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Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has expressed disappointment that his side twice gave up a lead in their 2-2 draw with Fulham on Saturday.

Houllier’s men led 1-0 at half-time thanks to an own-goal from Fulham’s Ghanaian right-back John Pantsil but the visitors hit back after the break through an Andy Johnson goal.

Villa’s advantage was restored by a great goal from Kyle Walker and they looked on course to claim all three points until Clint Dempsey headed home from a corner with Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel stranded in no man’s land.

Houllier said he was disappointed to have dropped points at home after twice edging in front.

“The entertainment is one side of the game, but the other side is that we feel extremely disappointed because we played extremely well first half and could have done better in terms of goals,” Houllier told Sky Sports.

“Even before they equalised we had a great move and could have been 2-0 up but once they equalised it looked as if it affected a bit of morale.”

“We managed to get back in front but I thought we only have ourselves to blame for not holding on to the result, because Fulham at the moment is full of confidence. In the second half they deserved their equaliser.”

Fulham boss Mark Hughes, meanwhile, was happy with the spirit shown by his men to keep fighting after falling behind.

“I’m pleased with the performance, obviously we had a setback of an own goal early in the first half and that could have knocked us out of our stride, but it didn’t.” Hughes said.

“We came back strong in the first half and for the last 20-25 minutes restricted them to very few chances.”

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“I thought we were excellent in the way we took the game to Villa and the way we came back twice shows great character and great resolve.”

“That what we’ve been showing in recent weeks and from our point of view it’s a good result. It’s a difficult place to get a point but we did really well.”

“You see in our play we finish games stronger and that’s a quality that’s been growing since we’ve come into the new year.”

Pre Ryan Shawcross, Aaron Ramsey was an incredibly exciting prospect for Arsenal fans. Stolen from under the noses of Manchester United for a very reasonable £5m, Ramsey went from strength to strength in Arsenal’s team. He displayed a pleasing level of ability in almost every aspect of the central midfielder’s role – a quite remarkable feat for such a young player.

Then, one game against Stoke changed that. The Welsh captain was left with such an horrific broken leg that his attacker was left in tears and the Arsenal team was left in shock. Arsenal fans had seen this sort of incident before with both Eduardo and Abou Diaby but there was something quite sickening about such a young, promising player coming so close to ending his career before it had even begun.

Ramsey did eventually return to football, with mixed success. He made his comeback with a month to go in the 2010/11 season. Some reasonable performances were capped of with some pleasing link-up play with Jack Wilshere and the winning goal in the home game against Manchester United. Since then, however, his fortunes have been somewhat tempestuous.

The added pressure of being the creative midfielder to replace Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere last season was something that a veteran would struggle to deal with, let alone a 21 year old starting his inaugural season as a first team regular.

Nevertheless, his form at the beginning of the 2011/12 season was reasonably impressive with goals against Spurs and Marseille and some decent passing in the 5-3 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Eventually though, the pressure seemed to take over. Gary Speed’s death and the pressure of being national captain was a considerable burden for a player who was also charged with being the creative spark in an Arsenal midfield that was lacking any real dynamism.

Whether it was a loss of confidence or a remarkable bout of over confidence is unclear but what is obvious is that Ramsey lost his form. Perhaps he was simply exhausted after playing so much football after such a long absence from the season before. Whatever the case, inconsistency and mistakes found their way in to most of his performances.

The crowd got on his back and, on occasion, so did his team mates. His wastefulness in possession became common practice and penchant for elaborate flicks only exasperated the situation.

Ramsey may not have deserved all of the abuse he suffered last season but he will undoubtedly need to improve in the coming campaign. Arsenal fans will hope that Wilshere will return to share the burden, but they cannot count on it.

Whilst Wenger has commented on how well the two young midfielders have linked up in the past it is important to stress that Arsenal need Ramsey to be a valuable player in his own right.

