News in brief of Barclays Premier League club.- Mon 17th Nov

[zoris]

Manchester city


Robinho was a surprise choice for captain in the 2-2 draw with Hull City. Manager Mark Hughes explained his decision to hand the armband to the Brazilian in the absence of the suspended Richard Dunne. Hughes said: "I thought Robinho responded well, but I had seen good signs against Spurs. Today he was always available, great on the ball and I think he led from the front. He enjoyed it, enjoyed meeting the referee beforehand and it was something I think he deserved. He's a great player, but what I don't think he gets credit for is that he is brave and determined, and he wants to win with Manchester City. That was evident in his performance today."

[zoris]

Liverpool


Rafael Benitez has warned striker Fernando Torres he cannot expect a guaranteed place in the Reds' starting line-up. Torres was left on the bench for Saturday's 2-0 win at Bolton Wanderers, coming on after 59 minutes. Benitez said: "The players have to compete for their positions in the side, be it Torres or anyone else. Torres has to improve, if he does and he is fit then I will decide what to do, although I expect to be criticised. I did not have to explain to Fernando why he was not playing, it was very clear. The team had been playing well and he has to compete for his position. He played well when he came on, but then other players who come on as substitute also did well, not just him. That is the key if you want to have a winning mentality and a winning squad."

[zoris]

Hull City

Phil Brown paid tribute to Brazilian star Geovanni, who scored his sixth goal for the Tigers in Sunday's 2-2 draw against former club Manchester City . Asked if he would trade the former Barcelona midfielder for his compatriot Robinho, Brown said: "Not in a million years. Why? Because mine was free and I can't afford £32.5m! In fairness, Robinho came up to me after the game and shook my hand. I think he spoke Spanish, which I know a little bit of. He seems a nice fellow and a good footballer, but so is Geo. He's a talented lad."

[zoris]

Fulham


Jimmy Bullard is eager to sort out a new deal at Fulham after holding talks with the club. Roy Hodgson said earlier this month that he was in no rush to tie Bullard to a new contract, given that his current deal does not expire until 2010. The midfielder has been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage in January but he insists he is ready to commit his future to Fulham. Asked if there was any truth in the transfer talk, Bullard said: "No. I want to play for Fulham. I've got 18 months on my contract and I'm in contract talks at the moment so fingers crossed we can get something sorted. I'd love to stay. I love the club and they have been brilliant to me but it is in the club's hands. It is up to them whether they want to give me a new contract."

[zoris]

Everton


David Moyes wanted more than a point from Sunday's match against Middlesbrough. A second-half strike from Yakubu earned a 1-1 draw at Goodison, cancelling out Gary O'Neil's eighth-minute effort. "We played better, but I'm disappointed we didn't get all three points," said Moyes. "We had one or two chances and in the end we huffed and puffed but didn't really do enough. There's no doubt the performance was better (than recent matches), so today I was happy with the performance but not happy with the points. If we continue to keep getting draws against the Middlesbrough's etc, it will become an issue that we're not getting the points at home."

[zoris]

Chelsea


Michael Mancienne has admitted it is a dream come true to be called up to the senior England squad to face Germany. The Chelsea defender, who is currently on loan at Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers, was a surprise inclusion in Fabio Capello's 23-man squad on Saturday night. Mancienne has yet to make a Barclays Premier League appearance but is eagerly anticipating the chance to impress when England locks horns with Germany in Berlin on Wednesday. "It is the dream of every boy to play for their country and it is fantastic to be in the squad," he said. "I was focused on being in the under-21 squad so this was great news. It will be a fantastic game to be involved in and just being around the squad will be superb. Having some of the other Chelsea lads in the squad as well will be a real boost for me."

[zoris]

Bolton Wanderers

Andy O'Brien believes that Bolton Wanderers put in yet another solid display in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday but ultimately paid the price for failing to convert the chances they created. After trailing 1-0 to the Reds at the break, Bolton came out after the interval and dominated proceedings for the first 20 minutes of the second half, creating a few decent openings. And if the Whites had managed to score an equaliser during that period of play then O'Brien would have been confident that his side could have taken at least a point from the match. The experienced defender said: "(Ricardo) Gardner missed a couple of opportunities, we've had a goal disallowed and I think it's been the story of our season the fact that we've missed chances. But we gave a good account of ourselves and that's why we are disappointed with the result because we went into the game in good form and certainly in the second half we took the game to them. People have said that we don't score a lot of goals but we've been guilty of missing chances this season. We do create quite a few opportunities, so yes it is frustrating, but we move on to Middlesbrough next week as that is another important game again."

[zoris]

Blackburn Rovers

Goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been called into the England squad for Wednesday's friendly with Germany. Robinson comes in as a replacement for Manchester City's Joe Hart after he injured his ankle in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Hull City. Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Robinson has not played for England since the 2-1 European Championship qualifier defeat to Russia in October last year in Moscow

[zoris]

Aston Villa


Martin O'Neill says that consistency is what is needed to break into the top four. "I think it's very difficult," he said following the 2-0 win at Arsenal which saw the club go level on points with the fourth-placed Gunners. "You'd see the performance against Arsenal and you'd say: 'well, why not?' Then again, you might see us scrummaging around for 10 or 15 minutes against Middlesbrough and you think: 'well, what are you talking about?' There's been a lot of hype about it. I'd just prefer to let us see where we can gather."

[zoris]

Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas picked up his fifth booking of the Barclays Premier League season against Aston Villa on Saturday. As a result he will be suspended for one match - the encounter at Manchester City on 22nd November. The Spaniard picked up cautions against Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and Stoke City before his 17th minute yellow card against Aston Villa on Saturday.