcs’thsoseuautrrlgrleiehpds.mtooLifisfCluewhksieeotlfhfsofSerwahh.tfahoawert aytuhhalnamerdadobbrslbaeetlollet,sxoalwiswdpiethrohdoiulefSitittw.coaaifnfrthdreyiorsinnh1ge8- thrhaiTsechesleodpoososttfrefaikhfbetiaesrlrlsliJaenaniezmdeinedpsiaocnhnkaedd
halfpenalty. Referee Mark Halsey, who clear,onlytomakeacomplete looked like a nasty leg injury Pitmanwastedapre- attempttosaveatthe
While there can be little also had to weigh up whether mess of the relatively simple will raise concerns over his sentablechancetoopen- feetofMartin.
debate that Adkins’ side goalkeeper Brad Guzan had chore. availability. ingthescoringwhenhe AndalthoughCooktried
deservedthewin,themeansby fouledJasonPuncheonseconds Suchbasicerrorsseemtobe Havingpledgedhislong-term firedstraightat toretrievethesituation,
which they achieved it will be earlier,pointedtothespot.He plaguing the Midlands club future to the club just a few Thompsonfrom12yards hisdespairingdive
scrutinisedmoreclosely. would be pursued off at the rightnow. daysago,thiswasnottheway beforeArtermadeno provedinvainasWilliams
There certainly appeared to whistlebyahostofirateVilla Their fanbase is becoming he would have wanted to end mistaketogiveCherries loftedtheballintothe
belittle,ifany,contactasJay players. increasingly concerned, and hisweek. thelead. backofthenet.
Rodriguez flopped to the The replays certainly did withgoodreason,nowthatthe ForSaints,though,notmuch
groundinthefirsthalf,asEnda Rodriguezfewfavours. clubhaveslippedintothebot- could detract from the impor- lMoreCherriesnews–seepages22-23
Stevensstuckoutalegtochal- ButVillawerenotblameless. tomthree. tanceofthiswin.
LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS – SEE BACK PAGE
6
THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013
SSaaiinnttss nneeeedd ttoo
kkeeeepp hhoolldd ooff
tthheeiirr bbrriigghhtt
yyoouunngg ssttaarrss
PremierLeagueandthenewcontractisboth
wellrewardedand,moreimportantly,abitofa
slapinthefaceforArsenal.
You’ll forgive me if I relish the thought of
Arsene Wenger, pictured below, not getting
THIS weekend sees what could possibly whathewantsforonce.
be the most important game of the sea- Oneoffootball’sgreatmythsisthatArsene
Wenger is some great prophet, a messiah of
son as Saints travel to fellow strugglers
youthteamfootball,foreverparadingteamsof
in what the media have inevitably hotyoungtalent.
labelledaclassicsixpointer. It’s a myth; Wenger is nothing more than a
youth team Fantasy Football manager, some-
They’re not wrong; common sense dictates
onewhoattendsalotofAcademygamesand
thatawin,againstwhatshouldbetheownerof
hiresalotofcoacheswhoknowtheirstuff.
thethirdrelegationplace,wouldbetheoneof
ThefactthatWengerhadthenervetomake
themostimportantresultsoftheseason.
another bid for another young Saints player
If you believe the newspapers, it could be
justhighlightshisweaknesses.
makeorbreakforNigelAdkinswithRoberto
Toraidaclubtwiceisonething,buttocon-
DiMatteo and, would you believe, Christian
templateathirdhighprofileswoopisnothing
GrosswaitinginthewingsshouldAdkinsfail.
shortoflazyandgreedy.
SinceRafaBenitezjoinedChelseathemedia
Arsenalmightjustaswelldigdeeperandbuy
haveseeminglyrunoutofavailablemanagers
ourAcademyoutrightastheconstantdipping
toreplaceAdkins.
The Daily Mail putting Gross’s name in the inandoutofourAcademyisnothingshortof
insulting.
frameissurelythescrapingofaverylargebar-
It’s the assumption that they can just waltz
rel.
intolittleoldSouthamptonandtakewhatthey
WhatSaintsfanwouldseriouslycontemplate
wantastheyareArsenalandwe’rejustalowly
ChristianGrossasourPremiershipsaviour?
clubwithnoaspirationsfurtherthanproviding
IfNigelAdkinsfailsthenI’llhavenoproblem
themwithtopqualityplayers.
inacceptinganewmanagerinhisplacebut,as
The truth is Arsenal is a club that haven’t
I’ve said numerous times, he deserves the
wonanythingofnoteforsevenyears.
chancetodoso.
