Napoli attacker Marek Hamsik has stated that his side plan to enjoy their Champions League last 16 second leg clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, and that the English side are lucky to still be in the tie.
Walter Mazzarri’s men beat Chelsea 3-1 at San Paolo in the first leg, and the Slovakian feels that the Serie A side could have put the tie to bed at home.
“Chelsea were lucky in the San Paolo. We deserved another goal at least,” he told reporters, published by Mirror Football.
“We saw the Arsenal-Milan match last week and we have to make sure that does not affect us – if we use the same tactic as Milan that would be a disaster.
“Chelsea have had problems and we need to exploit their weaknesses and doubts. We need to score and if we can do that then I believe we will go through.
“We’re going to Stamford Bridge to enjoy the game, to play and we’re confident of getting through.
“The odds are probably in our favour but it’s necessary to play with our heads, keep our composure and let the nerves affect Chelsea.
“It’s 80 per cent in our hands and we must not get caught up in the atmosphere and the euphoria. Our fans are happy, but they must understand it is not over.
“We must stay calm, work hard and sacrifice everything until the last second of the game to make sure we qualify.
“Normally, the team which controls the ball will qualify. Chelsea have big players like Lampard and Mata and they will guarantee that they will fight until the end.
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“Sometimes if you make changes like Chelsea did then it can be a lottery. I’m sure Chelsea will make changes again on Wednesday but we have to be good enough to stop them,” he concluded.
At the start of this season, one of the many jobs Brian McDermott faced was naming a new captain. After the departure of previous skipper Matt Mills to Leicester, the position was open and there weren’t many stand out players to fit the role.
Names such as Mikele Leigertwood and young defender Alex Pearce were touted by the fans and only a few mentions of Jobi McAnuff were heard.
Once McDermott had announced the former Wimbledon man as his captain it is fair to say that a few eyebrows were raised. Jobi had only been a Reading player for two seasons and is not the type of player who is generally associated with wearing the armband. He is an extremely likeable character but I will admit that I am one of those fans who had a few qualms about his appointment.
The Reading FC website describes McAnuff as a winger who is a “full backs worse nightmare”. It is agreed among Reading fans that Jobi has been a good player for us, chipping in with useful goals; most memorably the third in our 3-0 semi final playoff win at Cardiff.
At the start of this season, like most of our players, Jobi was not playing with any confidence or belief. One game that stands out for me was the third game of the season, away at Portsmouth. We lost that game 1-0 and despite it coming off the back of a 2-1 away win at Leicester, we really did not play well at all. We lacked many things and one thing I particularly thought we were void of that night was leadership on the pitch. All the players were down and really did not look like a side capable of doing anything, hung-over from the play off defeat and I will admit that I thought we would be struggling against relegation this season!
The turnaround by the team throughout the season has come alongside the turnaround and growth of Jobi McAnuff in his role as captain. Jobi has chipped in with 5 goals but perhaps more importantly an impressive 11 assists throughout the campaign and has been an integral part of our championship winning team.
It is not only Jobi’s goal scoring and assisting that has impressed me in the second part of the season. His passion and leadership qualities have been on display throughout the promotion push. Every football fan loves a player who celebrates wins passionately in front of the fans and that is exactly what Jobi Mcanuff does.
He has really grown into the role and players seem to respect him a great deal. McDermott himself has spoken about how proud he is of his captain, despite people questioning his decision. McDermott said “he is vocal and leads by example”. Jem Karacan has also come out and praised his captain, saying “he has been a brilliant captain this season”.
Jobi did not make our final three in the player of the year voting (Adam Federici, Alex Pearce and Jem Karacan are the three) but the effect he has had cannot be overlooked. At the back end of the season he has been visibly vocal, passionate and lead by example with some great performances. He ticks all the boxes needed for a captain. He speaks well, is a role model on and off the pitch, is enthusiastic and has an obvious love for the game. With the championship wrapped up, media interest has picked up and Jobi speaks very well and intelligently and is a great representative of the club.
It took him a while to grow into the role and as said before a lot of fans were unsure about the original decision. Looking back, he has been a truly fantastic captain and player for us, often filling in at CM, particularly when Jem Karacan and Jay Tabb were forced off at Upton Park.
