Scolari - No Drogba problem

Luiz Felipe Scolari says Didier Drogba could return to the Chelsea squad against Ipswich Town and insists there is no problem with the striker.

Drogba has not even made the bench for Chelsea's last two games against Southend United in the FA Cup and Stoke City in the Premier League.

His absence from the squad sparked suggestions that the Ivory Coast ace was being made a scapegoat for the Blues' recent 3-0 defeat at title rivals Manchester United.

Scolari revealed before the weekend's win over Stoke that there was no issue with Drogba before omitting the forward from his plans for the 2-1 victory.

The Chelsea boss has again stressed that there has been no falling out and admits Drogba could be involved for this Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Ipswich.

source :skysports.com

Carrick eyes cup success

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is determined to finally win a domestic cup competition and he has his eyes firmly trained on the Carling Cup.

The England international has Premier League and UEFA Champions League honours to boast, but the closest he has got to an English Cup is his FA Cup runners-up medal in 2007.

Now Carrick is looking for United to come from behind against Derby County on Tuesday and book their place in the League Cup final.

"I have never won the Carling Cup but I would love to," he said.

"Derby at home is as good a chance as we will get to reach a Carling Cup final. Hopefully we can grasp it. Then who knows come Wembley."

Big games

Carrick is delighted that the business end of the season means each game is seemingly becoming more and more important

"Now we are on the run-in we are playing big, important games which all mean so much," reflected Carrick.

"You need everyone fresh and on top form. No-one is better at it than the boss.

"It is not a rivalry. We are friends and team-mates so when I am sitting on the sidelines I am still desperate for the team to do well.

"When the younger ones have come in, they have done really well.

"Rafael da Silva is the obvious example. He has played a lot more games than anyone imagined so the incentive is there for anyone to come in and do well."

source :skysports.com

Torres - City wrong for Kaka

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres believes Manchester City would not be the correct club for Brazilian star Kaka.

City's billionaire owners have apparently tabled an audacious bid of £108million for the AC Milan playmaker, who is set to receive a reported weekly wage of £500,000 should a deal be reached.

But Torres believes City's lack of silverware in recent years should serve as a warning that success will not necessarily follow on the heels of a record-breaking move to Eastlands.

"Manchester City is not the right team for Kaka," Torres told the Daily Mail.

"Seriously, how can they pay £100million for Kaka?

source :skysports.com

Kuyt - Reds want revenge

Dirk Kuyt is confident Liverpool can gain revenge for a Premier League draw with Everton by knocking their Merseyside rivals out of the FA Cup.

The Reds' plans of landing the top-flight title were dealt another blow on Monday as a Steven Gerrard strike was cancelled out by Tim Cahill's late header at Anfield.

Liverpool were, therefore, forced to settle for their eighth league draw of the season and while Kuyt insists there is still a long way to go in the title race, the Dutchman has admitted his side's frustration.

The forward is now eager for payback against Everton and is optimistic he and his team-mates can record a victory when Liverpool's derby foes cross Stanley Park in the cup on Sunday.

Disappointment

"We are very disappointed at the moment," Kuyt told Liverpool's official website.

"We controlled the game, had some good chances and scored a great goal through Stevie, so it's difficult to accept this kind of result when you concede so late in the game.

"I think we deserved to win. They had two good chances but overall we were the better team. We created a lot of chances, and are really disappointed that we didn't win.

"But we have to keep going and keep looking forward. Obviously there is still a long way to go and a lot of games to play. We dropped two points but now we just have to look towards the next game.

"We wanted to beat them and thought we could win, but now we want to put things right on Sunday. We will learn from the mistakes we made against them, and we will be ready for them in the cup game."

source :skysports.com

Robinho - No Kaka influence

Robinho has stressed that Manchester City's failure to sign Kaka did not influence his decision to leave the club's training camp.

Brazilian ace Robinho walked out of the warm weather camp in Tenerife on Monday night in order to return to his homeland for family reasons.

However, reports suggested that Robinho had stormed out after City's bid to sign his compatriot Kaka from AC Milan had collapsed.

In an attempt to quash the notion of any unrest, Robinho has explained the reasons behind his seemingly abrupt exit from the squad.

And the playmaker is confident that any problems with the Premier League club will be resolved when he returns to England.

source :skysports.com

Ronaldo sends Man United into League Cup final

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -Cristiano Ronaldo's first domestic goal since November helped Manchester United book a place in the League Cup final with a 4-2 victory over Derby County on Tuesday.

But Alex Ferguson's joy at reaching a 14th domestic final was soured by more players joining the injury list.

Nani took 16 minutes to wipe out Derby's 1-0 first-leg advantage, and further goals from John O'Shea and Carlos Tevez looked to have put the match beyond reach of the League Championship strugglers.

source:nbcsports.msnbc.com

Redknapp hails Bentley revival

Harry Redknapp believes David Bentley is back to his best and ready to win over his critics.

The England international has endured a difficult time at White Hart Lane following his big-money move from Blackburn over the summer.

He has struggled to produce his best form and has come under criticism from his boss for displaying a lack of commitment.

However, with Redknapp having spelt out to the 24-year-old what he is expecting from him, Bentley has begun to look more like his old self of late.

"Maybe he thought 'because I'm coming to Tottenham, I have to be a bit more entertaining'," said Redknapp.

"The work ethic suffered a bit with him; he wasn't working as hard as he had in the past. But now I think he'll get back to that - and with the great skill he has got, I'm hoping we'll see the best of David.

"I told him what I thought of him and his performances - what he can do and what he was doing.

"He took it well. He took it on board and said 'fine, I'll accept that'. He's trained really hard, closed people down and won tackles. He's back to what we saw at Blackburn."

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