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Houllier confident Dudek will respond on Liverpool recall

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -- Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier is confident Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek can put his poor early-season form behind him against Premier League leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Wednesday.

With first-choice goalkeeper Chris Kirkland ruled out for the season with a knee ligament injury, Dudek makes his first start since being dropped seven weeks ago.

"We are fortunate to have Jerzy, who was devastated at what happened to his close friend Chris," Houllier told reporters on Tuesday.

Dudek was axed following a mistake that gifted Manchester United striker Diego Forlan the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat on December 1. That error followed blunders in games against Middlesbrough and Fulham.

"He stunned me by making the mistakes he did late last year because he was tremendous for us throughout last season," Houllier added.

"Jerzy went through a difficult period of form, but he has benefited from having a break and in the last four or five weeks has looked the part again.

"The lack of fortune for some players opens doors for others and this is an ideal opportunity for him to step back into the team."

Houllier said 21-year-old Kirkland, who sustained his injury in the 0-0 fourth round FA Cup draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday, would receive the full backing of everyone at the club as he recovers.

"Chris will be out for the rest of the season and it's a major blow -- both for the boy at this stage of his career and also for the club," the Frenchman said.

"He had done well since coming in for Jerzy and was improving in every game, so the timing could not have been worse.

"In your career you always have to deal with injuries and the one you fear most is the cruciate ligament.

"He knows how long it will take to recover from this, but Chris is young and has everyone's full support and I am sure he will come back stronger."

Houllier believes Liverpool were cheated of victory in the 1-1 draw at Highbury last month, when Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers was controversially awarded a late penalty.

Corner turned

"We felt we turned a corner at Arsenal in December and I maintain that we should have won," he said.

"We still feel hurt at what happened over there, but we have come back to the solid defensive strengths and in terms of desire and motivation, the Arsenal game comes at the right time."

Swiss defender Stephane Henchoz is back from suspension and Czech striker Vladimir Smicer returns from a calf injury for the Arsenal match.

Shaken Liverpool must stir for Arsenal visit

LONDON (Reuters) -- Liverpool versus Arsenal fixtures are often pivotal in deciding English title races, and Wednesday's clash at Anfield is vital to both sides, albeit for different reasons.

With second-placed Manchester United not playing, champions Arsenal have the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to an imposing eight points.

United postponed their scheduled trip to Birmingham City on Tuesday because they played West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday in the FA Cup, a decision Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his team's main rivals may live to regret.

"It gives us an opportunity to extend our lead and of course we'll go to Liverpool to achieve that," Wenger told reporters. "We can take advantage."

Liverpool badly need a morale-boosting victory after a season that started brightly but is rapidly turning into a nightmare.

Having stood proudly at the top of the pile in November, a wretched run of 11 Premier League games without a win left Gerard Houllier's side effectively out of the title race.

Despite a 1-0 win at Southampton last time out, Liverpool languish in sixth place, 14 points adrift of Arsenal.

To make matters worse, Liverpool learned on Monday that 21-year-old goalkeeper Chris Kirkland is out for the season with torn knee ligaments.

Kirkland, on the verge of a senior England call-up, suffered the cruel injury in a challenge with Crystal Palace striker Dele Adebola in Sunday's 0-0 FA Cup draw at Selhurst Park. Polish international Jerzy Dudek will return in goal against Arsenal.

Last season the equivalent fixture marked the turning-point in Arsenal's campaign.

Dramatic finish

Wenger's team won 2-1 at Anfield on December 23, 2001 despite having Dutch wing back Giovanni van Bronckhorst sent off after only 36 minutes.

The victory followed a 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle United and marked the start of a remarkable 30-game unbeaten run in the Premier League that only ended 10 months later in a 2-1 defeat at Everton.

In that time the Gunners sealed the second FA Cup and Premier League Double of Wenger's reign.

The most famous Liverpool-Arsenal Anfield game was the 1989 encounter, which Arsenal won 2-0 with Michael Thomas's last-gasp strike clinching the title in the most dramatic finish to a championship race in English soccer history.

Nothing will be decided on Wednesday, but Liverpool fans have few reasons for optimism with Arsenal again running into superb form.

