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Manchester United striker Michael Owen has spoken of his desire to play more regularly for the Premier League champions, and is hoping to force his way into the starting XI at Old Trafford.

The attacker was given a rare start for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men against Leeds in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, and he repaid the Scottish coach’s faith by grabbing two goals in a 3-0 win.

Despite this, with Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez the preferred strike partnership, and Dimitar Berbatov and Danny Welbeck in contention also, Owen may find chances hard to come by, but is willing to fight for a place.

“I’m not content if I’m not playing. I get criticised a lot with things like ‘you don’t play, you pick your money up’ and all the rest of it but I’m not proud of that fact. I want to play all the time.,” he told reporters.

Owen featured heavily in his first season at United, but knows that this term it will be difficult to command a regular position due to the quality at Ferguson’s disposal.

“If the season was going to be like the first season I was here then I’d be delighted. That was fantastic and I felt involved. I was always either on the bench or playing.

“Obviously I want to be involved again but I appreciate that there’s some top players in the team and in the squad and it’s a challenge to get on the bench let alone into the first team,” he concluded.

Ferguson was full of praise for his attacker after the Leeds game, and is happy with the veteran forward’s contribution.

“Michael Owen’s finishing was fantastic. His goal ratio is unbelievable. We are very pleased with him,” he told The Daily Mail.

“Unfortunately for us he has had one or two injuries. But with me having Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez he is not getting the games he deserves and that is unfortunate.”

With Hernandez due to be sidelined for a number of weeks after being injured by Ashley Cole against Chelsea, Owen will look to take advantage and increase his playing time in the Mexican’s absence.

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Over the years there have been many great players who’ve graced the Premier League, making it the most enjoyable entertaining and exciting domestic competition in the world. Players such as Cantona, Shearer, Henry, Ronaldo, Fabregas and Franny Jeffers have given even the non-football lovers a reason to tune in to Match of the Day on a Saturday night as they show us how the beautiful game can be truly just that. There have also been another set of players though, throughout the years, men who may have footballing ability but also have the knack of causing most of us to scream in anger whenever they touch the ball. I’m talking about the sort of players who if your daughter brought them home, you’d wish she was a lesbian. Players we love to hate.

Now, not many of us actually know Premier League players on a personal level, but we can pretty much garner all we need to know about someone from their attitude on the pitch. Some players such as Paul Scholes for example, will never be truly hated, which is somewhat surprising considering he’s fouled every single Premier League player at least twice, because they just get on with the game in a quiet manner. However for every Paul Scholes, there’s a Robbie Savage, the sort of player that even some of his own fans struggle to find a fondness for. Here’s my own personal Premier League XI made up of players you’d rather glass, than have a pint with.

Click on William Gallas below to see the Most Hated Premier League XI of all time

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List compiled by Justin Mottershead

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Guus Hiddink has been sacked by the Turkish national team after they failed to qualify for Euro 2012, sparking rumours he could head back to Chelsea in some capacity.

The Dutch coach received his marching orders after a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Croatia in the European Championships playoffs, and is free now to take on a new project.

“Following the meeting between Turkish Football Federation Executive Committee and Turkey head coach Guus Hiddink, the Dutch coach’s contract has been terminated by mutual consent,” a statement on the TFF website confirmed.

“We would like to thank Mr Guus Hiddink for his services during his working period, and wish him all the best in his future career.”

Hiddink steadied the ship at Stamford Bridge when he took control on a temporary basis in 2009, winning the FA Cup in the process.

When asked about his future the 65-year-old remained apathetic, but admitted that he enjoyed his time in England.

“I’ve not made up my mind about the future yet. I’m going to take some time off and then we will see what happens, but I had a wonderful time in England,” he stated.

“It was great at Chelsea, a terrific time, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to start tomorrow. I need some time to reflect.

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“I’m not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis. But maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras. Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Bolton boss Owen Coyle has stated that he is happy with the manner of his side’s 5-0 win over Stoke on Sunday, and hopes the result can be a catalyst for a good run of form.

The side from the Reebok Stadium have had a poor start to the season, and many are tipping The Trotters to struggle against relegation this term.

Despite this, Ivan Klasnic and Chris Eagles doubles and a Kevin Davies strike gave the home side a comfortable victory against Tony Pulis’ men.

