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Toyibat Comprehensive School, Lagos and
Addax Rugby Football Club Junior team, emerged winners of the ‘Friends
of Rugby’ (FOR) organised Mike Ukome under-aged Schools Rugby Football
competition, which was held at St Saviour’s School Ikoyi, Lagos at the
weekend.

According to the
Secretary of FOR, Ntiense Williams, “Friends of Rugby has successfully
brought back schools rugby competition by organising the 2010 Mike
Ukome Schools Rugby championship.”

Playing with
vigour, Toyibat’s players left no one in doubt about their ability to
outdo other competitors when they defeated the host, St Saviour’s by 15
points to 5 points in the first final of the day in the U-11 category.

Despite losing the
trophy to a more determined side, St Saviour’s kids were consoled with
the Most Valuable Player award, which went to Paul Coker.

With the U-11
trophy already secured, Toyibat added the U-16 boy’s trophy by beating
Kings Collage 5 points to nil in a hard fought battle that stretched
into extra time.

With the games
scoreless at full-time, Toyibat had to rely on the experience of their
team captain Wale Akanbi whose solo run made nonsense of the defence
line of Kings Collage to give them a deserved 5 points victory in the
first half of the extra time.

Wale effort also earned him the Most Valuable player’s award for the U-16 event.

Addax stops Toyibat

In the U-14 boys’
category, Addax Rugby Football Club junior team were able to checkmate
Toyibat’s tall ambition. Addax defeated them by 5 points to nil to cart
away all the trophies at stake in the category. Anu Owoeye of Addax
emerged the Most Valuable player of the U-14 cadre. Addax also won the
women category by defeating Toyibat 5 points to nil.

Ifeoma Oguike of
Addax won the Most Valuable players award in the women event that
concluded a very successful tournament – on Saturday.

Participants

Five schools and a
club-side from Lagos participated in the competition that was
resuscitated after a two year hiatus. The schools are: Toyibat
Comprehensive School, Dowen College, Kings Collage, St. Saviours School
and Addax Juniors, the invited club-side.

Emeka Ukome, the
coordinator of the tournament said: “I give great kudos to “Friends of
Rugby” and especially the Chairman, Kelechi Mbagwu for their
sponsorship of the event after a two-year break which was due to lack
of sponsorship.

“I am very
impressed with the turn out at the event and the outcome of the
championship which was put together within a short period of time with
a few schools to start with.” Ukome added that the 2011 edition will be
bigger and better and will be hosted by another school probably Kings
Collage or Toyibat Comprehensive School.

The schools rugby event was well attended by parents, pupils and friends, who cheered the kids all through the tournament.

The Blues travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on
Sunday and enter the game off the top of the table for the first time since the
opening day of the Premier League season.

The last few weeks have seen Chelsea slide. Didier Drogba has
not scored for six matches and the 2-0 loss to Liverpool on November 7, which
was the described as a blip has now turned into a full scale slump.

The team has managed almost 60 shots on goal in the games away to
Birmingham, which they lost 1-0 and at home to Zilina in the Champions League,
of which only nine were on target in each game and just two actually hit the
back of the net. The 32 shots on target against Birmingham were the highest
recorded by a side this season in the Premier League.

But their hosts, Newcastle, have already beaten Chelsea this
season; a 4-3 victory at Stamford Bridge in the Carling Cup. A repeat defeat of
the defending champions is not impossible as Chelsea are without John Terry in
the backline while Newcastle have Andy Carroll, who wins everything in the air,
combined with Shola Ameobi in the attack. The defence line of Alex and
Branislav Ivanovic will need to bulk up for the physical battering that will be
thrown at them.

Newcastle have also recorded some heavy scores on Tyneside this
season and the forecast of the team struggling in their season back in the top
flight has yet to materialise. But they go into this game without their two
first-choice centre-backs, Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini, who have
been suspended for three matches each.

Joey Barton will also miss out as he serves the final match of
his ban over the weekend after he admitted a similar violent conduct charge
after the Blackburn game. Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor will almost certainly
come in for their first league starts of the season.

Captain Kevin Nolan will be hoping for a happier outcome against
Chelsea after a disappointing return to his former club last weekend. Nolan
conceded an early penalty against Bolton and also passed up a good scoring
opportunity. Nolan will take a crucial three points no matter how they come,
even if his side does not play at their best.