Theyhavenomorerighttolookdowntheir
Whilst rumours of Christian Gross can be
noses at us than the likes of Everton or
ignored,thepressisawashwithnewsofSaints
Liverpool. They’reaclubthathavewonstuff
makingbigmoneybidsforBrazilianattacking
inthepastandit’sinthepastwheretheycur-
midfielderPhilipeCoutinhoandItaliandefend-
rentlybelong.
erDavideAstori.
Yesit’sanicetopicofconversationandcer-
Is there anyone based in Italy that Saints
tainlysilencesanypubargumentswhenyou
haven’tbeenlinkedwith?
wheeloutanFAcupwinoratitlewinortwo,
With an Italian chairman it doesn’t take
it’sbeenthestockofanyPompeyfans’banter
SherlockHomesorHerculePoirottofigure
forthelast50yearsorso,butit’shardlyof
outjustwherethemediagethalftheir
anyuseonthepitchisit?
storiesfrom.
Your club’s in disarray? You can’t
Thatsaid,youbedaftnottobeexcit-
string two successive wins together?
edattheprospectofeitherplayersign-
Who cares, you can always wheel out
ingforSaints.
thepast!
Coutinho is a devastatingly exciting
It’sakintothewaybroadcasterswheel
prospectandAstorihasbeengroomed
out the old “previous meetings between
byACMilanandhasplayedinSerieA
thetwoclubs”duringlivegames,which,
forfouryearsnow.
of course, is completely point-
They’rejusttherightsortofplayers
less.
that Saints need to look at and,
Inthehistoryoffootballno
with Luke Shaw committing
footballer has ever said:
hisfuturetoSaints,there’sa
“Youknowfellas,wereally
hellofalotofthingstolook
oughttowinthisgameto
forwardtoatStMary’s. avenge the 4-1 defeat in HOTPROPERTY:
Shaw has progressed in 1974.” LukeShawhas
leapsandboundsafterhis
Itjustneverhappens. committedhis
baptism of fire in the
futuretoSaints.
THE PINK & DAILY ECHO: BEST FOR SAINTS NEWS AND VIEWS
SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013 THEDAILYECHO 7
Paine’s
World
TTTThhhheeee SSSSaaaaiiiinnnnttttssss lllleeeeggggeeeennnndddd’’ssss EEXCLUUSSIIVVEE cccoolluummnn oonn aallll tthhiinnggss ffoooottbbaallll
TToo bbee FFrraannkk –– RRaaffaa
Liverpool
v United
clash not
mmuusstt kkeeeepp LLaammppss
for faint
hearted
THE160thleaguemeeting
betweenLiverpooland
ManchesterUnitedisamatch
ofhistoricalproportions.
There’snolovelostbetween
theclubs,whohavebattled
forsupremacyovermany
seasons.
ButthelasttimeLiverpool
wontheChampionshipwas
PLENTYSTILLTOOFFER: waybackin1990andthevoid
sincehasbecomeachasm,
Chelseawouldbemadto
withUnitedstruttingtheir
offloadFrankLampard. stuffaschampionsonmany
occasionsoverthelast30
years.
Liverpoolaredownin
eighth,amassive21points
behindUnited.Thisfixtureat
OldTraffordgivesusthe
chancetowitnesstwoout-
THE sun is about to set on the last week their
Frank Lampard era at Stamford 4,000supporterswerein
full cry, demanding they keep
Bridge. holdofhim.
Lampard’s future at Chelsea has The simmering unrest among
been open to public debate this last Chelsea’ssupporters,evidentbythe
month but the reasons for his exit condemnation of Rafa Benitez, has
after such a prestigious career are notbeenhelpedbythepoorformof
hardtofathom. FernandoTorres.