Wenger's side brushed aside minor league Farnborough Town on Saturday 5-1 in the FA Cup fourth round even with French striker Thierry Henry, Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva and goalkeeper David Seaman all enjoying a rest.

The trio will be back against Liverpool together with Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp. Captain Patrick Vieira came through the Farnborough game unscathed on his return from a groin injury.

Two-goal Francis Jeffers, formerly with Liverpool's local rivals Everton, is pressing for a starting role in attack after scoring twice against Farnborough.

Left back Ashley Cole is available after suspension, although he may have a job dislodging Van Bronckhorst, who laid on three of the five goals on Saturday.

Man Utd ditch pitch after only 11 games

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- Manchester United will re-turf their troublesome Old Trafford pitch again on Wednesday for the second time in two months.

Managing director David Gill blamed the wet weather and the fact that United have played six home games in a month for the deterioration in the playing surface, which cut up badly in United's 6-0 FA Cup thrashing of West Ham United on Sunday.

"This will be the last time this season," Gill told MUTV.

"It has been a very wet winter. When we put this pitch down, we didn't realize we'd have twice as many games as we expected, with the FA and League Cup home draws.

United expect the new surface, which comes at a cost of 100,000 pounds (US$163,300), to be ready for their next home game, the derby match against Manchester City on February 9.

They hope it will last until the Champions League final, which United are staging on May 28.

"We're putting down some very good turf on Wednesday which will bed in on Friday -- that gives us a week before the derby."

United's problems in part caused by the cavernous nature of their 68,000-capacity Old Trafford stadium, which is the biggest in English soccer. Because the pitch is enclosed, the grass suffers from a lack of ventilation and light.

Gill said United were planning some serious digging in the close season to try to rectify the problem, but in the meantime the club are pinning their hopes on the arrival of spring.

"Within a month we'll be into the growing season and we'll see the benefit of that," Gill said.

United fans may be sorry to see the current pitch, which was laid at the end of November, removed. Of the 11 games United played on it, they won 10 and drew one.

Spurs out to thwart Newcastle's top double-act

LONDON (Reuters) -- Tottenham Hotspur manager Glenn Hoddle is still searching for a new striking partner for Robbie Keane but his more immediate task is to stop what he labels the most fearsome double-act in the English Premier League.

Two consecutive wins have lifted the London club to seventh in the table and a victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday would be a massive boost to Hoddle's quest to put Spurs back in Europe for the first time since 1999.

Newcastle strikers Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy, with 21 league goals between them this season, represent a major obstacle, however.

Shearer's awesome finishing together with Bellamy's lightning pace have proved too good for many defenses this season, particularly at St James' Park, where 10 successive home victories have propelled Newcastle up to third.

"There is not a better partnership in the premiership," Hoddle said on Monday after unveiling new midfield signing Japanese international Kazuyuki Toda.

"Last season it was [Jimmy Floyd] Hasselbaink and [Eidur] Gudjohnson at Chelsea, but in terms of playing off each other they have taken over this season.

"The way Shearer has played proves he is still as good as anyone in international football.

"The reason maybe is that he has had that rest [from international football], he's thought about what's best for his own career and he's proved he's done the right thing."

Attacking flair

Newcastle are overloaded with attacking flair, with Nolberto Solano, Keiron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas and Lauren Robert giving Robson a wealth of choices -- yet like Tottenham they have often struggled away from home.

"You know that offensively they are going to cause you problems and we know they are going to come here to attack us," added Hoddle.

"But we're an attacking side, we're playing at home and probably the best way to play Newcastle is by attacking them yourself. I think it will be a good open game of football."

Victory on Wednesday would put Tottenham just four points behind Newcastle, and, with an away fixture at fourth-placed Chelsea on Saturday, Hoddle believes the season has reached an important phase.

"We've got two massive games," he said. "If we beat Newcastle we will put ourselves in a good position.

"We've got to pick up as many points as we can in this phase of the season, then hopefully by the time we get to the last six or seven games we will be within striking distance of the UEFA Cup or Champions League."

