'I feel that this team is moving forward'-Wenger

On finishing the season with a flourish…“It was good to let the team get some credit. I believe we played during the whole season in a difficult position but overall it was good to finish well and have the crowd happy before we start next season. At Man United and today it was important for us not to play sloppy and to give a message out that we can come back next year and be strong.”On the season as a whole…“The difficult thing for a manager is feeling that the team has stood still. I feel that we had to re-find a balance after the departures of Hleb and Flamini and the injury to Rosicky. We had a little bit of a dodgy start but in the last 23 games we only lost once against Chelsea here.”On possible squad additions…“I feel the team is moving forward but the question we have to analyse now is are we strong enough to win the League next year? If not, what do we need to add to the squad? That is the basic question we have to answer. There is some great quality here, that is for sure. The squad is very young, that is for sure as well.”On playing Alex Song at centre back…“I wanted to see him at centre-back again today – he played well at Old Trafford. We looked strong defensively there and I wanted to see him again in that position.”On Theo Walcott making way at half-time…“He is not injured. It was planned before the game to change Theo with Nicklas Bendtner.”On Emmanuel Adebayor being here next season…“I think so [he will be here]. He’s a great striker who scores important goals. He has proven that for the two seasons he has been here.“On Robin van Persie’s contract situation…“We want to extend his contract it’s our priority to extend Bendtner’s contract too. We need to get everyone around the table, we have done that a few times but have been delayed after it. He wants to stay, I want him to stay but he still has two years to go anyway.”On the great reception from the home fans…“It makes me feel appreciated and even more regretful that we couldn’t give them what they wanted this season. I am very respectful for their faith in me. It’s very warming and it makes me even more determined to pay them back.”

SWITCH SAYS-

ON Arsenal prospect as a club, Arsenal remains one of the best teams in the EPL and in the world with the best brand of beautiful football, and it will only take a few ingridients to be added to bring the team back to TITLE WINNING WAYS!! Wenger knows!! (LOL)

The season has not been a disaster- Wenger

By Chris Harris

Regrets? Arsène Wenger has had a few this season, but he insists that the 2008/09 campaign has been anything but a disaster. Arsenal secured a 12th successive year of Champions League football and reached the last four in that competition as well as the FA Cup. However, Wenger and his players have been slated in some quarters for failing to lift a trophy. The Frenchman accepts that Arsenal have room for improvement but he is convinced that his squad will blossom in the years to come. “In the big games, we were still a bit young and played a bit the occasion more than the game, because we were under a lot of pressure and wanted to do so well,” accepted Wenger. “But at a big club, it is simple. There is philosophy, a style of play and a culture of how you want to play the game. We have all that. “People think it is a disaster to get to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup, while finishing fourth. OK, so you can do better. But if that is a disaster, then the future of the Club is very promising.” To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Wenger’s exit have been greatly exaggerated. Nonetheless, the day will eventually come when the Frenchman bids farewell to the Club he has transformed since 1996. So what will Wenger’s legacy be? His trophy haul speaks for itself but the 59-year-old hopes he will be remembered for much more besides. “First of all, legacy is about leaving the Club in every aspect that is important in a good situation,” he said. “That means you leave a good squad, good young players, a good financial situation, a good structure of the game at the Club. “What is the most important is the Club goes on and continues to improve. That for me is the biggest pride for any manager who has a positive ambition and philosophy. And the state of our club is fantastic.”

SWITCH SAYS

I love the Wenger philosophy!! it is all about perspective how football imitates life, a man applying such phylosophy will no doubt, come out tops eventualy ,so much hope, so much faith, That is the way to go!! lack of siverware this season isnt the end of it, lack of silver ware four seasons running does not mean you cant ever get it right.common Arsenal is one of the best clubs in the world and their time will surely come!! Apply this to your personal life and be happy.Wenger is a life coach!!

