06/11/2008 21:56:21 46-47 Media Wales jeremyking 07/11/2008 MAIL Nov 07 Fri

Western Mail Friday, 7 November 2008 46 Western Mail Friday, 7 November 2008 47
SPORT SPORT
Chopra finding
its like friends
reunited being
back at City
H
OTSHOTMichael Chopra
chose the familiarity of
Cardiff over the bright
lights of Queens Park
Rangers for Dave Jones and his
old friends Roger Johnson and
Stephen McPhail.
The Sunderland striker, who
left Ninian Park 18 months ago
after a successful stint which yiel-
ded 22 goals in 42 games, sen-
sationally returned yesterday
after a tug-of-war between the
Bluebirds and the big-spending
London outfit.
On his first day of training at
the club`s Vale of Glamorgan
base, the striker, who hopes to
boost Dave Jones` promotion
push during his initial two-month
spell, said: 'QPR came in for me
and I spoke to my good friend
Peter Ramage, who plays for
them. He was desperate to get me
down there.
'I also spoke to Roger (John-
son) quite a lot and he was trying
to get me to come here.
'People talk about all the
money that QPR have but in my
eyes they didn`t really have the
structure at the club. They didn`t
have a manager.
'I thought about going to QPR
but I was worried about what
would happen if a new manager
came in and doesn`t like me.
'I also thought that being in
London wouldn`t really help me,
especially when I have just tried
to sort out a lot of personal
problems. Going to London
might have been a bad time for
me.
'I spoke to Dave Jones and he
said that he would keep me under
wraps and look after me. The
relationship that I`ve got with
him helps a lot.
'He spoke to me on the phone
and he was getting Roger (John-
son) to ring me and try to per-
suade me to come to Cardiff
when he knewthere was a chance
of me going on loan.
Since Chopra left in August
2007, things have changed at
Cardiff City. The new stadium is
nearly completed at Leckwith
and the team are now based in
plush surroundings at their Vale
of Glamorgan training ground,
but it`s the familiarity of people
like Jones, Johnson and his old
friend McPhail that he is looking
forward to during his second
spell.
The former Newcastle United
and Barnsley striker said: 'It`s
good because I know all the lads
and hopefully I can fit in
nicely.
Of under-fire midfielder
McPhail, Chopra said: 'I`ve
spoken to Steve and whether he
has lost form or whatever, he is
still a great player.
'We played for a year together
at Barnsley before joining Cardiff
and we got on really well together
and we know how each other
plays.
'Just because people have been
Troubled
Gibbs is
still set
for Glam
GLAMORGAN cricket
manager Matthew Maynard
has insisted the antics of con-
troversial South African Her-
schelle Gibbs will not affect
his chances of signing as the
county`s overseas player for
next summer.
Gibbs (picturedbelow) has
been sent home fromthe Pro-
teas squad for the one-day
international series against
Bangladesh after breaking a
team curfew and will be re-
quired to attend an alcohol
rehabilitation course after
staying out late before the
Twenty20 clash on Wednes-
day.
'Herschelle`s behaviour is
unacceptableinthecontext of
team discipline, said South
Africa coach Mickey Arthur.
There have been concerns
about Gibbs` mental state
withthe SouthAfricandoctor
Dr Mohammed Moosajee
saying: 'We are not trying to
punish Herschelle, but rather
to help him.
'He has been under a lot of
pressure lately, notably from
the publicity surrounding his
recent divorce. It`s clear he
has aproblemthat needs tobe
addressed.
'Herschelle canrelyonthe
full support of CSAto get his
life back on an even keel
again.
But Maynard believes
these matters will not affect
the chances of Gibbs moving
to Glamorgan next season.
'Those matters are
between Herschelle and
cricket South Africa and I am
sure those issues will be re-
solved and things will move
on, said Maynard.
Gibbs starred for the
Dragons in the Twenty20
Cup tournament last summer
with 256 runs in six innings
and Maynard has been trying
to get the 35-year-old old on
boardas areplacement for the
whole summer.
Gibbs is set to be missing
for the Indian Premier
League and was due to be
playing for South Africa in
the Twenty20 World Cup in
England next year, although
his involvement now could
be in doubt.
'We are still finalising the
contract negoti-
ations and there
are still things
that need tidying
up, added
Maynard.
'We are
nearly
there and
hopefully
an an-
nounce-
ment will
be made
shortly.
Gareth Griffiths
gareth.griffiths@mediawales.co.uk
saying he has had one or two bad
games, it doesn`t mean he should
be out of the team.
'He`s a fantastic player, you
just need to look at what he did for
me when I was first here. Prob-
ably half of my goals came from
him.
'It`s a connection that you have
with players. I believe from train-
ing with him that we`ll get that
connection back pretty quickly.
