GRAEME SOUNESS last night insisted: Chelsea will not turn the Premiership into a one-horse race.
The Newcastle manager says top-flight football will remain ultra-competitive and Jose Mourinho’s champions will struggle to storm miles clear of their rivals this season.
Souness said: “Chelsea know that in no game they play will they be guaranteed an easy three points. They are going to have to battle hard, scrap and enjoy a bit of luck to win games.
“They are a very good team and they deserved to be champions last year.
“But their manager is always on the ball and he will know that there’s no easy game in the Premiership.
“It’s a long hard season for them as well as every other team and you can’t take anything for granted in our league.”
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ASTON VILLA’S hopes of scooping the £10,000 Sun bounty were in tatters last night, writes CHRIS MOORE.
Boss David O’Leary aimed to field two strikers to ‘have a go’ at Chelsea when the sides clash at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
But he may now be forced into a U-turn because of an injury to Milan Baros.
The Czech, 23, missed training yesterday after sufering a kick on his Achilles tendon in Tuesday’s 8-3 Carling Cup win over Wycombe.
If Baros is ruled out O’Leary will have only one senior striker — Juan Pablo Angel — as Kevin Phillips is already a definite non-starter due to a calf problem.
O’Leary admitted: “Kevin has no chance and Baros is struggling. If he’s unfit it could muck up my plans big-style.
“It means we may have to play a different system.
“I wanted two strikers to have a go. But now I don’t know.”
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CRAIG BELLAMY will soon be terrorising Premiership defences again after his two-goal show in Blackburn’s 3-1 Carling Cup win over Huddersfield, writes DAVID FACEY.
The ;D
Welsh striker says he only has to improve slightly on three areas of his game to cause the top teams as many problems as he gave Huddersfield.
He said: “I still feel there is a little more to come from me — a little bit more strength, a little bit more power and a bit more speed.
“The cup-tie went as well as it could have. It was only my second game back after a bit of a lay-off.
“I’m really looking forward to the tougher games ahead. Hopefully I can stay injury free.”
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PREMIERSHIP veteran Steve Watson admits a “fear-factor” HAS tainted the Premiership this season, writes CHRIS MOORE.
And the West Brom utility man, 31, concedes today’s defensive mentality is a far cry from the gung-ho days under Kevin Keegan at Newcastle — when attack was always viewed as the best way to defend.
Watson said: “That was certainly the case when I played under Kevin, because the attitude was always that we’d score more than them.
“Most of our defenders were more attack-minded than defence-minded, especially Philippe Albert — who was always desperate to get forward!
“But perhaps that’s not the case any more because of how much there is at stake for Premiership clubs.
“I’ve heard talk about the Premiership being boring this season. But I just think it’s the fear of giving anything away.
“Everyone is so desperate to get off to a good start by not getting beat, that there’s not that much happening at the other end.”
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IAIN DOWIE believes he can convince Sven Goran Eriksson to take Andrew Johnson to the World Cup by inviting the England boss to watch training at Crystal Palace.
Johnson, whose knee injury is likely to keep him out of next month’s qualifiers, failed to make the bench against Wales or Northern Ireland.
Palace manager Dowie said: “I’m more than happy for Sven to come here. We’d love him to come down and watch Andrew in training.
“Andrew can’t do much more than he has done already. He should not be falling down any pecking order.”
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QPR face an FA probe over huge sums they are allegedly paying agents.
Club director and former FIFA-licensed agent Gianni Paladini is claimed to have splashed out nearly £500,000 to middlemen.
Most significant payments were £40,000 to Midlands-based agent Mel Eves for the transfer of defender Ian Evatt and £60,000 to Brian Hassell for Danish striker Marc Nygaard.
Paladini insists his hands are clean.
He said: “I have been in football for 35 years.
“Nothing has been done under the table that is fishy or suspicious.
“Everything has been checked by the FA.”
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ALESSANDRO PISTONE has had surgery on the knee injury that has already wrecked his season.
The Everton defender, 30, suffered ligament damage in only the second Premiership game of the campaign at Bolton — just weeks after signing a new two-year deal.
The Italian had an op in America and will return to the US for further surgery next month.
Everton physio Mick Rathbone said: "There had been fears the cartilage may need to be removed so repairing it is good news for the long term.
"But he will almost certainly miss the whole of this season."
fuck !
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FOOTBALL League chiefs have officially launched a scheme to let kids into matches for free — a plan exclusively revealed by SunSport yesterday.
The ‘Fans For The Future’ experiment aims to capture the next generation of supporters priced out of the Premiership.
A total of 34 clubs will provide free admission for each child accompanied by an adult.
League chairman Lord Mawhinney said: "Football League clubs are taking a courageous lead.
"Having the opportunity to see their local side in action will begin a lifelong passion for many kids."
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IAN ATKINS was yesterday sacked as manager of Bristol Rovers after less than 18 months in charge. wtf happened
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The Pirates are 19th in League Two and were trounced 4-0 at Chester on Saturday.
Former Wales midfielder Paul Trollope has taken over as caretaker boss with club captain John Anderson as his assistant.
Atkins’ dismissal means both Bristol clubs are now managerless after Brian Tinnion was sacked by City last week.
The Ashton Gate club want Yeovil boss Gary Johnson as their new manager — even though he recently signed a new two-year deal with the Glovers.
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BRIGHTON boss Mark McGhee will lead a protest march on the Labour Party Conference in the town on Monday evening.
McGhee and his marchers will be trying to persuade Deputy PM John Prescott to give the go-ahead for a new stadium.
After two lengthy public inquiries, Prescott is due to announce his decision next month.
McGhee said: “This is an excellent opportunity to lobby for the stadium. I will be joining the march along the seafront to help get our point across.
“I urge all fans to join us as it is the last chance to show how important this stadium is to us.”
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LEICESTER lost £3.5million after tax last year in their first season back in the Championship.
The previous year — when they were relegated from the Premiership — the Foxes made a profit of £4.8m.
But chief executive Tim Davies last night insisted the club’s finances were ‘stable and robust’.
He said: “We gave it a go at winning promotion but it was a prudent try reflected in the loss. That has been paid for out of the previous year’s profits.
“We want to get back in the Premiership but our business plan is based on long-term financial security.”
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HARRY REDKNAPP will ask for a personal hearing after being charged by the FA following his dismissal at Derby last weekend.
The Southampton boss has been accused of using abusive or insulting words towards an official.
He was sent to the stand after protesting at ref Nigel Miller’s decision to allow Inigo Idiakez to retake a Derby penalty.
But Redknapp said: “At no time did I use abusive language. The ref told me I was spoiling the fourth official’s day by jumping up and down all the time.
“So I said ‘I’ve got news for you, you’re spoiling mine’ — and that was it.”