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I for one am delighted for Jobi and hopefully he will be a successful premier league player. He will surely relish leading his team out at Old Trafford and Anfield and if he takes the passion and leadership shown at the back end of this season into next season, he will do well. It has been another truly inspired decision by Brian McDermott; Jobi McAnuff has become a great captain and fully deserves to be leading the boys up to collect the Championship trophy on Sunday.
Arsenal have turned their attention to Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen, and will make the centre half their top summer transfer target, according to Mirror Football.
The Belgium international has been a major part in the Amsterdam-based club’s dominance in the Eredivisie over the last two seasons, and has captained the side this term.
Vertonghen has received rave reviews for his performances for club and country, with a raft of European clubs keeping an eye on the talented defender.
However, with Vertonghen entering the last year of his contract and eager to move to one of Europe’s top leagues, Arsene Wenger is hoping to secure his signing for a cut-price £7 million.
The fact that international team-mate Thomas Vermaelen is currently at the Emirates Stadium is thought to be off benefit to Arsenal’s attempts to sign Vertonghen.
The news comes on the back of Lukas Podolski’s signing being confirmed, and Wenger also has one eye on Rennes and France midfielder Yann M’Vila.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not become the new manager of Aston Villa, after deciding to stay in his homeland with current side Molde.
The former Manchester United forward has been one of the main contenders to replace axed Alex McLeish, and met with the Midlands club’s chairman Randy Lerner last week.
However, after negotiations with the Norwegian club, Solskjaer has decided to stay with his current employers for ‘family reasons’, reports The Telegraph.
Former Villa winger Tony Morley feels that Villa need someone more experienced than Solskjaer however to lead them to a better campaign next season.
“This is probably the biggest decision Randy Lerner has made since he took over at Aston Villa. He can’t afford to get it wrong.
“He’s got to go for someone more experienced than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Solskjaer might go on to be the best manager in the world in 10 years time but he’s never managed in the Premier League.
“We need someone who’s been there before or managed in one of the top leagues in Europe. Unfortunately, Solskjaer’s just not got the experience we need,” he concluded.
Norwich’s Paul Lambert and Wigan’s Roberto Martinez remain potential candidates for the role.
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There were very few positives to be taken from what was one of Coventry City’s darkest seasons in football.
There was however a number of young players who came into the squad who performed admirably and one player in particular who really shone was Oliver Norwood.
Norwood arrived on loan from Manchester United in the January transfer window and went on to make 18 appearances for Coventry, scoring two goals from central midfield. It was clear from the start that he had come from a club like Manchester United because of the way he played and conducted himself on the pitch.
His awareness to read the game and his hunger to get on the ball and influence the game was great to see. It was also clear that he had an eye for a pass, very much like Paul Scholes does for United, as we witnessed on numerous occasions him ping the ball from the centre of the park to the wide men with consummate ease.
He clearly has a love for the game and despite only being on loan at Coventry, he was always one of the most committed players on the pitch. The moment that we were relegated will live with me forever and the one image that stood out for me on that fateful day was that of Oliver Norwood sitting in the middle of the pitch looking totally gutted and dejected.
There were players on that day that did not look particularly affected by the relegation but his reaction showed that he cared. For a young lad who knows that he is unlikely to be at Coventry for the following season to show that sort of emotion shows everyone what a brilliant and honest lad he is.
His talent and commitment is clear for everyone to see and clearly Manchester United still rate him highly as they offered him a new contract. Norwood has however chosen to turn this contract offer down to instead go in search of guaranteed first team football. The Championship seems like his most likely destination and I’m sure that there is going to be plenty of clubs interested in signing him.
Coventry, despite being relegated to League One will be one of them clubs who has an interest in him and there is no question that Andy Thorn would love to have him back. Coventry City’s development director Steve Waggot confirmed that the club had tabled an offer but that it was some way off what United were looking for. He also reiterated that the club will not give in and will keep trying in an attempt to get Norwood back at Coventry.
Whilst on the face of it this seems like positive news for Coventry fans, it is far more likely to be another ploy from SISU to try to make the fans happy. First off we clearly don’t have the funds to pay the fee that United are looking for based on the current financial state of the club. Secondly whilst Norwood publicly stated that he really enjoyed his time at Coventry it is going to be very unlikely that he will be willing to play in League One when there will be offers from other clubs in higher divisions, despite a spell at Scunthorpe last season.
