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Michael Owen's injury will cause him particular distress because the timing of it is cruel.
The Manchester United striker was finally shaking off the criticism that has dogged him — but the bitter blow of sustaining a groin strain against Wolfsburg last night has blown the hard work he has put in to restart his England career.
Now all the old doubts about him being prone to injury will return. It will hurt Owen because, before last night’s match, he claimed that he was rediscovering the form that helped him bag a hat trick against Germany in Munich in 2001.
Speaking before his injury, sustained after 20 minutes, Owen claimed: ‘I am 100 per cent the same player I was in Munich. I am still only 29.
'It’s as if I am in my 40s the way some people talk about me.’
With England manager Fabio Capello watching from the stands, Owen had started full of optimism in what was his first start in the Champions League for five years.
Plentiful game time is what the Italian demands and Owen had admitted that he needed to establish himself in the starting line-up at United to have any chance of going to next year’s World Cup finals.
Before the injury, Owen had shown a glorious glimpse of what he is still capable of by coming off the bench to score the winner against Manchester City less than a fortnight ago, but the joy from what he called one of his most memorable strikes was short-lived.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed former Liverpool star Owen as his third choice last summer and had told the striker:
‘If you are fit it’s a no-brainer. Other people may see it as a risk but I don’t.’
As Ferguson revealed that the latest injury may keep Owen out for two to three weeks, he may have started to change his mind.
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New Manchester United striker Michael Owen has spoken about his move to Old Trafford and refuted the idea he is 'injury-prone'.
Sulaiman Al Fahim promised 50million pounds for Portsmouth to solve cash flow in com
Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie says he has faith in Sulaiman Al Fahim's financial plans for the club.
The new owner eventually completed his protracted takeover of the club at the end of August and insisted at the weekend that a £50million investment should be concluded in the coming days.
New owner of Portsmouth - Sulaiman Al Fahim
Task: Paul Hart Pressure: Pompey have lost their opening seven Premier League games
The players are usually paid on the last working day of every month and last night those who had not received their money — some players were paid along with all of the staff — were being assured that it was nothing more than a ‘payroll issue’ and that the money should land in their bank accounts today.
This situation was the last thing the club needed at a time when manager Paul Hart is trying to inspire confidence in his team and prepare for Saturday’s crucial encounter at Wolves.
Even if the money is paid today, it amounts to yet further embarrassment for Portsmouth. Most of the players who guided them to FA Cup glory in 2008 have been sold in a firesale and a lack of investment from their new owner — despite promises of a £50million cash injection — forced Hart to shop in the bargain basement before the transfer window closed at the end of August.
If nothing else, it amounts to an alarming lack of communication between directors and some of their most valuable employees.
Their oppponents on Saturday will have striker Chris Iwelumo back after three months out with a broken foot. He played in the reserves on Tuesday.
Latest news.
Portsmouth players are expected to be paid wages owed to them in the next two days, the club have confirmed.
Some players and executive board members at the club were not paid as expected earlier in the week due to "a delay in the transfer of funds" following Sulaiman al Fahim recent takeover.
"Portsmouth FC can confirm that the first-team squad and executive board was not paid on Wednesday," a statement read. "The club is currently being refinanced by the owner Sulaiman al Fahim following the recent completion of his takeover. There was a delay in the transfer of funds but the lawyers have received confirmation that this will happen on Thursday."
The statement continued: "This will enable the players to be paid within the next 24 to 48 hours. The players have all been informed of the situation.
"The executive board will continue to help the new owner in his efforts to refinance which has come about as a direct consequence of the banks' requirements to retain all television receipts and profits generated during the transfer windows."
"All the money from all the player transfers and the Sky TV money, all of the £35 million from January, has gone straight to the Standard Bank," he said. "There is no money left. Whatever we spend on a monthly basis comes channelled through from the new owner [Sulaiman Al Fahim]. He has promised to re-finance, and he has shown me all the documentation, but I have no idea about the conditions of the £50 million he says will be arriving in a few...
Kneesy does it: Adebayor ran the length of the Eastlands pitch to celebrate - but his slide sparked an angry reaction among the Gunners supporters (below)
Shame game: Adebayor has already served a three-match suspension for this stamp on former team-mate Robin van Persie during City's victory
Emmanuel Adebayor today faces a Football Association hearing to answer a charge of improper conduct, with his Manchester City boss Mark Hughes hoping the striker will escape a ban and be available to face Aston Villa on Monday.
The Togo star faces the charge in relation to his controversial goal celebration against his old club Arsenal at Eastlands last month, which received widespread condemnation, including from Greater Manchester Police.
