Ahead of the Game: Rooney Ruled Out

AHEAD OF THE GAME

Alpha mail. The only truly useful football e-mail

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Friday, November 9, 2007. 1600 BST
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The news in 60 seconds

ROONEY RULED OUT
Steve McClaren's job prospects have taken a dramatic turn for the worse after Wayne Rooney was ruled out for four weeks after injuring his ankle in training. The forward, who had just been named in McClaren's England squad, will now miss the crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article2841913.ece

BECK IN BUSINESS
Until about 20 minutes ago when Rooney got crocked, David Beckham was the big story of the day. He's earned a recall to the England squad after impressing against the actor from Without A Trace and that bloke from Def Leppard. John Terry is out with a knee injury.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2840134.ece

McCLAREN DEFIANT
Oliver Kay says Steve McClaren is kidding himself if he thinks he can avoid the sack should England fail to qualify for Euro 2008. The England head coach doesn't care, though, because he's refusing to countenance failure. Whisper it, but his optimism is even starting to rub off on some of the media.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2841166.ece

DAVIES ALSO DEFIANT
David Davies, the former executive director of the FA, has called for "real leadership" from the governing body. He wants them to stick with McClaren win, lose or bust against Croatia. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2841745.ece

CHRISTMAS PEEVE
Sir Alex Ferguson has rejected attempts by Sultana to make Manchester United play Everton at 8pm on Christmas Eve. "The players will be wanting to get their Christmas presents out for their children," United's Scrooge genuinely said. Shall we call it a Setanta Clause?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article2840103.ece

SAM SAYS HE'S THE MAN
Big Sam is feeling the pressure before tomorrow's Tyne-Wear derby. He's accused people of "s**t-stirring" after his position at Newcastle was questioned after only 11 league games and promised that he can turn it around (if he's given five years).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article2836096.ece

BIG AL'S SHOT AT REDEMPTION
Alan Shearer has been helping to set the mood for tomorrow's Big Match by saying he would have been haunted for the rest of his life by a missed penalty against Sunderland if he hadn't scored against them with the last kick of his career.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article2841806.ece

FORSSELL IN FOR BRUM SCRUM
Mikael Forssell is poised to return for Birmingham City in the Second City derby on Sunday. The forward has been out since the beginning of time but Steve Bruce is confident he can handle a "no-holds barred" match with fierce rivals Aston Villa.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article2841356.ece

ROTATION, ROTATION, ROTATION
An 8-0 victory wasn't enough to make him smile so it certainly wasn't going to stop The Bearded One from rotating. The Liverpool manager has pledged to maintain his revolving door policy against Fulham tomorrow while Steven Gerrard says he is back to his best.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article2842014.ece

ELANO'S COLD COMFORT
Manchester City's Elano believes he can disprove AOTG's lazy clichés about Brazilians wearing gloves and struggling in December. He's used to playing in Ukraine and said: "Temperatures dropped to minus 23 at times. Coming from a warm climate like Brazil it made life very hard for me ... although having been there for two years, I think I managed to beat the cold in the end."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article2839898.ece

JOL TURNS DOWN PSV
Martin Jol, the former Tottenham manager, has turned down the offer of becoming head coach at PSV Eindhoven because he wants the Holland job - and not just because it would effect his £4.7 million severance package.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article2836064.ece

LATEST TEAM NEWS
Carlo Cudicini is poised to replace Petr Cech in goal for Chelsea, Mark Viduka is in the Newcastle squad, Carlos Bocanegra returns for Fulham and Ivan Campo is back for Bolton.
All the latest team news before the weekend's matches.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article2833124.ece

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* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/playthegame
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If you've got another couple of minutes

THE RETURN OF THE DERBY
Are we about to watch the two biggest derbies in English football? The Second City and Tyne-Wear derbies may not get the kudos (or worldwide audience) of the Merseyside and North London derbies, but they are more authentic than screw-in studs and brown ale.
And unlike Spurs-Arsenal and Liverpool-Everton, none of the teams will have one eye on the Champions League or Uefa Cup. Maybe it's because of the overseas players, the Champions League or referees issuing cards like confetti, but those matches have lost some of their meaning - unlike this weekend's Big Matches.
Steve Bruce, for one, expects Sunday's match to have more bite than Ronaldinho. He reckons that even practice matches between Birmingham City and Aston Villa get a bit tasty. "We played this friendly a few weeks ago because both sides needed a few players to get fit and it was a bit spicy to say the least," he said. "It was kicking off everywhere."
Less to play for means more at stake. As for the Tyne-Wear derby, Michael Owen has compared it to Real Madrid versus Barcelona (although partly just to remind us he used to play with Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Raul). "All derbies are obviously different, and that in a way isn't a derby," he said. "It's just two successful teams - they are miles apart. But they call it El Derby or El Clasico, and it's a fantastic occasion. I have never played in a Newcastle versus Sunderland derby, and I am looking forward to sampling this one."
Tomorrow's game will probably be a little bit scrappier than that one, but it won't lack for the same kind of fierce atmosphere. The rivalry between the teams is so intense that our Sunderland fan in Fanzine Fanzone is even concerned about playing Michael Chopra against his old club because of the dire consequences of failure (http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fanzone).
For the big clubs there's no doubt that derbies matter more for the fans than the players, but trying telling that to Peter Enckelman - or the fan who ran on to the pitch to taunt him after a blunder in a Birmingham derby. Enckelman, who was one of the most highly rated goalkeepers in the Premier League a few years ago, never recovered from the shame of letting the ball trickle under his foot. Which just proves the point: these are two of the biggest matches of the season.
What do you think: are the Tyne-Wear and Second City derbies the best in England or do the Big Clubs still hold sway? sport@timesonline.co.uk