“When we’re at home, people want to see us go 4-4-2 and attack
teams, and give it our all,” he told the Newcastle Chronicle.

“If we get beaten 4-0, we’re all right, because we’ve had a good
go. It just doesn’t work in the Premier League.”

Newcastle’s home form has been average this season, with just
two wins in seven games, although the victories were heavy wins; 6-0 over Aston
Villa and 5-1 against Sunderland.

The Blues have been defeated thrice in seven games away from the
Bridge; and have not scored an away league goal in four matches. The recent
poor displays have come on the back of injuries to key players, departure of
Ray Wilkins and reports doubting Ancelotti’s future as Chelsea manager have
combined to what can been considered a mid-season crisis.

Chelsea may have won their last two matches at the Magpies but
their record at St James’ is not great. Seven defeats out of their last 15
visits have made Newcastle an unhappy hunting ground for the Blues.

Liverpool may dampen
Tottenham’s enthusiasm

Things are really going very well for Spurs this season. After
taking Liverpool’s place in the Champions League, they have beaten Inter Milan
and Arsenal, so confidence is sky high and they will welcome the visit of a
clearly struggling Gerrard-less Liverpool to White Hart Lane. Though the Reds
have reversed an early season slump by steadily climbing the table and are
three points from their host in sixth, their away form has been very patchy.
They have lost to Stoke City and drawn with Wigan in their last two away games.

Spurs have just qualified for the knockout stages of Europe’s
elite competition and morale is high but Liverpool will hope that their
opponents’ midweek exertions will have left them physically drained and Spurs
have not done well after mid week matches in Europe, just like many Champions
League team.

Very early on in the campaign, they managed to beat Young Boys
but then fell to a shock defeat against an inconsistent Wigan team. Further
down the line, they lost to treble-winners Inter Milan at the San Siro, despite
a good comeback.

Redknapp’s men then drew to Everton. Finally, having surprised
the football world by smashing European Cup winners Inter at the Lane they then
lost to Bolton. After defeating Werder Bremen 3-0 on Wednesday, the pointers
are that they will be dropping points to a resurgent Liverpool side.

But Hodgson’s Premier League away record negates this, the
chances are slim. There should however be an engaging Britain versus Wales
battle, as rampaging Welshman Gareth Bale tussles with England’s right back,
Glen Johnson, who was publicly criticised by Hodgson just a few weeks ago, but
his last game against West Ham elicited praises from Hodgson.

In a week where Liverpool’s new owners NESV appointed Tom Werner as
chairman, the Reds find themselves in a position to kick start their season.

Four years ago, Ibrahim Galadima became one of
the least popular people in the country for his comments after Nigeria failed
to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Nigerians who were only then coming to terms with
the fact that the Super Eagles were not going to the Mundial in Germany got
furious that the head of the football house was quoted as saying that
qualification for the biggest football event in the world was not Nigeria’s
“birthright.”

Such was
the public uproar that not a lot of eyelids were batted when the then sports
minister Ismaila Sambawa decided to nullify the outcome of the polls
re-electing Galadima as the NFF boss.

However, just over a week ago, the man under
whose tenure Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time
since making a debut appearance at the tournament in the United States of
America back in 1994 was nominated as the country’s representative ahead of
next February’s elections into the executive committee of Africa’s football
governing body, CAF.

And if Galadima or anybody in the NFF thought
four years was enough to make the majority of Nigerians forget the memories of
that 2006 World Cup failure, they were proved wrong because as soon as news of
his nomination emerged, criticisms came from all directions.

Old sins still fresh

From former footballers like Emeka Ezeugo, Nduka Ugbade, Steve
Abarowei and Jonathan Akpoborie, to football analyst Bode Oguntuyi, as well as
sports writer Dare Esan, the general opinion was that the Kano based
businessman was not good enough to fly the country’s flag at the polls taking
place in Khartoum next year. He will be up against the respective heads of the
football associations of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Kwesi Nyantakyi and Jacques
Anouma.

The Galadima critics opined that other candidates such as former
Nigerian internationals Segun Odegbami and Adokie Amiesimaka, as well as a
former handler of the Super Eagles and FIFA technical instructor Adeboye
Onigbinde would have been better placed to vie for a spot in the executive arm
of the continental body.