Thirdly and probably most importantly is we still have this transfer embargo in place. So therefore even if the miracle did happen and we could afford the fee and convince Norwood to come and play in League One, the embargo would prevent us from signing him. The embargo needs to be lifted and needs to be lifted soon if we are to have any hopes of a successful season.
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The Ricoh deal is still a long way off and with relation to the accounts, SISU now need to give up on trying to include the revenue that would be generated from part ownership of the Ricoh. Whatever the accounts are right now we just need to file them to the football league so we are able to at least add some players to the squad before the start of the new season.
The longer this transfer embargo stays though the more I am thinking that SISU are hiding something. My worry is that the financial situation may actually be even worse than we realise and filing the accounts will make this official and then administration or even liquidation will be on the cards. These are worrying times for the club and it looks like it is going to be another unhappy summer for skyblue fans.
The FA have sprung to the defence of Ashley Cole and Ashley Young, after the England pair were identified for racist abuse on Twitter after missing penalties at Euro 2012.
The Three Lions were eliminated from the tournament in Ukraine and Poland by Italy at the quarter-finals stage after the pair failed to score from the spot.
The duo have been targeted for abuse on the social networking site, with police having already started investigations to unearth the guilty parties.
The FA have released a statement in support of the under-fire pair, and is shocked by the incidents after the players gave their all for England this summer.
“We are concerned at the allegations of abuse aimed at England players Ashley Cole and Ashley Young on Twitter,” a statement on the governing body’s official website reads.
“They have just given everything for the national team at Euro 2012 and it is appalling and unacceptable that messages of an abusive type are being posted. We support any police investigation in identifying who is behind this.”
The Metropolitan police have also released a statement to confirm that they are in the process of investigation.
“We are aware of alleged racist comments on Twitter following England game and have launched an investigation,” a statement reveals.
“The allegation was made to MPS on 25 June by a member of the public relating to comments on a Twitter account supposedly based in London.
“There have been no arrests at this early stage.
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“The MPS is examining possible offences under Section 18/19 Public Order Act 1986.”
Ask any Leeds United fan who their favourite player of the Premier League era was and you’ll get similar responses. Gary Kelly, Lucas Radebe or Nigel Martyn are typical answers, but ask them to think back just a couple of years earlier and they might remember a different legend. Ah yes, Tony Yeboah. The Ghanaian became something of a cult hero at Elland Road, despite spending a limited amount of time at the club, but what he did produce on the pitch, no one could ever forget.
The Whites signed Yeboah from the Bundesliga where he’d been prolific for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring 68 goals in 123 league games. He’d suffered a torrid time initially at the club though, having to overcome the racist taunts of his own fans as the first black player to turn out for Frankfurt, but his ability on the pitch won them over in the end. After he initially scored 12 goals in 18 games on loan for Leeds at the back end of the 1994/5 season, they forked out £3.4 million to sign him permanently that summer.
He proved to be a highly successful signing, scoring 19 goals in 39 games the following season, including a hat trick against Monaco in the UEFA Cup and Wimbledon in the Premier League. He also became the first non-English player to win the club’s Player of the Year award, however Yeboah is fondly remembered by the Leeds faithful for his spectacular goals, the man simply didn’t do tap-ins. His shot on goal was unofficially registered as faster than Peter Lorimer’s, the man whose right boot is the stuff of legends round Elland Road. He won consecutive Goal of the Month awards on Match of the Day, the first player to do so, but nobody can quite decide whether his strike against Livepool or Wimbledon was better, so along with another couple of selections, I’ll let you decide for yourselves.
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Unfortunately for Yeboah and the Leeds fans, his career stalled somewhat in Yorkshire after he suffered a series of injuries in the 1996/7 season. The arrival of George Graham as manager proved to be the end of his time at Elland Road as the pair clashed and much to the chagrin of the supporters, the striker moved back to Germany, signing for Hamburg for a fee of £1 million. He spent four years at the club, but his goalscoring record was poor compared to his efforts elsewhere as he managed just 28 in 100 league appearances for the club. Seeking one final payday, he made the move out to Qatar, joining Al-Ittihad Doha.