He has the potential to be a brilliant player but Arsenal are not short of central midfielders. He will be competing with Arteta, Song, Wilshere, Coquelin, Rosicky, Diaby, and Frimpong this season. He is at a stage in his career where he needs to be playing regularly. His development has already suffered as a result of his year on the sidelines, he lost his place at the end of last season, and he cannot afford to do so again.

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Gary Speed believed in Ramsey, enough to make him one of the youngest national captains in the world. Wenger believed in Ramsey, enough to spend £5m on him. This season Ramsey needs to start repaying that faith. Arsenal have an oversized squad as it is, there’s no space for players who can’t deliver.

Follow Hamish on Twitter @H_Mackay

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The deadline-day sales have caused discontent in the blue half of Merseyside and the unwillingness to strengthen has left the squad looking thread-bare. After their opening day clash against Tottenham was postponed, Everton suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to QPR at Goodison Park, before they survived two Blackburn penalties misses as the soon-to-be departed Arteta sealed all three points with a penalty of his own.

Villa have once again added to their squad bringing in Tottenham pair Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton before the window shut last week and both could feature in the game. Villa fans will be hoping that Darren Bent who is a doubt after missing England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers with a groin-strain is able to start.

Everton’s attacking stocks are also depleted after the deadline-day sales of Beckford and Yakubu, while Louis Saha is another fitness concerns. They have added Real Madrid’s midfielder Royston Drenthe and Argentine forward Denis Stracqualursi to their squad, with both expected to make their debuts on Saturday but Leighton Baines is a doubt with a hamstring injury while Seamus Coleman is still ruled out with a long-term injury.

Alex McLeish has got his Villa side playing some great football to start the season and they have already picked up five points from a possible nine. I think they could continue this fine start on Saturday against an under-strength Everton team who will be low on confidence piling more pressure on Kenwright and the Everton owners to bring in some loan players.

Key Player

Tim Cahill: After losing a number of their attacking outlets on deadline day Cahill will now have the big task of stepping up for the team to give them some sort of threat up-front.

Richard Dunne: Dunne who was so impressive for his national team in mid-week and he is enjoying a fresh-start under McLeish, he will be an important player if Villa want to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Verdict: 0-1

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To see the Premier League round-up and preview ahead of the weekend fixtures – download the excellent ESPN Goals App

Youngster Daniel Martinez had the final say as Palermo beat Parma 5-4 on penalties on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Paraguayan Martinez, 17, struck the winning penalty after Hernan Crespo had his effort saved and Francesco Valiani blazed over for Parma.

Neither team had been able to find the back of the net in regular and extra time, ensuring the game had to be settled from the spot.

Fabrizio Miccoli wasted a chance early on for the hosts at the Stadio Renzo Barbera, when the Palermo captain sent a tame drive straight at goal.

Slovenian Josip Ilicic also went close, forcing a save from Parma goalkeeper Nicola Pavarini with a volley on 18 minutes.

Raffaele Palladino threatened twice for the visitors in the opening half, before Palermo midfielder Giulio Migliaccio went closest to breaking the deadlock when he headed against the bar from a Miccoli free-kick.

Bulgarian front-man Valeri Bojinov shot wide for Parma and substitute Sebastian Giovinco could have scored twice, drawing excellent saves from Palermo goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.

Argentina attacker Javier Pastore should have snatched a winner for the hosts but spurned two simple chances – one with seven minutes left in regulation and another from close range in the final moments of the extra-time.

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Parma’s veteran Argentine striker Crespo and Palermo defender Mattia Cassani missed the opening penalties of the shootout before Valiani fired over the bar for the visitors, leaving teenage substitute Martinez to convert the winning spot-kick and make himself the hero for Palermo.

They will now face the winner of Sampdoria against AC Milan on Wednesday, while in the other half of the draw Napoli meet holders Inter Milan on Wednesday and Roma take on Juventus on Thursday.

Newcastle United are this morning said to be improving their bid for Lilleand France right back Mathieu Debuchy according The Mirror.

