The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Victor Anichebe

  • ANICHEBE FALLS TO ALUKO

    ANICHEBE FALLS TO ALUKO

    OUT OF FAVOUR Super Eagles forward Victor Anichebe and his West Brom mates fell to two first-half goals from Sone Aluko’s Hull City in Saturday’s Barclays Premier League tie at Kingston Communications Stadium.

    Goals from Liam Rosenior and Shane Long gave Hull City a 2-0 advantage having started well in the high-tempo game, but it was the visitors who had the first shot of the afternoon when Stephane Sessegnon smashed the ball just over the crossbar.

    Curtis Davies’s volley was deflected wide for the home side, before Allan McGregor was forced to push away Graham Dorrans’s shot.

    David Meyler then headed wide from six yards out, but Hull broke the deadlock just moments later.

    Shane Long went down under a challenge from Gareth McAuley to win a penalty, but Nikica Jelavic saw his spot kick saved by Ben Foster. However, Liam Rosenior was on hand to head the rebound into the net.

    It was two just seven minutes later thanks to Long’s volley from eight yards.

    Hull City pushed on in search of more goals after the break, and Jelavic went close with a volley that went wide.

    Aluko was however replaced on the 61st minute mark by Robert Koren after picking up a 58th minute yellow card. Moments later, a rare West Brom attack saw Anichebe beat McGregor with a header, but Rosenior was on the line to clear the danger.

    That was as good as it got for Pepe Mel’s side, who had the crossbar to thank for keeping out Long’s curling effort.

  • ANICHEBE RATED HIGH DESPITE BAGGIES FLOP

    ANICHEBE RATED HIGH DESPITE BAGGIES FLOP

    SUPER EAGLES and West Brom forward Victor Anichebe got a pass mark in despite the sides 0-3 demolition by visiting Manchester United yesterday The Hawthorns.

    The former Everton ace who was handed a three star rating according pundicts should have made a huge difference had he been giving enough service up front.

    Anichebe who played for the entire 90 minutes duration was recorded to have “Worried the visitors with his presence, power and pace, but his influence waned as the match wore on. Is West Brom’s most dangerous player at present but is often left down by the service”

    West Brom coach Pepe Mel had earlier blamed the loss on bad luck.” I Think we had a lot of bad luck today, we had to make three changes all becuase of injuries,” he said shortly after the tie in which Manchester United’s trio of Phil Jones, who enjoyed an assist from RVP, Wayne Rooney assisted by Rafael and Danny Wellbeck assisted by Rooney, registered their names on the score sheet.

    Prior to yesterday’s bashing by Manchester United, West Brom had pulled a 1-1 draw against Liverpool, lost 3-1 away to Crystal Palace with away and home lone goal draw against Chelsea and Fulham respectively.

    Anichebe who joined the Magpies last year, has so far made 16 appearances for the side with three goals in the kitty.

  • West Midlands derby: Anichebe targets first Albion goal

    West Midlands derby: Anichebe targets first Albion goal

    Victor Anichebe has said he hopes to score his first goal at West Brom, while relishing the chance to swap Merseyside rivalry for a West Midlands battle.

    The 25-year-old striker could have been lining up for Everton against Liverpool today – a fixture he never won in the nine he played during his time at Goodison Park.

    But, following his summer move to the Black Country, he is now hoping his first derby victory comes in the white-hot atmosphere of Monday’s Hawthorns clash with near-neighbours Villa.

    “Derbies are always fun; you can see the banter between the fans and the rivalry. You can’t beat the atmosphere. You look at derbies in different countries and they are not the same as in England. They are always nice to play in. They stir me up and help raise my game. I always enjoyed playing against Liverpool for Everton,” said Anichebe.

    “It means so much to the fans and the atmosphere filters down into the players and makes you try that extra bit more. It pumps up your adrenalin even more. You can’t hide in a derby match, even if you’re nervous beforehand. The main thing is to focus on doing the right things like in any other game.

    “You can’t get over-excited because that can lead to crazy tackles and red cards. We’re not going to over-hype things; it’s a game between two good teams and we’ll both go out to give our best. I’m looking forward to it.”