BRUISED CHERRIES
Steve McClaren may think he's got selection problems, what with the debate about Beckham and the absence of Captain Courageous, Ferdinand and Rooney, but it's nothing compared to the woes down at Bournemouth. A combination of injury and suspension means the club have only ten fit outfield players for tomorrow's FA Cup game against Barrow. "Even though we're down to the bare bones, if we play like we can play we ought to have too much for them," manager Kevin Bond said. Let's hope McClaren is similarly bullish.

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1
Number of Premier League games kicking off at 3pm tomorrow. There are three Saturday matches with six on Sunday and one on Monday.
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A quickie before you go, sir?

DERBY DISASTER
Having mentioned Peter Enckelman letting the ball trickle under his left foot it would be remiss not to show the YouTube clip. As if the shocking mistake wasn't bad enough, the Aston Villa goalkeeper is confronted by a gloating fan making an obscene gesture in his face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC7D15uYXOI

CHOPRA SCORES AGAINST SUNDERLAND
Sticking to the derby theme. Michael Chopra scores his only Premier League goal for Newcastle - not exactly a world-class finish, but then it was against their local rivals. Let's see if he celebrates like that tomorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfjKv_7ao9M

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>>>>>THE TABLOID SCANDAL<<<<<
MOURINHO SCRAPPED WITH LAD AGED 12 - The Sun
What you need to know: 1) Stroppy soccer coach Jose Mourinho has been ticked off for a scuffle with a 12-year-old boy. 2) The Special One was allegedly peeved after his daughter was insulted by a schoolmate. He reportedly pulled the lad by his ears and shook him. 3) Matilde has the same fighting spirit as her old man: the row kicked off after she claimed her dad was the best - but the boy said he wasn't. 4) It makes a change from fighting over his Yorkshire terrier and dodgy refereeing decisions.
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In TheGame

Tony Cascarino is treading on Dear Deirdre's toes this week as he answers some of your moral dilemmas. Not content with dishing out coaching advice on how to improve your finishing, strengthen your weaker foot and galvanise your spirit, The Times' footballing agony aunt is bringing his no-nonsense approach to bear on your personal issues - such as whether you're entitled to put your boot into your boss in an intra-company kickaround.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/11/tony-cascarin-1.html
Gabriele Marcotti, who has forgotten more about European football than AOTG has ever known, has been answering your posts about the TheGame Podcast . He makes the case for Arsenal's Fabianski, leaps to the defence of the much-maligned third-party agreement and gives a little insight into the new men at QPR.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/11/superagent-kia-.html#comments
Walter Gammie , our non-League know-all, on how Lewes have gone from small beer to Conference hopeful.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/11/from-small-beer.html
Martin Samuel started out by having a go at Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, and finished up getting sour about milkmen, the Gielgud Theatre, the cost of translators at Leeds United and anyone who doesn't understand the basics of market economics. Essential reading.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/11/the-debate-mart.html

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>>>>>THE RIVALS<<<<<
* Berbatov displays old dash as Spurs regain winning touch - The Independent
* Happy Tel Aviv - so why does Berbatov look so bloody miserable - Daily Mirror
* Bolton shock Bayern as Davies strikes - Daily Express
* Silent night! Football stands up to TV at last - Daily Mail
* FA consider swift exit for McClaren - The Daily Telegraph
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The Soapbox

In answer to Low Rider [yesterday's AOTG] - while Crouch brings many attributes on to the pitch, so far in his Liverpool career I believe he has scored no goals coming off the bench. Hardly the impact you want from a super-sub. Along with the AOTG stats, I would suggest he has to start. Whether he is good enough to start in a Premiership winning team is another matter.
Jonathan Martin

I feel sorry for Peter Crouch. The big Beanpole will never make it at a big club because no one will take him seriously because of his height, regardless of the goals he scores. In saying that, how many does he score because of his height? It's a no-win situation for the big guy and he should go to a mid-table club for a regular game and to be treated with a bit of respect. However, if he does the robot again, ban him from the game.
Al from Glasgow .

Regarding the "A quickie before you go, sir?" YouTube video involving the physio, can you let us all know what the correct link is for this video? The same Ibrahimovic link appears under both stories!
Daniel Brash makes a very valid point. Our apologies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaa3MdqLmP0

Send your views to sport@timesonline.co.uk

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Tomorrow's news today

- McClaren declares: I'm the right man for the job
- Keano and Big Sam square up for derby
- The Fink Tank on the truth about late goals

And expect...

Michael Chopra and Liam Ridgewell to score against their old clubs

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