Tottenham Interest Excites Onazi

Super Eagles midfielder, Onazi Ogenyi, says he is not carried away by the prospect of him moving to English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur but would rather wait on God for His divine direction.

Onazi who plays on loan for Lazio said only God knows the best for him and that he believes Prophet T.B Joshua who owns his transfer right will strike a good deal for him.

“I’m delighted that a club as big as Tottenham Hotspur is showing interest in me,” the former Golden Eaglets silver medal winner at 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup said.

“”But I’m not going to be carried away by that. I have to keep on working hard believing that God knows the best for me.”

The former Flying Eagles midfielder who debuted for the Super Eagles in the 3-1 defeat of Venezuela in a friendly match in Miami, USA, admitted that it he will be delighted if the Tottenham deal eventually sails through.

“I’m enjoying my stay here in Lazio but if the opportunity comes for me to play for Tottenham one day, fine and good,” the My People FC of Lagos player said.

NFF To Hire Bender For F/eagles

Nigeria Football Federation is set to hire Germany-born coach, Manfred Bender, to assist Flying Eagles head coach John to Obuh prosecute the 2013 African Youth Championship slated for Algeria.

Complete Sports learnt that before departing for a UEFA B License coaching seminar in London,  Obuh had written to the NFF recommending Bender for appointment as his assistant during the 2013 AYC in Algeria.

Bender worked with Obuh during the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia where the team reached the quarter-finals.

A member of the Technical Committee of the NFF disclosed to Complete Sports that Obuh has written to the NFF requesting for the engagement of the German, citing his rich knowledge of African football as reason for his recommendation.

“Bender has high technical ability. He knows the African game. And above all, we have worked together before,” Obuh was quoted to have said in his recommendation to NFF.

The NFF official however informed Complete Sports that Bender’s job with the NFF will run only through the duration of the 2013 AYC.

Meanwhile, Obuh is expected back in the country any moment from now as he is expected to attend the CAF U-20 draw in Cairo, Egypt, along with his Golden Eaglets counterpart, Manu Garba, as the draw has been slated to hold on December 9, 2012.

Wenger Plans £7m Demba Ba Raid

Arsenal are prepared to test the resolve of Newcastle United by launching a January bid for Demba Ba.

The forward, who is stalling over a new contract with the Magpies, took his goal tally in the Barclays Premier League to 10 last night with a double during his side’s comfortable home win against Wigan.

And with Gunners manager Arsene Wenger keen to provide some more cutting edge up front, Ba could be the perfect option.

The Toon goal machine could leave for as little as £7m under a release clause in his contract, which would be a real bargain, but Arsenal face tough competition from Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, who is known to be a fan of the Senegalese international.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was candid about Demba Ba’s future, telling Sky Sports after the Wigan game: “We’ve tried to do a deal with him and take the clause out and that’s probably where the speculation is.

“Te clause is always hanging over us and it makes it difficult for us, the club and him. We accept that and that’s the way football is.”

Gunners misfire, but Wenger isn't worried

ATHENS - A second-string Arsenal side failed in their bid to top their Champions League Group, falling 2-1 at Olympiakos and allowing Schalke to clinch Group B despite a 1-1 draw at Montpellier last night.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger rested most of his regulars for the trip to Greece, yet his team led through Tomas Rosicky's crisp first-time shot in the 38th minute.

However, the Gunners again showed defensive frailty when Giannis Maniatis pounced on poor control in the goalmouth by Aaron Ramsey in the 64th minute. Substitute Kostas Mitroglou fired the winner from 22 meters nine minutes later.

Arsenal will have more than two months to regroup before its next Champions League test. 

"We had a good first half, but I believe we dropped physically in the second half because many of the players didn't have the match experience at that level," said Wenger, who was overseeing his 150th match in this competition.

Said Olympiakos coach Leonardo Jardim of the victory: "We wanted a win tonight and to make the fans happy - and we did that. Now we must focus on the Europa League." AP

Which players should Arsenal go for in the transfer window? – in pictures

Leighton Baines, left-back, Everton, £15m





 
 Here are a selection of potential moves manager Arsène Wenger has been linked with and could make next month, with fans desperate to see reinforcements at both full-back positions, in midfield and up front, especially with money at his disposal.

The 27-year-old has arguably developed into the best left-back in the Premier League, challenging Ashley Cole's status as first choice for England. He has created more chances in the league than any other player this season and would present an upgrade on Kieran Gibbs and André Santos. He has been heavily linked with Manchester United

Avram Grant could be offered consultancy role with Chelsea

Avram Grant may be called in at Chelsea to assist Rafael Benítez in a consultative role should the poor run continue. Photograph: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters

