Irish international glad of opportunity to impress.

Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson has admitted that the Red Devils’ current problems with injury have helped him make an impression on the Old Trafford first team.

The player is reportedly set to be handed a new contract shortly, and has started five out of the last six of United’s games.

He has also impressed with his fine attacking form and ability to hit the target from long range.

“The injuries have been difficult for us, but it’s given me a chance to prove myself,” Gibson told The Daily Mirror.

“Obviously I don’t like players being injured but it’s given me a chance and I feel I’ve taken it.

“I’ve done well in the games where I’ve stepped in. From not playing at all to playing three games in a week is tough.

“But it’s nice to know the manager trusts me and I feel I’ve done all right.”

Midfield is one of the areas where it can be tough to break through at United, but Gibson is optimistic that he has what it takes.
“I’m pushing a lot harder this season,” he added.

“We will see what happens. It’s tough to get into the team regularly when you’re only young.”

The ex-Lazio hitman believes he is ready to take his career to the next level.

Scot demands better imagination and creativity from his players.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has called on his team to improve their attacking play as they attempt to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-0 humbling to Fulham at Hull City on Sunday.

The Red Devils’ defensive problems have been well-documented in recent weeks, yet it is at the other end of the pitch where their manager feels they struggled against Fulham last weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the game, the Scot called on his players to recapture their creativity and imagination against Phil Brown’s struggling Tigers.

“We have to make sure we are better attacking-wise than we were against Fulham because we didn’t really make a lot of chances in the match,” explained Sir Alex.

“Although we had a lot of possession it didn’t really amount to anything.

“We have to get that back again, get the creation of our game and the imagination in our play back again better than it was in the Fulham game.”

A win for the champions would see them move to within two points of leaders Chelsea after the Blues were held to a goalless draw at Birmingham City on Saturday.

Yet Ferguson also warned his players that the home side would be encouraged by the fact they would be facing a depleted defense, adding: “That’s the situation and Hull will be encouraged by the fact we have got these defenders injured and will certainly have a go at us.”

Did Sepp Blatter hear the reports about the winter wonderland that engulfed the eastern seaboard this weekend?

Perhaps the Swiss supremo learned about the snow storm, covered his eyes with his hands and pretended not to see the mountain of white stuff spread throughout the northeast. After all, it wouldn’t do much for one of his pet causes.

Blatter, the often-ridiculous FIFA chief, called for MLS to adopt a May-August schedule earlier this year. In June, if we’re going for factual precision and optimal amusement.

“There is one big problem there and they know, the organizers know, that as long as you don’t have your own stadia in the MLS, you have to use stadia from another sport, which is American football,” Blatter told the Associated Press during the Confederations Cup. “With the season played from March to October, you are not in the so-called good international season. The result is that you will not attract star players from Europe to play for only six or seven months, with the exceptional case of [David] Beckham.”

Notice that good ol’ Becks factored into Blatter’s thinking, while weather, in all of its snow-filled and rain-slicked glory, didn’t quite manage to scrape its way onto the list.

Never fear though, the snow’s easy to move about for those Saturday night fixtures in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Those cities, by the way, are digging out from a winter storm that dumped a foot or two in each location.

Sure, it was the light and fluffy stuff, easy to plow and shovel to safety somewhere away from the driveways, byways and highways. But there was lots of it and that sort of accumulation only moves anywhere so quickly.

So how does one winter snow storm make it perfectly clear the American top flight should keep its current schedule? Take this weekend as a cautionary tale without the financial consequences.

In this particular instance, it’s about the snow. A freak confluence of frozen condensation incurred once or twice in a winter in these prolific amounts. Two to four games postponed, rescheduled for an inopportune time in midweek.  Cost of doing business, Sepp might say as he points to the ravaged fixture lists in England, Italy and elsewhere this weekend.

More often, it’s about anything but the snow. It’s about the times when the weather forecasters think there might be snow or suggest that a cold front could sweep down from wherever cold fronts sweep down from to blanket the chosen area with a particularly frigid and gusty pocket of air. Occasionally, the talking heads are right. Sometimes, they are not. The difference at the turnstile is altogether unclear.

As a result of both situations, the bottom line gets whacked.