'It`s amazing how much things
have moved on at Cardiff since I
left. Two years ago, we wouldn`t
have been able to train on rainy
days because the pitches would
have been waterlogged.
'Now it`s brilliant that the club
are moving forward. I`ve seen the
stadium, it looks fantastic. Hope-
fully the lads can get the teaminto
the Premiership next year.
Now the Geordie goal-ace is
looking forward to renewing his
love affair with the Bluebirds fans
after polishing his game in the
Premier League.
'It will be great if they are like
they were last year, singing songs
about me. It gives me a massive
buzz when I`m playing on the
pitch, he added.
'Now I`m desperate to get out
there and get that first goal. Once
the first one comes that will be me
off and running.
'Last time it took me three
games to get a goal here, so I hope
everyone will just be patient until
I get that first one.
'The best way to build fitness,
HOMECOMING:
Michael Chopra
arrives back in
Cardiff yesterday
after rejoining
City on loan
OLD PALS ACT: Michael Chopra is looking forward to renewing his fruitful partnership with old friend Stephen McPhail at Cardiff City
sharpness and confidence is to
play week in, week out and that is
why I have come here and I am
determined to take this oppor-
tunity.
Chopra, who lived in Cardiff
with his model wife Heather, dur-
ing his last stint in South Wales,
says he has no doubts about com-
ing back.
He said: 'I made the decision
because I like to have challenges
in life.
'Now my challenge is to do
better here than I did last time and
I am sure I can do that.
Despite the initial loan deal
covering the two months that in-
jured strikers Jay Bothroyd and
Ross McCormack could be out
for, Chopra hasn`t ruled out a
longer stay at Ninian Park, say-
ing: 'I don`t knowwhat`s going to
happen. You would have to speak
to the manager and the chairman
about that.
'I have just been told that for
now I`m on loan for a couple of
months and then they`re going to
take it from there after that. But
I`m just happy to be here and
happy to be playing football
again.
But even though the striker has
temporarily left Sunderland`s Sta-
dium of Light, he is full of praise
for manager Roy Keane and ex-
pressed his gratitude for being
allowed to return to Wales to work
on his game, saying: 'I`mgrateful
for being given the chance to go
away and sort myself out.
'As the weeks were going on I
was getting disappointed at not
playing football. I want to score
goals and I spoke to him a few
times about going on loan, but I
was told to be patient.
With the words that will please
all Cardiff fans, a delighted Chop-
ra said: 'NowI`mjust happy to be
here and happy that I am going to
be playing football.
Cardiff City's new striker Michael Chopra talks exclusively to
WalesOnline's football reporter Mark Bloom about his loan transfer ...
Giggs is refusing to write off the Gunners just yet
RYAN GIGGS does not believe
Manchester United can finish off
Arsenal`s title ambitions tomor-
row even if they consign Arsene
Wenger`s men to a fourth defeat of
the season.
Acombinationof poor formand
major injury worries mean if any-
one is going to win tomorrow`s
clash at the Emirates, most pundits
feel it will be United.
Such a result would leave the
Gunners four points adrift of the
champs and even further behind
Chelsea and Liverpool, neither of
whom have been faced yet.
Little wonder the match is being
viewed as make-or-break for Ar-
senal, who are looking to avoid a
fifth successive season without the
title, which would be the longest
barren streak since Wenger`s ar-
rival in north London.
But Giggs is not convinced.
Mindful United are not that much
better off, even though they have a
match in hand and have been to
Anfield and Stamford Bridge, the
veteran Welshman feels Novem-
ber is too early to start writing off
any of the big four.
'When you look at the quality
Arsenal have, I don`t think we can
finish off their title hopes on Sat-
urday, said Giggs.
'They have got a few players
out - but all four top teams, if they
are there or thereabouts, are cap-
able of going on a run. That has
always been the case.
'I expect us all to be involved at
the end. We are going to have
losses of form and not get the
results we want. Hopefully we
have had our poor spell.
The poor spell effectively
amounts to dropped points against
Newcastle and Everton given the
only other teams United have
failed to overcome so far this sea-
son were Liverpool and Chelsea.
SIR Alex Ferguson has been
charged with improper conduct by
the Football Association.
The charge relates to Saturday`s
encounter with Hull at Old Traf-
ford when Ferguson marched onto
the field immediately after his
side`s 4-3 win to remonstrate with
referee Mike Dean.
Premier title race not over Toure
KOLO TOURE has warned Ar-
senal`s critics they should not be
ruled out of the Barclays Premier
League title race so early in the
season.
Manchester United visit Emir-
ates Stadium on Saturday and
Toure has demanded his in-
jury-ravaged Gunners view the
seismic showdown as a statement
of intent. Storm clouds have
gathered over Ashburton Grove as
Arsenal`s season threatens to un-
ravel following a difficult week in
which they dropped four Premi-
ership points.
