Lloris Determined to help Spurs Recovery

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is confident his side can recover from their recent troubles and get back to winning ways when they return from the international break.

After going over three months without defeat in the league, Spurs have suffered consecutive losses to Liverpool and Fulham in their last two outings, a run that has seen them drop to fourth in the table behind Chelsea.

Sandwiched in-between those results was a Europa League loss to Inter Milan which almost saw them eliminated from the competition, despite winning the first leg 3-0.

The current international break appears to have come at the perfect time for the White Hart Lane outfit and boss Andre Villas-Boas is likely to spend the majority of his time off working on a gameplan for his side’s next game away at Swansea.

Lloris himself is currently away with France but admits his club’s current form is still at the forefront of his mind.

The former Lyon man is understandably determined to help his side get back to winning ways as soon as possible and is already looking forward to the trip to the Liberty Stadium.

“It’s not easy when you lose games, but sometimes it can happen in the season,” the goalkeeper told football betting news pundits. “Of course, it can also happen to other teams as well.            

“We are all focused on the last eight [league] games and I hope we can win as many as possible. There are eight games left when we get back, eight finals.”

“[The] most important thing in this period is to win the next game. It will be difficult to play away to Swansea but we have enough quality to get a win there,” he added.

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Appleton the right man for Leeds United

Leeds United are to begin their search for a new manager after current boss, Neil Warnock, confirmed at the weekend that he won’t stay at the club unless they achieve a miraculous promotion to the Premier League.

With Leeds currently languishing 10^th in the Championship and without a win in four games, the chances of them clawing back a seven-point deficit over sixth-place Leicester to make the playoffs is highly unlikely and the new owners are already looking at next season for the big push.

Now Warnock is leaving, many Leeds fans in the betting world are wondering who will be the new man in charge and, as luck would have it, a fresh name has just become available that would be perfect for the Yorkshire club.

Michael Appleton was this week sacked by Blackburn Rovers after just 15 games and 67 days in charge. His reign was nothing compared to previous Rovers boss Henning Berg (who lasted a mere 57 days) but nevertheless the departure has shocked fans in the betting world.

For Appleton is one of the best young bosses currently without a job having made a success out of stints at both Portsmouth and Blackpool before Rovers came calling.

Evidently that career move was a mistake but there is currently no disgrace in failing at Blackburn – a club completely rudderless in its direction and going nowhere fast.

Leeds, on the other hand, have owners who want to move the club forward sensibly and strategically; and one cannot help thinking Appleton needs managerial stability to fully implement his footballing ethos.

He would get time and reasonable resources at Leeds next season and should relish the challenge of automatic promotion. What United fans crave more than anything else is a return to the Premier League and with Appleton at the helm that dream can be realised come May 2014.

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Messi Not Giving Up

Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, has not given up hope of progressing to the Champions League quarterfinals despite entering next week's second leg against AC Milan in a perilous position.

The Catalan giants go into Tuesday's clash at the Nou Camp with it all to do after falling to a shock 2-0 defeat in Italy. Barcelona must score at least two to hunt down Milan’s first leg lead, and hope that the Italians do not grab an all-important away goal.

The La Liga leaders are in a rare rut having lost three of their last four games. Despite their recent slump, Messi expects Barcelona to take the game to Milan and make them work hard for a last-eight spot.

"It is obvious that we have to do a little more. Lately we have come from a run of defeats and we are aware of what we need to do to change that. There is a key game coming up for us to react and change things," said Messi.

"To comeback is what we all want. We know it will be very difficult, but we believe it's possible. If they can do it there, we can do it here. We know that if they score a goal it will be more difficult and that Milan have very good players, but we will have our chances."

Before the Champions League tie, Barcelona will have the opportunity to extend their 11-point lead at the top of La Liga when they host struggling Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. They will be desperate to respond to back-to-back defeats by bitter rivals, Real Madrid, a side Messi is wary of going forward.

The 25-year-old added: "Madrid are demonstrating that they are very strong." Now, with the league all but wrapped up, Messi and Barcelona will be fully focused on stunning Milan and progressing in Europe, regardless of what the Betfair football tips seem to indicate.

Cup Exit Proves Moyes Limitations

In the build-up to Everton’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Wigan last weekend, pundits, punters and pub landlords up and down the country were once again praising the genius of David Moyes.

This apparent saint of the English game, who somehow miraculously keeps afloat poor little Everton despite the frugal, conservative financial restrictions of their owner, ranks among one of the biggest sob stories of the modern game.

Moyes himself is tipped for greatness in future seasons. People keep saying he has outgrown Everton and is set for a major job in European football very soon, with Manchester United still the favourite destination over at Betfair.

Yet why would United appoint a man who hasn’t won a trophy in 11 years at the club?

Moyes proved on Saturday afternoon he is not a manager capable of handling expectations, for this quarter-final clash was huge. Everton are not a relegation threatened side any more and without a trophy in over a decade the fans crave their successful return to a bygone age.

Plenty of pundits, including the writer of this Everton v Wigan preview, suggested the game would be tighter than many people had predicted, but the Toffees simply collapsed in the face of minimal resistance from Roberto Martinez’s well drilled – if wildly unpredictable – Wigan outfit.

Fans may argue he got Everton to Wembley in ‘09 – well Harry Redknapp won the Cup with Portsmouth while Tony Pulis, Dave Jones, Dennis Wise and Gordon Strachan have all reached the final during Moyes’ tenure. None of that quintet are managing elite European clubs.

For some reason there appears to be this belief that Moyes deserves to win a cup as reward for all his hard work on Merseyside. Well, he will be the first to say that is not how football works and Everton’s two cup exits this season proves he is incapable of steering them to a domestic trophy.

Their meek performance against Wigan was worse than that versus Leeds United in the Capital One Cup, where the Toffees limped out 2-1 at Elland Road. Everton had a real chance of winning this trophy – especially with a number of big guns already out the competition – but failed tactically and inspirationally when it really mattered.

It might sound cold and of course it would be nice if Everton did win something for once, but praising Moyes as this managerial mogul without much to prove for it is just nonsense.