Millwall vs Leeds: Preview

A trip to south London on Saturday is next up for the Whites as they look to get back to winning ways.

This follows the midweek defeat to Newcastle in the Capital One Cup.

Luke Varney, who was rested for the game in the North East, is expected to return to the visitors starting line-up.

Defender Lee Peltier is also back in the squad, while Sam Byram will be assessed to see if he can start his third game in a week, coming back from injury.

Eighteen-year-old Alex Mowatt may also be in contention after impressing at St James Park.

The academy player will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Byram, and establish himself on merit in the first team squad.

The team are in need of a change in fortunes in the league, which has seen the side lose three of the last four Championship outings.

In contrast, the hosts have notched up back-to-back wins against Blackpool and Charlton respectively, after a difficult run of six games without a win.

The Lions will be without defender Mark Beevers after suffering medial knee ligament damage.

While on loan striker Steve Morison is ineligible to play against his parent club.

The two clubs are certainly familiar with one another; fourteen games in the last six years have been contested in League One, the play offs and the Championship.

Of those fourteen games, Leeds have won seven, Millwall six and one draw.

Four of the last five fixtures between the two sides have been decided by a single goal, so this encounter promises to be a close and competitive affair.

Kick off at The Den is at 3pm.

Chelsea Clinch Dramatic Europa League Final Win in Amsterdam

Benfica 1 – 2 Chelsea
Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Europa League Final, 15^th May 2013

Prior to kick off in Amsterdam for the Europa League final, loyal club servants Frank Lampard and Petr Cech urged Chelsea to ‘make history’, and that’s just what they did after brushing aside Portuguese outfit Benfica.

Goals from Fernando Torres and Branislav Ivanovic deep into added time ensured back-to-back European final wins, following last seasons Champions League victory.

The first club to achieve such a feat, holding both trophies simultaneously, albeit briefly.

The west London club joined an elite group of teams that include Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus, to have captured all major UEFA European trophies.

Triumphant in the Cup Winners Cup in 1971 and 1998, the blues added the Champions League in 2012.

Their Portuguese counterparts started the better, who were appearing in their first major European final in 23 years and had a hatful of first half chances, for the likes of Gaitan, Cardozo and Perez, failing to capitalise on Chelsea’s slow start.

Chelsea’s best chance came from a long range right footed drive from captain for the evening Frank Lampard, the swerving shot almost beating Benfica goalkeeper Arthur, who had to contort his body to make an outstanding save.

The start of the second half began much like the first, Benfica out of the blocks much quicker, with possession theirs early doors, Gaitan striking wide of Cechs goal with a long-range effort.

Soon after, Cardozo rose well to convert a free header but the offside flag was raised almost immediately, replays proved justification enough.

Benfica continued to have the larger portion of the possession percentages.

Despite this, Chelsea’s midfield five of Lampard, Luiz, Mata, Oscar and Ramires were beginning to knock on Benfica’s door with renewed vigour and guile.

But it was striker Fernando Torres who broke the deadlock just shy of the hour mark.

Showing good strength to evade the challenge of the experienced Brazilian centre back Luisao, before having the necessary composure to dummy the goalkeeper who hit the deck and despatched the goal with an assured finish.

Back came Benfica though and eight minutes later they were level, after being awarded a penalty following Cesar Azpilicueta’s handball, Cardozo drilling the ball down the middle, Cech no chance.

The equaliser took Cardozos goal tally against British opposition to ten, who appeared injured following despatch of the penalty kick, he returned to the field shortly after.

Benfica were the first of the two finalists to make a change, an injury to influential defender Garay forcing manager Jorge Jesus’ hand, Jardel his replacement.

The reshuffle at the back didn’t deter the Portuguese side from their ultimate goal, Cardozo the threat as ever, crafting a vivacious volley from outside the area that dipped late and needed Cechs fingertips to push it over the bar.

A trademark Lampard hit went even closer; rattling Arthurs woodwork as the shot dipped late two minutes from time.

In true Chelsea style, with the three minutes of added time almost up, good work from Ramires down the right earned the blues a corner, delivered long by Mata, a towering header produced by Ivanovic to settle the tie and win the Europa League crown.

