We Will Not Be Complacent In Final Four Games – Preko

Assistant coach Yaw Preko has said Accra Hearts of Oak will not be complacent going into the last four games of the first round of the 2015/2016 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season.

The Phobians lead the standing by a point after 11 games, and, will next play Sekondi Hasaacas at home as they seek to preserve their leadership of the table.

Further games before the first round ends, will come against Aduana Stars at Dormaa, Liberty Professionals in Accra and Dreams FC at Dawu.

And Preko says they will not be complacent going into these games as there is a lot at stake to be won by the club.

”We have some very tough games ahead of us to close the first round of the league, and will approach them with all seriousness, hoping to win all,” Preko told the club’s official newspaper, the Hearts News.

“These are games that will help define how we will approach the second half of the season, and, we intend to win them all to maintain our position on top of the table,” he added.

The Phobians will head into the Hasaacas game, one point ahead of second place Wa All Stars, and, Preko believes a win will set them up for the rest of campaign.

“We know the quality of Hasaacas, and, we will not take them lightly on Wednesday; they have lost all their away games, but, that does not mean we will have it easy,” the former Ghana international said.

“Playing against a big club like Hearts of Oak will inspire them to put out a performance worthy of note, and, we are aware of this and, have been preparing well for them,” he assured.

“It will be the same approach in the other three games after this, and, we believe we can produce the results that will keep us at the top of the ladder when the first round ends,” the deputy Ghana U-20 coach added.

“These are all difficult games, but, we trust in the quality of our boys to step-up to the table and, perform very well at anytime,” he promised.

We Will Not Be Complacent In Final Four Games – Preko

Robin Gnange - We Cannot Be Happy With One Point Lead

Captain of Accra Hearts of Oak, Robin Gnange said his side cannot be happy with their one point lead at the top of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) after 11 games.

The Phobians returned to the summit of the league with a slim 1-0 victory over Berekum Chelsea on Sunday, and, now lead Wa All Stars by a point heading to the midway point of the season.

But Gnange said the team cannot be happy with the point difference and want to do more for the club as they chase a first league title since the season of 2008/09.

“We want to be winning all of our games as that will carry us to our target of winning the championship at the end of the campaign,” Gnange said after they win on Sunday.

“Last time, we fought to get the victory but unfortunately we did not get the three points though our game was not bad,” he added, in reference to their defeat to Asante Kotoko in Accra last week.

“The spirit was there and motivation too so we worked very hard at training and we supported each other to get the result here,” Gnange continued.

“We are happy we are on top of the table but it is not over because there’s only a point difference between us and Wa All Stars,’ the Ivorian noted.

“We are not too much happy [at the moment] because we need to create a gap between us and the second-placed team before we can be happy,” he charged.

“But this match is past and gone and so we are going back to correct our mistakes and to work very hard so that the next game, we can get the three points as well,” he said.

Accra Hearts of Oak will next play Sekondi Hasaacas at the Accra Sports Stadium in their next GPL game, and, will be favoured to win this one as the visitors have lost all their away games.

Robin Gnange - We Cannot Be Happy With One Point Lead

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

Bikes will be tested at the Tour de France and Olympics to try to find hidden motors and stop ‘mechanical doping’, cycling’s governing body says.

The UCI says up to 12,000 bikes will be tested this year using a new scanning system introduced in January.

Belgium’s Femke van den Driessche was banned for six years last month in the first proven case of mechanical doping.

“If you use this method of cheating, we will catch you,” UCI president Brian Cookson said.

The UCI believes that its new system of magnetic resonance scanning, which detects motors, magnets and batteries, is more effective than using heat-seeking cameras.

UCI technical manager Mark Barfield says riders who switch bikes mid-race could be targeted.

Demonstrating its testing technology on Tuesday, the UCI says the one hidden motor found – in Van den Driessche’s bike at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium in January – was at the first event where magnetic resonance scans were used.

Van den Driessche, the former European Under-23 champion, has denied suggestions she deliberately cheated, saying the bike was not hers.

UCI regulations, which were recently strengthened, state a rider is given a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

BBC

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

Leicester City Team "Could Be Worth £200m"

The value of Leicester City’s squad could “triple or quadruple” after their Premier League title win.

The Foxes’ squad was assembled for £57m, the cheapest of any currently in the top half of the table.