“There are lots of other Nigerians who can represent us and do a
better job like Odegbami, Adokie and even Onigbinde,” Oguntuyi told NEXT in
Lagos. “These are people I believe that can elevate Nigeria’s status in CAF and
FIFA but I guess they were not even considered in the first place by those that
nominated Galadima.”

“A lot of politicking takes place within CAF and FIFA but these
organisations also know the importance of having technocrats and that’s why we
need the likes of Adokie and Odegbami who can represent Nigeria in CAF and FIFA
the way the late Patrick Okpomo did,” added Esan, editor of Nigerian sports
daily, Complete Sports, recalling the late secretary general of the Nigerian
FA, Okpomo, who died in 2004.

Efforts by NEXTSports to get the acting secretary general of the
NFF, Musa Amadu to comment on how Galadima’s name emerged from the discreet
selection process proved abortive as the NFF scribe refused to comment on the
matter offering instead to speak on the issue at some other time.

Subsequent efforts also failed to yield positive fruits as
NEXTSports was informed by an official in the NFF secretariat that Amadu, along
with a handful of board members had journeyed to Germany for last Thursday’s
international friendly between the Super Falcons and their German counterparts.

Galadima also refused to comment on his nomination when
NEXTSports got in touch with him but he had earlier told the BBC why he decided
at this point to come out of his shell.

And according to him, winning a place on CAF’s executive
committee would give him the chance to help rebuild the organisation’s image
and salvage the continent’s dignity especially in the light of the recent
suspension of four of the continent’s top football administrators by FIFA,
including Nigeria’s Amos Adamu.

Project Galadima

“It’s not a Galadima project but that of Nigeria and Africa,”
Galadima told the BBC.

“There are several aspects of the African game that require
development. Our youth and club football needs to develop and the women’s game
must take a professional path as well.” He then added: “The entire set-up needs
change, which I hope to bring on board. The NFF has put me forward with the
backing of the sports ministry in Nigeria not because I’m the best amongst
several millions.

“They are confident I can represent Nigeria and the continent to
the best of my ability.” The decision of the NFF and the sports ministry didn’t
however go down well with Adamu whose seat Galadima will be vying for at next
February’s CAF Congress.

This is because Adamu recently launched an appeal against his
three-year suspension by FIFA over a cash-for-votes scandal and felt the NFF’s
decision could lead to confusion if his appeal is successful at the end of the
day.

There are however a cross section of individuals, mostly those
who have had a first-hand experience of working with Galadima who believe his
nomination is a step in the right direction.

One of those who see the move in a positive light is former NFF
executive member Taiwo Ogunjobi, who worked as the FA’s scribe under Galadima.

“I think Galadima’s nomination was well thought out and I am
hopeful that he will represent the country very well on the CAF Executive
Committee board,” said Ogunjobi in a chart with Supersport.com.

“He is a man of integrity and having worked very closely with
him some years back, I can say without hesitation that his candidature will
bring good tidings to both the image of the country and indeed the development
of the game both in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa,” he added.

Another is former member of the Federal House of Representatives Lumumba
Adeh. “I want to call on all well meaning Nigerians to give total support to Galadima’s
candidature. The government has a special role to play because it is going to
involve diplomacy and stuffs like that.”

The
Nigeria Premier League (NPL) have made known their intention to
organise a championship involving the youth sides of all the teams
taking part in this season’s Premier League championship.

Prior to the start
of the 2010/2011 season, the NPL made it mandatory for all the 20 teams
taking part in this season’s championship to register a youth team made
up of players under the age of 18. Plans are now underway by the NPL to
have these youth teams compete against one another in its bid to
develop youth football amongst the 20 clubs taking part in this
season’s top-flight. Spokesman for the NPL, Emeka Nwani, said that the
move is to ensure that the feeder teams of the 20 clubs are also
actively involved in playing the game rather than taking the back seat.
According to Nwani, the competition will take a format that will see
the various teams grouped into six zones as the NPL wants to take into
cognizance the fact that a league system will be financially too
demanding on the clubs.

20 teams, six zones

“The NPL will soon
organise a competition for the feeder teams of the 20 clubs taking part
in this season’s Premier League,” said Nwani. “Remember that the NPL
told all the clubs before the start of this season to ensure that they
set up their feeder teams with the age limit of players not more than
17 years. So in order to make sure that these feeder teams, or youth
teams as you will like to call them, are not just there for the sake of
being back-ups for the senior teams, the NPL has decided to start a
competition for them very soon. The competition will be in a zonal
format. This format we believe will be good for the clubs for the time
being.”