It was in many ways, redemption for the Serbian defender, who twelve months earlier missed out on a Champions League final berth after picking up a yellow card in the semi finals that ruled him out.

On being the match winner the Serb said: ‘Great feeling, this team deserved this after a difficult season and a lot of games.’

Also as a side note, Rafa Benitez’ turbulent tenure as Chelsea manager reaped a

trophy, an achievement of which the Spaniard was proud.

‘Great performance in the second half, pleased for the players and everyone involved. I’m proud, it was not easy, really pleased really proud.’

The man who got the ball rolling for Chelsea on the night and took his goal tally for the season to 21 goals in all competition was delighted with the win:

‘Very happy, it was a hard way to get to Amsterdam, maybe Benfica deserved a bit more, individual quality made the difference.’

‘First half was not good enough, we had to change our mentality to win the Europa League.’

Finally, club record goal scorer Frank Lampard, captaining the side in John Terry’s absence through injury, praised the teams togetherness:

‘We’re a team, a little tired tonight, but the desire is in this team, you make your own luck, and stuck together and the fans.’

When asked about the rumours of a new one-year contract being on the table, the midfielder replied with genuine sincerity:

‘I really hope so, with the game tonight and the game at the weekend, we haven’t sat down properly but the clubs been brilliant.’

On the Comeback Trail

Injuries in sport are commonplace nowadays and the rough and tumble of Super League is no different.

However, for Leeds Rhinos star Ben Jones-Bishop a far from run of the mill injury has kept him on the sidelines since the turn of the year.

The winger was preparing for the annual Boxing Day friendly, with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats the visitors to Headingley Carnegie over the festive period, when a routine scan showed evidence of a blood clot on his lung.

By this point, the Rhinos preseason training schedule was in full force. A warm weather training camp in Portugal was scheduled for January, and two months remained until the new Super League season was due to start in February, Jones-Bishop would miss out on both.

‘My initial reaction was of shock and disbelief, straight after the scan the doctor was so concerned he wanted me to stay in hospital over Christmas and that was probably when I realised this was very serious. A Christmas that will never be forgotten! He immediately told me that this would mean 6 months out of rugby, I was devastated.’

On diagnosis of the pulmonary embolism, doctors advised the 24 year old to avoid all full contact training for three months, and all exercise would be stopped with his rehabilitation beginning immediately.

A course of warfarin medication was then given to thin the blood and dissolve the clots.

‘For a month I wasn't allowed to do any exercise. The beginning of February I began training again. I had to wear a heart rate monitor and was capped at 140 bpm. Each week the cap went up 10 beats and training gradually picked up intensity. This continued for 6 weeks then after another ECG scan that showed the pressure had reduced I was allowed to train with no restrictions.’

Five months on from the initial diagnosis and the long-term casualty is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

‘The recovery is going well. After 3 months the clots were gone and now it's just a case of waiting for the specialists to be happy before I can return to full contact training and ultimately being back on the pitch. Other than contact, I've been in all forms of training for a while now so am pretty much fit and ready to go once given the green light.’

When quizzed on when Rhinos fans would likely see the winger back in action, the player remained tight lipped.

‘Training is full on at the minute and am literally waiting for the green light to be back in action. We have a date lined up but I'd prefer to keep that to myself so ill say in the near future.’

A product of the Leeds academy, Jones-Bishop ran out second top try scorer with 23 tries from 32 games last season.

Most notably he registered tries against both Manly Sea Eagles and Warrington Wolves in the World Club Challenge and Grand Final respectively, in addition to terrorising the Wakefield backline to record two hat tricks against the Wildcats.

His club form over the last couple of years was rewarded by England coach Steve McNamara with a call up to the England Knights squad and being included in the squad for the Four Nations.

In 2011, the England Knights programme was created to bridge the gap between club level and the national team for the younger players.

The squad is comprised of 25 players from 11 Super League clubs.

The players’ main target will of course be to regain his place in the Rhinos 13, but with 2013 being World Cup year, the former Queens amateur knows it will be an uphill task to be selected in time for the curtain raiser against Australia at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on October 26^th.