The postponements create more logistical hurdles. Stadiums and personnel to arrange, patrons to notify, television companies to assuage. On a Tuesday or a Wednesday, the visiting team will fly in quickly – on the league’s dime, just like always – and play the match in front of a diminished crowd. Walk-up sales drop, concession and parking tallies plummet and the overall attendance plunges substantially.

The scares cause just as much harm. Maybe the additional travel costs aren’t subtracted from the till and maybe the loss of a hundred fans here or a thousand spectators there won’t cripple the bottom line. Doesn’t matter. Every little bit helps, especially when the investor/operator also owns the venue.

Forget about trying to explain the logic of the current calendar in footballing terms to good ol’ Sepp as a means of backing up the dollars and cents. Pointing to the Liverpool-Portsmouth game at the weekend and noting how players of a significantly higher caliber struggled to string four passes together on an icy surface wouldn’t get you anywhere. Nor would making the inherently plausible argument that MLS needs a better on-field product to attract the type of following it desires. The correct argument, after all, isn’t always the one worth making.

Instead, just tell Sepp that it’s about the money. Then, maybe at long last, he’ll understand the present setup perfectly.
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Roma striker Francesco Totti has personally moved to allay fears he is facing a new spell on the sidelines after limping off with a knee injury during the second half of yesterday’s 2-0 win over Parma in Serie A.

“My injury is not serious and I think I’ll be available soon after the Christmas break,” the captain wrote on his official website.

Roma saw off the in-form Ducali thanks to goals from Nicolas Burdisso goal and Matteo Brighi to move into fourth place in the table.

“It was important to finish the year in fourth spot and we managed it,” said Totti.

“Now the table is on our side and we must start over with the same spirit and belief.”

Roma have confirmed on their website that Totti only suffered bruising on his right knee.

The Lupi will pay visit to Cagliari on January 6.

Inter President Massimo Moratti is pleased that his former coach Roberto Mancini is back in the fray after he was appointed as the new manager of Premier League side Manchester City on Saturday.

But Moratti insisted that ‘Mancio’ has no chance of luring Beneamata star striker Mario Balotelli to Eastlands.

“I think it’s a good coup for Mancini,” Moratti told Sky Sport Italia.

“I reckon it’s fair to give him a big team or one to forge after so long.”

Mancini gave Balotelli his senior debut in December 2007 and could try and tempt the Italy Under-21 ace away from San Siro in January as the 19-year-old is struggling to establish himself as a first team regular under Jose Mourinho.

“What if he asked me for Balotelli? No, there is no way,” Moratti said emphatically.

Inter defeated Lazio 1-0 last night to end 2009 on a good note and move eight points clear at the top of Serie A.

“All in all, it was a good year,” mused Moratti.

“We also went through to the knockout stage of the Champions League and let’s hope we’ll do even better next year.”

Inter defeated Lazio 1-0 last night courtesy of a Samuel Eto’o strike to move eight points clear at the top of Serie A but captain Javier Zanetti is adamant the Scudetto race is far from being already over.

“This league is really difficult and Milan and Juventus will do anything to push us all the way,” ‘Pupi’ said after the San Siro clash.

“We are feeling good at the moment, it was not easy to play in these freezing conditions, but we did what was expected of us and so deserved this victory.

“It was important because we wanted to end the year well. We turned in a great performance and never ran any risks.”

Milan trail the Nerazzurri by eight points but have a game in hand after their clash with Fiorentina was postponed on Saturday, while Juve sit nine points behind after slipping to a shock home defeat to bottom side Catania yesterday afternoon.

Inter travel to Chievo Verona after the Christmas break.

Napoli defeated Chievo at home and Palermo accomplished a similar result but Sampdoria went down once again.

Dec 20, 2009 10:59:43 AM

Napoli-Chievo – Serie A (Getty Images)

Saturday December 19 (CET)

18:00 Bologna – Atalanta (postponed)
20:45 Fiorentina – Milan (postponed)

Sunday December 20 (CET)

15:00 Genoa – Bari (postponed)
15:00 Juventus 1-2 Catania
15:00 Livorno 3-1 Sampdoria
15:00 Napoli 2-0 Chievo
15:00 Palermo 1-0 Siena
15:00 Roma 2-0 Parma
15:00 Udinese – Cagliari (postponed)
20:45 Inter – Lazio (tonight)

Livorno 3-1 Sampdoria

Sampdoria appeared to have put their season back on the track when key playmaker Antonio Cassano scored just 15 minutes into the game. Livorno, though, equalised in the 39th minute when Nelson Rivas scored. Two minutes into the second half it became 2-1 to the hosts as Tomas Danilevicius scored. It became 3-1 in the last few seconds of the game when Danilevicius netted the ball for the second time in the game.

