A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.
Arsenal
Tomas Rosicky's agent maintains the recovery of the Arsenal winger is "going according to the plan". Rosicky, 28, has been beset by a series of niggling injuries since his £7million move to Emirates Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in May 2006. The midfielder limped out of the Barclays Premier League home match with Newcastle United in January and has not featured since, also missing Euro 2008 because of the hamstring-related problem. Rosicky's representative Pavel Paska said: Everything is going according to the plan. Tomas' first comeback was rash, now we are treating the situation more carefully. The recovery will be long-term. The team of specialists that cares for Tomas, has been enlarged by another specialist which means the player will be cared for at the best level."
Aston Villa
England Under-21 midfielder James Milner helped his team seal their place in the European Championship finals but insists the Three Lions will not be resting on their laurels ahead of the trip to Sweden next summer. After a 3-2 win at Ninian Park, England were held to a 2-2 draw in the second leg at Villa Park - meaning that Wales were only one goal away from taking the play-off to extra time. "Wales are a quality team and I don't want to take anything away from them, but it was disappointing to concede so many goals in both games," revealed the Villa winger, who won his 40th cap. "This could be good for us though and maybe this is the wake-up call we needed because there's still work to do. We set ourselves high standards and we're disappointed. But it was great performance to get through and we have shown we have everything needed to go on and win the tournament."
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers managing director Tom Finn has highlighted Rovers' commitment to youth after teenager Jason Banton chose to move to Ewood Park. The 15-year-old England youth international was reportedly a target for other Barclays Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, after leaving Arsenal. Finn said: "Jason has signed with us and we are delighted to have him here. He's a young England international, playing a year above his own age group. There's no doubt that, here at Blackburn, there is a route through to the first team from the Academy."
Bolton Wanderers
Gary Megson is eager for the rest of his international stars to follow Johan Elmander and Danny Shittu's lead by returning back to Bolton with a clean bill of health ahead of the weekend match with Blackburn Rovers. The pair have had only one match to contend with for their respective nations during this international break, while seven other members of the Wanderers playing squad will be in action throughout Europe and the Caribbean on Wednesday evening. Megson explained: "Johan has come back because he has just had the one game for Sweden, while Danny Shittu is on his way home from Nigeria. They are both fit and healthy which is a plus for us, so we hope that everyone else comes back the same way."
Chelsea
Didier Drogba and Michael Essien are among the nominees for the African Player of the Year award. Of the five names in contention, four are currently playing their football in England with the Chelsea pair joined by Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor, Amr Zaki of Wigan Athletic and another Egyptian, Mohamed Aboutreika, who plays for Al-Ahly in his homeland. The award, which is run by the Confederation of African Football, is decided by a poll of the national coaches from 53 African countries. The result will be announced in December. Drogba was the 2006 winner and runner-up in 2005 and 2004. Essien has yet to win but was second last year.
Everton
Manager David Moyes is hoping to fulfil his ambitions with Everton after finally committing his long-term future to the club. The Scot ended months of speculation by signing a new five-year contract with the Goodison Park club. "Since I took over six years ago, I think there has been an improvement and I want a similar improvement over the next five years or so," he said. "I want the ambition to be greater. I want the expectancy to be higher and I want Everton overall to be higher on the field and off the field. I am determined to try and take it forward."
Fulham
Following Fulham's Under-18's drew 1-1 with Premier Academy League leaders Arsenal, Technical Director Gary Brazil spoke of his disappointment in not having claimed all three points after the Cottagers youngsters took the led in the first half. He said: "It could have gone either way but I don't think it would have been unfair for us to have won the game. We had some very good penalty claims and the performance warranted a stronger result than a point. Overall I was pleased with the performance and the boys should have learnt a lot from Saturday's game. That is, if we work from a script and we do it well, it will bring us joy against the very best teams. We've got a lot of first year boys in the squad that are fresh into the Club and they're learning. It's part of the learning curve to take these things on board. They need to understand why it didn't quite go right for us during the first twenty minutes of the second half and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Hull City
Tiger fans have the chance to put their questions to Giovanni, for a question and answer feature in the next issue of Hull's magazine 'CITY'. If you have a question for the summer signing then simply send an email to citymag@hulltigers.com marking the subject line 'Geovanni Question' before 5pm on Wednesday 15th October. Entries are limited to one per person and please keep all questions clean and sensible. The person who sends us the best question, selected by the editor, will receive a Tigers shirt signed by Geovanni himself.
Liverpool
UEFA have admitted Liverpool fans face major disruption next week after their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid was switched to a neutral venue. Atletico have been fined 150,000 euros (£120,000) for racist abuse of Marseille players and handed a three-match stadium ban after crowd trouble and lack of organisation at the same match.Liverpool have expressed strong concerns over the timing of the decision but UEFA defended the move saying there was "no alternative" and have pledged to minimise problems for the 3,000 fans who have already booked a trip. The match cannot take place within 300 kilometres of Madrid under UEFA's ruling, but there are further problems in that Atletico are set to appeal against the punishment, and a final decision will not be known until the weekend.
Manchester City
Goalkeeper Joe Hart has been called into the England senior squad for Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier with Belarus. The goalkeeper flew straight to Minsk after the England Under-21 side reached the European Championship finals with a 2-2 draw against Wales.
