Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sports World |
- Sneijder to reject United challenge
- Can West Ham upset the odds and stay up?
- Chelsea boss refuses to give up title dream
- Els weighing up U-turn
| Sneijder to reject United challenge Posted: 26 Apr 2011 06:42 AM PDT Manchester United are a team that may still be favourites to win the Premier League this season, despite Chelsea appearing to mount a late surge towards the title out of nowhere, and they may still be in with a great chance of winning the Champions League (although one of Real Madrid and Barcelona will surely have a great deal to say about that), but the club themselves have done anything but look dominant this year. Several late winning goals and lucky refereeing decisions have culminated to provide United with more than a few points in the league, and anyone who has listened to their games on pure digital radio or has watched the action on LCD TV will know that they have struggled to overcome the challenge posed by the weaker teams in the league. So, it would seem clear that there is a great deal of room for improvement as Sir Alex Ferguson looks ahead to the 2011/2012 season after the close of the current campaign. With Ferguson likely to believe that one or two reinforcements to the squad are needed in order for the club to move onwards and upwards next season, it has come as something of a blow to the side that one high-profile target, Wesley Sneijder, has revealed he isn't interested in moving to England. Sneijder insists he is happy playing at Inter Milan and isn't finding himself tempted by a move to the title-chasing Manchester outfit. With Sneijder winning the Champions League last season with Inter under the astute guidance of Jose Mourinho, you could understand if he had started to feel a little differently towards the Italian club following the manager's departure to Real Madrid. However, his commitment is admirable and should be respected by the United manager, who surely has a longer transfer target list to work through than just the sole name.  |
| Can West Ham upset the odds and stay up? Posted: 26 Apr 2011 06:34 AM PDT At the moment, it's fair to say that West Ham need all the help they can get. With the Hammers looking almost like a dead cert to experience relegation this season despite continually putting on performances that seem to suggest they are capable of pulling away from the danger zone, they need each and every individual at the club to pull together and rally from now until the end of the season. Avram Grant therefore has Danny Gabbidon to thank for issuing a rallying call to the club's players that could yet inspire them to put Saturday's 3-0 crushing at the hands of Chelsea to one side as the club prepare for their remaining fixtures against some tricky opponents in the form of Manchester City, Blackburn, Wigan, and Sunderland. Gabbidon has revealed his disappointment that the side were made to pay in the cruelest manner possible for missing a couple of golden opportunities to score, with Robbie Keane particularly guilty, tvs and lg home cinema systems everywhere capturing the moment that he sent a shot wide from eight yards out with the goal gaping. The defender revealed that "it seems the same old story" when they fail to "take [their] chances", with a lack of cutting edge in front of goal one of the reasons why West Ham are propping up the rest of the league table despite playing well more often than not in their league fixtures. With Gabbidon also revealing that defensive weaknesses also seem to be holding the Hammers back from succeeding at the top level of the English game, the problems for Grant to deal with are indeed substantial. However, with individuals such as Scott Parker willing to do whatever it takes to lead the side away from the relegation zone, and with the fight to stay in the league so, so tight at the moment, West Ham could yet provide their fans with reason to smile this season.  |
| Chelsea boss refuses to give up title dream Posted: 26 Apr 2011 05:20 AM PDT It may seem like Manchester United have the Premier League title sewn up, but Carlo Ancelotti still retains a belief that Chelsea can pip them to glory. United are six points clear with four games to go but face a hectic few weeks in the Champions League and Premier League. They face two legs against Schalke and also play Arsenal at the Emirates in the space of seven days, before a clash with Premier League title-chasers Chelsea at Old Trafford on May 8th. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League weekend games will know this will be a crucial fixture. Chelsea need to win all their games to have any chance of lifting the Premier League title, but they do seem to be coming back into form after their high-profile slump which jeopardised their chances of doing anything this season. Chelsea face Spurs this weekend and a win there, coupled with an Arsenal victory over United, would put them only three points behind going into the crunch meeting between the teams. Ancelotti claims it "can happen" and is dreaming of results going his side's way so the rivals would be level on points with two games remaining after the Old Trafford clash. "If we are able to win against Tottenham, I think we can put more pressure on Manchester United in the game against Arsenal," said the Italian. Fernando Torres scored his first goal for Chelsea at the weekend and if he finds goalscoring form then it could be crucial to any dreams Blues fans have of winning the Premier League title and the football predictions reflect this. The Spaniard is capable of going on a scoring run despite his recent woes, and he could yet play a huge part in this season's title race.  |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2011 03:59 AM PDT Ernie Els is reportedly weighing up a dramatic switch to the belly putter following his continued struggles on the greens. The three-time major winner will head to South Korea this week to compete at the Ballantine's Championship, still trying to rediscover the putting consistency that has been a major factor behind his 64 Tour wins. The problems with his short game haven't been a recent issue for Els, back in 2009 the South African described how his putting seemed to have gone to pot. He said: "All of a sudden, it's like, 'Man, what's going on? I'm not making these putts anymore.' Normally when you make a certain putt, from there the momentum comes." Those comments were made two years ago but things haven't got better for Els, despite brief promising signs last year, with his two PGA Tour wins and South African Open title showing the 'Big Easy' can still challenge the world's best. The decline in his putting is evident when looking at the putting average rankings, in which Els is way down in 159th in the world. That will be why the South African is reportedly willing to go against his principles and try out the controversial belly putter, a club Els has previously called for to be banned. Anyone looking at the open betting should take some time to see just how he gets on with it. Adam Scott made the switch after his own troubles with his putting and the results were clear as the Australian came within a couple of shots of winning the Masters last month at Augusta. If Ernie wants to keep challenging the increased number of talented youngsters on the circuit, then he may well need to swallow his pride and shake hands with the devil.  |
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