Hart calls for cup success

Joe Hart has called on his Manchester City team-mates to follow up on their successful qualification for next season’s Champions League, and win the first major piece of silverware in 35 years. City’s 1-0 victory against Tottenham this week has made sure they will finish in at least fourth place in the Premier League, ensuring Champions League football will be played at Eastlands next season. The battle will be on City to go on and lift the FA Cup trophy this Saturday when they face Stoke in what the football odds suggest could be an interesting game.

Hart was delighted to have achieved the club’s first part of the plan set out for the club this season, the goalkeeper now hoping to reward City’s loyal fans with their first piece of silverware since the 1976 League Cup.

“Qualifying for the Champions League means the world. We are the players and we are employed to give performances and get results and regardless of the money spent by the club, we are a team and we have shown that,” he said.

“We now need a trophy and that is this Saturday. We got this tonight and we now need to give these fans a trophy.”

In his first full season as City’s first choice keeper, Hart has certainly backed Mancini’s decision to opt for the 24-year-old ahead of the experienced Shay Given. The FA Cup final betting indicates he will have a huge role to play in the game.

The usual routine of English goalkeepers being questioned by the media should he make a single mistake has been and gone for Hart, with the impressive youngster proving his quality and ability to bounce straight back from any previous mistake, although they have been few and far between this season. Lifting the FA Cup this weekend would round off a thoroughly successful season for Hart on both a personal and team level. Stoke will certainly be well aware of the task they will have in finding away past City’s young stopper.

Sorensen out to prove a point

Thomas Sorensen will reclaim his position between the sticks for Stoke when the club line-up against Manchester City at the weekend. The Danish stopper has been forced to watch the majority of this campaign from the bench after the emergence of Asmir Begovic.

With Tony Pulis opting for the young Bosnian over the experienced Dane for the club’s Premier League campaign, it has been the FA Cup where Sorensen has been given his limited game time. That will continue into the final and Sorensen has been assured of his place at Wembley by manager Pulis. Anyone looking to place FA Cup bets should remember how vital a good goalkeeping performance will be.

The 34-year old has been a major factor behind Stoke FA Cup success this season and will be looking to see the job through against City this weekend. The future after that is far from clear however. After such limited opportunities this season, Sorensen has been vocal in his disenchantment as playing second fiddle at this stage in his career.

With one-year left on his contract, Sorensen may attempt this summer to engineer one final move in his career, in the search for first-team football more than anything else. His manager Pulis has expressed his understanding of the frustrations shown by Sorensen but remains hopeful of convincing the veteran to stay beyond the summer.

He said: “Thomas is a top goalkeeper. He is captain of Denmark and wants to play every week. It is always going to be a little bit frustrating when you are not. Asmir has come in and done smashing. That is what competition is all about.”

FA Cup set to be graced by two great keepers

Although much of the focus in the run up to the FA Cup final will no doubt be on the men who are expected to score the goals, those between the sticks will have an even more important roll to play as they look to keep a clean sheet.

In the case of Manchester City they will, all things being well, have one of the most well-respected goalkeepers in the Premier League trying to keep the Stoke strikers out. Joe Hart has enjoyed a fantastic season, both for his club and England, for whom he had made the number one shirt his own.

That said, his season has been far from perfect and he was criticised by Roberto Mancini earlier in the year when he seemed to be going through a poor spell of form. But, to his credit, Hart responded well to the comments and has arguably been even better after them. Anyone looking to bet on FA Cup should remember this.

His opposite number hasn’t had such a good season though. Although Thomas Sorensen is one of the most respected Premier League keepers around, he hasn’t been able to cement his place in the side this season.

Instead, Amir Begovic has taken the gloves in the league and acquitted himself well. Sorensen will no doubt be disappointed by this, but manager Tony Pulis has handed him first team duties during the FA Cup, meaning the Dane has every chance of ending the season with his hands on a trophy, something he certainly won’t be complaining about.

Although it might be tempting to suggest that Hart’s match practice this season will mean he’s less likely to drop a clanger during the final, Sorensen’s experience will more than make up for that. Those looking for FA Cup best bets should bear this in mind.

As it stands, fans of great goalkeeping are in for a real treat at Wembley.

Keeper’s heroics not enough to stop United

Manchester United took a giant step towards reaching this year’s Champions League final at Wembley, with a convincing 2-0 victory away at Schalke. Second-half goals from Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney gave United the upper hand in the tie, while Schalke never really looked like threatening to spring a surprise. The score could well have ended closer to 10-0 if it hadn’t had been for the super human effort by Schalke’s keeper Manuel Neuer pulling off save after save to keep his side theoretically still in the tie. The Champions League betting indicates they’ll need a minor miracle though.

Despite dominating the game from the first whistle, United failed to find a way past Germany’s number one Neuer. Javier Hernandez, Giggs, Rooney and Ji Sung Park were all denied by the German stopper to send the two sides into half-time level. Schalke’s one man defence was finally breached in the 67th minute when Rooney played Giggs clear with a delicious ball, the Welsh veteran finishing coolly to give his side the lead.