Nwani further revealed that the champions of the six zones are
expected to converge at a yet to be determined venue to feature in a
playoff that will determine the winner of the youth cup. The NPL media
man also took time to warn clubs of the grave consequence of fielding
players that are older than the stipulated 17 years during the proposed
competition. “The NPL will not condone a situation where clubs field
players that are older than 17 years. Once we discover that, I can
assure you that appropriate sanctions will be meted out to such a club
or clubs,” said Nwani.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons will come up against their German counterparts later today in an international friendly.

The Germans are the
reigning world champions, while the Super Falcons are the reigning
champions of Africa. The match, billed for the German city of
Leverkusen, is the first game to be prosecuted by the Super Falcons
since their successful campaign at the African Women’s Championship in
South Africa, and serves as part of their build-up towards next year’s
FIFA World Cup taking place in Germany.

Nigeria’s contingent of 18
players and eight officials earlier in the week departed for Germany
well aware that they have always lost anytime they came up against the
Germans, who will be aiming for an unprecedented third successive world
title next year. The very first game between both sides at senior level
took place back in 1991 at the FIFA World Cup in China, with the Super
Falcons suffering an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at the hands of the
Europeans in a group stage encounter decided in Jiangmen.

Players in 1991 now coaches in 2010

Current Super
Falcons coach, Eucharia Uche, and her assistant, Ann Agumanu, were both
in that Super Falcons squad; while current Germany coach, Silvia Neid,
was a midfielder in the German team and grabbed the game’s opening
goal. It took another 12 years before both sides were to meet again;
this time in a friendly match decided in the German city of Trier,
which served as a build-up game for both sides ahead of the 2003 FIFA
Women’s World Cup in the United States. And as was the case in 1991,
the Germans triumphed by three goals to nil. A year later, both sides
met in yet another friendly decided in Germany, this time around in
Offenbach, with the Germans triumphing 3-1. Nigeria’s only goal of that
game was scored in the 86th minute by Ajuma Ameh, but it served only as
a consolatory goal as the Germans went on to re-establish their
two-goal advantage three minutes later through Steffi Jones.

A month later, the
Germans came up against the Super Falcons in the women’s football event
of the Athens 2004 Olympics. And this time around, after a goalless
first half, it was the Nigerians who shot into the lead five minutes
after the restart through Mercy Akide only for Steffi Jones to restore
parity in the 66th minute, before substitute Conny Pohlers grabbed the
winning goal nine minutes from time. Both sides also met again at the
2008 Olympics in Beijing and, yet again, it was the Germans who
triumphed but this time by a lone goal scored in the 65th minute by
Kerstin Stegemann who made 191 appearances for the Germans.

The only player who has accumulated more caps than Stegemann is
Birgit Prinz, who has made 207 appearances with the last of them
arriving in last month’s 2-1 win over Australia. The 33-year-old
three-time women’s World Footballer of the Year, who on Tuesday made
known her plans to retire from football after next year’s World Cup, is
also the record goalscorer for Germany with 126 goals.

Her last goal,
however, arrived in February in Germany’s 4-0 drubbing of Denmark at
the Algarve Cup in Portugal where she grabbed her side’s second goal.
Inka Grings, who grabbed Germany’s equalizer in last month’s win over
Australia, scored twice against the Danes at the Algarve Cup and the
32-year-old has an impressive record of 59 goals in 86 appearances for
the Frauen Nationalmannschaft.

Former
Eagles and Rangers International defender, Kingsley Obiekwu, has
expressed disappointment at the state of decay that is being
experienced in the Nigerian Premier League (NPL).

The defender, who
played both in the local league before travelling abroad, compared the
league in his time to the present. “In those days, the league we had
was at least occupied by committed people; both the players and their
all those involved,” he said. “Everybody worked together to make sure
that things went well. We had better league games and we were able to
bring the crowd to the stadiums to watch us play. Now money has taken
an importance that league managers do not care about the enjoyment
which the spectators would want. Can you imagine the players not being
paid their allowances? How do you expect to get the best out of them? I
hear that some of them are even owed sign on fees for the past two
years. Some of the players get their daily bread from this, and when a
man is thinking of where to get that, you can expect his attention to
be divided.”

