Football Tigers

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is winning his fitness battle ahead of Sunday's Premiership opener against Manchester City.

Ballack took a bang on the hip early in the 2-1 Community Shield defeat by Liverpool and is receiving treatment for the injury.
Ballack will not play any part in Germany's international friendly with Sweden on Wednesday night, increasing his chances of facing City.
"The injury is a painful bruise and there is some swelling around the hip," Ballack told the club's website.
"I have to wait and see what happens in the next few days, but I'm hoping it'll be okay for the Manchester City game."
A doubt also remains over Michael Essien who broke a small bone in his wrist against Liverpool but the Ghana midfielder insists he will be ready for Sunday.
"I had a scan on Monday afternoon. They say it is a fracture but not too serious," he told the London Evening Standard.
"It is a little bit sore but not enough to stop me playing. I didn't have much of a summer holiday but I'm fit and ready for the new season."

John O'Shea admits he is surprised former team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy has been omitted from the Holland squad to face Republic of Ireland.

Despite a high-profile exit from Manchester United to Real Madrid this summer, the prolific marksman has been overlooked for the Dutch squad to face the Irish on Wednesday.
"You could say I'm surprised they've dropped him, but that is the manager's prerogative," remarked United defender O'Shea.
"It shows the quality they have when they can leave out players like Ruud and Mark van Bommel. It's going to be quite interesting.
"But I had been hoping to meet up with Ruud again. I was sad to see him go, not just because of his talent and the goals he scored, but as a friend too.
"As the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] always says, though, the club move on, and we've brought in Michael Carrick who is going to be a great addition to our squad."
O'Shea is adamant no-one is irreplaceable, not even a player who averaged 30 goals a season, as has been proven in the past.
He reflected: "Look at other players who have left the club, like [Eric] Cantona and [Roy] Keane.
"People said they were irreplaceable, but different players come in and add their qualities to the team.
"You have to move forward because if you keep looking back then you would be into the season and you could lose a few points."
One United star O'Shea will be up against is veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, now 35 and with 108 caps to his name.
"It's amazing the run he has had for Holland," smiled O'Shea.
"He was telling me the average age of the Dutch squad now is 23 or 24 - and that it would be around 20 but for him being in the squad!"
Ireland manager Steve Staunton only has 20 players available to face the Dutch following the withdrawals through injury of captain Robbie Keane, goalkeeper Shay Given, centre-back Richard Dunne, along with Alan Lee, Stephen Ireland and Terry Dixon.

Crystal Palace midfielders Tom Soares and Ben Watson have signed new contracts to keep them at Selhurst Park until 2010 and 2009 respectively.

Both players are currently with the England Under-21 squad as they prepare for Tuesday's game against Moldova.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old striker Charlie Sheringham has signed a two-year deal with the club, after previously being on a month-to-month contract.

While the rest of the squad enjoyed the morning off, Fabio Cannavaro arrived at Real Madrid City at 10 in the morning to begin training, his first session as a Real Madrid player. The recent World Champion will train with the rest of his teammates this early evening and will travel to the US on Monday to begin his personal pre-season build-up.

Former Liverpool defender Cohen spent two seasons at Anfield after moving from Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1979 before returning to Israel when he failed to establish himself in the first team.
Now he is president of the Israel Football Players' Association and he has described his disappointment at Maccabi Haifa being forced to renounce home advantage for the second leg because of the conflict in Lebanon.
Cohen instead insists the game could have been played in the capital Tel Aviv which he claims is untouched by the war.
Cohen told BBC Radio Five Live: "The people who are not living in Israel do not understand Tel Aviv is out of the war.
"You do everything - you lie on the beach and go to discotheques. It is like living in London.
"It is very disappointing not to get Liverpool in Tel Aviv and (have) very big celebrations.
"It is unfair because they reduce the chances of Maccabi Haifa or any team in Israel to qualify. Liverpool are strong (at home) but away they are not so strong so they give Liverpool an advantage."
The teams meet in the first leg at Anfield on Wednesday night and Cohen believes the Israelis are severely hampered by the disruption to their preparations because of the conflict.
"It's very, very difficult because Maccabi Haifa are from the north and they have the missiles on the houses and the streets and they didn't have a session in Haifa.
"Maccabi Haifa need to play at Anfield and they are trying to do the impossible thing to try to get a good result.
"There are a few players (that) if they weren't now playing at Anfield they should be in the army so you can imagine the thinking. How can their heads be in football?"

Kendall, who watched Rooney grow up at Goodison Park before his £27million move to Old Trafford, feels that Sir Alex Ferguson should work hard behind the scenes to curb the excesses of the young England striker.
Rooney was sent off in the World Cup finals and again in a pre-season friendly in Amsterdam.
Kendall - who has his testimonial against former club Athletic Bilbao on
Saturday at Goodison Park - believes the 20-year-old is being targeted by referees and opponents and has to learn to live with that level of pressure.
"Players know he is fiery. Alan Ball was a fiery character and people would try to wind him up, but you were not in the spotlight then on the pitch as you are now and could get away with a lot.
"The situation has changed, everything you do is seen. Because of his nature people are looking to wind him up, and that has to be sorted out on the training ground.
"Sir Alex has got to appoint someone so that every time they have a little five-a-side game, he has someone niggling at him, verbally.
"Looking from the outside, the kid has got to learn to live with it and Sir Alex is the best at sorting that out, surely. It's much better playing with 11 than 10, particularly when it is Wayne you are losing because he's been sent off."
But Kendall believes that Rooney can overcome his demons and will live up to his teenage potential.
He said: "He's a tremendous talent. I remember talking to Colin Harvey when he was in charge of the Everton youth team and asking him if he had 'anything' good in the team.
"He just said 'only one.' There were others obviously, but only one like that. He said he was special and that was Wayne.
"But he has to come to terms with the position he is in and learn to curb his temper."

