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Journalist Liam Keen has revealed a Wolves concern over the availability of Ruben Neves, as he is not fully fit and at risk of suspension amid their relegation fight.

What's going on with Neves and Wolves?

The Portugal international has been a standout player for Julen Lopetegui's side this season, scoring five times as Wolves aim to surivive the drop.

However, they could lose their captain ahead of a crucial few weeks as he struggles with a calf knock that is being carefully managed. He has been withdrawn in each of his side's last two games, having played the full 90 minutes in every previous league start this season.

He has also accumulated nine yellow cards this season, and one more will see him pick up a two-match suspension.

Speaking on the Express and Star podcast, Keen bemoaned the situation, which means Wolves either have to gamble on the availability of their talisman or purposefully rest him in crucial matches.

He said: "I think Neves is difficult. I think they probably are trying to save him, but you can't do that for the next four games, you can't take him off every single game.

"At the same time, Lopetegui has said that he was at the limits with a calf injury and they've been managing it, so it's a difficult one.

"If they are trying to save him for games, I don't think you can do that, I think you have to just play him and hope that he gets through.

"Of course, he did it last season where he got through eight games without a booking, so it's something he's capable of doing, albeit it's difficult."

Who could Wolves play in his absence?

Rio Ferdinand once referred to Neves as "fantastic", and he will be difficult to replace if he picks up an injury or a suspension.

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The £50k-per-week captain has missed just one game this season, which was the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, and Wolves will be eager to avoid a similar disaster should they have to play without him.

One option could be to bring Matheus Nunes back into the starting XI. The summer signing has been benched for the last two games, and could return having been made available after the club won their appeal against a three-match ban for the midfielder.

Joao Moutinho and Joao Gomes could come in alongside Nunes to fill the three-man midfield, and this could be a taste of what is to come next season. With one year left on his deal, Neves looks likely to depart the club as it stands, and Lopetegui could trial his internal solutions in his absence now before turning to the transfer market.

England goalkeeper Robert Green insists he has the mental strength to recover from his calamitous World Cup mistake.

Fabio Capello's side had taken an early lead thanks to Steven Gerrard's well-taken goal and were in control of the match until Green inexplicably allowed Clint Dempsey's weak shot to slip out of his grasp and trundle over the line in a 1-1 Group C opener in Rustenburg.

The West Ham keeper could be dropped for Friday's second game against Algeria with David James and Joe Hart pushing for the number one jersey.

But despite his high-profile mistake, Green believes he can cope with the scrutiny he will be under should Capello keep faith with him.

"It was a mistake," he said."The important thing is not to let it affect you for however long is left in the game.

"That is what you prepare for mentally. You don't prepare mentally for making great saves and playing the perfect game. You prepare for trauma.

"It is regrettable and not what you want to happen but that's life and you move on, you hold your head up high and get to work in training.

"It won't affect me psychologically. I'm 30, I'm a man and you have hardships in life and prepare for them.

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"I'm strong enough to move on. At a younger point in my life it would have affected me more.

"But you hold your hand up and say 'that's gone, move on and don't let it affect you'."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Former colleague Avram Grant expects Real Madrid to change the football philosophy of Jose Mourinho. The new West Ham manager was asked if he had a strained relationship with the Special One whilst at Chelsea and then went on to elaborate on the changes he thinks will occur at the Bernabeu:

“I enjoyed working with him. He is a good person, an organised coach, who knows how to use technology in football and has the capacity to analyse the games…Everyone knows that if you sign Jose you have one certain style of football. His Chelsea played good football in general. I mean, they had a way of dealing with games and tournaments. Mourinho likes to defend, he feels good that way. And we know that he will not be able to do that at the Bernabeu. I would not say that Mourinho will change their philosophy in Madrid, but Madrid will, in the end, change the philosophy of Mourinho.”

Real Madrid is a club steeped in historical prestige; the mid 50s and 60s saw Puskas and Di Stefano in a team that virtually monopolised the European Cup (5 consecutive wins from 1956-1960 and another in 1966). Then, just over 30 years later, the Galácticos supplied three more in five years. But a crucial difference at this stage is that Madrid have not been a force in European competition for half a decade. Not progressing past the round of sixteen consistently (6 consecutive attempts) is a damning and sobering statistic. And I think Grant underestimates the obsession Madrid have with returning to the summit of European club competition. Though their callous and surface driven ethos is unquestionable (the need to play attacking, care-free football maintains the Madrid image) it is only heightened by the appointment of Jose Mourinho; someone who wins.

It’s probably most fitting at this juncture in time that Mourinho finds himself head hunted by Madrid. It underpins the necessity of victory – by any means necessary. Though many have commented how the desire for great football supersedes the imperative of winning at Madrid, the very act of appointing an exponent of functional, tactically astute football is evidence enough to the contrary. It goes further than words, or player signings, or manager sackings to elucidate the image obsession that prevails at Real. Will the fans and the hierarchy grumble if victory is achieved unglamorously? Certainly. But if it brings the first Champions League trophy in nearly a decade the grumbles will not facilitate overhaul. A much more fitting scenario for Madrid and Mourinho to end with will be European success coming through the Portuguese’s methods and then the two parting company i.e. Madrid sacking him – only after he has restored them to the summit.

