NEVILLE HIT FOR SEVEN

Barcelona’s recent 7-0 win over Valencia has received a lot of headlines especially given that it was a very poor result for new manager Gary Neville. The former Manchester United defender was recently appointed as the interim manager on a six-month contract.

Neville requested that he be judged at the end of his contract, but there are already a lot of calls for him to resign from his position. Neville has been in charge of Valencia for several weeks, but he is still searching for his first league win. Most of the successes that he has had have come in the Copa del Rey.

The recent result, however, is a huge blow to Neville’s aspirations of winning a title with Valencia this season. The 7-0 result in the first leg means that Valencia are certainly out of the running to win the trophy. The two teams were meeting each other in the semifinals of the competition with the winners being eligible to play against either Sevilla or Celta de Vigo. Luis Suarez was the star of the show after managing to score four.

Manager Luis Enrique, however, sympathised with the position of his counterpart at Valencia. Whilst Valencia languish towards the bottom of the table, Barca are riding high, and many are tipping them for European glory again – maybe it’s time for you too to take advantage of William Hill’s generous Champions League odds? Enrique played down the win.

Despite having played under Alex Ferguson who is regarded as one of the best managers in world football, it appears that Neville still has a long way to go.

“Valencia are going through a very difficult situation. It isn’t easy for anyone up against a team like us. Valencia’s situation is not pleasant, not even for us. I do not like to see opponents in this situation. We’re just doing our job. Every situation has to change eventually and I am sure they will get out of this because it is only a sporting problem,” said Enrique. Valencia are fast slipping down the league table as a result of the winless run under Neville.

ENRIQUE RELIES ON VERMAELEN

Rumours about an immediate departure from the Camp Nou for defender Thomas Vermaelen may be put on hold for the time being after manager Luis Enrique praised the player for his professional attitude. The former Arsenal defender has been a major disappointment for Barcelona since his £ 16 million move from the Premier League.

Nicolas Anelka

He was expected to be the replacement for Carlos Puyol when he moved to Barcelona, but Vermaelen has been blighted by numerous injuries the last two years. He has been able to make less than 20 appearances during this period. Even though Barcelona have lifted quite a lot of trophies in these two years, Vermaelen has never been a clear part of any. Continue reading ENRIQUE RELIES ON VERMAELEN

Barcelona not concerned about Thomas Signing

Barcelona have stated that they are not worried about the fact that summer signing Thomas Vermaelen has not been able to feature in a single match for the club so far. The Belgian international was seen as the popular replacement for Carlos Puyol, who retired at the end of last season.

Vermaelen may not have been an Arsenal first-team regular for the last 12 months, but he has undeniable quality that propelled him to the position of being one of the top defenders in the Premier League upon his £ 10 million arrival from Ajax.

The 29-year-old has not been able to make a start for his new club, Barcelona. However, this does not put him in a difficult mental state. This is largely because Barcelona appear to have convinced Vermaelen that he remains an integral part of the team despite his continued absence. The club’s sporting director Andoni Zubizaretta has revealed that Barcelona were aware that the player had a fair bit of injury problems even before signing for the club. Hence, he is confident that the Belgian international will be ready to play top-level football sooner rather than later. Continue reading Barcelona not concerned about Thomas Signing