‘It will be tough I reckon as I would have missed two thirds of the season. But if I come back and hit the ground running, then I'd like to think there's a chance. I’ve been fortunate to be selected for a few England squads over the last couple of years so hopefully I can put myself in the picture come selection time.’


**This interview piece was conducted at the end of April. Since that date Sky Sports have reported Ben is looking at returning to the field by the end of June.

Ode of Me

Time for something a bit different from the usual sports related ramblings, so different in fact..some have called it poetry, something I've never tried...and never intended to try.

Nothing too serious mind, more a light-hearted stab in the dark at storytelling.

The subject matter itself is drawn from my own meandering experiences over the last few years (albeit very briefly).

The back story to this is simple enough, a friend of mine (Jess) messaged me complaining about the never ending essay she was buried under and requested/demanded a story.

So I thought, for a laugh, give the people what they want.

Heres the result:

There once was a man named Richard, who dreamed of being some sort of wizard.

Stuck in a dead end job, he felt like a nob, he decided to change his ways.

Onwards to college, it went in a flash, with plenty of time spent on the lash.

Like a true student, He wasn't too prudent, bit of a saucy minx.

Soon enough he'd made it to Uni, a
few short years ago the concept was loony.

But nevertheless all very good, he'd finally made it to the HUD.

- R. Potter, 6th May 2013.

Van der Sar Junior to join Ajax

The son of former Ajax and Dutch international goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is to join the world famous youth academy at Ajax of Amsterdam.

Fifteen-year-old Joe, who spent time in the Manchester United youth set up during his fathers time at Old Trafford, currently plays for amateur team VV Noordwijk, but will play for Ajax’s under 17 squad starting next season.

The youngster will be hoping to follow in his fathers’ footsteps and is regarded as an exciting prospect for the future.

Speaking to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Van der Sar senior stated:

"Yes, he will go to Ajax.

For the rest I don’t want to say anything about it. Joe will, of course, get a hard time anyway due to his surname."

The Van der Sar name is synonymous with Ajax of Amsterdam and world football as a whole.

Edwin is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time by fans, critics and fellow professionals.

The 42 year old enjoyed a successful nine-year stint with the Amsterdam club between 1990 and 1999, capturing a string of trophies including the UEFA Champions League, Eredivisie four times and Dutch cup by the same ratio.

After departing the Amsterdam Arena, he spent time at Juventus, Fulham and finally Manchester United, where he retired in 2011 with further honours.

Van der Sar is also the most capped player for the Dutch national team with 130 appearances.

Since his retirement, Van der Sar has hinted at coaching but is currently marketing director at former club Ajax.

Who Next for Leeds United?

As Neil Warnock closes the door on his way out of Elland Road and his managerial tenure with the mighty whites, one question looms large, who next for Leeds United?

It comes as no surprise that Warnock has left the club, having made his intentions perfectly clear that it was promotion or bust in the ER hot seat.

However there is a timid hint of surprise as his departure comes with six league games of the championship season remaining.

Nevertheless, the revelation comes after a sorry performance again by the whites, this time a home defeat to Derby County.

More points dropped and chances of promotion back to the Premier League a fleeting thought to be resurrected next season.

A club statement shortly after Warnocks departure outlined the strategy of appointing a successor:

"This may well be after the end of the season dependent on the availability of the club's preferred choice to become the next manager.

"A short-list has already been prepared as Neil was always going to leave at the end of the season in the event that we did not get promotion.

"However, with availability of suitable candidates changing all the time then we will adopt a flexible approach, so as to ensure that we make the right appointment

Academy manager Neil Redfearn will take caretaker charge of the first team until a permanent candidate for the role is found, a decision the powers that be are in no rush to make.

Leeds Chief Exec Shaun Harvey stated: ‘We need to look to the future and the search for his replacement is under way’

"There is no fixed timescale as securing the services of the right person is the primary objective to give us the best chance of promotion next season."

Warnock spent 14 months at the Leeds United helm, replacing Simon Grayson in February 2012.

"We would like to thank Neil for his efforts during his time as our manager and share his disappointment that we could not achieve promotion," added Harvey.