Heturns35inFebruaryandisona ThedefeatsathometoQPRandat
reported£150,000aweek,butconsid- SwanseaintheLeagueCupalsopro-
erwhatChelseahavegotinreturn– vide ammunition to the Blues’ dis-
193 goals in 576 appearances for gruntledfollowers.
starters. Lampard’s days may be numbered standingstrikers–Luis
Hisrangeofpassingremainssecond butanewchallengeawaits.Perhaps SuarezandRobinVanPersie.
to none and his presence alone has rumoursofSirAlexFerguson’sinter- Suarez,above,hasbeen
seenhimfinishonthelosingsidejust esthasfoundation. dazzlingbut‘controversial’
oncein12PremierLeaguegamesthis The Manchester United boss couldbehismiddlename.He
season – extracts returnstoOldTraffordon
proof he STAT’S AMAZING the best Sundayforthefirsttimesince
still has a outofage- snubbingahandshakewith
lottooffer. WAGESSPENTBYTHEPREMIERLEAGUE’STOPSIX ing play- PatriceEvralastFebruary.
mCahnelasegae’s- CMChlauenblcsheeasterCity A££11n76n48ummalwagebill A££87v69e,,00w00e00eklywaVgFienecrennatndKoomTHopiragrnehyses££t21e08a00,,r00n00e00r eRrs,y waitnh onHothpeeffuielllyd,tthhiesftoimcues. willbe
ment are ManUnited £162m £64,000 WayneRooney£220,000 Giggs and Fifteen-goalSuarezand20-
d e t e r - ALirvseernpaolol ££114239mm ££6611,,500000 LSutekvaesnPGoedrorlasrkdi££110470,,000000 P a u l goalVanPersiehavecaught
mined to Spurs £91m £44,000 EmmanuelAdebayor£80,000 Scholes theeyeallseason.Itseemsa
cut the p r o o f longtimesinceUnitedpaid
wage bill there’slife £24mforRVPandAlex
anditcouldbethatUEFA’slooming afteryourmid-30s.AmovetotheUSA Fergusonwascriticisedfor
financial fair play rule is causing is also a possibility with LA Galaxy signinganinjury-prone29
some panic amongst the Stamford apparentlyinterested. year-old.
Bridgehierarchy. Whatever happens, Chelsea must Heknewwhathewasget-
Fernando Torres’ £180,000 a week know they’ll find it hard to find a tingandthatifVanPersie
shouldcertainlybelookedat. ready-madereplacement.Sincesign- couldrekindlehisArsenal
ItisnotthefirsttimeLampardhas ingfor£11mfromWestHamin2001 formoflastyearitwouldgive
consideredamove. Lampard has been the Premier himahugeadvantage.
In 2008, when he was at odds with League’s most consistent goalscorer Suarezhasalsobeenprolific
LuizFelipeScolari,hewasonlydays frommidfield. andcontinuedtoattractall
awayfromaswitchtoInteranditis Hehasscoredanincredible15goals theattentionatMansfieldlast
just a year since Andre Villas-Boas ormoreineightofthelastninesea- week.
restrictedhimtothebench. sons.Playersofthatilkdonotcome Icannotwaitforthemeeting
ButChelsea’sfansarefirmlybehind along often, which is why Chelsea oftwoofthemostsuccessful
Lampard, with banners repeatedly should heed the cries of their sup- teamsinEnglishfootballhis-
waved in support. At Southampton portersandsignhimup. tory.
It’snotoneforthefaint-
heartedandremainsagame
bothsetsofsupporterswould
lovetowinabovemostoth-
ers.
8 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013
Saints
Spotlight
SAINTS’ FIRST TEAM FIXTURES AND RESULTS 2012/13
11 22aaaapp333 33aaaapp333 44aaaapp333 55aaaapp333 66aaaapp333 77aaaapp333 88aaaapp333 99aaaapp333 11aaaa00pp333 11aaaa11pp333 11aa22aapp333 11aaaa33pp333 11aaaa44pp333
AUGUST
Sun19ManCity ...........A L2-3 KDavis Clyne Fonte Hooiveld Fox Ward-Prowse** Schneiderlin Lallana Puncheon*** DoPrado Rodriguez* Lambert*1 SDavis**1 Sharp***
Sat25Wigan..............H L0-2 KDavis Clyne Fonte Hooiveld Fox SDavis* Schneiderlin Lallana DoPrado Rodriguez** Lambert W-Prowse* Sharp**