“If you take Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez as individuals, you’re looking at £70m there,” said agent and sports lawyer David Seligman of Leicester’s attacking duo.

“You’re looking at a team of upwards of £200m.”

Leicester paid £1m for 29-year-old former non-league striker Vardy in 2012, while winger Mahrez, 25, joined for £400,000 in 2014.

Mahrez and Vardy have scored or assisted 48 of Leicester’s 64 league goals this season, and have both earned international caps for England and Algeria respectively.

France midfielder N’Golo Kante, 25, was bought from Caen for £5.6m and has also been a key asset for Claudio Ranieri’s side this term.

In January, research conducted by the International Centre for Sports Studies valued Vardy and Kante at 25m euros (£19.8m), with Mahrez at 40m euros (£31.7m).

Those figures differ from the values provided by market value analysis website Transfermarkt in the above graphic, although Seligman believes Leicester’s star names could command even higher prices.

“If people are paying £50m plus for Raheem Sterling, then Mahrez is worth more than that. He’s still got his peak to come,” said Seligman.

“Kante signed an initial contract a year ago and hasn’t signed another one and only has a year left. His rise has been meteoric.

“They’re all going on to be international players and that adds to the price tag. They’re better players now and also they’re superstars commercially. Their values are going to increase massively.”

Vardy signed a new three-year contract with Leicester in February, but has been linked with moves to former champions Manchester United and Chelsea.

“If you’ve got clubs like Chelsea, United and Arsenal coming in I don’t think you can turn them down – even if you wouldn’t be playing week in week out,” added Seligman.

“But Leicester are champions with billionaire owners. If United can pay someone £200k a week then so can Leicester.”

BBC

Leicester City Team "Could Be Worth £200m"

I Will Be At Manchester United Next Season-Van Gaal

Louis van Gaal is adamant he will still be Manchester United manager next season, no matter what happens at the end of the season.

The Red Devils remain in contention for a top-four finish and are in the FA Cup final but speculation over the Dutchman’s future at the club persists.

Jose Mourinho has been heavily linked with replacing Van Gaal at Old Trafford but the 64-year-old is relaxed about his future and says he always felt it would take time to bring success to the club.

“I knew it would be like this. That’s why they hired me and we spoke about it,” he told reporters.

“We always knew that the process would take three years. I wanted to sign only for two years.

“The club wanted me to sign for three years, not me. I signed for three years – so next year you will see me again.

“Every week for six months I have been sacked – and yet I am still here. But this has happened to me at every club I have been at.

“I am doing the same job at United that I was hired to do at every club.

“People should assess the squad that I took over and make a comparison to the players we have now in terms of age.

“There is a big difference between what the people in the street think and the media. A big difference. I can only tell you my experiences and I don’t have to defend myself. I am a realistic man and so I only speak about facts.”

Van Gaal was also quick to defend his record since taking over in 2014 as he prepares to take on Leicester at Old Trafford on Sunday.

“The fact is that we finished fourth last year. At the moment we are fifth, but we are still able to finish third. On May 15 we will know for sure,” he added.

“The fact is that we are in the FA Cup Final. The fact is that we were in the Champions League. We didn’t do that last year.

“The fact is that we went further in the Capital One Cup. So there are a lot of pluses. Yes, we are in fifth and we are fighting for the one position that is the most important.

“We also have the best home record in the league, but we are one of the lousiest away teams of the top clubs and that is something we need to improve.”

Goal.com

I Will Be At Manchester United Next Season-Van Gaal

Video Referees "To Be Used At 2018 World Cup"

FIFA president Gianni Infantino hopes the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be the first tournament where video referees help officials with “game-changing” decisions.

In March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) said it would test technology over a two-year period to help with goals, red cards, mistaken identities and penalties.

That was set to start no later than the 2017-18 season but Infantino said testing would “start now and will take two years”.

The Swiss, who succeeded Sepp Blatter as boss of world football’s governing body in February, added: “This means that by March 2018 we will see if it works or not.

“I really hope that the World Cup in Russia will be the first World Cup where video refereeing is used to make refereeing maybe better.”

In the experiments, a video assistant referee will have access to video replays during matches and will either review an incident on request or communicate with the referee proactively about an incident that may have been missed by the officials on the field of play.

On a visit to Moscow, Infantino also said he had received assurances from the Russian government that the economic crisis engulfing the country would not affect preparations for the 2018 tournament.