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But again, this remains purely speculative. The Madrid media monster is unlike anything Mourinho has undertaken previously. His unique ability as a manager is not the habit of winning but more so how he reacts to the players at his disposal. To say he always plays the same way is a sweeping misjudgement; though the output has the same tone, the method does vary. At Chelsea he clinically instilled a 4-3-3 because he knew it would be tactically superior to the heavily used 4-4-2 in the Premier League (it was a reactionary step with regards to the league, it wasn’t because it was his unmitigated system). With Inter the tactical setup differed as the fulcrum shifted to a double pivot in midfield and Wesley Sneijder as a playmaker – the best coaches adapt and Mourinho will certainly do the same:

"I am a coach who adapts his philosophy to the players he has, trying to get the best out of my players. Normally, players feel valued again after their work with me. A team needs to have equilibrium. One needs to work with and without the ball, be strong offensively and defensively, have psychological balance, and win matches. Winning matches is very important because it makes one psychologically stronger and more confident, without which it is impossible to win titles."

Liverpool are hopeful the groin injury Fernando Torres picked up during the World Cup final is not as serious as was first feared.

Torres was an extra-time substitute during Spain's 1-0 victory over Netherlands in Johannesburg on Sunday, but ended the match in pain after pulling up sharply holding his groin.

The 26-year-old striker has struggled with a succession of injuries since arriving at Anfield three years ago from Atletico Madrid.

He still managed to score 22 goals last season despite two bouts of knee surgery restricting him to just 32 appearances.

Torres is now back in Spain with the victorious national team and the Reds are preparing to send a medical team to Madrid to assess his latest injury scare.

However, Liverpool's new head of medicine and sports science, Dr Peter Brukner, is hopeful that the latest concern is not too serious.

"We've been in touch with the Spanish medical team and they don't think it's too serious. It's an adductor muscle injury but they've not had a chance to assess it today," he told Liverpool's official website.

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"Fernando will have a proper assessment and probably a scan tomorrow and some of the Liverpool medical staff will go to Madrid later in the week to fully assess the injury and organise his rehab. At this stage we don't think it's too serious.

"We can't say too much more at the moment until it is properly assessed."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy has admitted to being puzzled by the relative lack of movement in the transfer market so far this summer.

McCarthy has drafted in Jelle Van Damme, Steven Fletcher, Steven Mouyokolo and Stephen Hunt since the end of last season and has been more active than a number of his Premier League counterparts.

He told the Birmingham Mail: “I’ve no idea why it’s slow. People have budgets and can they get the players? Do they want to get better players who are costing too much?

“Teams have done that in the past. Do they want to make sure and wait? Are they all playing a bit cagey?

“I guess all those reasons come into play and players wait and try to be clever and cute and don’t accept the first thing.

“We’ve got five weeks to name our squad of 25, so I don’t think that’s causing any grief. It’s the start of the season that’s more important, surely.

“I can’t see any of the clubs who haven’t signed players suddenly going out and signing five or six. That would be hard to integrate them.

“We are all kinda fishing in different pools. There is a section where we can go and buy, there is a section others can go and buy – then there’s Manchester City.

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“Even Manchester United and Liverpool don’t appear to be doing much, but there are little pockets of players we all know we can do business with.

“The players know that as well. They might have two or three clubs in their ears, so they can be selective.”

As Cesc Fabregas commits his immediate future to Arsenal a huge sigh of relief has passed over the Emirates this week. With Wenger promising new arrivals in the coming weeks, Arsenal look to be in good shape for next week’s opener.

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that include…Has Wenger made the right call with Wilshere; why this could be Arsenal’s year and Arsene pulls a transfer rabbit out of the hat.

Plus we have taken a look at the best Arsenal stories on the Web this week.

Barcelona and Fabregas underestimated Arsenal’s resolve

Ambitious talk to bring a smile to Arsenal fans faces

Premier League trio should strike early to avoid a Bosman lottery

Has Wenger made the right call with Wilshere?

Why this could FINALLY be Arsenal’s year

Is the top clubs endless quest for success harming development?

“I don’t need to convince anybody” – Arsenal fans may beg to differ

Arsenal fans will hope it was a minor slip of the tongue

Has Wenger pulled another transfer rabbit out of the hat?

At The Emirates Commentators Take English Bias Too Far

Out with the old and in with the new for Capello?

