Thursday, April 13, 2006

Interview: Thomas Sorenson - Aston Villa & Denmark

Sorensen Ready For Derby Scrap

Aston Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has warned Birmingham City to expect another fired-up performance from David O'Leary's side in Sunday's crucial Barclays Premiership derby at Villa Park.

In the past some critics have questioned whether Villa had the same hunger for derbies as Blues, who were unbeaten in the opening six Premiership meetings between the teams.

But Villa, inspired by a fine performance from midfielder Steven Davis, showed their desire at St Andrews earlier this season before Kevin Phillips netted the winner.

Sorensen said: “Derbies never turn out to be pretty. They always turn out to be a bit of a scrap and if you are not up for that scrap, you will be punished.

“Birmingham have more or less got most of their players back and we need to be ready for it. But we showed at St Andrews that we were ready for the battle and we have to be as well on Sunday. I am sure we will be.

“The fans had to wait a long time to enjoy a victory over Blues and we know what it would mean to them if we could complete the double.”

Read the Full Interview at PremierLeague.com

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Women's Football: Addicks keeper nets monthly award

Charlton goalkeeper Pauline Cope has won the Nationwide Player of the Month award for March.

Cope, 36, who is to retire in the summer, has helped the Addicks to second in the table this season.

And, following a series of outstanding displays, a selection panel including England coach Hope Powell has handed her the monthly award.

"It's fully deserved, she's been superb. We'll be very sorry to lose her," said Charlton boss Keith Bonas.

He continued: "She has conceded just nine goals over the entire league campaign.

"Her performances, in particular against Arsenal in the Nationwide League Cup Final and FA Cup Semi-Final last month, stand out as being some of the best of her career."

Source: BBC Sport

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Premiership Keeper News: Kiely eyes milestone with Pompey

Portsmouth keeper Dean Kiely insists helping the club to secure Premiership survival will rank among his greatest achievements in football.

Kiely has been promoted with York and Charlton and now bids to steer Pompey to their great escape.

"I came here in January relishing the challenge and it was just that," the 35-year-old told BBC Sport.

"There are a few achievements I'm very happy about but this would be right up there with them."

Kiely was at York when they created one of the biggest upsets in English cup history by beating Manchester United 3-0 in the League Cup in 1995.

He is now Pompey's number one keeper after Fratton Park boss Harry Redknapp brought him to the club from Charlton in January.

Read the Full Story at BBC Sports website

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Interview: Maik Taylor - Birmingham City & Northern Ireland

Maik Taylor admits he will feel responsible if Birmingham fail to win their battle to survive in the Barclays Premiership, despite being one of their most consistent performers.

The Blues goalkeeper remains confident Steve Bruce's side can achieve enough points from the remaining seven games to stay in the top flight, but they are currently second from bottom.

Victory over Bolton in tonight's home encounter, however, would take City out of the bottom three for the first time since October and hoist them above local rivals West Brom.

And Northern Ireland international Taylor wants Birmingham to take confidence from the deserved draw with leaders Chelsea at the weekend into the final part of the campaign.

Taylor said: "I have played the majority of games and I will feel responsible if the worse-case scenario happens at the end of the season.

"But there are still seven games left and we are totally confident and fully believe we will stay up and that's what we are trying to achieve.

"I have been in the situation before of fighting relegation. There are still plenty of points to play for.

"It was a massive boost for us to get a point against one of the best teams in Europe at the weekend and we want to build on that against Bolton.

"We have all had to look at ourselves in the mirror and it was important we worked extremely hard on the training pitch to try to put things right.

"It looks like being a three-horse race but we have got to look at our own performances and try to pick up points when we can and not worry about the other teams."

Taylor is full of praise for the way Bruce has tried to protect the players from the pressures of being in a relegation battle for so long.

He said: "He has tried to keep things away from the players and not mention too much about what is going on. If he felt the need to come down on players if they are not performing, he has done that - and some of the performances have warranted them.

"But in general things like getting relegated have not been mentioned. He tries to be bubbly and buzzing and try to make it intense and enjoyable and try to have that feel-good factor."

Leading scorer Jiri Jarosik will return against Bolton after being ineligible to face Chelsea because of the loan agreement between the two clubs.

But Bruce will check on the fitness of Matthew Upson, David Dunn, Muzzy Izzet and Chris Sutton to see if they can return after stepping up training following lengthy injury lay-offs.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Monday, April 03, 2006

Premiership Keeper News: Jaaskelainen pens new Bolton deal

Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has signed a new contract that will keep him at the Reebok Stadium until 2008.

The Finnish stopper, 30, put pen to paper on the deal following Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United.

It ends months of speculation over his future after contract talks were believed to have stalled in recent weeks because of pay demands.

Jaaskelainen, linked with moves to Arsenal and Manchester United in the past, joined Bolton in November 1997.

But he insists he never had any real doubts he would be staying with the club.

"It has taken a long time but I just wanted to think about everything," Jaaskelainen told the club's official website.

Read the full story at BBC Sport