Frontline Football Blog

Mikel Arteta has said he is excited to get back on the field following an injury nightmare and wants to play as much as he can to help Everton's Premier League aspirations for this season.

The influential Spanish playmaker made his first appearance in almost a year when he came off the bench on 76 minutes during his side's FA Cup fourth round defeat to Birmingham.

Arteta suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in a game against Newcastle United in February 2009 and told BBC Radio Merseyside he was "so excited" to get back on the pitch.

He now wants to play as much as possible to help Everton build on their current position of tenth in the Premier League and Arteta is likely to be involved when they meet Sunderland on Wednesday night. The football betting makes Everton favourites to win that match.

The 27-year-old said it has been a "difficult" period and he has worked hard to get back from three operations.

Ronaldinho was considered to be past his prime by pundits and supporters alike when he arrived in the Italian Peninsula in the season of 2008/2009. The mediocre debut season did nothing to prove them wrong. On the contrary, it confirmed everything they had expected of the former Brazilian wonder who no longer displayed dazzling performances or smiles.

The current campaign started off much in much the same fashion-but that was all to change. As Coach Leonardo figured out how to get the best out of the players at his disposal, the team started to thrive.

But there was one player in particular-Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian has undergone a renaissance under the guidance of fellow countryman Leonardo and has emerged as one of the team's protagonists this season.

There was once a time when Juventus was synonymous with victory and greatness, a time when all of Italy feared the Old Lady of Turin.

As one of the peninsula's most storied clubs, the pressure is always on for Juventus to perform well-and to do so in style. The days of "Lo Stilo Juve" seem to be long forgotten, considering the Bianconeri can't control the ball, let alone the play, these days.

Lately, Juventus has been acting anything but the storied and prestigious club they are. The objectives set at the beginning of the season are all but washed away. What's left of the club only seems to be bits and pieces.

How did the club get to this point?

Professional football experts envisioned Chicago Bear defensive Gaines Adams as one of the young players in the National Football League that will soon blossom into a star in the premier football league in the planet.
However, the great potential of Adams to become a certified NFL star got halted when he unexpectedly died of cardiac arrest inside his house morning of January 17.
Adams according to the autopsy had an enlarged heart that lead to his death due to a heart attack.
Family, friends, and teammates of Adams expressed sadness and surprise on the death of Adams since they have no idea that the NFL star had such kind of ailment.
The whole NFL organisation lead by its commissioner Roger Goodell already sent its condolence and prayers to the family of Adams who are grieving on the death of their beloved kin.
After being drafted as four overall pick in the NFL draft in 2007, Adams has showed potential of becoming a superstar in the league while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and recently to the Bears.
In 47 games over three seasons with the Bears and Buccaneers, Adams had 67 tackles, including 13.5 sacks.
Players and coaches from both Buccaneers and Bears expressed sadness on the death of Adams saying the late NFL player had not reached his full potential when he suddenly died.
NFL players and coaches were unified in saying Adams is a great player and teammates who will be missed badly by the league for the years to come.
Before plunging into professional football, Adams is a known college football player particularly among Clemson fans for breaking up Wake Forest's field goal try and returning it for a touchdown in 2006 to defeat the Demon Deacons.
Tommy Bowden, who was Adams' head coach at Clemson, said he couldn't believe the young player was gone.
Aside from his college and professional football career, Adams is also a well-known family man who will do everything for the sake of his family.
The late NFL player is also known for being humble despite his status as a professional football player.
Football fans especially those who closely follow Adams are grieving over his death.
However, despite the death of Adams, the fire and excitement of the ongoing NFL playoffs continuous, Buy cheap NFL tickets to see your favorite team live!

Manchester City are still involved in a battle for the Premier League title, according to one of their midfielders.

Nigel de Jong has played a key role in City's development under new manager Roberto Mancini. The Italian is unbeaten during his time in charge and saw his side stroll to a 4-1 win at Blackburn earlier this week.

That victory moved City up to fourth in the Premier League. They now sit seven points behind leaders Chelsea and they will look to put pressure on their rivals when they travel to Everton on Saturday.

De Jong claims that City's main aim for this season is to finish in the Premier League top four and qualify for the Champions League next season and he believes the squad at Eastlands is more than good enough to achieve that aim.