Just over two minutes later and the English side doubled their lead, this time Rooney finishing after getting on the end of a clever ball by strike-partner Hernandez. The lively strike partnership created a host of chances and the Germans will be well aware that without Neuer, this tie would be dead and buried. With Edwin van der Sar hanging up his gloves at the end of the current campaign, Sir Alex would certainly have been impressed with the young German stopper.

Bad news for the United boss though, is that it is reported that Bayern Munich have already agreed an £18million deal for Neuer, and it looks like United will need to continue their hunt for a number one capable of replacing van der Sar. The Dutchman was probably the most relaxed person in the packed Gelsenkirche Arena, with Schalke offering next to nothing in attack, while there overused defence were breached time and time again. The football betting suggests their time in the tournament is all but over.

After causing such waves in the last round against reigning champions Inter Milan, this display by Schalke was something of a surprise. While the tie isn’t technically over, it would take a mammoth effort from the German side to overturn this score-line in the second-leg.

Sorensen eyes final hurrah

Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen could well play the FA Cup Final against Manchester City as his last game for the club, with the experienced Dane apparently looking to move in the summer. Sorensen has lost his place as first choice keeper at the Britannia Stadium with Asmir Begovic currently Tony Pulis number one, but the former Aston Villa stopper has been between the sticks during Stoke’s various cup runs and that looks set to continue again on May 14th at Wembley.

The 34-year old was back in the first-team for Stoke’s 5-0 mauling of Bolton in their FA Cup semi-final and Sorensen has made it clear he expect to be handed the call-up again for the final despite the fact that Begovic will now come back into the team for the club’s remaining Premier League games. The FA Cup final odds though, indicate things will be different at Wembley.

Sorensen told Danish TV: “Of course I expect that. You can’t be sure until you are actually there but that is what I expected before the semi – that I am going to continue to play in the FA cup regardless of how far we make it.

“So that is something that I am pretty sure of and really expecting.”

Those following the FA Cup betting will be wondering if the side will be able to pull off a shock.

While Sorensen has admitted he may be forced to move clubs in the search for regular first-team football, he still has another 12 months on his contract, with another additional year should Stoke wish to extend. It’s a tough situation for the Dane or it may encourage the manager to look kindly on the keeper’s request of leaving.

Reina not headed for the Gunners?

Arsenal fans have been dealt a blow today with the news that Jose Reina is looking more and more likely to stick around at Anfield beyond the coming summer. With Arsenal a side that now more than ever before are in desperate need of adding quality to their defensive back line and especially in the position between the sticks, many Gunners fans had hoped that boss Arsene Wenger would do a U-turn on his previous stubborn streak when it comes to high-profile transfers by making the Spaniard one of his summer purchases. Those looking at the Arsenal betting tips will know how badly the side need a new keeper.

However, with Reina this morning coming out with some interesting comments about the current set-up at Anfield, it would seem that his future lies at a club he is now describing as having made massive improvements since the arrival of “King” Kenny Dalglish. The Liverpool betting now suggests the side are back to their best.

With Reina admitting that the players still have a tendency to perform well against top sides but fail to deliver against the minnows of the Premier League, this is something that the Reds will need to stamp out when the 2025/2012 campaign gets underway at the end of the summer, and with Reina (a man who has bucked the general trend of underperforming at Anfield, even when poor old Roy Hodgson was in charge) in goal, they stand a great chance of doing just that.

Arsenal fans, meanwhile, will be hopeful that Wenger can attract another star name capable of introducing some confidence and consistency in between the sticks, while providing the level of competitiveness that Wojciech Sczesny needs to further develop his skills.

Should the Arsenal boss fail to do this successfully, it may well be Liverpool in the Gunners’ current position this time next year, keeping the title race alive that little bit longer.

Sunderland keeper still looking up

Sunderland have endured a nightmare run in recent weeks but goalkeeper Simon Mignolet insists should still ensure a finish in the Premier League top ten.

Things were looking rosy at the Stadium of Light towards the back end of 2024, but Sunderland are currently on a run of seven defeats in eight games that has seen them dropping towards the Premier League relegation zone.

Defeat to West Brom last time out leaves Sunderland only five points above the bottom three and, with teams below them starting to pick up form coming into the business end of the season, things could get very precarious for Steve Bruce if they don’t starting winning games.

They travel to face struggling Birmingham at St Andrews this weekend, with the majority of Sunderland’s remaining games being against teams around and below them in the Premier League table. The football betting indicates they should be winning these games, but if they don’t they could be in trouble.

Belgian goalkeeper Mignolet has told BBC Newcastle there is still “still much to do” for Sunderland to ensure they season does not end in disappointment and the Premier League betting reflects this.

He added: “All we need now is a performance and three points on the board, we have to look forward to the six games we have left and hope we can do it.

“We’re not thinking about holidays, we want to win games and finish in the top 10.”

