Premier League Roundup - Part 2: Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Everton
Blackpool
Blackpool are currently pondering over the injury status of Alex Baptiste, who has reportedly picked up an injury on their training trip to Latvia. The right-back is now expected to return back to England following the hand injury he suffered while training. The defender is now all set to undergo scans and it is feared that he may well have broken his hand. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is waiting for the update on his first-team player and is still unaware of the full extent of the issue. Holloway is expecting the worst and stated that he thinks that the player may have broken his hand, which would be a huge blow for the club.
Bolton Wanderers
Former Manchester City midfielder Martin Petrov has expressed his satisfaction of signing with Bolton from City. The player joined Bolton on a free transfer from high-spending City, following his failure to renew his contract at the Eastlands. The Bulgarian was seen unhappy when City spent millions last season and admits that he’s enjoying his life at Bolton. The 31-year old claimed that he doesn’t miss his old club and had he accepted a one-year contract renewal with City, he was sure he would’ve been loaned out.
Chelsea
England International Frank Lampard has hailed manager Carlo Ancelotti for his ability to take the team to new heights. The former AC Milan boss took over at Stamford Bridge only last season and has delivered a historic double as Chelsea won the Premier league as well as the FA Cup. The 31-year old player underwent a hernia operation last week but is expected to be fit for the next Premier League fixture. The midfielder claimed that it’s happy to see the manager this involved in the team. The player added that the manager’s method, training, personality and his ability to remain calm in explosive situations has been the major factor behind Chelsea’s success. Such environment at the Chelsea camp has enabled the team to bond well together and has made them stronger as a team.
Everton
Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta’s dream of playing for the English national side is expected to end in disappointment. The Spanish player has been part of a campaign where he’s been made to believe that he is eligible for playing for England, following his completion of 5 year residency in the United Kingdom. Many believed that since Arteta has never played for Spain, he would be allowed to switch national sides once he was granted full UK Citizenship. However, it has now surfaced that Arteta may well never play for England, even after he does get the UK Citizenship.
The governing body of world football, FIFA, is currently on a back foot stance, as they don’t want to pre-judge any request from the England FA. According to Article 18.1a in FIFA’s Statutes, "At the time of [a player’s] first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current Association, he must already have the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play." Mikel Arteta has already represented Spain in the U-16 European Championship as well as U-17 FIFA World Championship. That criteria could only have been met had Arteta had the UK Passport while playing in those competitions. Thus, according to the FIFA rulebook, there is no chance of Arteta ever featuring for The Three Lions.
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