Tues28Stevenage(COC2) ..A W4-1 Gazzaniga Butterfield Richardson Seaborne Shaw Chaplow* W-Prowse Hammond** Puncheon1 Lee1 Sharp***1 Reeves*1 Chambers** Hoskins***
SEPTEMBER
Sun2ManUnited..........H L2-3 KDavis Clyne Fonte Hooiveld Fox W-Prowse Schneiderlin1 SDavis Puncheon* Lallana*** Lambert**1 Mayuka* DoPrado** Rodriguez***
Sat15Arsenal ............A L1-6 KDavis Clyne Fonte Hooiveld* Fox1 W-Prowse Schneiderlin SDavis** Puncheon Lallana Lambert*** Yoshida* Ramirez** Rodriguez***
Sat22AstonVilla ..........H W4-1 Gazzaniga Clyne1 Fonte Yoshida Fox* SDavis*** Schneiderlin Lallana Puncheon**1 Ramirez Lambert2 Richardson* Mayuka** W-Prowse***
Tues25SheffWed(COC3)..H W2-0 Gazzaniga Richardson Hooiveld Yoshida Seaborne W-Prowse Cork** Chaplow DeRidder DoPrado* Rodriguez***2 Reeves* Robinson** Hoskins***
Sat29Everton .............A L1-3 Gazzaniga Richardson Fonte Yoshida Clyne** W-Prowse SDavis Lallana*** Rodriguez* Ramirez1 Lambert Mayuka* Reeves** Chaplow***
OCTOBER
Sun7Fulham..............H D2-2 Gazzaniga Richardson* Fonte2 Yoshida Fox SDavis Schneiderlin Lallana Puncheon** Rodriguez Lambert*** Hooiveld* Chaplow** DoPrado***
Sat20WestHam...........A L1-4 Boruc Clyne Fonte Hooiveld Yoshida SDavis*** Schneiderlin Lallana1 Puncheon** DoPrado Rodriguez* Lambert* Mayuka** W-Prowse***
Sun28Tottenham .........H L1-2 Boruc Clyne Fonte Yoshida Fox*** Puncheon* Schneiderlin SDavis** Lallana Rodriguez1 Lambert Mayuka* DoPrado** Reeves***
Tues31Leeds(COC4) ......A L0-3 KDavis Butterfield Hooiveld Seaborne Reeves W-Prowse Chaplow DoPrado DeRidder** Mayuka Lee* Shaw* Isgrove**
NOVEMBER
Mon5WestBrom...........A L0-2 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Fox*** Ramirez** Schneiderlin SDavis Lallana Rodriguez* Lambert Mayuka* DoPrado** Shaw***
Sat10Swansea.............H D1-1 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw* Schneiderlin1 Cork Puncheon Ramirez Lallana Lambert Fox*
Sat17QPR................A W3-1 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw** Schneiderlin Cork Puncheon1 Ramirez* Lallana Lambert***1 SDavis* Fox** Rodriguez***
Sun25Newcastle...........H W2-0 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw*** Schneiderlin Cork Puncheon Ramirez**1 Lallana1 Lambert* Rodriguez* SDavis** Hooiveld***
Weds28Norwich ...........H D1-1 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw* Schneiderlin Cork Puncheon** Ramirez Lallana Lambert1 Reeves* Rodriguez**
DECEMBER
Sat1Liverpool .............A L0-1 Gazzaniga Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw Schneiderlin Cork* Puncheon** Ramirez Lallana Lambert SDavis* Rodriguez**
Sat8Reading..............H W1-0 KDavis Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw Puncheon1 Schneiderlin Cork Lallana* Rodriguez** Lambert Ramirez DoPrado**
Sat22Sunderland ..........H L0-1 KDavis Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw Puncheon*** Schneiderlin** Cork Ramirez Mayuka* Lambert DeRidder* SDavis** DoPrado***
Weds26Fulham............A D1-1 KDavis Clyne Fonte Yoshida Shaw Schneiderlin Cork Puncheon SDavis* Ramirez** Lambert1 Rodriguez* DoPrado**
Sat29Stoke...............A D3-3 KDavis Yoshida Fonte Hooiveld Shaw* Puncheon** Schneiderlin Cork DoPrado Rodriguez1 Lambert1 Fox* Richardson**
JANUARY
Tues1Arsenal ............H D1-1 Boruc Cork Fonte Hooiveld Shaw Puncheon Schneiderlin SDavis DoPrado*** Ramirez**1 Lambert* Rodriguez* W-Prowse** DeRidder***