A frustrating goalless Cham-
pions League draw with Fener-
bahce failed to dispel the gloom
but Toure believes victory over Sir
Alex Ferguson`s side would gal-
vanise their faltering campaign.
'Beating Manchester United
would definitely turn things
around for us, he said.
'Awinwouldbe reallyfantastic
for us and would show that we`d
be there for the title. But it`s not a
must-win, it`s just another game.
'We know that the Premier
League is really long, we are not in
the second half yet.
'We just need to take it as a
really important game and show
United and those big clubs that we
are there to fight for the title.
'It`s going to be a good game
and we will showthemwe are still
in the race for the title.
We can prove our
point by winning
on pitch Britton
L
EON BRITTON claims
Swansea City are getting
used to topsy-turvy
tables.
But the midfielder has in-
sisted Roberto Martinez`s
Liberty lot have what it takes to
stabilise themselves in the right
half of the Championship.
The second tier has long
been regarded as one of the
tightest around, last year`s fin-
ish where all bar one club had
something to aim for or worry
about in the final fortnight a
perfect example.
And, a third of the way into
this campaign, the same is
ringing true with just a handful
of points separating a hatful of
sides.
So much so, Swansea`s day
off on Saturday before facing
Watford on Sunday could see
them drop seven places to 17th
should results go against
them.
Similarly, a kind set of out-
comes tomorrow would leave
the Swans knowing a victory
over the Hornets would put
themjust a point outside the top
six.
'It`s a bit bizarre at the mo-
ment, said 26-year-old Brit-
ton. 'The division is so tight
that sides can shoot up or drop
quite a few places with one
game.
'It`s the same this weekend
for us with us not playing - it
normally disappears after the
first few weeks of the season
normally but, at the moment,
there`s not a lot of room for
error.
'But, having said that, we`re
quite confident we can push on
up on Sunday after everyone
else has played on Saturday.
'And we`re certainly not at a
stage where we`re looking at
the table thinking what position
we can get because we haven`t
forgotten we`re still the new
boys in the division and we can
only look at the game in front
of us.
Maybe, but that`s hardly
likely to put off supporters eye-
ing up the top six having seen
their side settle into a Cham-
pionship stride, even if the last
two fixtures have seen Swansea
pick up just one point from two
games.
Back at home and against
a side struggling just
above the drop zone, not
to mention still shaken
by the departure of
boss Aidy
Boothroyd, Wat-
ford`s former Premi-
ership status is count-
ing for little with those in the
stands and behind the book-
maker counters who are mak-
ing the hosts the favourites to
collect the three points on of-
fer.
And Britton admits the con-
fidence gained from their first
few months in the Champi-
onship has convinced the
Swans squad they can take high
hopes into every outing.
'When you first get into a
new division you`re a bit cagey
about games because it`s a little
bit of a step into the unknown,
he said.
'But we`ve seen a good deal
of what`s here in this division
over the last few months now
and we believe we should be
here and should be doing well
and that we can beat the
so-called bigger teams.
'But that still doesn`t mean
we`re looking at the table and
looking at how many points we
need to move up yet. Perhaps
it`s not until the halfway point
that the table even becomes
relevant and it`s later still that
you start looking at it and
thinking what you can
achieve.
Yet, although players might
not be looking at the table,
some chairmen obviously have
been judging by Boothroyd`s
departure by mutual consent
this week, Malky Mackay hav-
ing been placed in charge of the
Hornets for the back-to-back
games in South Wales.
And Britton knows he and
his team-mates should expect a
fired-up opposition for both the
Championship clash and the
Carling Cup affair two days
later.
'I`ve been there myself with
the manager going and where
players are desperate to im-
press and fighting for their fu-
ture, he added.
'It`s far from great timing
for us because teams always
seem to have a rise in results
when a new manager comes in
- hopefully they won`t appoint
a new one before Sunday!
'But we`ve had a good break
and we can look forward to a bit
of a strange situation where we
play the same side twice in such
a short space of time.
'I`m not sure what the man-
ager is planning whether he`s
going to change it around be-
cause you can never read him.
'But the cup game is a big
game because to get the chance
to get to the quarter-finals of
the Carling Cup doesn`t come
up too many times in your
career and it would be a huge
achievement.
'But we`ll start thinking
about that after
Sunday.
chriswathan
chris.wathan@mediawales.co.uk
Gareth Rogers
gareth.griffiths@mediawales.co.uk
NO FEAR: Leon
Britton admits that
the Swans first
few months in the
Championship
have convinced
the squad they
can go into every
game with
confidence
Jones is top boss
CARDIFF CITY boss Dave Jones
has won the Championship
manager of the month award for
October after the Bluebirds went
five games unbeaten.
After a steady start to the
season, Jones' men enjoyed an
excellent month, recording three
wins and two draws from their five
league fixtures.