EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

Arsene Wenger is extremely frustrated by the string of injuries that his squad has received by Stoke to the point that he suggested they intentionally injured his players. “The only intention is to hurt you and I can show some tackles where I can prove what I say. Do you think (Rory) Delap tried to play the ball when he tackled Walcott? Or that [Ryan] Shawcross tried to play the ball when he tackled Adebayor off the pitch. All the players have been injured deliberately. Adebayor will be three weeks. Walcott could be days or weeks. It is the shoulder he had the surgery on.” This just before Arsenal’s Champions League game against Fenerbahce (tied 0-0). Not only that but Robin van Persie is serving a three match ban after earning a red card against Stoke. Luckily, Gallas and Sagna may be coming back to help bolster the squad.

Tony Pullis commented on Wengers insult:
“In Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday evening Mr Wenger talked openly about Arsenal’s encounter with Stoke, as being a ‘typical English encounter’. He commended my team’s organisation, my team’s commitment and confessed that on the day Stoke City thoroughly deserved to win the game. Very open and very honest. In London 48 hours later and 150 miles away from Stoke-on-Trent, Mr Wenger changed tack and has tried to rewrite history. His comments about my team are there for everybody to read and certainly made me smile, along with I’m sure 27,000 supporters at the game, millions of TV viewers and the massed press who interviewed him after the game. Remember there was only one red card on Saturday and the last time I watched the game it certainly was not a Stoke City player who received it. I and my Football Club have tremendous respect for Mr Wenger and Arsenal football club, but as Mr Wenger is such a learned professional and on a great day in American electoral history, I would like to remind him of Abraham Lincoln’s great quotation, ‘You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time’.”

Arsenal will be playing Manchester United on Saturday.

Wenger announced that Arsenal had suffered several injuries during the past week of International World Cup qualifyers. Gallas injured his hamstring, Bendtner sprained his ankle and Sagna undured a knee injury. The 3 are expected to be out for at least a week. Fabregas obtained a broken nose, Johan Djourou a concussion and van Persie pulled a muscle.

Wenger commented on the string of injuries that plagued Arsenal:

“Unfortunately we have lost some players over the 10 days - William Gallas, Bacary Sagna and Nicklas Bendtner. These are heavy losses and we have to compensate them. Fortunately the three of them don’t look to be out for a long, long time but they will be out for the weekend game and I think the game on Tuesday. As well as them, Djourou got concussion during his game with Switzerland and will be assessed tomorrow to see if he is available. He does not look too bad and he could have a good chance to play. I am still waiting for Robin to come back so I don’t know about him. However, he should be okay. He went with a muscle problem but he came on after 56 minutes last night and, from the reports I got, he should be all right. Both of them will be assessed. Also I am told Cesc has a broken nose. It should not stop him playing. He is here now and is being assessed.”

He succeeded in not sounding as annoying as Benitez who recently complained about Torres’ injury during World Cup Qualifying games. Benitez Vents

Arsenal will be playing Everton this weekend, Fenerbace on Tuesday in the Champions League, and West Ham next weekend. Fortunately, Abou Diaby has just recovered from a thigh injury and will be starting. “At least Abou Diaby is back in the squad again.” said Wenger. “Even though he has not played games he will be used, at the least in the squad, because we have lost those three players.”

Fernando Torres was injured during Spain’s 2-1 World Cup Qualifying win against Belgium in Brussels. Torres limped off witha  hamstring injury only 16 minutes in compunding his earlier hamstring problems in September. Ryan Babel was also playing in World Cup Qualifyers and received an ankle injury during the Netherlands 1-0 win in Norway.

Benitez expressed his discontent with how many World Cup Qualifying games professional club players are required to play. He suggested that their should be 2 tiers to the qualifying games with stronger teams playing stronger teams and weaker teams only playing stronger teams once they have moved up. This would effectively minimize the number of games that teams would play. While I’m not sure if this is feasible, I do know that Liverpool will have some real challenges if Torres and Babel are not fit soon. In the next 10 days Liverpool will be playing Wigan, Chelsea, and a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid.