The Magpies last week put a £4 million bid on the table for Debuchy, who had an impressive campaign for his country at Euro 2012. As Lille categorically denied the offer, Alan Pardew is now set to up the bid to £6 million in an attempt to strengthen last seasons surprise package even further.

The team from St James Park have endured a frustrating summer transfer window so far, as they also frantically chase FC Twente striker Luuk De-Jong, tipped by many to be the next Robin Van Persie.

By adding the signings of De-Jong and Debuchy, the hope is that Alan Pardew’s men will send out a strong message of intent which will enable them to keep hold of Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote as well.

Lille boss Rudy Garcia claims; ‘He (Debuchy) is torn between staying with us to play in the Champions League in our new stadium or going elsewhere.’

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Should Lille accept the latest bid from Newcastle for the 26 year old right back, he may find himself with a tough decision to make.

Newly promoted Queens Park Rangers may be on the verge of a change of ownership.QPR, who won the Championship last season to win promotion to the English Premier League, released a statement on their official website on Thursday announcing that the club was in talks with a potential new buyer.

Current owners Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore have received much criticism from the club’s support during the off-season, with the pair seemingly reluctant to spend on the squad.

The only new arrivals at Loftus Road have been striker Jay Bothroyd and midfielder Kieron Dyer, who were both free transfers.

Ecclestone and Briatore also markedly raised the club’s ticket prices in a move which further angered the fans.

But that might all be about to change, with the Italian duo entering into negotiations over the club’s future.

The statement confirmed that the potential buyer was not the same one that had showed interest in March.

“The Company has entered into preliminary discussions with a different party,” the statement said.

“Accordingly the Company confirms that is it no longer in an offer period. We will be making no further comment at stage.”

Chelsea blew the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Premier League as a last gasp Ciaran Clark goal gave Villa a share of the spoils. The result has left Ancelotti claiming that the Manchester United game is now make or break for the Blues, in their hope of retaining the title.

In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories which includes Fergie reveals the outrageous demands of agents; Spurs demand £29m for trio, while FIFA launch force to fight corruption.

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Ferguson reveals agents’ outrageous demands – Guardian

Ancelotti: we have to win United clash – Daily Telegraph

Redknapp waiting on Beckham – Sky Sports

McLeish: Hleb must fit the bill – Sun

Spurs demanding a whopping £29m for want-away trio – Mirror

Coe backs West Ham’s stadium plan – Guardian

Bit late, Blatter! FIFA launch force to fight corruption after World Cup farce – Daily Mail

FA looks to BOA to salvage Fifa trust – Daily Telegraph

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Ferguson reveals agents’ outrageous demands – Guardian

Cahill leaves a striking gap – Daily Telegraph

Moyes ready to make Macheda move – Mirror

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Michel Platini has sensationally stated that players at Euro 2012 may be booked for reacting or protesting to racist abuse.

With the tournament set to kick off on Friday in Ukraine and Poland, there are fears that the eastern European countries may not be the ideal venue for the competition and that racist incidents may occur from a section of supporters.

A number of England’s coloured players’ families have decided not to travel to support the team due to the fear, and Mario Balotelli has stated that he would walk off the pitch if he is subject to abuse.

Despite this, the Uefa president has stated that players risk discipline should they ark up over potentially controversial incidents.

“It’s a yellow card,” Platini is quoted as saying by The Guardian.

“We’d certainly support the referee if he decided to stop the game. It’s not a player, Mr Balotelli, who’s in charge of refereeing. It’s the referee who takes these decisions.

So, the referee has been given advice and he can stop the game if there are problems. We will stop the game if there are problems because I think racism is the worst of this,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Manchester United and Everton recorded contrasting results as their pre-season tours of the US continued on Wednesday.United were rampant in their 7-0 defeat of MLS outfit Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink field, with substitute Wayne Rooney the hero after netting a second-half hat-trick.