    The Nigeria international has admitted he is still getting to grips with life at Albion, after moving from the club he grew up with. And he has thanked the coaches and senior pros who are helping him make the transition, as he aims to bag his first goal for the club against Paul Lambert’s men.

    “Hopefully I can get my first derby win – and my first goal for the club. It would be a great time to get it! But I’m still new here; I’ve only played around five games so far. I’m still getting used to the whole set-up. But I’ve got good coaches and good senior pros here who I’ve been talking to try and adapt quicker to the way we play here,” Anichebe added.

    “It’s only early days and hopefully I can kick on from here. I don’t worry about the goals because I think anyone who knows me around the league knows I put in good performances and I chip in with goals. So, not scoring yet doesn’t really worry me. I’ve had good performances against Manchester United and others.”

  • Anichebe gets bumper bonus at West Brom

    Anichebe gets bumper bonus at West Brom

    Victor Anichebe and his West Bromwich Albion team mates are set to earn bumper bonus at the end of this season if everything goes according to plan.

    English tabloid, The Mail on Sunday reports that players headed into the game against Arsenal on a £5,000-a point bonus to stay in the Premier League.

    So wins against Sunderland and Manchester United in the past fortnight will be worth £30,000 a man if they avoid the drop.

    They earned another £5,000 as they earned another precious point against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, who knocked them out of the Capital One Cup on penalties.

    Albion introduced the bonus scheme last season to help ensure they were not saddled with high wages.

    They ended with 49 points, which was worth up to £245,000 a man depending on number of appearances.

  • Anichebe explains: Why I left Everton

    Anichebe explains: Why I left Everton

    Super Eagles striker Victor Anichebe has opened up on why he left his childhood club Everton for West Brom in one of the deadline day transfer moves in the recently closed summer transfer window.

    The 25-year-old, who replaced his compatriot, Osaze Odemwingie at West Brom for a fee that could rise to £6 million, revealed that his former coach’s (David Moyes) decision to leave Everton for Manchester United contributed to his move away from Goodison Park.

    “David Moyes has been such a help for me. He has been like a father figure,” Anichebe was quoted as saying on Sky sports.

    “Everton is changing and the club is going in a different direction. They have got a new manager in there now, with new philosophies. I was sad to see David Moyes go but that happens and you have to move on. I felt after a good latter stage of the season, maybe I should go somewhere else for a fresh start,” the Nigeria international added.

    Anichebe’s final appearance for Everton was as a substitute appearance against Norwich on the opening day of the season, he made over 100 appearances for the Toffees following his debut in 2006.

  • Anichebe’s goal was in

    Anichebe’s goal was in

    • Moyes rages at linesman

    Everton manager David Moyes was left to bemoan some disputed decisions by officials which cost his side the chance of victory at home to Newcastle on Monday.

    Nigeria international Victor Anichebe’s header was not spotted by linesman Ceri Richards despite appearing to cross the line. Anichebe almost spared the officials with a goal with two minutes remaining only for Ba’s second of the night to snatch a point for the Magpies.

    Also, Marouane Fellaini had one effort ruled out for offside. Fellaini scored but the Belgian was wrongly flagged offside

    ‘There are two goals missed so I can’t get them back but you hope that the linesman has a look and sees how he missed them,’ said Moyes, who spoke to the officials after the game.

    ‘I had a word and said ‘You’ve missed two goals’ and it does affect the outcome of the game but what can I do about it?

    ‘I am sure the referee will have a look at them himself and see if he got it right or wrong – which we all know because we have seen it. Fellaini’s goal was onside and if your job is to look along the line you hope the linesman sees if the ball crosses the line but we’ve seen many occasions where they don’t get it right.

    ‘I thought the offside goal was a goal from the touchline so I was surprised when it was ruled out.

    ‘The other one you can’t really tell but the reaction of the players was that they felt it was over and they are not usually far off the mark.’

    However, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, who had to watch from the stands as he served the first game of a two-match touchline ban, admitted Everton had been hard done by.

    ‘The one over the line was definitely in,’ he said. ‘I have been saying all along that technology must come in and it has cost Everton a crucial goal tonight.’