A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club

News in brief - Thurs 19th Feb
A review of the news from around the grounds of each Barclays Premier League club.

Arsenal

Arsenal Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis admits he feels the 'weight of history' on his shoulders, but is determined to help steer the Gunners towards more glory years. Gazidis officially took up his post at the start of January following some 15 years with Major Soccer League in the US, where he held the position of deputy commissioner. The 44-year-old Oxford law graduate once lived a stone's throw from Highbury, and knows full well the level of expectation of a club steeped in traditions, yet which has not won the league title since 2003/04. "There is a tremendous sense of responsibility you have in a position like this, and I do feel the weight of that," said Gazidis. "It is not just a job. You have the hopes and expectations of not only so many people, but also history. I feel that on my shoulders. It is a responsibility I take very seriously. Living up to what this club should be and what this club is, and being able to perform this role in a way which is worthy of this club is going to be the biggest challenge I face. If I can walk away someday, hopefully a long time from now, and say I did not let the club down, then I will feel pretty good."

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Aston Villa

Aston Villa Aston Villa will closely monitor the fitness of Curtis Davies after the recurrence of a shoulder problem. He dislocated his shoulder during Sunday's FA Cup tie at Everton but was able to complete the match after the joint was manipulated back into place. Davies, who took part in the UEFA Cup tie against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night, had suffered a similar injury when playing for West Brom four years ago. Martin O'Neill said: "Curtis hurt himself during the game at Goodison Park and he has been for a scan. "He dislocated his shoulder four years ago and carried on in that particular game not knowing he had done some damage," O'Neill said. "The scan has shown some old damage which has just occurred again. He was in a bit of pain at the time but he feels okay now. He had a bit of manipulation and he felt fine again. He is good now but we will monitor the situation. If it occurs again, say twice in a short space of time, then that's something we would have to look at."

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers Roque Santa Cruz, Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts have contributed 16 of Blackburn Rovers' 27 league goals and manager Sam Allardyce believes they should be getting more support. "We definitely need more goals from elsewhere," he said. "The strikers are paid to score goals and they get the headlines when they do, and quite rightly so. Other attacking-minded players have to come up with a few more goals to take the pressure off the forwards. Around your team you need midfielders with four or five goals, players in wide areas with five or six, centre-halves with three or four. That gets you to the total that gets you more points on the board. We have the players to score goals from all over the team and now is the time we need these players to show that."

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers Joey O'Brien is expected to be on the sidelines for around eight weeks following an operation on his left knee. O'Brien has started rehabilitation after visiting renowned surgeon Dr Richard Steadman in Colorado last Friday for surgery over the weekend to clean out the joint. O'Brien and Bolton's medical team are pleased with the outcome, and it is hoped he will again be available for selection towards the end of April. Assistant manager Chris Evans said: "Everything went well. Richard Steadman is the leading specialist in his field and Joey has known him previously. The doctor was pleased with what he saw and the diagnosis was far better than had been feared." It has been a wretched season to date for O'Brien who has only made eight appearances, with his last on 18th October in the goalless draw with Blackburn at the Reebok Stadium. O'Brien initially sustained a hamstring injury before tearing a thigh muscle on his return to training but fortunately for the 23-year-old the current knee problem is not connected with the one which kept him out for the entire 2006-07 season.

Chelsea

Chelsea Chelsea are to play a summer friendly in America against Seattle Sounders FC. The MLS club have announced the match will take place at their Qwest Field ground on 18th July. "This will be unlike any international game ever played in the Pacific Northwest," said Sounders FC majority owner Joe Roth. The atmosphere that afternoon will be incredible." Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon added: "We are delighted to be opening our pre-season preparations in Seattle. It is a fantastic city, and we have great memories of our time there in the summer of 2004 - which went on to be a great season for us. We will be bringing a full-strength squad, so it should be a great game."

Everton

Everton Everton will play a pre-season friendly against Perth Glory if the Barclays Premier League side can organise a second match in Australia, the A-League club have announced. Glory owner Tony Sage said the club was in the advance stages of confirming a match with the Toffees, who could include Australia international Tim Cahill in their line-up for what would be a friendly encounter ahead of the Barclays Premier League season starting in August. However Everton want to play two practice matches in Australia, leaving the Glory relying on another game to be organised. "We're hopeful it will (happen)," Sage said. "We met every term Everton put to us, so we've signed on to the deal, subject to them getting another game. We had a couple of emails and again, the sticking point seems to be the teams on the eastern side of Australia. It's not financially viable for Everton to come just to Perth. They made that clear to everyone, so we're just waiting on that fixture to be set up."

