Scout Scribbles – Boselli Gets Amongst the Goals Again

Mauro Boselli notches again for Wigan as the Latics draw 2-2 with Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv. Martin O’Neill awaits the results of a knee scan on Wes Brown and admits Michael Turner is in talks with Norwich over a potential move to Carrow Road, Alberto Aquilani is keen to stay at Liverpool though Brendan Rodgers has yet to decide on the Italian’s future, while Steven Taylor is set to feature for Newcastle against Olympiacos on Saturday after a seven-month absence:

Botev Plovdiv 2 Wigan 2
Roberto Martinez handed 22 of his squad some game time after Wigan played their second game in three days last night. The Latics took the lead midway through the first period after a foul on Victor Moses resulted in a free-kick on the edge of the box; James McCarthy teed up David Jones to fire home a superb opener but Plovdiv levelled prior to half-time after a mix-up in the Wigan box. Martinez made 10 changes after the break, retaining just Ali Al-Habsi in goal, and saw his side regain their advantage after a Daniel Redmond cross afforded fellow sub Mauro Boselli the chance to find the net for the second time in successive games but a fortuitous penalty award allowed the Bulgarians to pick up a draw.

Fantasy managers will no doubt be experiencing a sense of déjà vu with Boselli here; many took a punt on the Argentine at the start of the previous campaign on the back of his strong pre-season form but Martinez’s post-match praise won’t be enough to persuade those who were stung by his acquisition last time round:

We rotated the players to give as many time on the pitch and it was a very useful exercise which taught us a lot. It’s about the group at the moment but I was pleased for Mauro (Boselli). He has come back from over a year away from Wigan and integrated straight back in. He’s a goal-scorer and goal-scorers are never happy unless they score

Wigan First-half: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Boyce; Mustoe, McCarthy, Jones, Beausejour; Crusat, Moses, Sammon (Di Santo 24)

Wigan Second half: Al Habsi; Stam, Golobart, Lopez; McManaman, Watson, Fyvie, Redmond; Gomez, Maloney; Boselli

In Other News…
Martin O’Neill is anxiously awaiting the results of Wes Brown’s knee scans after the centre-half limped out of Sunderland’s 3-2 win over FC Groningen last week. Any potential absence for the former United man could further deplete the Black Cats’ options in the heart of defence, after O’Neill revealed he had allowed Michael Turner to hold talks with Norwich prior to the Groningen match:

Norwich had asked us about it before Wes’ injury and so having given permission for Michael to go down there and the clubs having agreed a fee, it was just ironic that Wes got injured at the time. We will see what develops down in Norwich, but I am hoping that Wes’ injury is not as bad as it might have been. He will be assessed. He is doing some scans and I’m hoping that the news is going to be okay. But his knee is really swollen. But we do have a number of centre-halves at the football club at the moment, and priorities in strengthening are probably elsewhere.

The situation could well help Carlos Cuellar’s chances of nailing down a regular role in the Sunderland defence following a summer move from Aston Villa. Clearly, the Spaniard is a favourite of O’Neill’s – he has now been signed twice by the Irishman and, at 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and 4.8 in the Sky Sports game, has been earmarked for a role in many Fantasy squads ahead of the new season. At home, in particular, Sunderland were defensively solid after the dismissal of Steve Bruce in December last year – in 12 home games under the new boss, they returned six clean sheets and conceded just eight goals, compared to a mere two clean sheets and 21 goals against in 12 matches on the road.

Brendan Rodgers admitted he is still assessing the possibility of Alberto Aquilani staying on at Liverpool next season after the Italian featured in the club’s 2-1 defeat against Roma. Aquilani was handed a starting role as the furthest forward of the three central midfielders and produced glimpses of potential during the game – priced at 6.0 in FPL and a mere 4.4 in the Sky Sports game, he would likely pick up plenty of Fantasy investment if he can manage to force his way into Rodgers’ thinking but, when asked over his plans for 2012/13, the new Reds boss was slightly non-committal:

That remains to be seen. I need to have a close look at Alberto. It’s been difficult for him during his time in England, and this is probably the first period where he’s felt happy, according to him, and he’s working. I need to assess, and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.

Certainly, the Italian has made it clear he is keen to pick up his career on Merseyside after a disastrous three years at the club. Signed back in August 2009, he has turned out for the Reds in just 18 league games before spending the past two seasons back in his homeland on loan at Juventus and AC Milan respectively. Speaking on the situation yesterday, he revealed:

I had a very good talk with Brendan where we were able to share our thoughts and it was a very positive chat. I like his footballing philosophy and I like the mentality he has because it matches my own skills…I never asked to leave but I was always pushed by the club. I am here and I would like to play for Liverpool but it doesn’t depend only on me.

Steven Taylor is expected to make his eagerly-awaited comeback for Newcastle this weekend against Greek side Olympiacos. The centre-half has been out of action for seven months after rupturing an Achilles last December and, despite returning to pre-season training, has yet to feature due to a slight hamstring strain – Alan Pardew is expected to ease Taylor back into action on Saturday with a 45 minute appearance looking likely. Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa are both set to be afforded their first taste of pre-season action after the pair returned from extended summer breaks due to their participation in this summer’s Euro 2012 tournament with France.