“I think the most important thing was to win the game, but how we won it and the level of performance was so pleasing for everyone,” Coyle told Sky Sports.

“We had to stand up and defend for our lives because Stoke put you under more pressure than any other team in the league in terms of defending in the box.

“Every one of them to a man showed a level of performance today that could be a catalyst for us moving forward.

“We know we had a slow start but we also know we have good players and a very good team.

“We have probably have five players who would have a great chance of starting in the team today missing through injury and we know the fixtures we have had and that probably ate into a little bit of confidence. But today you saw the confidence pulsing through their veins again,” he concluded.

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Bolton are still in the relegation zone despite the win, but will look to get out of the bottom three with a positive result against West Brom next weekend.

By Gareth McKnight

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The January transfer window is now just a few weeks away and Premier League clubs will have set out their preferred signings for the New Year. With very few clubs able to splash mega bucks in the window, plenty of top flight clubs will be looking at the much improving Championship for possible targets next month.

There are definitely some bargains to be had in the second tier of English football and also some genuine Premier League quality that is waiting to be snapped up by the big clubs. Youngsters are breaking through into Championship sides and it may be the case that the clubs look to cash in on the future stars.

Last season Premier League clubs Birmingham and West Ham have held on to the majority of their quality players and some experienced heads are having a much welcomed second wind in their careers that could be worth a gamble on in January. Here are the ten players that have the Premier League clubs sniffing around.

Click on Jay Rodriguez below to unveil the top 10

Tottenham’s Europa League campaign is over, despite beating Shamrock Rovers 4-0 in Dublin on Thursday night.

The North London club’s fate was out of their hands, as they needed PAOK to beat Rubin Kazan in Greece for there to be any chance of progression, but a 1-1 draw sees the Russians take second place in Group A.

Despite this fact, Harry Redknapp’s men went about their business and tried to win their own fixture; a largely second string side was fielded at the Tallaght Stadium.

Three first half goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend and Jermain Defoe killed the game as a contest, with substitute Harry Kane grabbing a fourth in stoppage time.

The outcome means that Spurs can now concentrate on domestic upheavals, with finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League the club’s number one priority.

After the game Harry Redknapp remained upbeat despite exiting the competition.

“We did ever so well,” he told Sky Sports.

“At half time obviously we knew that the other team were losing and I thought we had a real chance then, if we could get another goal.

“I thought maybe with them (Rubin) being down to ten men, I could see the Greek team winning by a couple of goals and I thought, well maybe four goals would be enough for us tonight.”

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Spurs now face Sunderland at White Hart Lane on Sunday, and will look to make amends for last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke.

By Gareth McKnight

Shakhtar Donetsk have confirmed that Chelsea have made a bid to sign their Brazilian attacking midfielder Willian this January.

The Brazil international joined the Ukrainian side from Corinthians back in 2007 for a fee of around £12 million, and has steadily progressed with excellent performances domestically and in the Champions League.

The eastern European outfit’s CEO has admitted that Andre Villas Boas’ men have made an offer for the South American, which was refused.

“We have received a bid from Chelsea for Willian valued at €20million (£16.7m), but he is not for sale,” Sergei Palkin told Sky Sports.

Willian would fit into Villas Boas’ ideal transfer target criteria as a young, exciting prospect, but Skakhtar seem unwilling to sell their star man.

Sky Sports do indicate however that the Ukrainian side value Willian at £29million, considerable more than what the Premier League side offered.

As yet there has been no indication into whether Chelsea will make another attempt to bring the playmaker to Stamford Bridge.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has asked his side to be more consistent, and is still hopeful that his men can guarantee a top four finish.

The Gunners find themselves in sixth place in the Premier League standings currently, and face a battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Despite admitting that there is still work to do, Wenger is keen to finish in the league’s top four places, starting with a positive result against Sunderland this weekend.

“We had a good week last week. We had a good result against Aston Villa and a good performance against Bolton,” he told the club’s official website.

“We had the same number of chances [at the Reebok] that we had against Blackburn but we scored on Saturday. We still have real hope that we can finish the season the strongest. We have a good spirit and desire within the group – and we have quality.