Fulham

Fulham Roy Hodgson says Giles Barnes is some way off starting a match for the club. The 19-year-old joined the Cottagers at the end of last month on loan from Derby with a view to a permanent deal. But Barnes is still on his way back to full fitness after knee-ligament damage he suffered last season. And Hodgson admits he will be limited to cameo roles until he can find full fitness. "He came to the club after a long absence and is unfit," said Hodgson on the club's official website. "Our job is to get him fit and he's working hard to get fit but I don't think you'll see Giles playing any major part in our play until he's fit enough. He might be able to play a bit part and come on for 10-15 minutes as a substitute but if we're talking about him playing a serious role as a 90-minute player then first of all we have to get him physically fit. In the short time he's been with us he's shown great aptitude and has worked well. We're going to have a look at some of our players and it'll be good to see how long he lasts and can go for."

Hull City

Hull City Phil Brown says the club are in a "fearful situation" in the wake of record signing Jimmy Bullard's knee injury. The Tigers paid Barclays Premier League rivals Fulham £5m for the midfielder in the winter transfer window, despite chairman Paul Duffen now revealing the player was carrying a tear in his cartilage when he signed. Bullard - who suffered a cruciate-knee ligament injury while playing for Fulham in 2006 which ruled him out for 18 months - has since played only 37 minutes for City and it has now been decided the 30-year-old requires surgery. And Brown recognises that all associated with City will be holding their breath as they await news, saying: "Of course I understand supporters' fears. And if anyone is in a fearful situation it is Paul Duffen and his investors. As far as I'm concerned, I will take full responsibility for Jimmy being at this club." Duffen has confirmed Bullard's knee was not 100 per cent when negotiations were taking place with Fulham, but he does not see the move as a gamble. "Jimmy had a very slight tear in his cartilage when he signed. We were aware of this but did not see it as a problem," Duffen added. "Phil Brown played for 13 years in his career with a slight tear in his cartilage and did not have a problem."

liverpool

Liverpool Steven Gerrard could make his return from a hamstring injury against Manchester City on Sunday. The midfielder suffered the tear in the Merseyside derby on 4th February and was initially expected to be out for three weeks - with the Champions League tie with Real Madrid thought to be his most likely target. Now manager Rafael Benitez, whose side rely on Gerrard's surging runs and goals from behind the striker, has opened the door for a potential return from the bench at the weekend. The Spaniard said Gerrard had reacted well to treatment and was eager to get back on the pitch as soon as possible. "He is improving. In these situations each day is important. He is working with the medical staff and is progressing. Normally he is a player who recovers quickly. He needs less time than other players," Benitez told the club's official website. "I was surprised because the Spanish press said he'd play some minutes this weekend and then play against Real Madrid, but the truth is we don't know yet. Maybe he could be on the bench against City but we don't know. He wants to play every single game. He knows the game against City will be very important, and also the Real Madrid one too."

manchester city

Manchester City Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given believes the team owe it to the supporters to give a performance against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup. City arrive in Denmark for this first leg match in the last round of 32 on the back of a 2-0 Barclays Premier League defeat by Portsmouth at Fratton Park at the weekend. Given said: "It was a huge disappointment at Portsmouth for everyone involved with the club. We were not good enough and we need to rectify that. Whenever you have a bad performance it is great if the next match comes quickly and you can start to put the record straight. Hopefully we can do that on Thursday. We know we let the fans down at Portsmouth when we were not good enough on the day."

MANCHESTER UNITED

Manchester United Carlos Tevez says he will not know whether he is staying at Manchester United until the summer. The Argentina international is only contracted to United until the end of the season, after he arrived at Old Trafford on an initial two-year loan after leaving West Ham. United have an agreement in place to make that move permanent, but are yet to rubberstamp the arrangement. Tevez is now left waiting to know whether he will remain at United, although he has repeatedly stated that is his intention in the past. "I have the headstart in Manchester and my idea is to stay here for a few more years," Tevez said. "It would be very difficult to have to leave one of the biggest clubs in the world. I spoke with the president of the club, but nothing is signed yet. We are now waiting until June and we will see what happens."

middlesbrough

Middlesbrough Gareth Southgate hopes to have Jeremie Aliadiere back into his squad for the match against Liverpool later this month. The former Arsenal striker has been out since early January with an ankle ligament injury. Southgate said: "Jeremie is making steady progress. He will not be ready for this weekend and the cup replay may come a little early, but he could be back in the squad against Liverpool. It will be good to have him back with us because his pace gives us options. But we won't be rushing him."

