الـــــخــــــــــــوف ....من خاف سلم

الـــــخــــــــــــوف ....من خاف سلم

RVP not ready for new deal

Robin van Persie has revealed he is in no rush to sign a contract extension at Arsenal but insisted he is happy with his current deal and focused on doing the business on the pitch.

The Gunners lost two of their most influential players over the summer as Cesc Fabregas returned to boyhood club Barcelona and Samir Nasri was lured to Manchester City.

Arsene Wenger announced last week that the process of signing up the likes of Van Persie would begin immediately, after voicing concerns that Arsenal could not match the rewards on offer elsewhere.

Van Persie, who was made captain at Emirates Stadium following the departure of Fabregas and scored his 100th goal for the club against Bolton on Saturday, is coming towards the final 18 months of his contract.

He maintains that he is satisfied with the situation as it stands and does not believe it is the right time to discuss an extension at such a busy stage of the season.

"I still have almost two years left here, so for the moment that's fine. But I don't know, we will have to look," said the Dutch striker.

Right moment

"I'm happy with my contract, I'm good. That's how it is, I can't say much more. I can't look into the future."

Asked if he might discuss a new deal soon, Van Persie added: "Maybe I'll leave it because the main thing for me is the team and that we play well.

"I do believe you have to look for a right moment to sit down and speak about your own stuff.

"It's not only about me, it's about the team. We are not talking now because we are so busy - we have games every three or four days. I don't think it's clever to do that during the season."

Torres regrets Gower challenge

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres says that he never meant to hurt Swansea's Mark Gower after being sent off on Saturday.

The Blues forward was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on the Swans midfielder after scoring his second goal of the season, but his team-mates went on to win the match 4-1.

It culminated a dramatic six days for the Spaniard who went into the weekend's clash looking to move on from his embarrassing open goal miss against Manchester United a week earlier.

Gower has escaped any serious injury, revealing afterwards that he had only been grazed by the ta
ckle,

but admitted that it was a needless foul by the 27-year-old.

Torres will now miss the next three domestic matches but is available to play in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League clash at Valencia on Wednesday.

Arrived late

"Obviously, I didn't want to do anything bad against the other player, I tried to take away my legs, but I arrived late to kick the ball and I kicked him a little bit.

It's a pity and I'm really disappointed for that. It is the first time I have received a red card in the Premier League and I hope it is the last one."

Torres had put Chelsea in the lead after 29 minutes on Saturday, meaning that he has already scored more goals for the Blues this season than he did in 19 appearances last term.

And the club's record signing has thanked the fans who have backed him despite a frustrating few months at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "Obviously, when you are doing great, scoring goals from the first day and doing good performances, it's easy for the fans to love and support you.

"But the first six months for me at Chelsea have been very, very difficult and I have been struggling, and I have always had the support of the fans.
"From the first day till now, every time I talk with them on the street, the café, everywhere, I can feel the support they are giving me so it is nice to start scoring for them."

Cristiano Ronaldo imitates Michael Jackson

City pay respects to United

Manchester City will pay their respects to those who died in the 1958 Munich air crash when they visit Germany on Tuesday.

A delegation of officials, including Life President Bernard Halford, will lay a wreath at the memorial of the accident.

City play Bayern Munich in their first-ever UEFA Champions League away game this week and wish to dedicate their visit to honour the lives of the 23 people who died.

The victims of the air crash included Manchester United players, officials and journalists who were travelling back from a European Cup game against Red Star Belgrade.

Frank Swift, a goalkeeper who made almost 400 appearances for Manchester City before becoming a journalist, also died in the crash.

Refreshing

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "It's refreshing, we appreciate that from Manchester City.

"And of course one of their own players was killed in the crash, their former players anyway.

"I think it's a good sign that the game is not as bad as sometimes we think, I think there's an element of supporters' contribution in a different way which is not nice.

"We appreciate what Manchester City are doing if that's the case, well done."

Magpies soaring

The new Premier League campaign has got off to a largely predictable start, with Manchester United and Manchester City setting the pace at the top of the table and Chelsea just behind.

Tottenham and Liverpool are going fairly well, while the promoted clubs are battling hard and Arsenal's stuttering form is not a complete surprise considering what a turbulent summer it has been at Emirates Stadium.

But there is one team that has exceeded expectations, having been tipped for relegation in some quarters ahead of the big kick-off.

Newcastle currently sit fourth in the standings, proudly occupying the final UEFA Champions League spot after extending their unbeaten record with an impressive 3-1 victory over Blackburn on Saturday.

Rewind a couple of months and Magpies supporters could be forgiven for feeling very anxious about their prospects going forward, following a series of typically baffling stories during the close season.

The sale of Kevin Nolan to West Ham raised eyebrows considering his influence last term, while Joey Barton and Jose Enrique were both critical of the club's board prior to sealing moves elsewhere.

There were not the big-money signings that were promised following Andy Carroll's £35million switch to Liverpool in January, with the players that Alan Pardew did recruit exciting but mainly untried in the Premier League.

Pre-season hardly ran smoothly on the field either, as their game against Darlington was marred by crowd trouble and a pitch invasion, the clash with Fiorentina was abandoned because of bad weather and performances hardly inspired confidence.

With lingering resentment towards owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias, boss Pardew struggling to match predecessor Chris Hughton in the popularity stakes and a group of players lacking obvious star power, even fans were unusually downbeat ahead of the season opener at home to Arsenal.
Sense of optimism

Barton was still at the club at this point despite being made available for transfer and perhaps inevitably stole the headlines following incidents involving Alex Song and Gervinho, but the most important thing gained from that match was a sense of optimism following a hard-fought goalless draw.