“We know that with the position we are in we need an exceptional consistency, so that is the challenge we have in front of us at Sunderland,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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In a country where political issues have been very much the demise of a nation such as Nigeria, it’s quite easy to suggest that matters off the football pitch have affected matters on the pitch.

It was just recently, a statement was released by the federal crown court in Abuja on the 21st of January, stating that the Nigerian football federations were being disbanded from football, “The Nigerian football federation (NFF) and Premier League (NPL) will be dissolved.”

Recent competitions haven’t been kind to Nigeria, especially big tournaments such as the World Cup. Their last two saw them knocked out in the group stages in 2010 and 2002.

The ‘Super Eagles’ have been crowned African champions twice both in 1980 and 1994, and their uncharacteristic failure to not qualify for the African nations cup in 2012 was the first time since 1986.

Many will be very much surprised to not see Nigeria in this month’s African Nations Cup, and the national side only have themselves to blame, the 2-2 Guinea draw on the 8th of October, in Abuja was enough to ensure Nigeria did not cement their place in the tournament.

The former Nigerian coach Samson Siasia, was suggested to have many fall outs with the first team players, which one could easily link to being one of the problems for West African side. His recent spat came with West Bromwich Albion forward Peter Odemwingie, which led to Odemwingie not being part of his squad.

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However, it could be argued that the ego’s of many of the first team players have not helped the progress of Nigeria as a football nation, the likes of Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel have fallen off dramatically throughout the course of last year for club and country, which has left many critics wondering where the future lies for them.

In all fairness, it would be cruel to suggest that the NFF are not trying to rectify the situation, the new appointment of Stephen Keshi has at least indicated for the mean time Nigeria expect drastic changes to be made within the next coming years.

Keshi was the captain of the last Nigerian side to win the African Nations Cup in 1994, and will know what it takes to make sure Nigeria are right back in it next year. His Job specification is quite simple, qualify for the African Nations Cup in South Africa 2013 and ensure his team makes the quarter-finals in Brazil for the World Cup 2014.

The future is not all doom and gloom for Keshi’s men, he’ll be pleased to know he has a lot of talent he can work with, in the next few years. Inter Milan’s Joel Obi is just one of those many talents, the 21 year old is highly rated by the Nigerian camp and although he hasn’t featured a lot for the Italian outfit, his versatility in the midfield is very much admired.

Another player to watch out for is the 18 year old Ahmed Musa, a young winger plying his trade in Russia for CSKA Moscow, the lighting quick winger is known for his hard work and determination on the field, standing at 5ft 7 the young speed demon is well equipped to trouble wingers on both flanks.

A few strikers to watch out for are Emmanuel Emenike, 24, who has scored eight goals in 11 games for Fernabache, Ideye Brown, 23, has scored 10 in 18 games for Dynamo Kyiv and Anthony Ujah has scored 27 in 36 games last season for Lillestrom.

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The Nigerian side will be hoping a merge of hot prospects and talent will be enough to get them back into the AFCON next year. The manager knows the task at hand won’t be easy but he brings with him experience in abundance, whether his winning mentality can rub off on his current squad remains to be seen.

It will be a shame to not see the Super Eagles in this year’s AFCON but I’m pretty sure a fresh start a long with a new direction will ensure them a part in South Africa next year.

@Rantisamz

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It certainly wasn’t pretty, the win over Bradford coming just three days after the proud victory over runaway league leaders Swindon Town, but behind all the tension and the nerves shredded by the mild night under the floodlights at Gresty Road, it was 3 points.

Crewe needed nothing else but Steve Davis’ eleventh win from his 21 game long tenure and they got it, as teams like Manchester United are accustomed to, it doesn’t matter how at this time of the season, the win is the be all and end all.

If anybody was calm enough to be immune from nerves before the game, they surely had to be felt after around fifteen minutes of a scrappy opening in which neither side could ascertain any solid possession of the ball. Bradford were robust in the tackle, singling out the majestic ability of Nick Powell somewhat after his controversial showing up at Valley Parade on Boxing Day, but it was a handball which triggered a penalty concession just after the twenty minute mark. The ball pinged around the area, Adam Dugdale tried to settle it in front of goal before having it whisked away by a sly movement of the palm by Andrew Davies, referee Dean Whitestone did well to notice it and award a spot-kick that was duly dispatched by Harry Davis, emphatically considering the jitters felt around the ground and the breakthrough settled them to a degree.