His case will be heard by a disciplinary panel at an undisclosed time and location.
City will use the evidence of Gary Neville's goal celebration against them the following week - which did not even bring a charge against the Manchester United defender - as evidence to back up Adebayor's claim he did nothing wrong.
A suspension is possible though, even if Hughes does not believe it is warranted.
'We hope Manu won't get any more matches,' he said. 'We don't think he should.'
If Adebayor is available it would arguably leave Hughes to select from the strongest pool of forward players in the Barclays Premier League.
It is hardly a position that hints at a sudden collapse for a club intent on smashing the top-four cartel.
And even the notoriously pragmatic Hughes admits there is still more to come from his team.
'We are in decent shape and things seem to be falling into place,' he said. 'We are playing well - and with confidence.
'I am absolutely convinced we will produce even higher quality football because of the quality we already have and the quality that will be available to us in the future.'
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Adebayor celebrates his goal against Arsenal in front of Arsenal supporters ADEBAYOR SPARKS A RIOT AFTER SCORING FOR MAN CITY AGAINST ARSENAL -------------
City fans celebrating after Adebayor scores against his former club Arsenal. I miss the actual goal and when he ran the length of the pitch to taunt the fans but started filming just after.
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Adebayor can be seen clearly aiming at Persie head face
Early departure: Michael Owen is replaced by Dimitar Berbatov
Delight: Michael Carrick celebrates his winner for Manchester United
Sweet 16: Carrick slots home the winner
No let up: Ryan Giggs battles for the ball with Wolfsburg's Sascha Riether
Fall guy: Owen lasted just 20 minutes before he was forced off by injury
Ryan Giggs claimed his 150th Manchester United goal and left Sir Alex Ferguson almost speechless in the process at Old Trafford.
Referring to the way Giggs reached his milestone by hauling United level on route to a 2-1 win over Wolfsburg, Ferguson spluttered: 'Unbelievable. I don't know what else to say - there's not a lot you can add to that.'
United had just seen Wolfsburg dangerman Edin Dzeko score with a 56th-minute header when Giggs curled home a deflected free-kick before setting up Michael Carrick for a 78th-minute winner on his return to the starting line-up.
After a moment's reflection on Giggs being directly involved in eight of his side's goals in his last three appearances, the United boss added: 'He is an absolutely marvellous player who has thoroughly deserved all the superlatives and praise he has had down the years.
'The amazing thing about him is the youthfulness he continues to show. It's as if he is just starting out his career. He is enjoying hisfootball like a young man and the other great thing about him is you can praise him to the heavens and he won't be affected by a single word of it.'
'I didn't realise that was my 150th goal for United,' said Giggs. 'I'm proud of that but it was more important that we got back in the game so soon after they scored. We showed great character to bounce back like that.'
Ferguson saluted the way Carrick made the most of his opportunity but revealed that Michael Owen faces up to three weeks out after aggravating a groin strain.
'That goal will do Carrick no harm at all,' he said. 'Ever since he joined us he has tended to be a slow starter who only gets into his stride around October. We are seeing that now and he seemed to enjoy himself.
Manchester Utd 2 Wolfsburg 1
Wolfsburg took the lead early in the second half and had a number of other chances. Ferguson will recognise that and it may just make him a little uncomfortable.
United's capacity for recovery and the ability to stage remarkable comebacks is beyond doubt. It is not a fluke that it happens. It is to do with self-belief, mental strength and physical fitness. It is not, as some people may have it, just to do with minutes of added time.
From that point of view, they were indeed impressive against the Germans. Other teams may have started to panic and perhaps even folded when Edin Dzeko headed the Germans into the lead 11 minutes into the second half.
Not so United. They rallied, recovered and went on to win the game. It is what the very best teams manage to do.
A poor clearance from central defender Nemanja Vidic opened the door for Wolfsburg as early as the fifth minute and midfielder Christian Gentner really should have scored instead of shooting tamely at United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
Then, four minutes later, Marcel Schafer advanced down the left and was disappointed to see his fierce, low cross evade the green shirts of his team-mates flooding into the penalty area at the Stretford End.
If United were shaken by this nervy opening, they seemed at a loss as to how to put it right.
Patrice Evra was next to make a mistake as he gifted possession to Zvjezdan Misimovic and was no doubt relieved to see the Wolfsburg playmaker shoot wastefully wide from distance when he had team-mates alongside him in support.
With Michael Owen - handed a European start in front of England coach Fabio Capello - limping off early with a groin strain that will sideline him for three weeks, it was a difficult opening for United.