As the closure of the transfer window looms on Friday, Hoddle confirmed that the club were still seeking another striker -- with Bolton's Michael Ricketts and "two other targets" in the picture.

"We've got one player in and we're working very hard to try and bring in another one," Hoddle said. "But it's not easy and we are in the same boat as many teams."

Charlton sign El-Khalej on short-term deal

LONDON (Reuters) -- Moroccan international defender Tahar El-Khalej has joined English Premier League Charlton Athletic on a short term deal.

El-Khalej, who was released by Southampton last week, has signed a contract until the end of the season, Charlton Athletic's Web site said on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old joined Southampton from Portuguese club Benfica in 2000. He made the last of his 65 appearances for the club as a substitute against West Bromwich Albion in December.

Newcastle's Gavilan loaned to Internacional

NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -- Newcastle United's Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gavilan is returning to South America to join Brazilian club Internacional of Porto Alegre on loan until the end of the year.

The English Premier League club, though, will retain the option of selling the 22-year-old outright when the next transfer window opens at the end of the season.

"[Gavilan] has so far been unable to command a regular first team place and it is hoped that a new club will further the development of his career," said a statement issued by Newcastle on Monday.

Gavilan joined Newcastle in January 2000 for two million pounds ($3.27 million) from his hometown club Cerro Porteno but has made just eight appearances for Bobby Robson's first team, scoring one goal against Coventry City in April 2000.

During last year's World Cup finals, Gavilan played in all three of his country's games and has won 24 caps in all.

Last year Gavilan, who is nicknamed Sparrowhawk, spent a period on loan in Mexico with Guadalajara club Tecos.

Bordeaux's Bonnissel joins Rangers

GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) -- Scottish side Rangers have signed leftback Jerome Bonnissel from French club Girondins Bordeaux, both clubs announced on Monday.

Bonnissel, who has signed until the end of the season, spent a week with the Glasgow club at a training camp in the United Arab Emirates earlier in January and has since passed a medical.

"We have a shortage of left-sided players in defense and Bonnissel showed that he can take part," Rangers manager Alex McLeish told reporters on Monday.

"Rangers see a lot of the ball during games and we're looking for players who can use it well.

"He [Bonnissel] came into that category and we look for our fullbacks to go running with the ball. I'm delighted that we have secured a deal with Jerome."

The 29-year-old Bonnissel, a former under-21 international, said he was keen to help Premier League leaders Rangers qualify for next season's Champions League.

"There have been offers in the pipeline but I believe Rangers are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and I'd love to be with them in the Champions League," he said.

"When you look at the quality of players within this squad there is no reason why we shouldn't have a real go at making a mark in Europe.

"I know I have to prove myself all over again here at Rangers but that's a challenge I am ready for."

Bonnissel could sign a further two-year deal if he impresses over the next six months.

Dutch defender Arthur Numan, who will compete with Bonnissel for the leftback berth, is out of contract at the end of the season and has yet to sign a new contract.

Leicester's Jones back in Wales squad

CARDIFF (Reuters) -- Wales coach Mark Hughes recalled midfielders Matthew Jones and John Oster on Monday when he named a 28-man squad for the friendly international against Bosnia at the Millennium Stadium on February 12.

Leicester City's Jones, a highly-rated 22-year-old who has 11 caps, has just returned to action after a year out with knee ligament damage.

Sunderland player Oster, capped four times previously, is also fit again following a knee injury.

Hughes is using the match as a warm-up for the European championship qualifier against Azerbaijan in Cardiff on March 29.

Wales have made a superb start to their qualifying campaign for next year's finals, beating Finland, Italy and Azerbaijan to top Group Nine with nine points out of nine.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Paul Jones (Southampton), Mark Crossley (Middlesbrough), Darren Ward (Nottingham Forest).

Defenders: Danny Coyne (Grimsby Town), Andy Melville (Fulham), Kit Symons (Crystal Palace), Robert Page (Sheffield United), Mark Delaney (Aston Villa), Darren Barnard (Grimsby Town), Danny Gabbidon (Cardiff City), Rhys Weston (Cardiff City).