Sat5Chelsea(FAC3).......H L1-5 Boruc Cork Fonte** Yoshida Shaw Schneiderlin* SDavis Puncheon*** W-Prowse DoPrado Rodriguez1 DeRidder* Hooiveld** Lee***
Sat12AstonVilla...........A
Weds16Chelsea ...........A
Mon21Everton............H
Weds30ManUnited ........A
FEBRUARY
Sat2Wigan ...............A
Sat9ManCity.............H
Sun24Newcastle...........A
MARCH
Sat2QPR ................H
Sat9Norwich..............A
Sat16Liverpool............H
Sat30Chelsea.............H
APRIL
Sat6Reading..............A
Sat13WestHam ..........H
Sat20Swansea ............A
Sat27WestBrom..........H
MAY
Sat4Tottenham............A
Sun12Sunderland..........A
Sun19Stoke..............H
LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG
KELVINDAVIS 8 0 1 0 282 0 JACKSTEPHENS 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 RICKIELAMBERT 18(2) 8 0 0 169(9) 96
PAULOGAZZANIGA 9 0 2 0 11 0 DANSEABORNE 0 0 3 0 38(15) 0 JAYRODRIGUEZ 9(8) 2 2 3 11(8) 5
ARTURBORUC 3 0 1 0 4 0 STEVEDERIDDER 0(3) 0 2 0 12(30) 4 EMMANUELMAYUKA 1(6) 0 1 0 2(6) 0
NATHANIELCLYNE 17 1 0 0 17 1 RICHARDCHAPLOW 0(1) 0 3 0 50(12) 5 GASTONRAMIREZ 11(2) 3 0 0 11(2) 3
DANNYBUTTERFIELD 0 0 2 0 50(4) 0 DEANHAMMOND 0 0 1 0130(15) 11 BILLYSHARP 0(2) 0 1 1 12(6) 10
FRAZERRICHARDSON 2(2) 0 2 0 57(10) 0 JACKCORK 10 0 2 0 78(8) 0 TADANARILEE 0 0 2(1) 1 7(5) 2
DANNYFOX 7(3) 1 0 0 46(7) 1 MORGANSCHNEIDERLIN 19 2 1 0150(28) 5 SAMHOSKINS 0 0 0(2) 0 0(2) 0
LUKESHAW 10(1) 0 2(1) 0 12(3) 0 ADAMLALLANA 16 2 0 0190(19) 49 CALUMCHAMBERS 0 0 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
RYANDICKSON 0 0 0 0 9 0 STEVEDAVIS 11(6) 1 1 0 12(6) 0 BENREEVES 0(3) 0 1(2) 1 4(9) 1
JOSEFONTE 20 2 1 0 136(1) 12 JAMESWARD-PROWSE 4(4) 0 4 0 10(4) 1 ANDYROBINSON 0 0 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
JOSHOOIVELD 6(2) 0 2(1) 0 49(3) 8 JASONPUNCHEON 17 3 2 1 62(4) 7 LLOYDISGROVE 0 0 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
MAYAYOSHIDA 16(1) 0 2 0 18(1) 0 GULYDOPRADO 5(6) 0 3 0 74(25) 22
KEY:LA:leagueappearances.LG:leaguegoals.CA:cupappearances.CG:cupgoals.CSA:careerSaintsappearances.CSG:careerSaintsgoals.
SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013 THEDAILYECHO 9
Adam Rant TThhiiss wweeeekk’’ss bbigwtaliktihngApodinatsm Leitch
The forgotten championship
Rafa still
missing
THE BDO World Darts likeabigevent. twoWorldChampionships.
Championshipmayaswellbetaking The BDO, which featured New TheBDOisbecomingforgotten.
placeinanundiscoveredcaveonthe ForestaceScottMitchell,isaboutthe You can argue about the spilt as
moon. polaroppositeofthat. muchasyoulike,butinrecentyears THEAustralianOpenis
FirstwehadthefanfareofthePDC Since the crazy decision to give itonlyhasitselftoblame. abouttokickoffandit’sa
WorldChampionship.Itwasallglitz, muchoftheliveTVrightstominori- Itisfarmoretraditional,andthere welcomereturntothe
glamourandrazzmatazz. tyUKbroadcasterESPNratherthan isnothingwrongwiththat,butithas- tennisseason.
Even amongst the busy Christmas theBBCithassunkstillfurther. n’tmovedwiththetimes. It’sgoingtobeatruly
andNewYearfootballfixturelistit Dartshasattractedmanynewfans The major thing in its favour was fascinatingonetoo.
seemedeverybodywastalkingabout inrecentyearsasaresultofthePDC. theliveBBCcoverage. TheabsenceofRafael
it. Adam Rant has actually had con- Nowmuchofthathasbeencompro- Nadal,picturedbelow,still
It got great coverage, not only on versationswithsomeofthem,andhe mised,itisdrifting. hangsoverthetopechelons
SCOTTMITCHELL SkyTVbutelsewhereaswell.Itfelt has had to point out that there are It’sverysadtosee. ofthemen’sgame.
