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West Brom defender Jonas Olsson has no idea how many points Roy Hodgson’s side needs to guarantee their safety this season.The Baggies have improved dramatically since Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo seven games ago, and they have 39 points, just one short of the traditional relegation-saving mark.

Yet with the bottom of the table incredibly congested – eight points separate the bottom 12 teams – centre-back Olsson admits his side cannot afford to relax as they head to White Hart Lane to face Champions League hopefuls Tottenham.

“We will carry on going – in the last few seasons it (39 points) has been well enough to keep you up but it has been a strange season,” said Olsson.

“Another win or maybe two, and it looks like it’s going to have to be 42 points plus to get that safety.”

“People say ‘will it be 40? Will it be 45?’ but for me it doesn’t matter, if we do what we have to do.”

And Olsson admits that Tottenham’s strength in depth is frightening.

“They’ve been playing a lot of games – they have had Champions League games and that North London derby in midweek,” he said.

“They have good depth in their squad so whatever they put on the pitch we will be afraid.”

But while Olsson admits he is still concerned about relegation, Baggies skipper Chris Brunt is convinced that a top-10 finish is possible for a side who were in real relegation trouble when Hodgson took over.

“We’ve seen Aston Villa in the last few weeks be on the verge of the relegation zone, win two games, and then they’re on 40 points and in the top 10,” Brunt said.

“If we can pick up a couple of results in the next few weeks, there’s no reason why we can’t finish in the top half of the league.”

Paris Saint-Germain coach Antoine Kombouare has signed a 12-month contract extension, tying him to the Ligue 1 club until 2013.Kombouare has guided PSG to fourth in the table with five matches of the current campaign remaining, level on points with third-placed Lyon and vying for a Champions League qualification berth.

“Paris Saint-Germain is pleased to announce the extension of an additional season for coach Antoine Kombouare,” the club said in a statement.

“Considering our satisfaction with the work undertaken, and for the sake of continuity, the club has decided to exercise the option for an additional year on the contract of Antoine Kombouare.”

Kombouare, 47, took over at the Parc des Princes in 2009, replacing Paul Le Guen.

PSG finished a disappointing 13th in the table last season, but Kombouare did lead the team to Coupe de France success.

They will defend the trophy in the final against Ligue 1 leaders Lille at the Stade de France on May 14.

The debate surrounding the use of goal-line technology was on the agenda as the new FIFA Task Force Football 2014 met on Tuesday.Ever since Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup, the debate over whether to introduce goal-line technology in football has raged.

And the new taskforce – headed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter and including football dignitaries such as former German coach Franz Beckenbauer and Brazilian Cafu – discussed the issue at length and indicated a decision on the use of the technology will be made in 2012.

“Where goal-line technology is concerned, we have just issued a documentation to say where we are in the different technicalities,” Blatter revealed.

“Also in 2012, the international board will then make a final decision on goal-line technology to see if it can be implied for the next World Cup in 2014″

Other issues discussed at the meeting were the possibility of allowing extra substitutions, the interpretation of the offside rule and changes to red card dismissals.

Somen Tchoyi hit a second-half hat-trick as West Brom staged an incredible comeback to grab a 3-3 draw.The 28-year-old, starting a game for only the second time this year, played in the absence of top scorer Peter Odemwingie, who was released early for his summer break by manager Roy Hodgson.

And the Cameroon international assumed centre-stage – hitting three goals in 28 minutes to steal a point against Newcastle and deny the north-easterners a top-half finish.

The game started brightly for the home side, who took the lead after 15 minutes with a goal that was literally “Taylor-made”.

West Brom failed to deal with a teasing corner from Ryan Taylor, allowing his namesake Stephen to slam home from six yards.

The central defender, whose future at Newcastle was up in the air at the start of the season, ended the campaign with a bang at both ends. This was his third in as many games.

Newcastle should have doubled the advantage after 35 minutes when Shola Ameobi muscled past goalkeeper Scott Carson, but could not do the same against a combination of Abdoulaye Meite and Jonas Olsson on the line.

Four minutes later, however, Newcastle did grab their second through Ameobi’s strike partner Peter Lovenkrands.

Carson appeared to save the striker’s initial shot, but failed to stop the ball looping marginally over the line before managing to gather.

West Brom’s luck did not improve when, just three minutes after the re-start, Olsson scored an own-goal.

There seemed little danger when Jose Enrique hoisted an optimistic cross into the West Brom area, but Olsson got the clearance all wrong, slicing the ball backwards into his own net.

It was some similarly miserable defending at the other end which handed West Brom their lifeline.

While the rest of the Newcastle defence attempted to play Tchoyi offside, right-back Danny Simpson stayed too deep, allowing the forward a clear run at goal, which he finished with aplomb.

The comeback was well on 19 minutes from time when Tchoyi grabbed his second with a smart finish past Tim Krul, and he completed the turnaround – and his hat-trick – in stoppage time with a
header.

The visitors might well have won the game had Steven Reid scored with a free header in the 93rd minute.