Yeboah’s impact on European football cannot be underestimated; he paved the way for African footballers in Germany having dealt with so much abuse along the way, thereby proving a fine ambassador for the continent with his fine displays in England and Germany. He still found the time to represent his country, scoring 29 goals in 59 games for Ghana while his work for African charities is also highly commendable. Much to the delight of Yeboah fans, he appeared in a number of friendly matches to try and raise money for orphans in Ghana, while he also gave the Leeds fans one final show at the Lucas Radebe testimonial in 2005.
His ventures outside football have been numerous, but he had a go at becoming the Chairman for Ghanaian side Berekum Chelsea and all reports suggest he made a better fist of it than Ken Bates at his former club. He runs a sports agency, helping African players make the breakthrough into Europe and also owns a series of hotels, making him a successful man outside the game as well. Recent public appearances suggest he might be enjoying those Yorkshire Puddings a little too much again though.
You can’t help but get a strong feeling of nostalgia when you look back at Yeboah’s career. He wasn’t the greatest goalscorer out there, or the hardest worker, but boy did he entertain. As Leeds go into the new season with just Luciano Becchio leading the line, you wonder what those sitting in the Kop would give for their former Ghanaian favourite to be there unleashing his thunderbolts towards opposition goalkeepers once more.
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Swindon Town’s 1-0 victory over MK Dons on Saturday lifted the Robins up into fourth place in the table. A first half cross-shot from Matt Ritchie, his second in two games from similar circumstances, was enough to beat 10-men MK Dons. The Dons lost their club captain Dean Lewington just before the break for lashing out at Simon Ferry.
The Robins were on top throughout the first half creating numerous chances, but failing to score early on left manager Di Canio feeling frustrated. The sending off changed the complexion of the game, but in a negative way for Swindon. After Ritchie’s second goal of the campaign the Robins seemed to be very defensive and let MK Dons move the ball around well and leave fans feeling nervous that the 10-men side would equalise.
With an unbeaten home record stretching back over 12 months at the County Ground, Swindon Town have made the County Ground into a fortress that has seen only one league goal conceded at home since 9th October (After Swindon Town 3 Shrewsbury Town 3), that is impressive.
On To Stoke…
Swindon Town visit The Britannia Stadium on Tuesday night in the second round of the Capital One Cup after their 3-0 first round win over Brighton. The Robins last played Stoke City on April 1st 2002, where goals from Wayne Thomas and Chris Iwelumo gave The Potters a 2-0 victory.
Paul Caddis…
There has been mass speculation regarding former Swindon Town captain Paul Caddis. It would seem that manager Paolo Di Canio has had issues with the Scot during pre-season which has Caddis stripped of the captaincy which has been given to centre-back Alan McCormack.
Aaron Oakley…
A quick mention of Swindon Town’s Youth Team Captain Aaron Oakley (@arronoakley1994) who is now sponsored by “Grimsby Army Swindon Barmy” (@GASB1969).
Fans View…
Danny Stephenson (@MrGASB69) “On the pitch I could not of asked for better, except for a win against Hartlepool, but cannot complain about 4 clean sheets in 4 competitive games.”
John Wingfield (@Budsgotwood) “We started off well but should of had the game wrapped up by half time. With us not putting away more than one goal, even against ten men, I was getting nervous every time they (MK Dons) brought the ball forward.”
Mark Wix (@mark_wix) “Fantastic start to the season, couldn’t ask for much better. We played well today, moved the ball around well at times, De Vita’s first half performance was very impressive.”
Trip down memory lane…
Saturday, January 28th 2012
Leicester City 2 Swindon Town 0
Goals: J. Beckford (‘5, ’53).
Attendance: 19,942 (3,830 Away Fans)
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Subs: Boateng, Gabilondo, J. Smith, Magera, Murray, Thompson, P. Smith.
Reason why I Remember The Game: It was my first trip to The King Power Stadium and I was impressed by the sheer size and quality of the ground. The Swindon fans were tremendous despite the poor result. During the second half there was a chant of “We are Paolo’s red and white Army”, that went back and forth for over ten minutes. I was immensely proud of the fans and the team that day.
You can follow me on Twitter for even more Swindon Town discussion.
