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Recently by Gareth Bicknell

Everton striker light

By Gareth Bicknell on Nov 30, 08 10:28 PM

Now could be a good time to get Victor Anichebe as a cheap option in your fantasy football team - as he's the only fit striker Everton have.
Sunday's 1-0 victory at Tottenham was a great result for the Blues and should keep them on course for the holy grail of European qualification.
But the loss of Ayegbeni Yakubu for the rest of the season after the forward ruptured his Achilles is a huge blow for David Moyes' side, and with Louis Saha aggravating his hamstring injury, Everton physio Mick Rathbone is one man who won't be worried about losing his job post-credit crunch.
All the latest on Everton's injury situation - plus of course all Ian Doyle's analysis on the win over Spurs - is in Monday's Daily Post, as well as a full preview of Liverpool's clash with West Ham as the Reds look to capitalise on Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal and go three points clear at the top.
There's also chief rugby writer Rob Griffiths' verdict on Saturday's impressive victory for Wales over Australia, while in a good week for Welsh sport Mark Currie brings you the action and reaction from Wrexham's 2-1 win at Stevenage Borough.
Oh, and there's full coverage of Manchester United's win in the Eastlands derby - but as I'm a City fan, the less said about that the better!

SIX Nations Grand Slam champions Wales will be out to finally take a Tri-Nations scalp when they host Australia at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
It's four years since they last beat either the Wallabies, the All Blacks or the Springboks, but our top rugby man Rob Griffiths will be there to analyse all the action as Warren Gatland's men aim to seize their best chance this autumn of a victory over one of the big three Southern Hemisphere sides.
On the eve of the game, however, coach Robin McBryde - an Anglesey man and, we think, a keen reader of the Daily Post - has blasted some players for not giving it their all in training this week.
This players are set to get a talking to next week by all accounts - but isn't it refreshing in British and particularly in Welsh sport that Gatland has instilled such a competitive mentality in the team that brave defeats to the two best sides in world rugby - New Zealand and South Africa - have gone down badly in the Wales camp.
Hopefully Wales can put that right in Saturday's game, and as always we've got a full preview in the Daily Post - as well as Liverpool and Everton, the build-up to Sunday's Manchester derby, Wrexham and all the Welsh Premier games.
And, of course, don't miss Monday's edition with our weekly pullout The Score, in which we'll have all the reaction and analysis from the weekend's action.
Anyway, time for me to go - if Rob Griffiths catches me blogging on Welsh rugby it'll be probably be the last time I get to do it!

EVERTON could be back in the top six with victory at Wigan tonight - and they'll be glad to be away from Goodison Park.
David Moyes says his players will feel less under pressure on their travels than in front of their own fans - while they have won just once at Goodison this season, a win at the JJB stadium would be the Blues' third on the bounce on the road this season.
As always there's a full match preview in Monday's Daily Post, and you can keep up to date with tonight's game at www.dailypost.co.uk/sport. And of course, as always chief sports writer Ian Doyle will be giving his verdict on the match in Tuesday's paper.
Also in Monday's paper, Wrexham boss Dean Saunders invents a new word, "flabbergasting", to describe how the Dragons had a host of chances at Kidderminster but still managed to come away with a 1-0 defeat. How many points would Deano get for that in Scrabble?
We've also got Rob Griffiths' verdict on Wales' 29-9 defeat to the All Blacks, and while we're on post-mortems there's all the reaction to Liverpool's dismal 0-0 draw with Fulham.
One more thing - as a lifelong Manchester City fan I'd like to say well done for that stunning victory over Arsenal to Mark Hughes, our manager, Robinho, our Brazilian star player, Stephen Ireland, our player of the season so far, and Daniel Sturridge, our star of the future. More of the same against United next week!

WITH Aaron Ramsey and Jack Collison set to face Denmark next week, it's judgement day for Jason Koumas.
And it is also time for John Toshack to give goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey a kick up the backside after the Wales manager named his squad for the friendly.
Ramsey - who will make his debut next week - and Collison are the future in midfield for Wales and are expected to play together in Brondby next Wednesday.
That could mean Koumas misses out for at least part of the game - although with only three strikers in the squad Toshack may experiment with playing Koumas just behind captain Craig Bellamy, with Ramsey and Collison in the engine room.
Koumas has been the most creative force in the Wales squad for a couple of years now, but too often he goes missing, and not just during the game - too often he has already made his excuses when the call comes for those gruelling away trips.
If Koumas does face Denmark next week, he must show Toshack he still has something to offer as the next generation stake their claim for a place in Wales' bid to reach the 2010 World Cup.
Meanwhile, with Boaz Myhill one of Hull's stars as the Tigers have roared to the top six of the Premier League this season, Hennessey - currently out of the Wolves side - is facing a threat to his number one spot.
Toshack must give Myhill his chance to impress next Wednesday - with Hennessey still only 21 years of age, he has plenty of time to win his place back.