Crespo joined Milan ealier this week on a two-year loan deal leaving Chelsea short of recognised centre-forwards.
Carlton Cole has joined West Ham this summer but Mourinho believes the arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou give him enough options.
The Blues boss, linked with big-money moves for Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez, also counts his wingers Arjen Robben or Shaun Wright-Phillips as front men.
Mourinho said: "We are better than last season. We lost Crespo but we have Shevchenko. We lost Damien Duff but we have Kalou. We have no problems.
"We have Didier Drogba, we have Shaun, we have Robben. We have a lot of options."
Mourinho's immediate problems appear to lie in defence where he has been forced to use right-back Paulo Ferreira as a centre-back and a left-back in the absence of William Gallas.
Gallas, out of contract at the end of next season, returned to training at Chelsea on Monday after failing to report for the club's pre-season training camp in the USA.
He was not considered fit enough to take part in this week's friendlies against Feyenoord and Celtic.
Mourinho has admitted there is an offer on the table for Arsenal's Ashley Cole but he remains anxious not to lose unsettled Gallas before the start of the season.
Claude Makelele was also excused from the two games this week because he is only just back in training.
Makelele was granted an extended break by Mourinho after the World Cup - unlike Gallas who stayed away without the manager's permission.
Petr Cech is recovering from a shoulder operation he underwent after the World Cup and Joe Cole will miss the start of the season, even though his knee injury is not as bad as first feared.
Mourinho claims it has been hard to prepare his team for the new season because of the limited time available with his players after the disruption of the World Cup.
He took his squad to the USA for a pre-season training camp and Chelsea then played three warm-up games in five days, ending with Wednesday's friendly against Celtic.
The Premiership champions face FA Cup winners Liverpool in the Community Shield on Sunday, but Mourinho has already warned he will treat the Cardiff showpiece as just another friendly.
The Chelsea boss then loses the bulk of his squad to international duty before opening the Premiership campaign against Manchester City.
Mourinho said: "This is the most difficult pre-season I have had in my career.
"We have to play Liverpool after only 15 days of pre-season. That is very difficult.
"Other teams at this moment are in better condition than we are. We are working to improve and the natural tendency is to get better."
Mourinho, stung last season by criticism that Chelsea played dull football, has vowed to make his team more attractive this season.
He expects the formidable partnership of Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard to provide new thrust from midfield.
Mourinho said: "The main change is that last season we played with just one attacking midfield player.
"This season, with Ballack and Lampard, we have players to score goals and get the ball to the box. We will play with just one holding midfield player."
Ballack has no concerns about adjusting to the high-tempo style of English football after more than a decade in German football.
The Germany captain said: "It's a different game in England but I've played here many times in the Champions League and it's never been a problem.
"It's a different tempo but you can get used to that. Having played at international level you get used to different styles of play.
"It's a new club and a new challenge and that's something I'm looking forward to.
"I've been impressed with the professionalism and discipline in every aspect of the club but also the fun parts too. In training we like to have a laugh."

Arsenal have reportedly asked for £25million for the 25-year-old England defender, and Chelsea claim they will not buy unless the price drops.
A Chelsea statement read: "Chelsea FC has been in discussions with Arsenal Football Club for some time over the possible transfer of Ashley Cole.
"Chelsea has made a very substantial offer for the player. Although discussions have continued, Arsenal's valuation of the player does not match Chelsea's and therefore no agreement can be reached in the current circumstances."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday night urged Arsenal to make up their minds about the potential transfer of Cole before the end of the week.
However the club's stance has now hardened, and Chelsea could consider other options at left-back, where they are short of competition for Wayne Bridge.
An official offer has been submitted to Arsenal, and Mourinho said last night: "It is in their hands and we have to wait.
"What can I do? Arsenal has an offer from Chelsea. If they accept, they
accept, if they don't accept, they don't.
"If Arsenal decide to sell the player, that is okay. But the player belongs
to Arsenal, we cannot do anything about it.''
Mourinho declared himself ready to look elsewhere, and that could mean
renewing his interest in Real Madrid veteran Roberto Carlos, who only last week turned down the chance to join Fenerbahce and committed himself to the Spanish club for a further 12 months.
"We are waiting for decisions but we have other options. We cannot play a whole season only with Wayne Bridge,'' Mourinho said on Tuesday.
"If we have no solution about Ashley Cole in a couple of days, we turn the
corner and we see other faces.
"Yes there is a space in our squad for another left-back because we only have one real left-back.''
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has called for Cole's future to be sorted out "one way or the other'' by the end of the week.
The player has criticised Arsenal's handling of the tapping-up saga which engulfed both the Gunners and Chelsea, in his forthcoming autobiography.
And he was not included in the Arsenal squad for Tuesday's first leg of
their Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb, which the Gunners won 3-0.
Wenger stressed that was more to do with the defender's lack of full match fitness, however, rather than the issue of cup-tying a player on the brink of being sold.
"I do not know what will happen with Ashley Cole in the next few days, but
for me certainly the deadline has come now to make a decision one way or the other,'' said Wenger on Monday.
"This week is the last limit I can expect something to happen.''
Speaking to BBC Radio London, the Arsenal manager added: "It is better because it gets the player settled again and their mind on the team. That is what you want.''
Cole could now start the season with Arsenal, even though he seems reluctant to remain at the Emirates Stadium.
He barely played at first-team level last season due to a series of injuries, but was in the team beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League final and was then an ever-present for England at the World Cup.