Xabi Alonso described the injuries as a real blow: “It is undoubtedly bad news. We have to wait and see what the tests say, but we do not stop now until around Christmas, and we have a big calendar coming up - we cannot let up. It is not the first time this has happened [to Torres] with the national side, and it is a blow to have an injury when he is in such a good streak of form.”

Torres is expected to be out for about 10 days while Babel’s injury recovery time has not been assessed yet.

Slovakian Martin Skrtel underwent a scan this morning and it was revealed that he has posterior cruciate ligament damage.”Martin underwent a scan this morning which showed damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He will see a specialist tomorrow to assess the extent of the injury and will then have an accurate idea of the timescales involved before he is back playing again.”

The injury most likely occured while battling for a ball against Manchester City’s Chad Evans. While Liverpool won (2-3) the injury to 23 year old Skrtel will probably last several months. After the game Benitez commented about Liverpool’s bid for the EPL Title saying “We have a clear idea of what we have to do. We have to go one game at a time. This was another great win and three points. The main thing from my point of view is the belief of the players.”

With Skrtel out Daniel Agger will most likely start; Agger suffered a metatarsal injury at the beginning of last season.
Agger Injured for season, Skrtel starts

Chelsea played CFR Cluj-Napoca in the Champions League recently and while they managed to pull out a tie they suffered another serious injury to a starting player. Didier Drogba suffered what appears to be a serious knee ligament injury in the 57th minute; Drogba was stretchered off and Juliano Belletti replaced him. Reportedly Alex and John Terry obtained small injuries in the game. With Deco, Joe Cole, Essien, and Carvalho all injured Chelsea could be in serious trouble. Chelsea fans will be hoping that these injuries will subside by the time of the next Champions League against Roma October 21st. Unfortunately, Chelsea will be playing Aston Villa (Oct. 5th) who have had a great start to the season (currently in 3rd place) and who will certainly try to capitalize on Chelsea’s injury woes.

Meanwhile United are also suffering some injuries with Scholes out with a twisted knee, and Rooney out with an ankle injury. But with Ronaldo back and Dimitar Berbatov playing well the impact is lessened. Manchester United will be playing Celtic in the Champions League October 21st, the same day Arsenal will be playing Fenerbahce.

Chelsea have been hindered by a recent string of injuries including Deco who who obtained a torn muscle in his upper thigh while warming up before the game against Manchester United (Chelsea tied Manchester Utd 1-1). Carvalho also suffered an injury with a torn ligament in his knee which will likely leave him out for at least a month.

Fortunately, Deco’s disappearance could be made easier by the potential appearance of Brazilian midfielder Mineiro. “Mineiro is a player I need because I lost Essien for six months and only John Mikel Obi is there for us” said Scolari. “He won’t play this week but maybe after 10 days he will play. He needs to play in the reserve team and needs some time but that is good for me because he gives me some options.” Both Birmingham and Arsenal were reportedly interested in Mineiro but opted not to sign him.

Muricy Ramalho, his coach at Sao Paolo described him in superhuman terms. “The guy is incredible. He runs so much at times it makes you wonder whether he has got three lungs, not two, like the rest of us.” Mineiro is a defensive midfielder who played for BSC Hertha Berlin before joining Chelsea. The 33 year was nicknamed ‘Mineiro’ because he resembles a former Corinthian player, his real name is actually Carlos Luciano da Silva.

Manchester United’s Michael Carrick recently obtained a broken bone in his foot after a tackle by Yossi Benayoun during the recent Liverpool win (2-1) over Manchester United. Carrick plays an important role in United’s midfield; his absence which could severely impact the teams performance.

Ferguson commented, “It’s not turned out well for us. He has a small crack in his foot which was diagnosed on Sunday afternoon. It isn’t good news.” Carrick had just recovered from a 3 week injury to his ankle he received when United played Newcastle in the 1st game of the season. As a result he also missed all the recent English World Cup qualifying games (Croatia and Belarrus) and will also miss the games against Kazakhstan and Belarus. He may also miss the upcoming Champions League games which include Villareal on Wednesday, Aalborg (Sep. 30th) and Celtic (Oct. 21).