It was a relief to break down the Bradford back-line that was proving stubborn in the face of the movement of Ajay Leitch-Smith and the trickery of Powell. On the flanks things were quite subdued; Byron Moore was seemingly prioritised with a defensive job on the dangerous Kyel Reid who had built a reputation on a devastating recent performance for the Bantams against Oxford, while Dan Shelley struggled to affect proceedings from his station on the left-side. Shelley, in a performance that replicated his struggle against Swindon, appeared sluggish and unwilling to go past his man, often ending his bout of possession with a dead-stop and a raking, ambitious long ball to the diminutive Leitch-Smith and so, the ball was lost easily to a taller back-line.

There was no dominant side, neither goalkeeper had a lot to do and it just heaped more uneasiness on the collective bag of nerves that is synonymous with expectation. Whistle that word quietly, after an eight game unbeaten run which has included latterly a three match winning streak, Crewe were favourites to beat a Bradford team languishing in 19th position before the ball was kicked. But it’s never as simple as that with Crewe and a new sensation of pre-match optimism is certainly an alien one given the slide down the leagues of recent years. As if such tension wasn’t enough, Crewe were unwilling to seize the initiative in the wake of Davis’ opener and, in what appears to be a signature style of Crewe’s recent run of performances, sat back to invite a degree of pressure.

Bradford were much the better side after half-time, Dean Smalley wasted a header whilst shortly after volleying over James Hanson somehow heading wide after Dave Artell missed a header, Kyel Reid dragged a shot just wide of Steve Phillips’ goal. Bradford’s front two of Hanson and Chris Dagnall were dangerous throughout in terms of movement but it’s testament to the work the back four have done with moving as a unit and the importance of cover, they appeared anaemic in the realms of true goal threat. But it still wasn’t an easy watch, the Alex back-line had been disrupted somewhat by an injury to Matt Tootle and even though loanee Jordan Brown impressed in coming on to left-back, there was a feeling that the substitution had perturbed the fluency of the team. Powell was largely on the periphery, Ajay was isolated and Crewe were lacklustre in moving the ball from the back when a counter-attack presented itself. Luke Murphy battled hard alongside Ashley Westwood in the midfield engine room, but there was no obvious out-ball when it was won, leading to a relatively basic concession of the football and the encouragement of more pressure.

As a crowd, there was an air of gratitude for every minute that ebbed away with the slender single goal lead still intact. There was no action on the Crewe bench despite Bradford’s double substitution on the 70 minute mark and they only goal threat mustered by the home side were two long range shots from Powell and Shelley that cleared the bar. Memories of Swindon on Saturday were being evoked when an element of luck was needed to avoid an implosion in the face of copious amounts of pressure as Di Canio’s men struck the woodwork twice in a one-sided last 30 minutes. But thankfully, that intense pressure never really materialised from Phil Parkinson’s men until stoppage time. A free-kick was flung into the box, confusion reigned in the Alex back four until substitute Dave Syers held off Adam Dugdale and to the tune of three thousand home fans holding their breath, turned his left-footed shot narrowly wide of the right hand post. Ref Whitestone gasped on his final whistle shorty after and the Railwayman could breathe again. The torture was over and another win had been achieved, grinded out by the satisfying notion of a 1-0 score line.

That is the only thing that mattered, behind all the concern of match-tiredness spoken of by Davis and the baffling reluctance to make use of the subs bench with that in mind, those three points had been added to the tally to make it 58 from 38 games played. “The key to everything is that the three points is vital at this stage and the lads showed some real grit to get them” was Davis’ verdict as the play-offs come within touching distance, a single win, with another eight games still to play. Relegation threatened Hereford loom next on the horizon for the Davis’ side as they aim to whittle down each game as it passes, but if they can beat league leaders Swindon, they can beat 23rd placed Hereford. Right? Unfortunately, things are never so simple with Crewe and more nerves and fingernails will be eaten before the 5th May. This play-off lark isn’t easy, but any Crewe fan wouldn’t swap it for anything else.

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By Crewe Alex blogger Adam Gray

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