Midfielders: Gary Speed (Newcastle United), Mark Pembridge (Everton), Robbie Savage (Birmingham City), Simon Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Matthew Jones (Leicester City), Carl Robinson (Portsmouth), Andy Johnson (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Trollope (Northampton Town), John Oster (Sunderland), Paul Evans (Bradford City), Jason Koumas (West Bromwich Albion), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United).

Forwards: John Hartson (Celtic), Nathan Blake (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Craig Bellamy (Newcastle United), Gareth Taylor (Burnley), Robert Earnshaw (Cardiff City).

Dogged Roeder faces week of destiny at West Ham

LONDON (Reuters) -- Likeable, dogged and honest, Glenn Roeder has vowed he will not quit as West Ham United manager despite overseeing a season that is rapidly becoming an embarrassment to the east London club.

Bottom of the table West Ham were a pathetic sight on Sunday as they slumped to a 6-0 FA Cup thrashing by Manchester United.

The fourth round humiliation at Old Trafford, the worst FA Cup loss in West Ham's history, left their 47-year-old manager pale-faced with anger.

Roeder is adamant that he will not walk away from his post, but, a season after he guided West Ham to a seventh place finish in the Premier League, he may only have two games to avoid being pushed.

Both are at home, against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday and Liverpool on Sunday, but Roeder must conjure something he has failed to achieve in 12 attempts so far this season -- a league win at Upton Park.

There will be plenty of people willing him to succeed.

Roeder's methodical approach to management mirrors the neat, no-nonsense manner in which he played as a central defender of some distinction for Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United and Watford.

While other managers bluff and bluster, Roeder adopts a low profile indicative of his belief in the merits of hard work and honest endeavour.

Widely respected in the game, Roeder's ability to relate to players was never more clearly illustrated than when he accompanied a 25-year-old Paul Gascoigne to Lazio in Italy as a personal minder in 1992.

This season the sight of Roeder standing alone on the touchline, brow furrowed as another damaging defeat unfolds before him, has become routine.

Many in his position would opt for the anonymity of the manager's dug-out but Roeder stands tall, his back ramrod straight, unflinching amid the mayhem.

Dire defense

Despite their manager's stoicism, West Ham as a team are undoubtedly less than the sum of their parts.

Midfielders Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Trevor Sinclair and the newly-acquired Lee Bowyer are all England internationals, as is goalkeeper David James.

Italian Paolo di Canio and Frenchman Frederic Kanoute are two of the most gifted attacking players in the Premier League and their absence through injury has cost West Ham dear, leaving talented youngster Jermain Defoe isolated up front.

Ironically it is the defense, Roeder's speciality, which has really let them down and he is desperate to sign a defender before the transfer window closes on Friday.

"We have to get some sort of defensive unit together otherwise we are not going to survive," his assistant Paul Goddard said bleakly on the club's website on Monday.

What hurt Roeder most about Sunday's 6-0 humbling was the fact that, unlike their manager, some of the West Ham players seemed not to have the stomach for the fight.

Asked by a television reporter if he would be considering his position after the Manchester United thrashing, Roeder replied: "You don't know me."

But while displeased with his players, Roeder typically did not publicly berate individuals.

"It was a desperate day for our supporters; we let them down and people got the blast they deserved. But I do believe in staying supportive with the people you work with," he said.

If for nothing else, the West Ham players owe their faithful manager a victory this week for that.

Farnborough boss moves on after defeat at Arsenal

LONDON (Reuters) -- Farnborough Town manager and chairman Graham Westley has quit just three days after the biggest day in the minor league club's history, a 5-1 loss to English champions Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The 34-year-old businessman will take over at Farnborough's struggling rivals Stevenage Borough in the Conference league, from which the top team is promoted to division three of the football league.

"I've enjoyed my time at Farnborough but feel that I need to move on now, and that I need to concentrate on football management which is where my ambitions lie," Westley said in a statement released by Farnborough.

Westley, who joined the club in 1999 when it was near bankrupt, has promised to give Farnborough fans his shares in the club.

Farnborough hoped the receipts from Saturday's match at Highbury, estimated at 600,000 pounds ($983,000), would clear their debts.

 

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Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.