The players too

He also blamed the
attitude of some of the players, accusing some of not being committed.
“I hear that when they are paid their allowance some of the players
decide to stay away and not come for training,” he said. “When you do
not train, you will not be able to give your best.” Obiekwu also gave
suggestions on what the NPL can do to bring in more spectators. “There
is the need for a reorientation of our mentality,” he said. “Not
everything should be about money. I think the NPL should put modalities
in place that would encourage each party to any agreement in the league
to stick to their part of the bargain. We do not want our players to
become beggars on the streets. Some of these players are not there for
the love of the game and that is why they may not able to give their
all. If you are expecting something you need to give up some other
things. With persistence, you will find out that you will end up
getting all that you want; success, fame and fortune.”

League
leaders, Shooting Stars, will tomorrow attempt to maintain their
unbeaten run in the 2010/2011 Premier League season when they take on
Kano Pillars at the Sani Abacha Stadium.

The Ibadan-based
Shooting Stars have so far this season shown considerable improvement
from the side that struggled all through last season, defeating
Sunshine Stars (2-1) and newly promoted Bukola Babes (2-0), and were
only a few seconds away from recording a memorable away win over
Zamfara United before the home side grabbed a late goal to secure a 2-2
draw. On the other hand, Kano Pillars have yet to hit any form of
consistency in the three weeks old season. Kano Pillars, league
champions two seasons ago, started the season on a bright note with a
one-all draw at Kaduna United before returning home to pip Bukola Babes
1-0 in penultimate weekend’s round of matches. They, however, went down
by the same score line to Kwara United, no thanks to a controversial
95th minute penalty conversion by Isiaka Olawale. “We have already put
that behind us,” said Pillars’ Coach, Salisu Yusuf. “We are only
focussing on the match against Shooting Stars. Everyone here knows that
they have been doing well since the start of the season which is why
they are on top of the table but we also know that if we get a win on
Saturday we’ll both be equal on points.”

Familiar haunting ground

Shooting Stars are
three points ahead of Pillars, but have also scored twice in each of
their three league games to date, and will be looking to continue on
that impressive note as they make a return to an already familiar
venue. “We played there (Sani Abacha Stadium) against Zamfara and the
playing surface is good for football,” recalls Shooting Stars coach
Fatai Amoo. “It is very suitable for our style of football and if the
boys play to their potentials I believe we can come out of this game
with something. It won’t be, as the saying goes, a stroll in the park
as our opponents are a very good side; a side that’s very difficult to
beat at home. But we’ll give it our best shot.”

Another big game billed for tomorrow is Dolphins versus
second-placed Gombe United, who are also unbeaten. The game comes up at
Port Harcourt’s Liberation Stadium. In other games, Bukola Babes will
attempt to record a first ever goal in the top flight when they welcome
defending champions, Enyimba to the Offa Township Stadium, while
unbeaten JUTH, with Ghanaian import, James Amankwei, who has scored two
goals, will go in search of their first win of the season when they
take on the equally unbeaten Warri Wolves at the Rwang Pam Stadium,
Jos. Warri Wolves have in their fold Ekigho Ehiosun, who has scored
three goals and who jointly leads the scorers chart with Enugu Rangers’
Fred Okwara. Crown FC will also take on Kwara United at Ilaro.

With
just one win over Arsenal in their last 10 encounters, there is no
better time for Aston Villa to play the Gunners than now, as Arsene
Wenger will be missing playmaker and captain, Cesc Fabregas, who
tweaked his hamstring in the 0-2 defeat in the UEFA Champions League
day 5 fixture to SC Braga.

Arsenal have also
lost their last two matches from points of strength, leading 2-0
against Tottenham, but ended losing 3-2. Against Braga, Arsenal had 64%
possession but lost to two counter attacks. Youthful Arsenal
midfielders, Jack Wilshere and Denilson have however come out to
apologise to fans for their defeat to Braga. The Brazilian had a
below-par performance along with his fellow holding midfielder,
Wilshere, who also was disappointed by the outcome against Braga. “It’s
very disappointing and I feel very bad and very sad about this,” said
Denilson. “For the fans, I should say sorry and for the last match
(against Spurs) as well. We have to win trophies this season because
this is very important for us.”