That it did not see them fall behind owed much to Wolfsburg's indifferent finishing. And although United did play their way into the game as the first half wore on, it was not a surprise when Wolfsburg took the lead.
But at the end Man U survive with great recovery to score 2-1 against the German.
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The latest dribblings, goals and titles from Mr. Manchester United. ---
Ryan Giggs scored so many great goals for Manchester United. ------
Highlights from the champions league tie between United and Wolfsburg ---
FURIOUS Arsene Wenger last night launched a blistering attack on referee Mike Dean and insisted the official had been intimated by Old Trafford.
The Arsenal boss was livid at the end of Manchester United's controversial 2-1 triumph and was sent off for booting a water bottle after Robin van Persie's injury-time "equaliser" had been ruled out for offside.
Wenger angrily blasted Dean for AWARDING United a penalty after Wayne Rooney tumbled under keeper Manuel Almunia's challenge - and for REFUSING to give Arsenal one when Darren Fletcher appeared to haul down Andrey Arshavin. And Wenger invented a new word for the English vocabulary as he stormed: "The penalty decision was 'Old Traffordish'. There were a lot of things that happened which were beyond belief.
"We were the better team and lost. We were better for long periods of the game and we produced the best football.
"Can we deal with it? Yes, I'm convinced we can. We can be a real force."
Wenger also hit out at ref Dean for failing to book Fletcher.
He added: "How that player got away without a yellow card is amazing.
"I felt we played in the right spirit, but I saw one player who made 20 fouls without getting a yellow card and then no one sees it." The Arsenal chief claims his team are being victimised after the negative publicity surrounding Eduardo's penalty claim last week.
Wenger's attack comes just three days after Arsenal striker Eduardo was accused of diving to win a penalty in the Gunners' 3-1 Champions League triumph over Celtic.
The Croatian has since been charged by UEFA of conning the referee and Wenger has leapt to the defence of his player, branding the charge "a disgrace."
Wenger added: "I don't suppose this will be anywhere near as big an issue as Eduardo.
"There are 50 situations like that every weekend, but the Eduardo case has no logic.
"We have clear proof on video that he was touched by the keeper against Celtic. We will prove it."
Rooney went down in similar circumstances, caught by Almunia's outstretched arm inside the area.
The United striker said: "I didn't even think about it - he touched me on the way through. I didn't think there was any doubt about it. It was a penalty."
Wenger was later sent off by Dean when he kicked a water bottle in disgust after Van Persie's injury-time effort was ruled out.
Wenger sent out from the field.
Although William Gallas was clearly offside in the build-up, Wenger booted the water bottle after the assistant referee flagged for the infringement.
The Arsenal chief added: "Don't worry, I'm always in touch with the FA. Yes, I kicked the bottle when the goal was cancelled.
"I was disappointed, what can I say? It was 30 seconds from the end, he told me to go to the stands.
"I suppose it was a spectacular effort. The fourth official spotted it - I didn't know we weren't allowed to do it."
Wenger attempted to climb in to the stands, but was eventually led down the touchline by a security guard amid chaotic scenes.
Dean blew the final whistle moments later but Wenger's conduct will be in his report to the FA.
He faces a warning about his future conduct, but is unlikely to be fined or banned.
Man U new stand in Keeper
United stand-in keeper Ben Foster should have done better with the Arshavin rocket that put Arsenal ahead.
And Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted: "He's 26, but he hasn't played a lot of games and he lacks that experience.
"He knows he should have done better than that, there is no doubt about it. He has to improve in that area, but he will."
Ferguson also confirmed Rooney is now United's official penalty-taker.
COMPLAINT - Arsene Wenger makes his point at Old Trafford
FURY - Wenger can't believe it
Arshavin is brought down by Fletcher but is not given a penalty.
Arsene Wenger is sent from the touchline by ref Mike Dean
Arsene Wenger takes his place in the 'stands' to the delight of the Old Trafford fansArsene Wenger takes his place in the 'stands' to the delight of the Old Trafford fans
United’s goal at the death against City has renewed debate over the amount of stoppage time added by referees.
Coaches, players and fans need to be told how referees calculate stoppage time to stop the current confusion at the end of matches, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said yesterday.
Timekeeping and clock-watching — or at least turning the clock back — was very much the theme of the day with Wenger returning to the club’s old ground, which he officially reopened as a residential development known as Highbury Square.
Arsenal moved from their Highbury ground to the nearby Emirates Stadium after 93 years in 2006.
“It’s good to be back, I feel 12 years younger coming back to where I started, it does my joints a lot of good,” Wenger said before addressing one of the headline issues of the week.