"The title is a possibility. Nothing is impossible," said the Dutch defensive midfielder.

Fernando Torres could be integral to Liverpool's bid to finish in the Premier League top four, according to Rafa Benitez.
 
The Spanish manager saw his talismanic forward score his 50th league goal for Liverpool to give them a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, a result which sees the Anfield side close the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham to four points.
 
Benitez is under pressure to guide Liverpool to Champions League qualification for next season after his side were eliminated this year at the group stage.
 
The manager recently issued a guarantee that they would finish in the top four and has reiterated this desire.
 
"People keep asking me this but I will say again, the manager has to believe and I believe we will be in the top four at the end of the season," said Benitez.
 
The victory over Aston Vila helped to reduce the gap on Spurs and Torres, who became the fastest player to score 50 league goals for Liverpool, will be vital to fire them up the Premier League table.

Benitez said: "When he signed for us I knew we were getting a very good player with good quality and a good mentality. You saw that today. He has one chance and he can score. He is one of the best strikers in the world."

Torres recently urged the Liverpool board to stick with Benitez despite the struggles this season, as he was sure they would get over the problems and continue to challenge at the top of the Premier League in the future.

 It was 27 minutes of artistry. 27 minutes of world class mastery. 27 minutes of a young man playing a captain's part.

The media can't seem to find the superlatives for the fleeting cameo Cesc Fabregas gave for Arsenal yesterday as they overcame an inform Aston Villa 3-0.

With the scores level, the Spaniard arose from the bench to win and score a sumptuous free-kick before sealing the game with a confident finish after been set up by Theo Walcott.

Fabregas then returned to the bench after aggravating his hamstring injury before the imperious Abou Diaby made it three with a storming solo goal.

 Theo Walcott, a rose waiting to blossom or over-hyped, inconsistent player who doesn't know his true position?

A young man with pace to burn who causes fear in opposition defenders or simply a guy with pace to burn?

Since joining Arsenal in 2006, Walcott has often threatened to fulfil his supposed promise but all the Gunner faithful and England supporters have witnessed are cameos and snippets.

His brace at Birmingham, run at Anfield, and hat-trick against Croatia now seem lost to a mirage of "he's injury-prone," he's "got no confidence," he "just ain't any good."

Rafa Benitez will not leave Liverpool despite their struggles in the current Premier League season, according to Fernando Torres.
 
The Spanish striker has admitted he is disappointed with Liverpool's form this season, which has seen them exit the Champions League at the group stage and fall out of the Premier League title race.
 
Benitez's men are currently 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and occupy sixth place, lagging five points adrift of Aston Villa in the final Champions League qualification places.
 
There has been continued speculation about Benitez's position at Anfield and Torres has stated he cannot see the manager leaving halfway through the season.

"He still has four years to run on his contract, and he would not leave through the back door. Were he to leave, it would be with the team at the top," the striker told the Daily Star.

He admitted: "It looked like this was going to be our season, but it's turned out very differently from what we expected."

Benitez recently came out and guaranteed that Liverpool will finish in the Premier League top four and qualify for next year's Champions League.

He said there are 22 games to go this season and his team will perform well on the pitch, which should see them regain their place among the traditional big four.

This season’s Chelsea team is even better than the previous Premier League-winning side put together by Jose Mourinho.

That is the opinion of Ricardo Carvalho, who played in the 2005 side which lost only one game on its way to winning the title.

Chelsea currently sit top of the Premier League, with a five-point gap on closest chasers Manchester United and a superior goal difference to all the other top four teams.

They have conceded only eight goals in their first 14 games and are also through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Carvalho reckons this side under Carlo Ancelotti is certainly an improvement on the one put together in Mourinho’s first season in charge.

“Then we were compact and everyone was fighting, but now I think we have more quality in the squad maybe. Or at least different players, playing in a different system and style,” the Portuguese defender told the club’s official website.

“Things are good for everyone. We are playing well and not conceding goals."

Ancelotti recently came out and said he was pinning his hopes on Chelsea to win both the Premier League and the Champions League.

He added he was more than happy with the current squad at Stamford Bridge and might not bring in any new faces during the January transfer window.