Friday 17th August 2012 was a momentous day for Cardiff City Football Club, it’s supporters and all of football. It was the day a Blue team became Red, in order to get out of the red and into the black.
A side-lining of one hundred and eleven years of club history in order to secure a future, please don’t anyone think that the majority of Cardiff City supporters have taken this lightly. It’s a complex issue which has caused very regrettable divisions within the fan base and shamefully brought out bullyboy tendencies from a very few mindless individuals who need to take a good long hard look at themselves.
The dawn of the new era came at 7.45 pm, many of us hadn’t felt the usual first game of the season excitement – instead we’d been apprehensive – was it going to feel like our team? Would we connect? As The Bluebirds kicked off their Championship campaign against Huddersfield Town, a day before the rest of the division, on a drizzly Friday night in the capital we were about to find out!
Despite the nerves and trepidation there was a sense of expectation which filled the Cardiff City Stadium for the return of prodigal son, local lad and Welsh national treasure Craig Bellamy (signed from Liverpool after his Olympic adventures for Stuart Pearces’ TeamGB squad). Bellamy started his first competitive match for City, alongside fellow summer signings Jordon Mutch who had been signed from Birmingham City and Icelandic international Heidar Helguson who joined the Bluebirds from Queens Park Rovers. Although both players were known to Bluebird manager Malky Mackay from a spell on loan at Watford while Mackay was manager there.
Personally I found it very tough going, I spent a lot of the first twenty minutes teary, because like many other people I no longer have at my side the person who blooded me into the beautiful game, the one who went with me to games then talked about little else for the whole of Sunday dinner time… it felt like I wasn’t watching our team. These feelings may have been helped if the team on the pitch weren’t playing so badly! Despite the formation purported on the team sheet, Peter Whittingham was again playing a position that is far too deep to make any advantage of his shooting skills; returning hero Craig Bellamy looked preoccupied and was nullified by a chronic lack of quality service, while Jordon Mutch looked lively, skillful and even at two million a good signing.
It speaks volumes that the Bluebirds best player and eventual Man Of The Match was their goalkeeper David Marshall. It was a boring first half with the best of the chances going to Huddersfield, although the first good chance fell to The Bluebirds set up by Mutch it came into the path of Don Cowie, who prodded the ball wide of Huddersfield goalie Alex Smithies’ right hand post.
The Terriers then had a flurry of chances – Lee Novak split the City defence with a penetrative pass down the right hand side, Scott Arfield ran on to it, but his low shot was parried safely away by David Marshall; former Coventry City midfielder Oliver Norwood was next to sting the hands of Marshall, his long range drive was a bit too central to beat the Cardiff ‘keeper. As the game became a midfield battle – at one time turning into a game of head tennis! It was little wonder that minds wandered in the Bluebirds ranks – jolted back by cheering, I and others around me found ourselves cheering a shot on goal by Huddersfield’s Norwood.
The feeling of disembodiment and confusion felt by a lot of Cardiff City supporters was added to by the fact Huddersfield had turned out in a blue kit, it seemed at times as pass after pass went astray that some of that confusion was affecting the Cardiff City players too! I am not sure if the lacklustre performance of the Bluebirds caused the supporters mood or the lack of terrace atmosphere had filtered down on to the pitch but whichever way it was, it was unhelpful and unhealthy for everyone. With halftime fast approaching, Craig Bellamy delivered an in-swinging corner, which caused the Huddersfield defence problems. Ben Turner headed the ball down at the far post to set up Heidar Helguson, but his header smacked the bar to be followed by a weak chorus of half-hearted penalty appeals for a challenge on Turner in the box, which were very quickly waved away.
Halftime 0-0 a mostly uninspiring affair – Despite so much having changed it felt like nothing had, regardless of the shirt colour, it was still as frustrating to watch Cardiff City as it had ever been!
Huddersfield started the second half the brighter and earned the first corner of the second half with a few minutes played – it came to nothing and soon after a soft free kick was given away by the Bluebirds, Oliver Norwood sent a decent free kick into the box and to the relief of the Cardiff City supporters Helguson headed the ball away from danger. The Bluebirds then had two more penalty appeals waved away, it seemed the red kit wasn’t having ‘The Man Utd effect’ on the referee, it wasn’t going to plan at all! Bellamy wasn’t seeing as much of the ball as he would have liked on the left flank and Whittingham was again spending a lot of the time playing from almost a defensive role.