Blatter wades into referee debate

Fifa president Sepp Blatter believes making referees fully professional would improve the standard of officiating in big matches.
Blatter spoke out in the wake of Chelsea's controversial departure from the Champions League semi-finals.
"I will repeat it, and I have been saying it for 10 years at least, we must improve refereeing," he said.
"It's time to have professionals. We should only use professional referees in high-level competitions."
Blatter was on a plane during Wednesday's match between the Blues and Barcelona and has yet to see the whole game, but he insists that full-time referees are necessary for the long-term good of the elite game.
"We have professional referees in England, we have professional referees in all sports in France. We have this kind of professionalism in Italy during the season, they are under contract," he added.

Phil McNulty
"We have had professional referees in Mexico, in Brazil and in Argentina and I think this is one of the most important things that refereeing is their profession, this is their job.
"There will always be questions if the referee is good or not good but I will say the future of our game is in the hands of the man with the whistle because there is so much at stake, such as in this match."
Meanwhile, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has hit out at TV pundit Jamie Redknapp's criticism of the choice of Tom Henning Ovrebo as referee for the Stamford Bridge clash.
Redknapp questioned the decision to allow the Norwegian, who combines officiating with his work as a psychologist, to oversee such a high-profile match.

Ovrebo was criticised on and off the pitch
Barcelona scored in injury time to earn an aggregate victory, but controversy surrounded the performance of Ovrebo who turned down four Chelsea penalty appeals during the match.
But Hodgson said: "Do you want to go down the Redknapp route - only England, Italy and Spain count?"
"There's 60 countries in Europe. Do we say to the other 57: 'Sorry pal, you're not Premier League'."
Hodgson, who managed Viking FK in Norway in 2004-5, added: "Norway is good enough. The average crowd in Norway is 15,000 and that's in a country of 4m. We can only average 25,000 in a country of 60m people.
"What are we going to do in future? Are we going to make certain because the Premier League has Sky Sports behind them and loads and loads of money if you are not in England then forget all about it?
"Are we going to say 'You're from Spain, you might be just about okay but the rest of you, Switzerland, France, Poland, Russia, Austria, Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia, you don't count?' It's nonsense."

Henry & Iniesta doubts for final

Iniesta and Henry face an agonising wait over the next few days
Barcelona face an anxious wait over the fitness of Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta ahead of next week's Champions League final against Manchester United.
Striker Henry has had a ligament problem since Barca beat Real Madrid 6-2 on 2 May, while midfielder Iniesta injured his thigh two weeks ago.
"I don't know if they will make it in time - we'll see on Monday or Tuesday," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said.
"They have faith and the will to be there but it depends on their muscles."
The Spanish giants have growing selection problems, with defenders Dani Alves and Eric Abidal suspended and Rafael Marquez injured for the final in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome next Wednesday.
One player available for Barcelona is playmaker Lionel Messi and Guardiola believes his star man is better than United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

"They are two great players but I'll stick with my player - I think he's the best," he said.
Messi, in the Barcelona squad that won the Champions League three years ago but then missed the final against Arsenal through injury, is desperate to feature this time round.
"I wasn't able to get on the pitch and enjoy the final in Paris but I have the opportunity now and it is something I'm very excited about - it's the biggest game of my life," he said.
The 21-year-old Argentina international added that he thought his side would be worthy winners of Europe's top footballing prize.
"I know that many people who are not Barca fans admire the club for its brand of football," he said.
"We deserve the title for the football we have played throughout the year. We deserve this reward."
Barcelona are aiming to become the first Spanish club to win the league, domestic cup and European title in one season.
Messi added: "We know that we are close to making history."

Rafael Benitez: Manchester United Are Not Better Than Liverpool

The Spanish tactician says that winning the Premier League does not necessarily prove which team is the best, it simply means they have acquired more points...
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insists that should Manchester United win the Premier League title this season, it will not be an indication that they are the superior team.The Reds have lost less games than the Red Devils during the 2008-09 campaign and, with two games remaining, have a better goal difference.But with two league matches to play, United are six points ahead of the Merseyside outfit, who are second, and need just one more point to secure the championship.However, the Spanish tactician does not believe that winning the Premier League proves the Red Devils are better than ‘Pool, feeling that there are several top quality teams in England, most notable the so-called 'Big Four.'"It just means they have more points," Benitez is quoted as saying by The Guardian when asked if the best team wins the Premier League."If United win the league it means they will have more points, clearly, but there are some very good teams in different positions in the table."It depends on the time of the season. I don't think I ever said we were playing the best out of everyone, maybe just at certain moments.“I do have a lot of respect for the other teams, but to say who is the best at one moment is not easy."There are a lot of good teams in the Premier League. Without putting them in any order, I'd say Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Arsenal are the best."This year we have shown we are improving and that we are a better team than before. We can still get better but we are in this position because we are winning a lot, have played good football, scored a lot of goals and not conceded many."Eighty points is good, 86 could be much better, and we will try to get there and see what happens."If United have more points, it only means they have more points, that's all, nothing else."