Manchester United
Gary Neville believes the Barclays Premier League champions will come from Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool - but the captain hopes it is not the latter. With Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard spearheading the Anfield challenge, Rafael Benitez's side are in the slip-stream of early-season pacesetters Chelsea, but Neville addressed the prospect of a Liverpool title win in typically forthright manner. "I hope not," said the England defender. "But we don't know do we? They have started well and had some good results. They beat us, which was disappointing for us, but will obviously give them confidence. It will be Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and ourselves. We know the champions will be one of those four. It is a case of who puts the most consistent run together."
Middlesbrough
David Wheater has been called into the England senior squad for Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier with Belarus. The defender flew straight to Minsk along with coach Stuart Pearce immediately after helping the England Under-21 side reach next summer's European Championship finals in Sweden.
Newcastle United
Jonas Gutierrez is determined to rediscover the early-season form which made him an instant favourite among Newcastle fans. The 25-year-old has missed the Magpie's last five matches having suffered a broken collarbone while representing his country in a World Cup qualifying match last month. After an intensive rehabilitation programme, Gutierrez is ready to return to the first-team within the next couple of weeks. "I want to help the team, I know if you are out you cannot help the team, we are having a difficult time at the moment and I want to be right and playing," he said. "It was one of my dreams when I came to Europe, to play in England and the Premier League and it is beautiful for me to play here and I want to be back and playing soon."
Portsmouth
Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has assured injured midfielder Niko Kranjcar that he still has a place in his new-look side. The Croatia midfielder has been out for seven weeks after damaging ankle ligaments and although Pompey have largely performed well in his absence, Redknapp insists Kranjcar remains a key part of his plans. "Niko is coming back, hopefully by the back end of the month, which is a big bonus for us," he said. "He's a top, top player in my opinion and there will always be a role for him in my team, no doubt about that."
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club have announced Danny Higginbotham as their ambassador for Kick It Out's One Game, One Community weeks of action initiative this month. The weeks, a 12 day period from 16-28th October, will see 1000 events take place across the country. All 92 professional clubs, as well as conference and non-league clubs will hold activities to support the initiative, not to mention scores of schools, universities and community and youth centres, all of whom will be getting involved. Lord Herman Ouseley, founder of the equality and inclusion campaign, said: "We're delighted with the appointment of Danny Higginbotham as club ambassador for the weeks of action. Player activity like this is pivotal to the success of the campaign and it shows he and the club are getting into the spirit of One Game, One community."
Sunderland
Chairman Niall Quinn believes his strong relationship with Sunderland manager Roy Keane is helping create a stable atmosphere at the club. "We have a very good, professional relationship, there is no doubt about that," he said. "My job isn't to watch over and have a big stick. My job is one of partnership. That is the way I see it - to give a really talented person as much structure and support as I can to help him to develop. He has been brilliant for us. Look at the two most successful clubs - Arsenal and Manchester United. There is a good relationship between the manager and the board and that can only bring stability."
Tottenham Hotspur
White Hart Lane hosted the fifth annual Haringey Children in Care Education Achievement Awards last week. The awards event is part of the To Care Is To Do project - the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation's three-year education programme run in partnership with the Premier League, the PFA Community Fund, and Haringey Council. The event was held to acknowledge and celebrate the educational achievements and successes of Haringey's Children in Care aged 11 - 16, with a view to raising the educational attainment and aspirations of these young people. Cllr Liz Santry, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, said, "It's wonderful to be able to give these young people recognition for their hard work and efforts over the last year. We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Tottenham Hotspur on the To Care is to Do project which supports vulnerable young people in the borough."
West Bromwich Albion
Tony Mowbray says he will feel a sense of satisfaction when his side take on Manchester United on his second anniversary as Albion manager on Saturday. The Baggies manager arrived at The Hawthorns from Hibernian with the mission to take the club back to the top flight. And just two years on his men have sealed promotion from the Championship and are lying ninth in the table, just one point behind Sir Alex Ferguson's European and domestic champions. He said: "I came here knowing that within two years I had to get this team up. We have managed to achieve that one goal and I am just pleased we are back and competing in the Premier League on my second anniversary of being here. The fact it's at Old Trafford is great. That highlights the fact that we are back in the Premier League because in many ways it is what the Premier League is all about."
West Ham United
Matthew Upson hopes to feature for England again in Belarus on Wednesday night - and use the performance as a springboard to a place at the 2010 World Cup. Upson started the 5-1 win over Kazakhstan at Wembley on Saturday and is favourite to again partner captain Rio Ferdinand in central defence following John Terry's withdrawal through injury."My goal is to play in the World Cup for England, that's my target," he said. "You do have to visualise it, you have to picture it. Most great things you do, you'll have pictured it before you've done it. So you'll start at the end, which is achieving it, and work backwards, on how do I get there? There's loads of factors involved, ups and downs and mishaps, positive things; it's a process."
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic striker Amr Zaki believes manager Steve Bruce has turned the Lancashire team into one of the Barclays Premier League's most entertaining sides. "Wigan may be a small city but they are definitely not a small team," he said. "We play some of the best football in the league and we have superstar players like (Emile) Heskey and (Antonio) Valencia," he said. "Even in the games we lost this season, we were the better side but were just unlucky."
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