Hopefullyhewillbeback
andingoodhealth,butwho
AAggee bbeeffoorree knowswhenthatisgoingto
be.
Ifhisknees
arestillthe
problem,and
heismissing
the
Australian
Open,he
bbeeaauuttyy surelywon’t
attempta
returnuntilthe
claycourtsea-
songetsunderway.
Afterthat,it’sNovak
DjokovicandAndyMurray,
with,ofcourse,Roger
Federerthrownintothemix
aswell.
ffoorr RRaaffaa AdamRant’spredictionis
thattherewillalsobea
GrandSlamwinnerfrom
outsidethebigfourthis
year.
JuanMartindelPotrois
probablythemantolandit.
Inthewomen’sgame,you
justsensethatSerena
Williamscansweepall
asidewhensheisfiredup.
RAFABenitezisfacingafamiliarprob- someexperience,butaslucra- Ifshestaysfitanddeter-
lematChelsea–tryingtoavoidbeing tivecontractsrundownitis mined,thiscouldbea
record-breakingyearfor
thefallguyforacompletelynecessary inevitable that some of the her.
leadinglightswillbeallowed
changingoftheguard.
toleaveastheBluesstartto Lance to
Andre Villas-Boas fell by the wayside look elsewhere for their
whenhetriedtosweepabrushthroughthe futuresuccesses.
squad, Roberto di Matteo didn’t take that It’snotgoingtobeeasyfor
approach but never seemed like the long the axe man though. At talk back
termchoiceanyway,andnowit’sfallenon Chelsea it is always the
theshouldersofBenitez.Perhapsheisbest managerthatgetstheblame
placedforit,afterallhewasdeeplyunpopu- foreverything.
laramongstChelseafanswhenhewasgiven Benitez, as Villas-Boas LANCEArmstrong’supcom-
thejobandstillseemstobenow.Forhim, beforehim,stillneedstorely inginterviewwithOprah
beingevenmoreunpopularprobablyholds onsomeoftheseplayersthis Winfreyisgoingtobe
verylittleinthewayoffear. seasontoo. absolutelyfascinating.
Makenomistake,thisisanemotionaland Thefacttheyarenowtrying Thecyclinglegend,who
turbulenttimefortheBlues. to prove a point helps when hasbeenstrippedofhis
Saywhatyoulikeaboutthechoppingand thingsaregoingwell,butwhen TourdeFrancetitlesaftera
changing of managers by Roman they’renotitisnotsoeasy. hugeinvestigation
Abramovichbuttherehasbeensomestabil- Football fans are a nostalgic intoalleged
ityattheclub–intheshapeofthesenior bunch,anditwouldn’tbefootball dopingactivi-
players. if supporters didn’t remember ties,islong
There is a core in the Chelsea dressing very fondly those who have overdueto
roomthathavebeenthereforalongtime, broughttheirclubsuccess. respond.
throughallthehighsandlows. However, at Chelsea big changes Hehad
Theyarehugelypopularcharacters,very arerequired. always
influentialandcarrywiththemfondmemo- Saintsfanssawfirst-handjusthow deniedthe
riesofsuccess. good some of the recent signings at constantalle-
Togetridofthemisgoingtobeunpopular Chelseaareandtheyarethefuture. gationsagainst
withtheplayersthemselves,andalsowith Didier Drogba may have been great himbuthasbeen
thefans. for Chelsea but he’s yesterday’s man quietsincethemostrecent,
Thethingisthatfootball,andprofessional andhasmovedon. anddamning,reportwas
sportingeneral,isanunforgivingbusiness. Frank Lampard has been absolutely publishedandhistitles
Theargumentfortheseguysgettingpaid phenomenal for the club but at 34 his removed.
so much money is that it’s a short career. careerisdrawingtowardsaclose. Armstrong,picturedabove,
Thatistrue. All connected with Chelsea need to see isaheroforageneration,
Theseguyshavehadagoodrunatitbut thisforwhatitis–absolutelynecessaryif aniconicsportingfigure.
Thepublicwhoinvested
Chelsea are a club that want to be at the theyaretoachievethesuccesstheywant.
somuchintohimdeserveto
verytopofEuropeanfootball,andyouare It might not be a popular thing to say
havethetruthfromtheman
notgoingtodothatwithabunchofageing around Stamford Bridge but this is not himself.