The debate about time-keeping at the end of games was sparked by Michael Owen’s winning goal for Manchester United in their derby against Manchester City last Sunday.
It came after seven minutes of stoppage time at Old Trafford, although the referee had originally indicated only four minutes would be played.
Asked if he would like to see an independent time-keeper, Wenger said he thought referees should retain the responsibility but needed to explain how they added on additional time.
“If you give the responsibility to the referee it is very important that everyone should exactly know the rules. The referee has the freedom to make decisions.
“We all sit on the bench at the end of a game and if there have been four substitutions, plus two minutes of injury time, plus two minutes for another player going down, how much does that make? Nobody knows.”
United manager Alex Ferguson said on Wednesday the system used by referees, which he had long ago stopped trying to understand, was “madness” and Wenger echoed his great rival’s thoughts.
“I’m not happy with the way things are at the moment,” said the Frenchman. “I’d like it if we were given strict guidelines on how they calculate the time remaining. Nobody knows really.
“Is it 30 seconds for a substitution? Is it not ? Do they take the real time when the player is down?
“Do they calculate the time when they call the physio on the pitch or when the player goes down?
“Nobody knows how it is calculated. There is always a question mark at the end of a game how long you will play.
“The rules should be explained better.”
Wenger, whose team visit Fulham in the Premier League tomorrow, said goalkeeper Manuel Almunia had not yet recovered from his illness and although winger Theo Walcott had resumed training he was too short of match fitness to be considered.
However, he said their Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin, who has missed Arsenal’s last four matches, should be fit and Robin Van Persie is likely to play after recovering from injury. -----------------------------
Frenchman Romain Grosjean has crashed his Renault at Singapore - at the exact spot where Nelson Piquet Jnr spun off a year ago to spark the biggest cheating scandal in Formula One history.
Grosjean, who replaced Piquet as Fernando Alonso's team-mate, clipped the outside of Turn 17 and speared across the track before hitting the wall.
There was no hint of race-fixing this time because the accident happened in the opening practice session for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.
Renault's new boss Bob Bell, who took over after Flavio Briatore left the team in disgrace, had a rueful smile as he watched on from the pit wall.
Astonished Renault chiefs screamed: 'Seriously, that corner?' as the young French driver lost control.
'Sorry guys, I lost the car in Turn 17,' said a clearly upset Grosjean, who had complained of feeling unwell prior to the Friday practice.
The session was red-flagged for just over 10 minutes while the car was towed away.
Grosjean, who walked away uninjured, was given his chance at Renault when Piquet was sacked for poor results after the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
The 20-year-old holds dual nationality from France and Switzerland but competes under a French racing licence.
He was the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion.
Indeed, it was a latest blow for the embattled F1 outfit who discovered earlier today (Friday) that two of their key sponsors ING and Mutua Madrilena have curtailed their deals with scandal-hit team.
Not again: Romain Grosjean was left to answer another Renault incident after he crashed his car into THAT wall in Singapore Scene of the crime: Nelson Piquet Jr's infamous Renault crash on turn 17 at the Singapore grand prix in 2008
Lift-off: Track officials remove Grosjean's Renault after he crashed during the first practice session
Smoking hot: Renault driver Romain Grosjean steps out of his vehicle after crashing during the first practice session of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix
Out of control: Grosjean clips the infamous wall in Singapore and spins out of control
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Flavio Briatore has sensationally quit the Renault Formula One team, following allegations of cheating at last year's Grand Prix in Singapore. Renault said in a short statement that Briatore and Pat Symonds, the director of engineering, had both left the team ahead of a meeting on Monday with the sport's world ruling body, the FIA, to explain recent allegations of race-fixing. "The team announces that its team chief, Flavio Briatore, and its director of engineering Pat Symonds have quit the team," the statement said. Renault have been summoned to appear before the FIA's International Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday to answer claims by Nelson Piquet Jr that he was asked by Renault to crash deliberately in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, so giving a race-winning advantage to team-mate Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
El Hadji Diouf claimed Everton fans threw bananas at him
Outrage: El-Hadji Diouf claimed he was showered with bananas - but stewards and police found no evidence
Everton have demanded a full apology from El Hadji Diouf after the Blackburn Rovers winger accused supporters of the Merseyside club of throwing bananas at him during a Barclays Premier League match at Goodison Park.
Diouf first made the allegation to a police officer as he left the pitch after Sunday’s match but a search of the playing surface and the area of the stadium where the Senegal international claimed the incident had taken place failed to unearth any evidence to support his accusation.