Wilshere, who said
he is struggling to understand how they lost, is expected to start in
midfield with Alex Song in the defensive midfield role. Samir Nasri
will take up Fabregas’ role. Robin Van Persie could return upfront to
partner Marouane Chamakh. Aston Villa though is ready to unleash a
former Gunner against Arsenal on Saturday. Robert Pires is in line to
start for the Villains, according to Aston Villa boss, Gerard Houllier.
After coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat against Blackburn at
Ewood Park, the former Gunner and Villarreal man is expected to play
some part against his former club. “Robert was supposed to play one
half for the reserves but he did an hour so he will be in the 18 on
Saturday, definitely,” he said. Houllier also received more positive
news on Thursday as John Carew, James Collins and Habib Beye are fit
and back in contention to be named in the 18 against Arsenal.

Red Devils set out their stall

Despite not playing
well, Manchester United are joint leaders and can go three points clear
of Chelsea on Saturday when they host Blackburn at Old Trafford.
Qualification for the last-16 of the Champions League saw the return of
Wayne Rooney to goal scoring ways, even though it was from the penalty
spot. With a lot of players rested for the trip to Glasgow, Alex
Ferguson will want to climb the Premier League summit as the congested
December calendar is around the corner. Blackburn Rovers boss, Sam
Allardyce, is delighted with the form of his team going into the Old
Trafford clash. Wins over Wigan, Newcastle and Aston Villa has seen
Blackburn pick up nine points from a possible 12, shooting them up to
11th in the league table, giving the side a massive boost. “We’ve taken
nine points out of the last four games, we’ve 18 points after 14
matches which give us a really good running total for phase two of the
season,” he told the Rovers website.

One Blackburn
players who will relish the Old Trafford turf is Morten Gamst Pedersen.
The Norwegian scored two goals against United on their patch in 2005.
“People remind me of that day in 2005 all the time and want to talk
about it,” he said. “It’s one of my biggest ever days on a football
pitch – probably the biggest. That showed it’s not impossible for us to
go there and get points off them. The league is so tight it’s
unbelievable and lots of strange results are happening. We’ve beaten
Aston Villa so that means we can fully focus on going to United. It
would be great to do something like that again or, if not, do some
other good things from the position I play now.”

And Allardyce wants more improvement as they visit the Red Devils.
“We want to make sure we keep a good points tally ahead of the number
of games played, and the win over Aston Villa has given us the
opportunity to go to Old Trafford with a lot more confidence,” he said.
But the last time that Rovers got any sort of win over United was in
2006.

Nigeria’s
women’s team at the African Senior Table Tennis Championships in
Yaounde, Cameroon, have won gold the women’s team event.

The men’s team,
however, finished with a silver medal, while the country also won
bronze medals in the men’s and women’s doubles events, as well as in
the mixed doubles event. The women’s team, consisting of Offiong Edem,
Ganiat Ogundele and Janet Effiom, defeated the Egyptian trio of Nadeen
El-Dawlatly, Sarah Hassan and Sara El-Sokary 3-1 to secure gold for
Nigeria. Third place went to Congo Brazzaville, who had Nigerian,
Onyinyechi Nwachukwu, in their fold. They defeated Cameroon 3-1 to
secure the bronze. The star of the Nigerian women’s team in the victory
over the Egyptians was Edem, who started proceedings by recording a 3-1
win over El-Dawlatly and concluded matters by defeating Hassan 3-2.

“I think confidence
won it for Nigeria; we knew before the match that it was a 50:50 but
the Nigerians were confident they could win and it worked for them,”
El-Dawlatly told the website of the table tennis world body, ITTF.com.
“We gave our best and it is always painful to lose in the final; let’s
hope we can do better next time.” For Effiom, who defeated El-Sokary to
give Nigeria a 2-1 lead after Ogundele had lost to Hassan, it was
delight and to some extent revenge. “I had played Sara El-Sokary in the
quarter-finals of the African Junior Championships last year in Congo
Brazzaville; she beat me in the quarter-finals,” she said. “In the
match today, I did not allow her to play her style and most certainly,
I am happy to be part of the team that won the gold for Nigeria.”

The championship continues today in Yaounde with the conclusion of the men’s and women’s singles events which began yesterday.