Newcastle United

Newcastle United Fabricio Coloccini is adamant he made the right move by joining Newcastle United from Deportivo La Coruna last summer, despite the club's struggles. "This experience is new for me and I am in a great club. Also, I am learning English," Coloccini said. "I am in a similar situation to the one I was in last season at Depor where I am playing in nearly every game and that is important. Now we have to move away from the bottom half of the table as soon as possible."

Portsmouth

Portsmouth Hermann Hreidarsson is delighted he stayed on at Portsmouth in the January transfer window and is now looking forward to a fresh start at the club under new management. There was a lot of speculation in the summer that Hreidarsson would leave, but the 34-year-old has confirmed he had no intention of leaving the club. He told the club's official website "I didn't want to leave in January but I wanted to play football. There were a few agents linking me with a move away but the perfect solution was to stay here and play football." The Iceland international is excited at the prospect of working under the experienced management duo of Paul Hart and Brian Kidd. Paul Hart has spoken to everyone one-to-one. He has been around a long time and deserves a lot of respect," added Hreidarsson. Brian Kidd has got a massive reputation and is someone I really admire."

stoke city

Stoke City Bristol Rovers have signed Stoke City goalkeeper Danzelle St Louis-Hamilton on loan. The 18-year-old arrives at the Memorial Stadium on a month's loan to provide cover for injured keeper Mike Green. Rovers' director of football Lennie Lawrence confirmed St Louis-Hamilton will act as back-up to No.1 keeper Steve Phillips.

sunderland

Sunderland Ricky Sbragia has moved quickly to quash rumours that he has had a falling out with Dwight Yorke. Reports suggested that Trinidad & Tobago captain Yorke has fallen out with Sbragia after insisting he will return to his homeland for their World Cup qualifiers next month despite being suspended. However, Sbragia has played down the reports and admits he is happy to "work around" scenarios where players have international fixtures during the season. "I'll be honest, I didn't read about it until Tuesday, and it was news to me," Sbragia said. "Obviously Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards are in the same position in terms of having an involvement in internationals during the middle of the season, and we are prepared to work around them. I don't have a problem with it - there's no bigger honour than playing for your country. We've never fallen out about it; we've never spoken about it."

tottenham hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Harry Redknapp is pleased to have Pascal Chimbonda for Tottenha Hotspur's UEFA Cup campaign. Chimbonda was re-signed from Sunderland in January, and ahead of the Shakhtar Donetsk, Redknapp said: "I just felt that Chimbonda gives us cover all over. I was looking for somebody who could play everywhere, that's going to be important. He has energy, gets forward and is an attacking full-back. He was outstanding at centre-back in his last game for Sunderland so can play across the back four. I always liked him and tried to get him when he was at Wigan, I think Chelsea were in for him too when he was in the Premier League team of the year."

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion Paul Robinson could miss West Bromwich Albion's crunch trip to Fulham this weekend as he awaits the birth of his child. The full-back is set to become a father for the third time any day now and accepts he may be forced to miss Sunday's visit to the capital. "We're hoping the baby is going to be here before the weekend but if not then I'll have to have my car driven down just in case," Robinson said. "Our parents will be coming up to look after Caroline. But if anything happens I might be shooting up the M40."

West Ham United

West Ham United Gianfranco Zola is hoping to tie down Lucas Neill, Robert Green and Matthew Upson to new contracts. Midfielder Scott Parker last week signed a new deal which commits him to the Upton Park club until the summer of 2013. Parker was linked with a switch to Manchester City in January, while striker Craig Bellamy made the move to the City of Manchester Stadium for £14m. However, Zola is hopeful that goalkeeper Green and defenders Upson and Neill will also pen new deals. Zola said: "There are players that have been very important this season - people like Matthew Upson, Robert Green, Scott Parker and Lucas Neill. They are the core of this team and I believe they can be the core of this team for a long time. The club know this and are offering them contracts. It is good for stability. They are positive players and will help us to build something important. The idea is to make a blend of experienced players and young talented players to mix together and perform."

Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic South Korea midfielder Won Hee Cho could join Wigan Athletic after impressing during a trial this week. The 25-year-old, who is a free agent after his contract expired with Korean club Suwon Bluewings, has impressed manager Steve Bruce and could sign a deal next week. "Won Hee has come and trained with us for the past couple of days and has done really well," said the Latics manager of the 27-cap international. "We have been really impressed with him as a player and a person and can sign him as he is not under contract with any club."