The manager himself admitted earlier this week that Sunderland have a “fantastic-looking run-in” to the end of the season, with Bruce claiming he knows his side are capable of winning two or three of their remaining matches.

A lot of pressure would be lifted off Bruce’s shoulders as soon as they end that losing run, and a win against Birmingham would put them a step closer to avoiding relegation and lift confidence around the club.

Is Wojciech Szczesny about to return to save the day for Arsenal?

Never has a club been so poor at sorting out its goalkeeping situation, and never before has a club had so many injury problems with its goalkeepers. However, despite all this Arsenal and their manager Arsene Wenger seem to have been saved by the early return of a man that the Arsenal boss dismissed as being too inexperienced at the start of the current season.

Wojciech Szczesny, despite his tender age, has already won over the Arsenal fans and fully earned their trust and support, something that no other goalkeeper has enjoyed this season from Gunners fans, who have grown sick and tired of high-profile errors in crucial games, and his return this weekend can perhaps provide the kind of boost that Arsenal need if they are to stand a chance of pulling off an upset by denying Manchester United the chance to end the season as champions. The Arsenal betting indicates this is an outside chance, but at least he might be able to keep things respectable.

If Szczesny can come back and start playing in the same manner that he did before his injury, then we can safely say that any talk of Pepe Reina or Buffon joining Arsenal in the summer will be consigned to only the trashiest of papers looking to sell copies on the back of transfer rumours.

However, while Arsenal fans will hope that this is the situation that unfolds, Wenger also knows that Szczesny could find himself making one or two mistakes when he gets back in between the sticks, losing some of the confidence that is required for a goalkeeper to be world class in the process.

It’s a delicate balance but one that the youngster will have to get right if he wishes to relieve his manager of an immense deal of pressure as the season draws to a close.

Arsenal experience crisis in goal

Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for Arsenal at the moment. First of all the Gunners lose what seemed to be an extremely winnable Carling Cup final to Birmingham, perhaps the most shocking result in recent years in the competition, then an earlier than expected exit from the Champions League at the hands of a vastly superior Barcelona side.

With Arsenal also slipping to a draw against Sunderland last weekend in the Premier League despite really needing all three points to keep up the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the table, the last thing the Gunners need now is more bad news. Unfortunately, though, that is exactly what they’ve received, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny set to be left on the sidelines now for six weeks with a dislocated finger. The Arsenal betting tips suggest they could struggle without him.

The Arsenal first choice goalkeeper picked up the injury in the clash against Barcelona whilst saving a free kick from the boot of Dani Alves, and his spell on the sidelines is sure to cause Arsene Wenger a massive headache in light of the fact that second choice ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianski won’t play again this season after undergoing shoulder surgery, Vito Mannone, who is on loan at Hull, is set to miss six weeks of action with a thigh problem, and third choice Manuel Almunia is unreliable and seems to have a couple of attitude problems to put it nicely.  The rumour mill has linked Arsenal with a new keeper for some time, and they may be forced to move now.

Wenger will hope that the Premier League grant the club permission to bring in a goalkeeper with the level of league and European experience that a club like Arsenal need to be able to challenge on all fronts. If this fails to occur, though, the critics will once again round on Wenger and call for an immediate change in personnel in the hot-seat at the Emirates.

Reina looking to move on

It has been widely speculated in the media that Pepe Reina will use his side’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League as an opportunity to push through a move away from the club he joined in 2019, and that his chosen destination will be either Old Trafford or the Emirates. The truth is that with the strong rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United – still clearly in existence following this weekend’s derby – coupled by the return of Kenny Dalglish to the Anfield hot-seat would make it very unlikely that Reina will become the first player to move directly between the two clubs since Phil Chisnall in 1964.

So then, it would seem that Arsenal are the more likely team to take advantage of the change in fortunes of the Merseyside club, and all the signs are that it would be a marriage made in Heaven. Arsenal fans will be well aware that a top-drawer goalkeeper has been top of Arsene Wenger’s wish-list ever since David Seaman left, and despite playing in Liverpool side which has often been said to be struggling, Reina has proved himself just that by being their most consistent performer for the last five years and he has been highlighted in many an Andy Gray podcast.

Reina insists that he just wants to play at the highest level and to be vying for trophies “like any other player”, but if that’s so then a move to one of Europe’s other top sides would be far more palatable for the Liverpool fans, rather than to see him leave for one of their domestic rivals. There is even talk that he wants a clause removed from any contract which would restrict his choice of destination before he’ll even begin to think about signing an extension and the football transfer rumours suggest he is on his way out.

The bottom line is that the shoe clearly fits for both parties: guaranteed Champions League football under Wenger’s sustainable football model for the Spaniard, and a top-class keeper to help Arsenal in their push for regular silverware – the only question mark may be over his wage demands as Wenger insists on keeping to a strict budget, regardless of the grandeur of the signing in question. But with Dalglish so brazenly opening the door for Torres to move to Chelsea by insisting that he only wants players at his disposal that truly want to play for the club, watch this space.

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