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Best of Web

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Arsenal, show us a bit of respect! – Le Grove

Time for some cautious optimism – Online Gooner

Final Cesc Thoughts & Which Goalkeeper Will Reina Supreme? – A Cultured Left Foot

Too Proud For Manchester City’s Cast Offs? – Wrighty7

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Some bread thrown to the great unwashed – Online Gooner

When Is A Player Good Enough? – A Cultured Left Foot

Shocking discovery at the Emirates, PuyolIniesta to go on my new home shirt and why Arsenal will win the league and Carling Cup. – Le Grove

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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

3 May 2010, Blackburn Rovers versus Arsenal at Ewood Park. Robin van Persie gives Arsenal an early lead, only for Blackburn to score from two set pieces to win the game 2-1, with some very suspect keeping from Lukasz Fabianski gifting David Dunn and Chris Samba two easy goals. Fastforward to 28 August 2010, and the scoreline is reversed, with Arsenal winning a tough game 2-1 with goals from Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin. If Arsenal want to seriously challenge for the title, these are the games that they need to be winning. In previous seasons, the Gunners have often struggled at places like Blackburn, where a physical approach and a bombardment of long balls and crosses have resulted negative outcomes. But with the win against Blackburn, have Arsenal finally turned a corner in these kind of games that will allow them to mount a title challenge?

Similarly to last seasons corresponding fixture, Arsenal got an early lead on the weekend when Van Persie set up the in-form Walcott who finished with great aplomb. Sighs of ‘here we go again’ would have been made by thousands of Arsenal fans seven minutes later however, when El-Hadji Diouf outmuscled Laurent Koscielny and set up Mame Biram Diouf for a tap in. Arsenal fans are all too used to seeing this kind of game slip away from their team, and for a while it looked like it might happen again before Andrey Arshavin scored the winner in the 51st minute. Arsenal closed out the game and Gunners fans were delighted with what was a good victory in which their team showed a great deal more steel than they have done in previous encounters with Blackburn. In an interview with the BBC, Arsene Wenger stated,

“If you have ambition in this league you have got to win at Blackburn. If you fail to win at Blackburn – if you go to clubs like that and don’t win – your ambition will not be respected by the other teams. In that regard, it was an important test for us.”

After the win, not only the supporters but the players will be far more confident about going to places like Ewood Park and getting a positive result. In the past, the players seem to have been phased by a physical approach which often led to draws or defeats. Promisingly for Arsenal, the team appeared to have that little bit more experience that enabled them to win the game.

The formation Arsenal have used this season has shown potential, they have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and so far it has yielded good results. It is a formation that is growing in popularity as it provides defensive strength but also gives attacking players free license in the opponents half. Holland used it to great success in the World Cup, and Arsenal will hope to mirror that this season, albeit without the final heartache.

Wenger, the players and the fans will be very satisfied with the win over Blackburn on the weekend. The team showed resilience, commitment and an ability to deal with a physical game which has been lacking in past seasons. Arsenal will have to maintain this resilience throughout the season though, and they will have to show this in the next Premier League game when they welcome Bolton to the Emirates. If Arsenal can replicate the quality and character that was required to beat Blackburn, the Gunners could end up having a very good season.

If you liked this article please follow me on Twitter. Subscribe to my RSS feed.

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A welcome addition the Premier League’s Wag arena – Click on image below to view gallery

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Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle remained calm after getting a heated reception at Burnley for his side's Carling Cup third round trip to Turf Moor.

The Clarets edged the tie 1-0 thanks to a Wade Elliott goal and Coyle was not too concerned by the stick being dished out by some of the home fans.

He commented:"My focus was on the game. I was aware of the noise but that was all it was.

"I had to fight tooth and nail for everything I have earned in football. Burnley benefited from that. I took over a team that was in the bottom half of the Championship and got them into the Premier League.

"It is such a unique club. It would take something special to rival the passion these supporters have for their club. I tapped into that, so when it comes back to bite you on the bottom you just have to get on with it.

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"It won't take away the special times I had with the club. I will never have a negative word to say about this football club. For two years I was a hero, now I am a villain."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manager David Moyes was full of praise for his Everton side after they secured a deserved 2-0 derby win over Liverpool at Goodison Park.

Goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta gave the Toffees the points and lifted them towards the top half of the table, while leaving the Reds still in the bottom three.

A delighted Moyes commented:"I think with everything that's been going on this week, it's great credit to the players that they kept focused and have gone about their job in the right way.

"Their attitude was spot on and they got their reward.

"I thought we have played better in the majority of games than we did today, but it was a derby and a different kind of game.

"Some of our performances earlier in the season were good but we did not get the result, but today we did enough.

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"We are getting away from the wrong end of the table. We are a good enough team to be at the top end."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp felt that his side had been unlucky not to secure a win at home to Sunderland, after having had to settle for a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

A Rafael van der Vaart goal gave Spurs the lead just after the hour mark, but Asamoah Gyan equalised three minutes later to earn a point for the visitors.

Redknapp told his club's official website:"It's frustrating, of course. We dominated the game, created chances and once we got in front I really thought we'd go on and win the game.

"They didn't really have any shots before that but that's the way it goes. There's a mix-up and it all changes.

"I thought we played ever so well again and I couldn't fault the effort. All we can do is keep playing well. If we continue to play like that we'll be alright.

"We'll building a good team here and I like the way we play, I love to watch us play football. Some of the stuff we played in spells in the first half was fantastic.

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"I was delighted with how we played, but you don't always get the result you deserve. That's football."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email