Rafael Benítez believes he retains the support of the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, despite seeing his team endure a third winless match under his interim management at West Ham on Saturday, though the oligarch could yet offer Avram Grant a consultative role back at the club if results continue to deteriorate.
The loss at Upton Park extended Chelsea's run without a win in the Premier League to seven matches, their worst sequence since 1995, with Abramovich understood to have been infuriated by his players' second-half capitulation. There are concerns that Benítez, who remains the subject of intense hostility from the club's fans given his long-standing ties with Liverpool, has been unable to spark an immediate upturn in the side's form with Chelsea now 10 points behind Manchester United in the title race.
While there is no great desire to instigate further upheaval within the coaching set-up following the abrupt dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo less than a fortnight ago, Chelsea will consider more changes to their staff if results do not improve swiftly. To that end the possible reappointment of Grant – who had briefly been considered as an alternative to Benítez when the board deemed Di Matteo's time to be up – in an advisory role to assist the Spaniard has been discussed by the hierarchy.
The Israeli's return to the club would represent further antagonising an increasingly disillusioned fanbase, though that he is under consideration reflects the chaos currently gripping the European champions. Grant, a personal friend of Abramovich and previously the club's director of football, had controversially replaced José Mourinho as manager in the autumn of 2007 and went on to steer the team to the League Cup and, most notably, Champions League finals only to lose them both. His contract was terminated in the wake of the European Cup defeat by Manchester United in Moscow on penalties, with Grant later claiming he had turned down the chance to revert to his former position as director of football.
The 57-year-old has remained on good terms with Abramovich since and spent time in charge at Portsmouth, West Ham and Partizan Belgrade, but is currently available and in London having delayed a trip back to his home in Tel Aviv. While Grant has not been contacted formally over any potential involvement at Chelsea, it is understood he would be willing to take up an advisory role if the club came calling, though the specifics of any such position are as yet unclear.
Benítez brought in Xavi Valero, Paco de Miguel and Bolo Zenden on his appointment 11 days ago on a seven-month contract, though Zenden, nominally his No2, is still to secure all his Uefa coaching badges and cannot enter the technical area during games. The interim manager admitted on Saturday he "cannot be 100% sure" he will see out his short-term contract the 52-year-old has called for more time to make his impact felt having benefited to date from only a handful of training sessions and three winless matches in a cluttered schedule.
Benítez has confirmed there were angry words exchanged by staff and players in the dressing room after the frustrating 3-1 reverse at Upton Park but reaffirmed his belief that he can arrest the side's slump in form. Indeed, having spoken face to face with Abramovich after his first two games in charge, against Manchester City and Fulham, and again at the club's Cobham training base last week, as well as attending a board meeting last Thursday, he is confident he still benefits from the owner's immediate support.
Benítez will hope to register a first win against Nordsjaelland in Chelsea's final Champions League group game on Wednesday, though even victory over the Danes may not be enough to force passage into the knock-out phase. Should Juventus avoid defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk, then Chelsea will be consigned to the Europa League, a reality they would still be digesting as they depart for the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan immediately after Saturday's trip to Sunderland. Both John Terry and Frank Lampard will be on that flight to Tokyo with the pair due to play some part in training on Monday as they step up their recoveries from knee and calf injuries respectively.

FA praises Millwall for banning 13-year-old for 'foreseeable future'

Marvin Sordell reported that he and team-mates had been subjected to abuse during Bolton's defeat at Millwall. Photograph: Paul Currie/Action Images

The Football Association has praised Millwall's action against a 13-year-old boy who admitted verbally abusing Bolton's Marvin Sordell. Millwall have banned the teenager from home matches for "the foreseeable future", the Championship club announced in a statement.

The incident happened during the 2-1 victory over Bolton at the Den on 6 October. Sordell alleged that he and several of his team-mates had been racially abused, with himself being referred to as a "slave".

Millwall called in the police to investigate with the FA also looking into the matter. Millwall said that because of the age and background of the boy – who, according to the club, wrote a letter to Sordell offering his apology – they will place him on an education programme "in the hope that we can change his outlook on equality, racism and life in general".

The FA said: "The FA applauds both Millwall and Bolton Wanderers for their commitment and cooperation in ensuring a full and thorough investigation could take place.

"We would also like to thank Marvin Sordell and the PFA for their assistance throughout this process. The FA fully supports Millwall's approach in terms of dealing with the young individual responsible through a ban from the club's matches for the foreseeable future as well as offering him a place on one of its education programmes run by Millwall for All.

"As the English game's governing body, the FA continues to work closely with our partners to ensure we eradicate all forms of discrimination in football, including the important work Kick it Out undertakes with professional clubs through the Equality Standards."

Millwall stated: "Having completed our investigations into the incident, we have identified and interviewed a 13-year-old boy who admitted a verbal exchange with Marvin Sordell in which abuse was used. The individual has been banned from Millwall matches for the foreseeable future but as a club we also felt, given the boy's age and background, we had a duty to play our part in attempting to educate and rehabilitate him.

"Accordingly, we have offered to put him through one of our education programmes, run by Millwall for All (formerly the Millwall Anti-Racism Trust) in the hope that we can change his outlook on equality, racism and life in general.

"In the meantime, the boy has written a letter to Marvin Sordell offering his apology, which has been accepted. We would also like to put on record how disappointed everybody at Millwall was in the way in which the initial allegations were reported in some sections of the media.

"These reports were made with no knowledge of the facts and created the impression that Bolton players were subjected to racial chanting or systematic abuse by more than one individual. We trust that, now the facts have emerged, certain individuals will reflect on the reports they made.

"Finally, it is our hope that all of us within football, including governing bodies, clubs, players, fans and the media can continue to work together to build on the progress that has been made over many years in effectively tackling the issue of racism in our game, rather than merely sensationalising, and thereby trivialising it."