BARCELONA ARE LA LIGA CHAMPIONS!!

Barcelona are worthy Champions of Spain and they will be going into the 2009 champions league Finals with that at the back of their mind, though they face Manchester United the recently crowned English champions in this Epic Battle!!


Barcelona, the recently crowned Cup and League champions, has lost at Mallorca despite taking the lead with a goal by Eto’o.
Mallorca laid on a guard of honour for the champions, and in the first half Barça showed just why they have won the competition. In spite of beginning the match with two reserve team players in Oier and Xavi Torres – with two more, Thiago and Jeffren, coming on in the second half – and others such as Pedro and Cáceres who haven’t been regulars in the starting XI this season, the team still played to its usual high standards. The entertainment on offer was also helped by the fact that neither team had much to play for in the game. The most interesting aspect of the match was Eto’o and his search for goals to extend his lead as top goal scorer. In the 10th minute he put Barça ahead only to miss a number of chances which would have wrapped the game up by half-time. In the second half Barça were made to pay for those mistakes as Mallorca scored twice. The defeat is of no real significance as Barça, who rested key players for the final in Rome on the 27th, had already got the League in the bag when they came to the ONO Estadi. Eto’o scores In spite of the numerous changes in the starting line-up, Eto’o kept his place in the search for more goals to extend his lead as top goal scorer. He took just 10 minutes to do that when he connected with an excellent cross by Bojan from the left to lob a header over the advancing Moyà. The game had got off to the best possible start. Missed chances Samuel Eto’o was the central figure in the first half, as he had at least three more chances to extend Barça’s lead. However, on each occasion he came up against Moyà who had the best of all the one-on-ones. Despite not having much automatic understanding with each other, the reserve team players and first teamers who haven’t been regulars this season still played in the Barça way of possession football. Mallorca make a comeback The second half started much like the first. Barça had the ball, Mallorca ran after it and Eto’o continued to be unlucky, missing another two clear chances. In the end Mallorca made Barça pay for those errors when Arango equalised from a free kick (73’). Straight after the goal Thiago made his debut when he came on for Gudjohnsen. With their next chance the home side made it 2-1 when Cléber Santana headed home a Jurado centre. Mallorca had had just the two chances and took both of them to turn the game around. The result wasn’t really fair for Barça, who still had time to hit the woodwork twice through Eto’o, on the second occasion from a penalty in injury time. But it mattered little: the League had already been won.

Manchester united 0 Arsenal 0

United 0 Arsenal 0
United are once again champions of England and inevitably, it was achieved the hard way, with a nail-biting goalless draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford.A tense, nerve-wracking afternoon saw few chances at either at end, as a largely dour match dragged agonisingly to its conclusion. Hearts were in mouths for United fans throughout the afternoon, and never more than when Cesc Fabregas struck the post with six minutes remaining.Victories over Manchester City and Wigan had the champions six points clear of second-placed Liverpool going into the match, meaning a point would secure a record-equalling 18th league title. Mindful of the dangers of playing for a draw, the Reds were quick out of the traps.Barely 15 seconds had passed before Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Kieran Gibbs, exposing the space behind the young full-back to race onto Darren Fletcher’s through-ball. The Portuguese declined to continue his sprint, however, and his cross was cleared before it could reach Ryan Giggs.
That early opening heralded a sustained spell of United pressure, which only served to heighten the expectant buzz which had hummed around Old Trafford long before kick-off.
However, Arsenal, still reeling from their Champions League exit at the hands of United, and the subsequent scrutiny of their silverware drought of recent years, were not at Old Trafford to simply roll over for the champions-elect.