The Blues travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on
Sunday and enter the game off the top of the table for the first time since the
opening day of the Premier League season.

The last few weeks have seen Chelsea slide. Didier Drogba has
not scored for six matches and the 2-0 loss to Liverpool on November 7, which
was the described as a blip has now turned into a full scale slump.

The team has managed almost 60 shots on goal in the games away to
Birmingham, which they lost 1-0 and at home to Zilina in the Champions League,
of which only nine were on target in each game and just two actually hit the
back of the net. The 32 shots on target against Birmingham were the highest
recorded by a side this season in the Premier League.

But their hosts, Newcastle, have already beaten Chelsea this
season; a 4-3 victory at Stamford Bridge in the Carling Cup. A repeat defeat of
the defending champions is not impossible as Chelsea are without John Terry in
the backline while Newcastle have Andy Carroll, who wins everything in the air,
combined with Shola Ameobi in the attack. The defence line of Alex and
Branislav Ivanovic will need to bulk up for the physical battering that will be
thrown at them.

Newcastle have also recorded some heavy scores on Tyneside this
season and the forecast of the team struggling in their season back in the top
flight has yet to materialise. But they go into this game without their two
first-choice centre-backs, Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini, who have
been suspended for three matches each.

Joey Barton will also miss out as he serves the final match of
his ban over the weekend after he admitted a similar violent conduct charge
after the Blackburn game. Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor will almost certainly
come in for their first league starts of the season.

Captain Kevin Nolan will be hoping for a happier outcome against
Chelsea after a disappointing return to his former club last weekend. Nolan
conceded an early penalty against Bolton and also passed up a good scoring
opportunity. Nolan will take a crucial three points no matter how they come,
even if his side does not play at their best.

“When we’re at home, people want to see us go 4-4-2 and attack
teams, and give it our all,” he told the Newcastle Chronicle.

“If we get beaten 4-0, we’re all right, because we’ve had a good
go. It just doesn’t work in the Premier League.”

Newcastle’s home form has been average this season, with just
two wins in seven games, although the victories were heavy wins; 6-0 over Aston
Villa and 5-1 against Sunderland.

The Blues have been defeated thrice in seven games away from the
Bridge; and have not scored an away league goal in four matches. The recent
poor displays have come on the back of injuries to key players, departure of
Ray Wilkins and reports doubting Ancelotti’s future as Chelsea manager have
combined to what can been considered a mid-season crisis.

Chelsea may have won their last two matches at the Magpies but
their record at St James’ is not great. Seven defeats out of their last 15
visits have made Newcastle an unhappy hunting ground for the Blues.

Liverpool may dampen
Tottenham’s enthusiasm

Things are really going very well for Spurs this season. After
taking Liverpool’s place in the Champions League, they have beaten Inter Milan
and Arsenal, so confidence is sky high and they will welcome the visit of a
clearly struggling Gerrard-less Liverpool to White Hart Lane. Though the Reds
have reversed an early season slump by steadily climbing the table and are
three points from their host in sixth, their away form has been very patchy.
They have lost to Stoke City and drawn with Wigan in their last two away games.

Spurs have just qualified for the knockout stages of Europe’s
elite competition and morale is high but Liverpool will hope that their
opponents’ midweek exertions will have left them physically drained and Spurs
have not done well after mid week matches in Europe, just like many Champions
League team.

Very early on in the campaign, they managed to beat Young Boys
but then fell to a shock defeat against an inconsistent Wigan team. Further
down the line, they lost to treble-winners Inter Milan at the San Siro, despite
a good comeback.

Redknapp’s men then drew to Everton. Finally, having surprised
the football world by smashing European Cup winners Inter at the Lane they then
lost to Bolton. After defeating Werder Bremen 3-0 on Wednesday, the pointers
are that they will be dropping points to a resurgent Liverpool side.

But Hodgson’s Premier League away record negates this, the
chances are slim. There should however be an engaging Britain versus Wales
battle, as rampaging Welshman Gareth Bale tussles with England’s right back,
Glen Johnson, who was publicly criticised by Hodgson just a few weeks ago, but
his last game against West Ham elicited praises from Hodgson.

In a week where Liverpool’s new owners NESV appointed Tom Werner as
chairman, the Reds find themselves in a position to kick start their season.