Napoli 2-0 Chievo

Napoli’s resurgence under coach Walter Mazzarri continued as they defeated Chievo 2-0 at home. Stefano Sorrentino committed a foul on German Denis inside his own penalty area in the sixth minute and Marek Hamsik made no mistake from the resulting spotkick. Three minutes before the final whistle Italian striker Fabio Quagliarella netted the ball to make it 2-0 to the hosts and wrap up the year with a comfortable victory.

Palermo 1-0 Siena

Palermo carried on with their winning momentum as they defeated Siena 1-0 at home. Edison Cavani scored the only goal of the game five minutes before half-time.

Juventus had to deal with the absences of stars Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini. Meanwhile, Catania were without influential forward Giuseppe Mascara due to suspension.

Cristian Llama’s ball over the top had the host defence scrambling, but Legrottaglie nicked the ball away as Takayuki Morimoto was closing in on goal.

On a seemingly innocuous freekick, Catania were awarded a penalty for a shirt pull on Nicolas Spolli in the box. Jorge Martinez had to convert twice, after the referee ordered a re-take, but it was 1-0 to the Sicilians.

The Bianconeri nearly leveled the score through a Fabio Cannavaro bicycle-kick, but the ball ricocheted off of the offside David Trezeguet. Then Amauri nearly poked home before a last-ditch clearance from Pablo Alavarez as the Turin outfit increased the pressure.

The much-maligned Felipe Melo did not seem to be injured, but was replaced by Hasan Samihamidzic after just half-an-hour and was whistled off the pitch. The Brazilian had misplaces several passes early on.

The Juve players were jeered off the pitch at half-time by the fans in the stadium, after failing to break down the Rossoazzurri defence.

At the beginning of the second-half, Diego spurned Juventus’ best chance thus far, when he one-timed a low cross for Caceres over the bar from a good position. La Vecchia Signora continued to search for an equaliser, as Trezeguet brilliantly set up Amauri, but Andujar did well to save.

Finally, the Bianconeri found their goal, Diego supplied a perfect assist for seldom-used Salihamidzic, who beat the offside trap and slotted past the Catania shot stopper with 25 minutes left.

After a clash with Andujar, Trezeguet decided to continue despite requiring heavy bandaging on his head, as the Bianconeri had no more substitutions after bringing on Alessandro Del Piero and Sebastian Giovinco.

It was the ‘Atomic Ant’ who split the defence, but the recently injured Frenchman could not convert.

Against the run of play, Catania took the lead late on counter. Substitute Mariano Izco ran onto a through ball and lifted the ball over Alex Manninger on 86 minutes!

There were six minutes of added on time, but the Bianconeri could not captalise despite throwing everyone forward and were dealt another heavy blow with their fifth loss of the Serie A campaign.

A goal from Nicolas Burdisso early in the second half and a late Matteo Brighi strike in stoppage time were more than enough for Roma to beat a very defensive Parma at the Stadio Olimpico.

In a very cold afternoon, the match started at a very slow pace as neither side were able to stamp their authority over the other. The visitors were closing spaces really well, which originated protests from Francesco Totti following a number of harsh challenges in succession.

Roma looked more dangerous and clearly more eager to break the deadlock, but they kept finding it very hard to break into the Parma third, as their first real chance came in the 36th minute, when Mirko Vucinic cut inside the box and smashed a shot on the bounce that went slightly wide.

The hosts began the second half the better, and took the lead on 48 minutes, through Nicolas Burdisso, who scored from close range in the rebound.

The goal proved to be a major boost for Roma, who almost doubled their lead just minutes later and Totti went for glory from distance but Antonio Mirante denied the captain’s effort.

Parma attempted to respond in the following minutes, but their attempts were met by a well-organised Roma backline. In the 88th minute, the Ducali were reduced to ten men after Massimo Paci was shown his second yellow.

Roma would add a second in the dying minutes through Matteo Brighi, who received a magical through ball from Vucinic and, clear on goal, made no mistake and sent the ball past Mirante.