Michael Owen scored the only goal of the first half with a header, but United’s superiority showed as the match wore on with Rooney’s three goals complemented by strikes from Ji-Sung Park, Mame Biram Diouf and Gabriel Obertan.

The result followed United’s 4-1 rout of another MLS outfit, New England Revolution, a week earlier.

United’s English Premier League contemporaries Everton began their US tour with a loss after going down 1-0 against the Philadelphia Union.

David Moyes’ side were on top for a majority of the 90 minutes but could not break the deadlock, and were made to pay when Union teenager Christian Hernandez stole a winner in the 87th minute.

Elsewhere, Stoke City thrashed Newcastle Town 6-0, Queens Park Rangers beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Heidar Helguson, while Sunderland was beaten 3-1 by Bundesliga outfit Hannover.

From the Championship, Fred Sears scored as West Ham beat FC Copenhagen 1-0, Leicester drew 0-0 with Turkish side Bursaspor and Cardiff City were beaten 1-0 at home by Scottish powerhouse Celtic.

Jardel scored with two minutes remaining as Portuguese outfit Benfica snatched a last minute 1-0 victory against Ligue 1 side Toulouse, while Serie A sides Inter Milan, Lazio and Udinese all recorded victories.

Most Tottenham fans may despise Damien Comolli but his record for bringing in young talented players who go on to form the backbone of a squad is unquestionable. Tottenham’s success in the last 18 months has been largely down to the work that Damien Comolli put in at White Hart Lane from 2005–2008. Granted, some of his signings were poor, but who has a one hundred per cent record in the transfer window? The big difference since the appointment of Harry Redknapp has been that Tottenham now have a manager who is capable of getting the best out of the talent Comolli brought into the club rather than waste it like his predecessors.

You just have to look at who has shone for Tottenham both domestically and in Europe to see the true influence of Damien Comolli. Comolli has an eye for unearthing young quality players that retain their sell-on value. For example, who would have thought that Tottenham would have been able to get £30m out of Manchester United for Dimitar Berbatov when they signed him in 2006? Added to this, Younus Kaboul, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Benoit Assou Ekotto and Roman Pavlyuchenko were all signed by Comolli. These players are the backbone of Tottenham’s success and that can’t be overlooked. Comolli never sat back and just scouted players. He took a hands-on role in making the deals happen. Some would say he overstepped the mark, but he made the deals happen and now Tottenham are in great shape going into the future.

Liverpool fans should be very happy NESV have brought in Damien Comolli, a man with one of the best CVs in world football. He has great eye for spotting young talent, something that NESV have stated will be the new strategy for Liverpool. Comolli will offer Liverpool a wide scouting system, as well as a proven track record. It is up to the manager to make the players gel. Roy Hodgson has worked under directors of football before, so he should not feel undermined by Comolli at Liverpool.

Damien Comolli has been given a largely unfair reputation as a trouble maker. His role in the sacking of Martin Jol wasn’t pleasant and there is very little else that can be said for him in that regard. However, English football will never embrace role of the director of football because naturally we are defensive people. As a nation we look upon this as somebody trying to undermine the manager’s position, and this is exactly how the director of football is perceived. Managers nowadays can’t do it all on their own, they need help, and why not get help from an expert who has a proven track record? Had it not been for Damien Comolli, Tottenham would not have the depth of talent they do now. The success of the squad is down to Harry Redknapp but look what he was given to work with. Liverpool should be very happy. They can now tap into the Comolli system and can look forward to better days because of it.

If we look at the Tottenham squad today – the influence of Damien Comolli is there for all too see. Tottenham have gone up a level because they  recruited a top manager in Harry Redknapp, but he was given the young stars to work with. As well as this, Comolli was instrumental in bringing the players into the club, not just finding the talent but making sure deals materialised. Liverpool is a long term project, and so is Damien Comolli’s. He may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he is very successful in his role.

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Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all to win at 15/8!