Fabio Capello still values Owen
Michael Owen has been told that his international career hasn't come to an end and that Fabio Capello still sees a role for him in the England team. "Sir Bobby Charlton has suggested the mayhem at strife-torn Newcastle was to blame for Michael Owen's exclusion from Capello's squad," reports the Daily Telegraph. "Owen, 28, has 40 international goals to his credit but his continued absence has cast doubt on his chances of surpassing Charlton's 49-goal haul in England colours. 'Michael is a good professional so there is no reason why he should not bounce back and reclaim his place in the squad,' said Charlton."
"Michael needs to keep his head down, keep working hard and get back to doing what he does really well and that's scoring goals" Priceless words of wisdom from England coach Ray Clemence
Almunia could be England keeper
The intriguing prospect that England's goalkeeping crisis could be solved by a Spaniard has presented itself. "Fabio Capello will consider picking Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia for England if he presses ahead with plans to become a British citizen," reports the Daily Mail. "Spaniard Almunia, who has stated a desire to play for his adopted country, is entitled to become a naturalised citizen after marrying an English woman. Selecting a foreign-born player for England would be a hugely controversial move by manager Capello and would meet strong opposition from within the FA as well as among many supporters. It is believed that Italian Capello will not actively encourage Almunia to declare himself available for England, but he will consider the possibility if he gains a British passport."
Spurs board give Ramos backing
Juande Ramos received the dreaded vote of confidence from his chairman, Daniel Levy, yesterday in the aftermath of Spurs' humiliation at home by Hull City on Sunday, "a defeat which condemned Spurs to their worst start to a campaign in 96 years," reports the Guardian. "Tottenham remain anchored to the foot of the Premier League with two points from seven matches, with the team departing the turf at White Hart Lane last weekend to boos from disgruntled fans. Bookmakers made Ramos odds-on to lose his job by Christmas though having met Levy post-match, he believes he will not suffer the same fate as his predecessor, Martin Jol, who was sacked a year ago. There has been an acknowledgement from the club hierarchy that there were encouraging signs in Sunday's display, though Levy has stressed that their league position is unacceptable and a swift climb up the table is expected after the international break."
Kuyt sees new steel in Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt, on a high from scoring the last-gasp winner at Eastlands that gave Liverpool a 3-2 win over Manchester City on Sunday, feels that Rafa Benitez's brittle team could finally be ready to break their 20-year title hoodoo. "As the majority of Liverpool's players departed for international duty in high spirits, Kuyt said: "It was great for us to take all three points after the injury to Martin Skrtel." The Holland forward continued: "Sunday was a really important win for us. I think the first half was our worst 45 minutes of the season, but we were a completely different side in the second half. It was great to win a game like that because it gives us even more belief, but we know it is still very early in what will be a long season. The most important thing now is to keep taking it one game at a time." (Times)
Team GB escapes Olympics axe
Despite returning from the Beijing Games with one medal less than their target, and with just Christine Ohuruogu's 400m win as a gold medal performance, Team GB looks to have escaped a major funding cut in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. "The leading Olympic sports were yesterday given figures from UK Sport indicating how much they are likely to receive in the next four years and UK Athletics indicated last night it was 'happy with the outcome'," reports the Guardian. "In the four years leading up to Beijing athletics received £26,513,000 yet it managed only four medals."
"The funding challenge for athletics is that the contribution expected from the private sector has reached a significant proportion of the total spend required to maintain those programmes at current level" Steve Cram worries about the effects of the economic slowdown on 2012 plans
Cycling hit by positive tests
Cycling was rocked yesterday as a fresh wave of positive drug tests were announced. "Stefan Schumacher of Germany, a double stage winner at this year’s Tour de France, tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO," reports the Daily Telegraph. "Gerolsteiner cyclist Schumacher is the second rider named to be caught using a new generation of EPO called CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator) at this year’s race. The German won both time trials during the Tour. Earlier on Monday, the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) announced that Leonardo Piepoli, who won the race's 10th stage to Hautacam in the Pyrenees, tested positive for CERA. Piepoli, a specialist climber, assisted former Saunier Duval team-mate Riccardo Ricco, who last week was banned for 20 months after testing positive for CERA at the Tour."
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