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Return of Paul Scholes could give England vital edge, says Ryan Giggs

Andy — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:05:34 +0000

• Manchester United veteran at peak of his form, says Giggs
• 'In any team in any tournament he would shine'

Ryan Giggs has said his Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes is at the peak of his form and should be essential to England's hopes at Euro 2012.

Scholes collected the most recent of his 66 caps in 2004 before stepping down from international football to spend more time with his family. There have been suggestions, though, that the 37-year-old could be tempted to return for his country in this summer's tournament, especially with his former United and England team?mate Gary Neville now forming part of the national team's coaching set-up.

Roy Hodgson names his squad for the European Championship finals on Wednesday and Giggs believes the inclusion of Scholes would give England an extra edge.

"If he started the first game against France, he'd be one of the best players on the pitch," said the Welshman, referring to England's opening match at the competition. "Him and Xavi are the same sort of players. They just control the tempo of great teams. To do that you need to be a special player and that's what [Scholes] does. In any team in any tournament he would shine. It's not like he just turns up for games and does it. He does it every day in training."

For Giggs the continuing presence of Scholes in United's lineup is critical. "It's massively important that we can keep that sort of quality at the club," the Welshman said. "I think it's probably been the best he's ever played since he's come back [from retirement in January]. He just doesn't give the ball away, he controls the tempo of games.

"In training and in games you find yourself laughing because he makes it look so easy. He's easily the best player I've played with because of that fact. He's going to get talked about because of the quality he's got, he's English and there's a major championships coming up. Whether he wants to go I'm the wrong person to ask. But he's the kind of player you'd want in your team."

Giggs also took a certain glee in the fact that Scholes's decision is irrelevant to a Welshman: "I'm going on holiday on Thursday, I don't care what he does. If Scholesy does decide to play and Roy Hodgson does decide to try and bring him out he'd be a great addition to the squad."

The fascination with United does not end at Scholes with Hodgson having added Neville to his coaching staff. The manager went further still, since his trust in Neville was demonstrated by the four?year contract presented to him. Enhancing England is probably not one of Sir Alex Ferguson's priorities but his influence on Old Trafford employees should be of value to their country.

Giggs believes Neville will make a "good impact" on the England squad. "He's obviously done well on the TV this year, his views, his outlook on football. He's got fresh ideas. He's played at the top himself, he's got so many positives and so many things he can bring to the table.

"He knows what the modern-day footballer wants and needs, which is important. He's just come out of playing football himself, played at the top level, gone to tournaments. While he was at those tournaments maybe he thinks things should have been done differently, I don't know, but he'll bring all that experience to England."

The fate of the national side is hard to discern but new figures such as Neville may provide a modest contribution to the refashioning of England.

Kevin McCarra

Roy Hodgson gets no second chances with England’s Euro 2012 squad | Paul Wilson

Dave — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:02:14 +0000

On Wednesday the new England manager will name his 23-man squad for Euro 2012. He has to get it right first time

Roy Hodgson will find himself in an unusual situation this week. It is not quite the case that his first England squad could be his last, but he has to get his selection right first go – because there is no time left for error or experiment. Not for Hodgson the luxury of bringing in fringe players to see how they link up, or even the opportunity of naming an oversized party then paring it down after a couple of friendlies.

On Wednesday the new England manager will name the squad of 23 he intends to take to the European Championship, perhaps with the addition of a few standbys as injury cover, and there will be no opportunity for drastic revision once Hodgson sees his choices in action for the first time. What you get when you parachute in a manager on the eve of a tournament is a leap into the unknown without the months of training.

Perhaps it is just as well that with fairly limited choice of English players in the Premier League, people have been saying for years that the England squad more or less picks itself. Hodgson's party is unlikely to be massively different from the one Fabio Capello would have picked, though there are several areas where the new manager may impose his personality on the group by holding a different opinion to his predecessor.

Micah Richards, say, never got a look-in under Capello but has been one of the successes of the season at right-back for Manchester City. Most people believe he is good enough to play for England, yet with the emergence of Kyle Walker at Tottenham there are now three credible choices for two squad positions. With Walker probably first choice, Hodgson must choose between Richards and Glen Johnson as backup, with the former's versatility possibly counting in his favour.

But that assumes Hodgson sees Richards as England material, just as the tiresome speculation over whether John Terry and Rio Ferdinand can spend a month in each other's company assumes the new manager will want to take two elderly centre-backs who have plenty of experience but no longer as much pace as they would wish. One of the two would surely be enough, and if Hodgson watched Terry's extreme discomfort in Chelsea's 4-1 defeat by Liverpool last week the thought must have occurred to him that he could solve several of his problems at a stroke by leaving the former captain at home to concentrate on his upcoming court case.

It is not as if England are short of alternatives at centre-back, even now Chris Smalling has been ruled out through injury. Gary Cahill has already proved himself and should recover from injury in time, Joleon Lescott has been dependable all season for Manchester City, and in addition to Ferdinand is his Manchester United team-mate Phil Jones, who like Richards can operate at full-back or centre-half.

So there is no pressing reason to include Terry if his form does not demand it. While Capello seemed to value him as a leader, which does not say a great deal for all the other captains within the England squad, Hodgson may take a completely different view. Terry cannot be captain any more, and that in itself could create friction if a player is selected primarily for his leadership qualities, though the bottom line is that Terry's leadership qualities have never seemed to galvanise England in the way they continue to inspire Chelsea. Terry played in every game of England's woeful World Cup campaign in South Africa, for instance, and, far from marshalling his defence so well that his selection would continue to be automatic two years down the line, he was given such a runaround in the 4-1 defeat by Germany that most people thought he might take the hint and retire.