WREXHAM fans might be shocked to learn that last season's unsuccessful battle against relegation cost the club more than £400,000.
As revealed in the Daily Post's sports pages on Monday, that's the figure spent by the Dragons to try and stay in the Football League after Brian Little was brought in as manager 12 months ago.
Also in Monday's paper, former Cameroon World Cup star Patrick Suffo has been offered a "pay as you play" deal by Little's successor Dean Saunders, and the striker could come into contention for Saturday's Blue Square Premier match at Weymouth.
That got us thinking in the office about World Cup stars who've played for Wrexham. So far we've got Trinidad & Tobago stars Carlos Edwards and Dennis Lawrence, and one you might not have heard about in Ron Hewitt, who played for Wales in the 1958 World Cup, and scored 111 goals for the Dragons.
If anybody can think of any more we'd be glad to bow down to your superior knowledge! Although a Wrexham World Cup XI, we think, might be a bridge too far.
Also in Monday's Daily Post, we've got rugby writer Rob Griffiths' analysis of Wales' brave defeat to World Champions South Africa at the Millennium Stadium, plus all the reaction to Joe Calzaghe's victory over Roy Jones Jr - will it really be the phenomenal boxer's last-ever fight?
And of course, there's all the football action from the weekend as Liverpool kept pace with Premier League leaders Chelsea, Everton recorded a third straight victory and champions Manchester United were beaten at Arsenal.

By Gareth Bicknell on Nov 4, 08 12:00 AM

DIRK KUYT says he's back to old self and is desperate to win medals with Liverpool - which is why he's set to sign a new contract with the Reds.
The Anfield club are opening talks with both striker Kuyt and centre-half Daniel Agger - and you can read all about it in Tuesday's Daily Post.
Sunday's first defeat of the season to Tottenham Hotspur aside, it's easy to see why Kuyt feels he can win silverware with Liverpool.
The manager, players and fans have been saying it year after year, but this time they finally look like the complete package and in Tuesday's paper our regular columnist Mark Lawrenson says the Reds must now prove it by bouncing back in Saturday's Anfield clash against West Brom.
Before that, of course, Liverpool host Atletico Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League clash, with Reds fans hoping Fernando Torres will face his former club for the first time after missing the 1-1 draw at Vicente Calderon.
Also in Tuesday's paper, read the thoughts of Wrexham new boy Angelos Tsiaklis after his first game since joining on loan from Manchester City, we start our build-up to Wales' Autumn Tests against the world's finest rugby nations, and we've got all the reaction to Lewis Hamilton's historic Formula One World Championship triumph.
Don't forget to keep up to date with the latest from Anfield tonight at www.dailypost.co.uk

CRAIG BELLAMY said it was the same old story for Wales after they were yet again the plucky losers in Germany on Tuesday - but this time there is hope.
The narrow 1-0 defeat means Wales have played both of their rivals for first or second place - Germany and Russia - without taking a point off either of them. It leaves the players and fans in the same position they were at this stage of the last qualifying campiagn - wondering what might have been had Wales taken points off one of the group favourites.
But things aren't as bleak as they were after Wales had victory snatched from them in the Czech Republic two years ago. After defeat in Moscow in a game which Wales arguably deserved to win, Wales are still level on points with the Russians, although admittedly having played a game more.
Next up are two home games - Finland and Germany. A win over Finland is must, and after holding the Germans for 72 minutes John Toshack's side have to believe they have a chance of sneaking something.
After that, Wales have to hope Russia slip up - perhaps against Finland next June - before they visit the Millennium Stadium next September, when hopefully the home side will still be in with a chance of second place.
By that time, Wales will have Aaron Ramsey and possibly the likes of Jack Collison and Simon Church in their squad. Anybody who saw those three and the rest of the under-21s run England close over two legs this last week will know there is definitely hope for the future.

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