Robin van Persie has distanced himself from quotes criticising the conduct of Barcelona and Chelsea players towards referees.Arsenal striker van Persie allegedly told Dutch television station Sport 1 that Chelsea players were ‘always bitching’ to officials, telling his London rivals to ‘shut the f*** up and focus on playing football’.

The 27-year-old – sent off in the Champions League knockout stages against Barcelona – reportedly took aim at the competition’s eventual winners, accusing the La Liga outfit of trying to ‘screw colleagues’ by attempting to get opponents sent off.

On international duty with the Netherlands in Brazil, van Persie denied making the statements through Arsenal’s website on Friday.

“I’m on international duty at the moment but following several reports in the media I think it’s important to clarify some recent comments attributed to me,” he said.

“These reports falsely suggest that I recently made negative comments about Spanish and Chelsea players, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I haven’t done an interview with Sport 1 or any other outlet in recent weeks and I’ve certainly not been rude as the comments suggest.”

“I respect my colleagues of Spain and Chelsea and look forward to playing against them for many years to come. I sincerely hope that all football fans worldwide don’t take these misleading reports seriously.”

Tottenham defender Ledley King has undergone a successful operation on his troublesome left knee, the club confirmed on Tuesday.King, who managed just nine appearances for Spurs last season, underwent a minor arthroscopic procedure on his knee on Monday.

He is expected to return to training in August and should be fully fit in time for the English Premier League season, beginning August 13.

However, the 30-year-old will miss Tottenham’s pre-season tour of South Africa, which begins on Wednesday.

“The defender is expected to rest for up to 10 days before progressing to full activity within a further 10 days,” a statement on Tottenham’s website read.

Bu the lack of a full pre-season will be a significant concern to King and Tottenham’s medical staff, given the central defender’s history of chronic knee injuries.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp last year lamented that King was doomed to suffer recurring soft-tissue injuries as he was limited in mid-week training by his knee.

That was certainly the case in the last campaign, in which King was hampered by a niggling groin complaint that eventually required surgery in February.

The 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2011/12 season and will need to prove to Spurs that he should not suffer the same fate as fellow injury-plagued defender Jonathan Woodgate, who was cut loose from the club last month.

Woodgate was signed by Tottenham’s Premier League rivals Stoke City on Monday.

Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia has flown back to England to get treatment on an ankle injury, whilst his team-mates continue their pre-season tour in the USA.

The Ecuadorian picked up a knock on his ankle in his nation’s first fixture in the Copa America against Paraguay, and will play no part in the fixtures in the United States.

Sir Alex Ferguson is taking no chances given the fact that the winger spent time on the sidelines with an injury on the same ankle last season.

“Antonio has gone straight back to Manchester. He got an injury playing in the first game for Ecuador so he is back in Manchester,” the Scot stated after his side’s 4-1 win over New England Revolution in Boston.

“It is nothing serious but he wasn’t going to be taking part in the rest of Copa America, so there is no point in him coming out here if he is injured. We have the facilities back at Carrington. That is the best place for him,” he concluded.

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The former Wigan man now faces a race to be fit in time for the Premier League champions’ 2011/12 opener against West Brom on August 13th.

Corinthians are hopeful they will complete the signing of Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez on Monday.The Brazilian club expected to wrap up a deal for the Argentine striker on Sunday, but they have not yet heard from City about the new proposal which was tabled before the weekend.

Corinthians and City will conduct negotiations by phone on Monday hoping to settle their differences as the transfer must be concluded before Wednesday, when the Brazilian transfer window closes.

“Today (Sunday), there was nothing. It has to be tomorrow (Monday), right? There is no other way,” Corinthians director of football Edu Gaspar told Globoesporte.

“I hope it will all be solved on Monday and we can complete the signing and announce it.”

Tevez is free from international duties after Argentina were eliminated from Copa America, but Gaspar does not think it will play any role in the negotiations.

“I do not believe it will change anything. But since he is already available, maybe it will facilitate his trip to the country. We will see. Tomorrow (Monday) is the day,” he added.

The striker, who wants to quit Man City as he wishes to be closer to his family, will reportedly cost Corinthians, where he played from 2004 to 2006, a fee of 40 million pounds.

Goal-line technology could be introduced in national leagues as early as next July, according to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.FIFA have thus far resisted calls for the introduction of the technology but several high-profile incidents, including Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal in England’s defeat against Germany at the 2010 World Cup, have seemingly swayed football’s governing body.

Blatter has revealed that a decision will be made at the meeting of the International Football Association Board next March, with technology potentially in place by July.

“We will have on the next international board at the beginning of March next year a final decision on the goal-line technology,” Blatter told reporters in Rio de Janeiro.

“If it will prove to be accurate and to be affordable, then it is possible the international board will decide goal-line technology shall be introduced for the World Cup 2014.”

Nine companies are reportedly in talks with FIFA over supplying the equipment, with the governing body insisting that the technology should relay a final decision to the controlling referee within a second of a line-ball decision.

Chelsea may only just have sneaked a victory at home against West Brom in the Premier League last weekend, but this Saturday they have the chance to turn on the style at Stamford Bridge against Norwich, and you could be there to see the Blues in action!

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