25 year old Michael Essien will probably be out for the rest of the year as he recently obtained an ankle injury while playing in an International game between Ghana and Libya. Essien was injured before this injury and didn’t start for Chelsea’s first game; he had just recovered from that unjury when a ligament in his knee was torn while playing for Ghana. “Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time. In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.”

His agent Fabian Piveteau said, “Unfortunately it’s not good news. I am afraid it’s a big problem. A big problem. He’s taken a bad blow to the knee. I don’t know exact details but I think it’s not good. I don’t know what will happen. It’s now two or three times that he has taken blows to his knee.”

Essien signed with Chelsea from Lyon three years ago for €24 million and has become a deciding factor in Chelsea’s game. This could severly hurt Chelsea as they won’t be able to obtain another player of similar caliber to replace him until the transfer window opens in January. Essien has scored 14 goals in 132 appearances.

Terry commented on the injury saying heexpects Essien to be out for “five, five and a half month I think will be the case.”

Once swelling in the area has gone down Essien will undergo surgery on his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Michael Owen obtained the same injury in the 2006 World Cup and was out for 10 months. Chelsea released a statement describing the injury and when he might return: “Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time. In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.” The ACL lies behind the kneecap and is important in stabilizing the joint and preventing overextension. Tendons from the hamstring are often grafted onto the knee which then replaces the ACL. While surgery is not always needed for athletes it can reduce rehabiliation time and possibly prevent arthritis in the future.

Manchester City’s bid for Roque Santa Cruz has been rejected by Blackburn. The Paraguayuan International  scored 23 goals last season with the Rovers. He was signed by Rover’s manager Mark Hughes from Bayern Munchen for €3.5 million. Mark Hughes was then transferred to Manchester City after Sven-Goran Eriksson was fired. Reportedly he may have offered €12 million to lure Cruz to City. While managing for the Rovers, Hughes proved to be an astute judge of young players ability with several excellent acquisitions including David Bentley for about €500,000.

“A bid came in and it was immediately rejected. Manchester City officials have been advised that the player would not be for sale and we are very disappointed they have continued their interest.” Manchester City is having real problems with David Vassell, Benjani Mwaruwari, Valeri Bojinov, and Jo all out.

However he attempted to silence critics, “I think what the bid does show is that the club is in decent shape financially and that we were able to make a bid of that significance. Maybe the stories of the financial crisis flying around are not as substantiated as they should be.”

City have been expecting a huge influx of funds from owner Thaksin Shinawatra, unfortunately he is now seeking asylum in England after he was convicted of corruption in Thailand.

In a thrilling, potentially League Title deciding game, Chelsea succeeded in winning against Manchester United 2-1. Chelsea managed to stay unbeaten at Stamford Bridge (home) for 101 domestic games. “I know that they haven’t lost at Stamford Bridge for 100 games, but records are there to be broken. We will be going there to try to win the match” said Ferguson. United would have been able to lay claim to the League Title if they had won this game, but with their goal differential advantage they can be tied to Chelsea in points and still win the Title. But Ferguson would love nothing better than to defeat Chelsea at home and win the League Title. “We can’t afford to think that we can lose at Chelsea and still win it. We’ve got to think of winning there.”

Vidic got injured in the 14th minute when Drogba caught him in the face with his knee and Hargreaves came on for him. Chelsea should have grabbed the lead in the 20th minute when Joe Cole slipped away from the United defense and smashed the ball against the cross bar. But Michael Ballack produced a goal for Chelsea in the 45th minute when he was unmarked and headed in the ball from a Drogba cross. But Ricardo Carvalho gave away a free point when he passed the ball back right into Rooney’s path who ran around John Terry to score (55th minute). He seemed to injure himself in the process so Ferguson replaced him with Ronaldo. However, in the 84th minute Essien cross the ball into the United penalty box and Carrick handed the ball. Ballack took the PK and neatly put it in. Chelsea and United are now tied at 81 points though United has a much higher goal differential. Chelsea now needs to win their last 2 games and hope that United will tie or lose one of theirs.