Hawk-Eye to be used at Euro 2016

Meanwhile, UEFA has selected British company Hawk-Eye as the goal-line technology supplier for all matches at Euro 2016.

The camera-based system that is used in the Premier League was chosen ahead of Germany-based Goal Control, which was in operation at the 2014 World Cup.

European football’s governing body UEFA decided to introduce the technology in January after incidents where goals had not been given despite crossing the line.

Co-hosts Ukraine were denied such a goal against England at Euro 2012.

In contrast to the Premier League, Uefa has previously opted to use additional assistant referees in its competitions, including the Champions League, and will continue to use five officials at Euro 2016 in France.

“Goal-line technology and additional assistant referees complement each other perfectly,” UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina said.

Hawk-Eye, which uses seven cameras per goal, was chosen after a selection process in which all four FIFA-licensed goal-line technology providers were invited to provide information and submit commercial offers.

It was the first company to receive a FIFA goal-line technology license and, in addition to the Premier League, it is already used in the Bundesliga and Serie A as well as in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Credit: BBC

Video Referees "To Be Used At 2018 World Cup"

We Must Be Consistent To Be Champions – Mustapha Essuman

Experienced midfielder of Accra Hearts of Oak, Mustapha Essuman has urged his teammates to be more consistent in their approach to the campaign as they chase silverware at the end of the season.

This according to him is the only way they can be assured of winning something at the end of the campaign to end the club’s trophy drought over the last few seasons.

Hearts under their Japanese-American coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi, has made a promising start to the season, and, sit in second place with 14 points, three behind leaders Wa All Stars in the Ghana Premier League after seven games.

The Phobians have lost one and drawn the other in their last two games, and this Mustapha believes must be improved upon if they are win something at the end of the season.

“We should be a lot more consistent with our performance as that is the surest way we can become successful at the end of season,” he said.

The Phobians will next play Division One outfit Samartex FC in an MTN FA Cup round of 32 game on Saturday at Samreboi in a game Mustapha hopes Coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi can guide them to success.

“He is a top coach and his work so far has justified why he was brought here,” he said, adding that with the right approach Hearts can win this competition at the end of the campaign”.

“We know the game with Samartex will be difficult as they will be at home,” he added, insisting that “we will not underrate them and will go all out for the win”.

Mustapha therefore urged his colleagues to rise up to the challenge in Saturday’s game and press on for the win to advance to the next stage of the competition.

We Must Be Consistent To Be Champions – Mustapha Essuman

Premier League Would Be “A Step Down” For Ibrahimovic - Thiago Silva

Brazil and Paris Saint Germain captain Thiago Silva says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be taking a step down if he were to leave PSG for the Premier League this summer.

The 34 year old is out of contract at the French club in July, with rumours percolating of a move to England.

However, teammate Silva, also a teammate of Zlatan’s at A.C. Milan, thinks the Swede would be better off staying in Paris, “He is my good friend, but also at 34 he is playing the best football of his career.

He is one of the best in the world, he is unique, there is not another player like him.

“Of course I want him to stay at PSG, I cannot imagine us without him. I know he has offers from England – and it is a big league – but I don’t think there is a team in England that is at the level of PSG at the moment. For me it would be a step down in quality for him.”

Manchester United are the club being linked with Ibrahimovic most regularly.

Credit: Sambafoot

Premier League Would Be “A Step Down” For Ibrahimovic - Thiago Silva

I Will Be Back Soon - Inusah Musah

Injured Accra Hearts of Oak defender Inusah Musah Keita has started some light training sessions as he hopes to fully recover from the foot injury that has sidelined him for over three months now.

The central defender picked up the injury in training with the capital club during one of their sessions last December, and, has not featured in any of the club’s programmes since.

However, the good news is that he is back in training doing some light workouts as he hopes to regain fitness and back in the plans of the Phobians.

He played a pivotal role for the club last season, and, is rated highly by their new Japanese-American trainer Kenichi Yatsuhashi.

Musah told Sportscrusader.com that he hopes to make a full recovery to feature in the plans of the coach and the club as they target success this season.

Accra Hearts of Oak have made a bright start in this season’s top-flight league in Ghana, and, sit top of the standing after five games with 13 points with an unbeaten record to boost.

I Will Be Back Soon - Inusah Musah