30somethings.Ofcoursethereisroomfor Benitez’sfault. Hopefullythatisexactly
whatwewillgetinthenext
fewdays.
10 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY12,2013
Saints
Spotlight
QUOTES
Monied clubs in
OF THE WEEK
“Yesterdaywasnothing,comparedto
whathedidothertimes-nothing.Itis
finished”-ManchesterCitymanager
RobertoManciniplaysdownan
incidentwithMarioBalotelli,after
picturesappearedtoshowthemin
aphysicalconfrontationonthe
trainingpitch.
“Iwillgivehimanother100chancesif
possible,ifIthinkhecanchange”- WAS Nigel Adkins right to leave SimonCarter weekend by comparison was
Mancini,below,again. Rickie Lambert out against Rodriguezataround£7m.
For a while, he was Saints’ record
Chelsealastweekend? [email protected] signing.
It’sthesortofquestionwhichcanbe SPORTS EDITOR OntheirbenchChelseahadayoung
debatedfuriouslyinpubs,officesand GermanstrikernamedMarkoMarin,
onInternetchatrooms. Some clubs – Wigan, for example – whoI’mguessingnotmanySaints
But, like many of the questions madenine,thoughtheywereplaying fanswouldeverhaveheardof.
regardingfootball,thereisnodefini- League 1 opponents rather than a Hecost£7mtoo,buthasbeen
tiveanswer. club who were able to leave a £50m restricted to just three
Lamberthadplayedfourgamesin strikeronthebench. leagueoutings,twoasasub.
11 days prior to Chelsea’s visit, and And Adkins was certainly right Ever heard of Thibaut
Nigel Adkins thought that putting when he claimed it was “a perfect Courtois?
him through a fifth in 15 days was opportunity”toplayRodriguez. The young Belgian goal-
askingtoomuch. Ifyoupaythebestpartof£7mfora keeper joined Chelsea for
Certainlywithafarmoreimportant player,youneedtogivehimasmuch around £5m two years ago,
leaguegameonthehorizon. gametimeasyoucan. and has never played a first team
“Everybodyknowshowinstrumen- Saintsaren’tlikeChelsea,whocan gamefortheclub.
tal he is but with the run of games splashoutthatmuchonaplayerand On the day he was signed from
we’vegotyoucan’tjustkeepplaying leave him on the bench for a long Gent, he was loaned out to Spanish
and playing and playing,” said time. outfit Athletico Madrid, and is cur-
Adkins. “Especially somebody of If Rodriguez hasn’t emerged as a rently in his second season on loan
“Ihavetoapologisetomyownsup- Rickie’sphysicalcalibre,itdoestake centralfigureinthePremierLeague there.
portersforthatperformancebecause alotoutofyouandhe’sputinagreat plans–andhehasn’t–thenhehasto During his time in Spain, he has
we’reathomeinacupgamewhich effortforusoverChristmas. playinthecupsreally. become Belgium’s youngest ever
myplayers,forwhateverreason, “This was a perfect opportunity to FansbemoaningLambert’sabsence seniorinternationalkeeper.
turnedintoapre-seasongame.I’m play Jay Rodriguez and he scored a againsttheholderscan’tsurelyargue That is the difference, in case you
quitegladit’stakenmeawhiletotalk greatgoal.” that his presence would have needed one highlighted, of the huge
tothepress,andIhaven’thada Windtheclockbacktwoyearsand changedtheresultthatmuch. financialmuscleChelseaareableto
meetingwiththeplayersyet,because Lambertwasplayingfivegamesin15 Saintsdidn’tlosebecausetheywere wield.
sometimesyoucansaythingsyou daysforSaintsin2010/11. profligateupfront.Theylostbecause IfSaintssignedaplayerfor£5m–
mightendupregretting.Itwasa Heactuallyplayedinsixgamesin they had no answer to Chelsea’s and they have only ever done so
shockingperformance.Ifyou’vegot 19 days in late December and early attackingpower. twice,withRodriguezandRamirez–
yourfirstpropertackleafter65min- January, and Saints won all six Thatisnotsurprisingintheleast. you would expect them to feature
utesinacuptiethenyou’regoingto matches,scoringawhopping19goals Resultssuchaslastweekend’s,and heavilyinthefirstteam.
lose”-bearinmindthatthiswas (though Lambert, perhaps surpris- Saints’6-1beatingatArsenalbackin You would not expect them to be
DarrenFergusonafteraperiodof ingly,onlyscoredthreeofthem). September,arealwayslikelytohap- loanedoutstraightaway.
reflection,followingPeterborough’s Okay,mostofthosegameswerein pen. Saints travel to Stamford Bridge
3-0FACupdefeattoNorwich. League 1 against inferior opponents That is the sort of “reality check” next Wednesday to face Chelsea
to the ones Saints have played in Adkins was talking about after the again,thistimeintheleague.