Though outraged about the claims, Everton had initially refused to comment publicly, primarily because of an continuing investigation by Merseyside Police into allegations made by a teenage Goodison ball boy who accused Diouf of racially abusing him. But with the furore refusing to die down, Ian Ross, Everton’s director of communications, has broken his silence and demanded that Diouf retract his comments.
“What angered us at Everton are the allegations made by Mr Diouf in which he claimed he was ‘showered with bananas’ by Everton supporters,” Ross said. “That is wholly false and I would like him to retract that allegation and apologise to the supporters and staff of this club. When Mr Diouf came off the pitch after Sunday’s game, one of the first things he did apparently, was go to a policeman in the tunnel and make the accusation that he had been showered with bananas. We at the football club, and certainly Merseyside Police, take accusations of racism very seriously.
“The police immediately sent someone over to the section of the ground to scour the pitch and we sent club staff to do the same. This was ten minutes after the game had finished. We also made sure by going through the sections of the stadium where this incident allegedly happened. The police will tell you and I am telling you, no bananas were found.
“In the same way we wouldn’t tolerate our supporters racially abusing a supporter, a member of staff or a footballer, we don’t like the idea of a visiting footballer levelling that accusation at our supporters. We moved very quickly and had the allegation held any water, we would have said so and the police certainly would have said but they have confirmed that the only investigation ongoing is in to the allegations against Mr Diouf.
“In terms of Mr Diouf’s comments, we find them offensive and a lot of our supporters have been in touch with the club to say that they find them offensive.”
It was a wholly baseless allegation that was quite frankly disgusting, and we ask him to retract it with immediate effect and apologise to Everton supporters.
'We can only take what he said as a thinly veiled accusation of racism. We are not accusing him of racist behaviour but are concerned about what he said and feel it needs clarification and a retraction. In the past, throwing bananas has been construed as racist conduct, hence our concern.
'I can only think Mr Diouf must be rather naive if he thinks he can get away with an accusation like that in an age when every square metre of a Premier League pitch is covered by one camera or another. Whatever his motive, it was wrong, and he should try to draw a line under it by saying sorry.'
Diouf was last night unavailable for comment and Blackburn declined to make a statement.
Manchester United's goalkeeper Ben Foster in action during the FA Community Shield against Manchester …
Manchester United managerAlex Ferguson has decided against dropping Ben Foster following an erratic display by the England goalkeeper in last weekend's derby win over Manchester City.
With United's first-choice keeper, Edwin van der Sar, still sidelined with broken fingers, Ferguson gave Foster a vote of confidence by confirming he would start the Premier League match at Stoke on Saturday.
Tomasz Kuszczak had made a strong case for promotion above Foster in the United pecking order with a confident display and a clean sheet in the League Cup win over Wolves on Wednesday.
But Ferguson continues to regard Foster as a better long-term prospect and does not want to risk further undermining the Englishman's confidence after he gifted City their first goal in United's 4-3 win at Old Trafford.
"It was a good opportunity for Tomasz to play on Wednesday but Ben will play tomorrow," Ferguson said Friday. "Ben has not had a lot of game experience but he will be OK."
Stoke provide a tough test for any goalkeeper with their effectiveness at set-plays and the long-throws of Rory Delap requiring good command of the penalty area.
Ferguson expects van der Sar to take another three weeks to complete his recovery from breaking two fingers in a pre-season game against Bayern Munich in July.
Brief news from the English Premier League before this weekend’s matches.
Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin and Theo Walcott should return for the trip to Fulham tomorrow but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is unavailable so Vito Mannone will continue to deputise.
Arshavin has missed four matches with a groin problem while Walcott has yet to appear this season after a back injury. Denilson (back), Johan Djourou (knee), Samir Nasri (leg) are all still unavailable.
Chelsea have injury concerns over striker Didier Drogba for their trip to Wigan Athletic tomorrow after the Ivory Coast striker injured his calf in the 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur five days ago.
Deco (calf) is unavailable but Joe Cole and Yuri Zhirkov could feature after playing in the League Cup win over Queens Park Rangers two days ago.
Stoke City could be without strikers Ricardo Fuller (ankle) and James Beattie (groin) for the home match with champions Manchester United tomorrow.
United have no new injury concerns and welcome back midfielder Paul Scholes after suspension.
Tottenham Hotspur have defensive problems ahead of their home match against Burnley tomorrow with concerns over Sebastien Bassong and Michael Dawson while Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King are definitely out.
Burnley will be without striker Martin Paterson and midfielder Chris McCann, who both have knee injuries.