The Magpies went on to beat North East rivals Sunderland away from home a week later, which will always produce a lasting feel-good factor, and have carried that momentum through to the end of September.

They have claimed creditable draws away to Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa, whilst also beating Fulham and Blackburn at home, but where has this good form come from?

Well, for starters, Newcastle look a well-balanced, hard-working team, prepared to dig in when under pressure like they did against QPR but also capable of providing an attacking threat.

A strong defensive base is always the first thing a manager looks for and Pardew will have been delighted with the way his back four have played so far, conceding just three goals in six games.

Captain Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor, back to full fitness after an injury nightmare in 2010, have been imperious in the centre and have been well supported by Danny Simpson and Ryan Taylor, with Tim Krul growing in maturity between the posts.

At the other end of the pitch the cutting edge has been delivered by Leon Best and Demba Ba, two strikers that may have been unfairly considered journeymen prior to the season but who complement each other nicely and have shown predatory finishing to date.

Pardew deserves credit for bringing in a player such as Ba, having spotted that he had something to offer during a stint with relegated West Ham last season.

The signings of Gabriel Obertan and Yohan Cabaye in midfield have also proved shrewd acquisitions, swelling the French contingent at St James' Park and adding a new dimension to their attack.

Cabaye, in particular, has linked up well with Cheick Tiote in the middle of the park to give Newcastle the right mix of steel and creativity in such a key battleground, while the return from injury of Hatem Ben Arfa will bring further flair as well as increasing competition for places.
Blinkered

It is still very early days, though, and Pardew has told his players not to get carried away with their unbeaten start.

The fixture list has been fairly kind to Newcastle so far and at this stage of the season a team can plummet from fourth to fourth-bottom in the space of a few weeks.

So, the question arises, just how high can they set their sights this season?

Even the most blinkered of fans will accept that Newcastle are not going to finish in the top four, while fifth or sixth may be out of reach too if other clubs with stronger squads perform as they should.

Relegation certainly should not be a worry and, with a few new arrivals in the January transfer window, the Magpies can realistically aim for a top-half finish and perhaps a little better.
Seventh place in the Premier League or a long run in one of the cups would be good enough for the majority of supporters, so dreams of Europe may not be too fanciful after all.

KEMP TRYING TO WIN ELUSIVE NATIONAL LEAGUE TRIPLE CROWN

By the time Matt Kemp bats in the last game of the regular season Wednesday night he hopes to be ready to enter some of the rarest territory in baseball.

In a quiet way, Kemp catapulted himself toward a possible Triple Crown run with a productive September. But after a tough three-game series against the San Diego Padres over the weekend, Kemp's quest has become a lot more difficult.

Although Kemp has a comfortable lead in RBIs (119) and is tied with St. Louis' Albert Pujols in home runs (37), the Dodgers' slugger has fallen nine points behind Milwaukee's Ryan Braun in the NL batting race. If Kemp is to become the first player to win the Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and the first NL player since St. Louis' Ducky Medwick in 1937, he will have to pick up the pace in Phoenix in the final three games.

"I know it will take a lot to go past (Braun)," Kemp said. "I'm not going to try for hits, but I'm going to just keep doing what I have been doing and that is take good hacks and stay within myself."

Kemp, who went 3 for 13 against the Padres at pitcher-friendly Petco Park, is at .324 while Braun is at .333.

Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly, a former AL MVP and lifetime .307 hitter with the Yankees, thinks Kemp has a shot, although it will take an exceptional combination of circumstances.

"One guy has to kind of collapse and the other guy catches fire," Mattingly said. "You kind of need one of those 5-for-5 days and the other guy has to go 1 for 5. But we have seen Matt get hot before."

Kemp's torrid six-game stretch of multiple hit games leading into the San Diego series got him back in the Triple Crown conversation. Kemp was hitting .321 on Sept. 1 but trailed New York's Jose Reyes (.335) and Braun (.331). Two weeks later, his average had dropped to .314.

But then on Sept. 16, Kemp began his multihit barrage with 15 hits in six games that culminated with a 4-for-5 performance in the Dodgers' final home game Thursday. That raised his average to .326, four points behind Braun.

"If I have any chance at getting there, my mindset, my approach can't change," Kemp said. "I'm not going to be trying to hit home runs or worrying about hits. Once I start to do that, that's when I lose my focus and I won't be successful. I have to stay focused and do the same things that have gotten me to where I am at right now."

Through it all, Kemp has kept his sense of humour.

"Someone was screaming at me when I went to bat, 'Braun got two hits. Forget about it, man,'"

"I just started laughing. He's actually one of my favourite players."

One thing Kemp promises is this: He won't think about trying to smash the ball. He hasn't done it all season and won't do it now.

"I'm not going to change it up. I just have to relax. When I try to hit home runs and hit too hard, I'm not too successful."

If Kemp somehow pulls off this Triple Crown, Mattingly thinks the feat will have big implications.

"Just look at the game of baseball," Mattingly said. "The last time it was done was '67. Right there that tells you a lot. A lot of great players have come through the league and done a lot of good things. But to be able to put this combination together is huge."

Heath Bell, the Padres' 33-year-old closer, marvels at the difficulty of a Triple Crown.

"Think of it this way — 1967. That was 10 years before I was even born, and I'm not one of the young guys in the league," he said. "He'd be doing something that none of the great players in the last 40-some years did. That's pretty mind blowing, pretty impressive."

Said Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly: "It would be an unreal ending to what has already been a great year. Just on its own, this season has been tremendous. Now you add the Triple Crown and that puts it in a completely different category all by itself."

Kemp has hit well at Chase Field, where he has a career average of .304 with seven homers and 19 RBIs in 148 at-bats.

"It would be unbelievable if I could do this," Kemp said.