“Well,itdidn’train”-HullbossSteve recentweeks. cuptrouncing. Thememoryofthe5-1beatingwill
Bruce,whenaskediftherewere ButLambert’sfitnesshasimproved Thereisamassivegulfbetweenthe be fresh in their memory, whatever
anypositiveshecouldtakefromhis throughouthisremarkablespellatSt best clubs in this country, and the theresultatVillaParkthisweekend.
side’s1-1drawagainstLeyton Mary’s.Andhispresencelastweek- restofthePremierLeague. Tobebatteredathomesorecently
Orient. end would surely have improved Whenyoulookatthecostoftheir willbeamentalscarAdkinswillneed
Saints’chancesofbeatingChelsea. respectivesquads,soitshouldbe. tohealquickly.
PerhapsSaintsweren’tgoingtowin Rafael Benitez was able to name a That is not to say Saints cannot
theFACupthisseason,orevenreach subs bench at St Mary’s that cost recover.
thefinal.Whoknows?Fansprobably Chelseaover£100m. Afterall,QPR–bycommonconsent
said the same thing back in 1976 or One of his subs was £11m Frank one of the worst teams in Premier
2003,andlookwhathappenedthen. Lampard,amancloseto100England League history on their first half of
Thekeydifferencethistimeisthat internationalcaps. the season form – went to Stamford
PremierLeaguesurvivalistheover- Elsewhere, there was £50m BridgeonJanuary2andwon1-0.
whelmingpriority. FernandoTorres,themostexpensive Iftheycandoit,theSaintsfanswho
That wasn’t the case in 1976, playerinBritishfootballhistory. seetheglasshalf-fullwillbethinking,
because Saints weren’t even in the SatbyhimwasPauloFerreria,who whycan’twe?
topflight–norin2003,becauseSaints costtheBluesjustover£13m. QPR aren’t suddenly better than
wereneverlikelytobesuckedintoa Don’t forget Oscar, a snip at just Saints,arethey?
relegationbattle. £25m. These were the men on the Arsenal recently rolled up at St
If Saints were victorious at Villa bench,lestweforget! Mary’s having belted seven past
Park this weekend, with Lambert In the team we had Eden Hazard, Newcastle, and with the memory of
playingamajorpart,Adkinswillbe who cost over £30m, while Ramires puttingsixpastSaintsinSeptember,
vindicatedinhisdecisiontogivehis costjustunder£20m. yetAdkins’menwereunluckynotto
talismanarest. OneSaintsfan,writingontheDaily beattheGunners.
No one can say that Adkins didn’t Echo website, said Chelsea’s mid- Itmighthavebeentheirfirstpoint
treattheFACupseriously. filder Juan Mata was “on another oftheseasonagainstatopeightclub,
“Hewasdescribedasananimal,but It wasn’t like his Capital One Cup planet.”Hecostaround£24m. but it should have instilled confi-
heisjusttheopposite.Heisfunny, teamsthatsawahostoffringeplay- Thesearestaggeringprices,evenby dence.
intelligent,andhefightsforvictory”- ersandyoungstersfielded. generalPremierLeaguestandards. That confidence shouldn’t have
MarseillesportingdirectorJose He only made two changes to the And they heavily explain why been shot to pieces just because
AnigoonJoeyBarton,above. sidethathadplayedagainstArsenal, Saintswerepunished. Saintsthenwentandgotthumpedby
andnootherPremierLeaguemanag- With Gaston Ramirez out injured, oneofthemostexpensivesquadsin
“I’mabitrelievedit’sallovernow. er made fewer in the third round. Saints’ most expensive signing last Britishfootballhistory.
There’sthestress,thepressure,Ican
relaxawayfromallthatnow”-
BatsmanMikeHusseyhasno
regretsaboutretiringafterwinning ALL OFTODAY’S RESULTS ANDTHE LATESTTABLES:PAGE 48
hisfinalTestwithAustraliaagainst
SriLanka.