"We would also like to thank Mick Jones and Ronnie Jepson, who will leave the club with Neil, for all their hard work."

Early front runners to the vacated managers office include Mark Hughes, Owen Coyle, Gus Poyet, Brian McDermott and Martin O’Neill.

The bookies have former Reading boss McDermott at the shortest price of 5/4, followed by Poyet at 9/2 and Martin O’Neil at 8/1.

Gus Poyet is the only one of these names to have spent time at Elland Road as a member of the clubs backroom staff, serving as Dennis Wise’s assistant between October 2006 and October 2007. Poyet, now manager at Brighton, is held in high regard by the Leeds faithful.

The Yorkshire Evening Post reported over the weekend that sources close to the former Reading boss Brian McDermott, have stated he wants his next managerial role in football to be at Elland Road.

Read into that what you will.

McDermott’s availability comes after his former club Reading sacked him after four successive defeats; this coming after the manager had claimed the manager of the month award for January.

Prior to that, he led Reading to the Championship title the previous season, pipping Southampton to the trophy by a single point, winning an impressive 16 league games from 19 to close out the season.

However the newest managerial casualty from the top flight, needs no introduction to some Leeds fans, most recently Sunderland found him to be surplus to requirements, their loss could be the mighty whites gain.

The name Martin O’Neill is familiar to supporters of Leeds United, once upon a time he nearly signed with the Elland Road outfit whilst at Celtic.

The Northern Irishman could be back on United’s radar as their top target, however it is thought O’Neill will be taking a short break after his dismissal and look for a new position over the summer.

A scenario Leeds perhaps wouldn't turn their nose up at if ‘no fixed timescale’ were the intended plan of action alluded to by Chief Exec Shaun Harvey.

Who do you think should be Neil Warnocks successor?

Champions at Last!

Their recent form has stuttered, but Glasgow Rangers were crowned champions of the Scottish Third Division after besting Queens Parks result in Saturdays fixtures.

The Light Blues goalless draw at Montrose was followed by second placed Queens Park failing to overcome a one nil deficit at home to Elgin City.

Manager Ally McCoist told the clubs website: "We've been the best side in the league, the fact we're sitting 22 points ahead would indicate we are thoroughly-deserving champions. There's no doubt about that."

The championship trophy presentation will get underway on 4 May, in Rangers final league fixture of the season at home to Berwick Rangers.

The Gers boss heaped praise on his side and everyone involved:

"The boys all deserve massive credit, the young lads deserve enormous credit, as do the older lads such as Neil Alexander, Lee Wallace and Lee McCulloch.

"It has been an incredibly difficult situation for people in many ways. Some people won't give them any congratulations but that's certainly not the case from myself and the staff."

McCoist was at the helm of the Ibrox club when the then Scottish Premier League champions entered administration in February 2012 as punishment over an unpaid tax bill.

Liquidation soon followed, with no other resolution in sight, a consortium led by Charles Green purchased the clubs assets in June of that year prior to the clubs demotion to the third tier of Scottish football.

The club can now look ahead to another potential promotion charge next campaign in the SFL Second Division, or can they?

The 12 SPL clubs will vote on changes to the Scottish league structure on 15 April. This proposal will also include transitioning to one league body, play-offs and a greater distribution of cash among the smaller clubs.

Eleven votes are needed to pass the league restructure, whereby two top leagues will include 12 teams, which would split into three leagues of eight at the midway point of the season.

If the 12 SPL clubs vote yes to the proposals, Rangers Chief Exec Charles Green believes leagues should change to a 12-12-18 set-up instead of four leagues, and that the Gers should be promoted to the middle tier.

Green released a statement shortly before Rangers clinched the third division title saying:

All things being well, Rangers should win the Division 3 title and, that being the case, we should be promoted. That should happen regardless of what league structure the powers that be put in place.

"It would be manifestly wrong to deny any team promotion having won the competition they have entered into at the start of the season. Equally, teams, which have been relegated, should not benefit unfairly from any restructuring of leagues.

"There is already a precedent for this situation, established by the SFL at the end of the 1993-94 season when Stranraer, winners of the lowest of three divisions, were promoted to the new second tier on the basis they were champions of their division and merited promotion.