The game quickly again became a middle field battle The Terriers were putting in strong committed tackles, with Gunnarsson, Mutch and Whittingham all feeling the full force of them. Eventually midfielder Southern was booked for an agricultural tackle then, after another spell of head tennis, Huddersfield’s Jack Hunt went on a mazy run from right back, and after cutting inside, he unleashed a fierce left footed shot which flew just over Marshall’s crossbar.
It all became a bit scrappy; end to end stuff sandwiched between periods of midfield tedium it was hard to watch, still a struggle as to who to follow, Bellamy was roundly booed every time he touched the ball, while the Bluebird supporters had to endure a near constant repeated chant of – “Are you Wrexham in disguise”
Even the best chance of the match falling to the Bluebirds didn’t raise much cheer. Smithies failed to clear a hopeful long drive from Jordon Mutch, Gunnarsson pounced on the rebound. But his goal-bound shot was cleared off the line, only to be gathered gratefully by the hands of the Huddersfield goalkeeper. Shortly after, Hunt caused yet more problems for the struggling Andrew Taylor, cutting easily inside him before squaring the ball to Scott Arfield who was brilliantly closed down by Whittingham of all people just as he was on the verge of pulling the trigger.
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The Bluebirds faithful were becoming more and more frustrated leading into the final period of the game, as several decisions yet again went against the home side. It was becoming very clear the side wasn’t together and the much talked about Red shirt wasn’t bringing any luck at all! Then Cardiff carved out another opening, Whittingham, Taylor and Bellamy linked up down the left flank creating a golden chance, which unfortunately fell to The Sliver Fox Kevin McNaughton, who hasn’t scored for Cardiff in over three years. Although he was positioned beautifully on the edge of the box, his shot lacked venom and was comfortably saved. Then it was all Huddersfield, culminating with Mark Hudson saving the day for the Bluebirds by nicking the ball off the toes of Lee Novak in the 6 yard box just as he was about to tap the ball into the net.
Cardiff swapped Joe Mason on for Don Cowie (78 minutes) but by now all the creativity had ebbed from the game and it had descended into a scrappy affair.
The final ten minutes of the match petered out as neither side could mount a period of sustained pressure on the opposition’s goal. Both sides seemed to have settled for a draw. The board went up 5 minutes of injury time. Cardiff fans remembering last season and Kenny Miller’s last minute winner began to chant loudly with a passion which had been missing for most of the game – chants of “Bluebirds – Bluebirds” rang out throughout Cardiff City Stadium, the sound of singing seemed to galvanise the City players and the Bluebirds suddenly committed more players forward. Then Mark Hudson in a forward position for a set piece that went awry pounced on the loose ball in the box and powered it past the helpless Smithies, the fans screamed goal but it was muted, the whistle blew City were top of the league, but it didn’t feel sweet. The in-fighting has taken it toll – seemingly on both the supporters and players.
While most Cardiff City supporters around the world from South Wales to the United States via mainland China and beyond admitted afterwards (mostly on the quiet) that they had found it difficult and alien to watch a Cardiff City side play in red and black, but we are trying to support our team – To Love The City 2012
Adam Johnson will soon know if he is fit enough for Sunderland’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.
The 25 year old was forced to withdraw from England duty due to a thigh injury and has been receiving treatment at Sunderland since.
Yesterday Johnson completed some light training with fellow crocked teammates Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley.
Today when the Black Cats first team regroup after the international period, Johnson’s training performance should gage whether or not the ex-Manchester City man is fit enough for Saturday’s contest.
Martin O’Neill spoke to The Sunderland Echo, “It would be great if Johnson is fit for Saturday. He came back pretty well immediately after the injury.
“He seems to be doing a bit better and he did a bit of training with Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley yesterday. He’s always optimistic so we’ll see how he gets on over the next few days.
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“Today we should be in a better position to see how things are, once everyone is back from the international break.”
Saturday’s early evening kick-off sees a Liverpool side who have taken just one point from their opening three fixtures travel to the Stadium of Light, with the hosts looking to build on two away points in their first home fixture.