Up front, the main problem for Hodgson is how to deal with Wayne Rooney's two-match suspension. In Ukraine, England will need their Plan B for games one and two, and if it fails to work any better than previous Plan Bs it may be too late by the time game three comes around. Darren Bent is injured, Jermain Defoe has been sidelined at Tottenham and Chelsea seem to have lost confidence in Daniel Sturridge, so it is not a straightforward case of sending for the usual deputies. Danny Welbeck is expected to make the trip, or so Sir Alex Ferguson would have everyone believe, but Hodgson is still likely to want a solid No9, not necessarily an old-fashioned centre-forward but a line-leader with physical presence. His options boil down to Peter Crouch, useful but unexciting, Andy Carroll, coming good at the right time but hardly making up for a dismal season with two eye-catching performances in a row for Liverpool, or Grant Holt, uncapped and largely unsung but actually the leading English goalscorer in the Premier League who doesn't happen to be banned for the first two games of Euro 2012.

A tough choice, but someone's got to make it, and soon. Crouch has his admirers but Hodgson would be judged conservative, if not boring, by turning to the Stoke player. Choose Carroll and there would be jeers from up and down the country, but at least Hodgson would be taking a risk for the right reasons on a player at last finding form and confidence. Holt would be the biggest risk of all, and Hodgson probably will not take it, though it makes a lot more sense than, say, taking Theo Walcott to the World Cup in 2006. This time next week we will not know how well England will fare at the Euros, but we will know much more about what kind of a manager Hodgson intends to be. As long as he does not open his press conference with news that he has persuaded Jamie Carragher out of retirement but failed with Paul Scholes, he should have a better tournament than the last one.

PAUL WILSON'S SQUAD OF 23

Goalkeepers Hart, Foster, Ruddy Defenders Walker, Richards, Ferdinand, Lescott, Cahill, Jones, Baines, Cole Midfielders Gerrard, Lampard, Parker, Milner, Barry, Downing, Oxlade-Chamberlain Forwards Rooney, Welbeck, Carroll, Young, Sturridge

Paul Wilson

Ukraine postpones summit after 13 EU countries withdraw in protest

Dave — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:04:42 +0000

Kiev postpones Friday's meeting as European leaders pull out over treatment of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko

Ukraine's jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is to end her 19-day hunger strike, her daughter said on Tuesday, as authorities in Kiev were forced to abandon a major summit.

Ukraine postponed a meeting of regional leaders due to take place on Friday following pan-European protests over Tymoshenko's treatment.

The foreign ministry said it was rescheduling the meeting at Yalta after Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and 10 other European Union countries pulled out. Ukrainian officials said it was sensible to delay it because EU state leaders could not attend.

The postponement is deeply embarrassing for Ukraine. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, was jailed for seven years in October in a trial seen by EU diplomats as politically motivated. She had refused food since 20 April after prison guards apparently assaulted her while forcibly dragging her to hospital. She was left with bruises on her arms and stomach.

Speaking on Tuesday, her daughter Eugenia said Tymoshenko had agreed to go to hospital on condition that her German doctor, Lutz Harms, could begin "bringing her out of her hunger strike". She had lost 10kg, her body temperature had dropped and she felt "very faint", Eugenia said. After examining Tymoshenko on Tuesday, Harms had warned that she needed to start "immediate treatment, otherwise she could be disabled", her daughter said.

Tymoshenko's case has been a PR disaster for Ukraine, which is due to host the 2012 European football championship next month with Poland. In a letter released from prison, Tymoshenko on Tuesday urged the international community to boycott her country. "The people of Ukraine cannot fight [the Yanukovych government] on their own," she wrote.

Photographs of Tymoshenko's injuries last week triggered international condemnation, as well as focusing attention on Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych. His critics accuse him of presiding over a rapid rollback of democracy following his narrow victory over Tymoshenko in the 2010 presidential election.

Leaders of several EU countries, led by Germany, have said they will boycott all matches to be played in Ukraine. Last week the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said neither she nor her cabinet would attend in protest over Tymoshenko's treatment.

Yanukovych, however, has so far said nothing directly about the Euro 2012 boycott. Writing in the journal New Eastern Europe, the Polish journalist Piotr Pogorzelski likened Yanukovych to an "ostrich". He said the authorities were maintaining silence to avoid giving Ukraine's pro-government TV channels a pretext to cover the story.

Pogorzelski said Yanukovych seemed unwilling to listen to his critics. He observed: "After all, who is the president of the European commission, José Manuel Barroso, or some German politicians for the Ukrainian president to worry about? 'They don't want to come? Let them stay home!' – This is what Yanukovych seems to be saying while taking a long walk in the large grounds of his residence."

Tymoshenko is being held in a female prison in the eastern city of Kharkiv, the venue for Germany's first group stage match on 13 June against Holland. She has refused to accept treatment from doctors provided by Ukraine's health ministry, apparently fearing a plot against her.

Germany has offered to treat her but Kiev has refused the request, although it has allowed German doctors to visit her.

Yanukovych's aides have accused Berlin of bullying behaviour and "cold war tactics". Leonid Kozhara, president of the pro-government European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, said the country had been misunderstood. He said Ukraine's prosecutor-general was investigating claims that Tymoshenko had been mistreated, adding that the government was "dedicated to Europe and its values".

Last week the European commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said he would not attend Euro 2012 games in Ukraine; several other EU leaders have followed suit. Downing Street has refused to say whether British ministers will travel to Ukraine, where all three of England's group stage matches will take place.

Luke Harding

Bacary Sagna to miss European Championship after breaking leg

Dave — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:11:45 +0000

• Arsenal defender broke his leg in 3-3 draw with Norwich City
• Second time the 29-year-old has broken his leg this season

Bacary Sagna is out of France's squad for the European Championship after breaking his right fibula midway through the first half at the Emirates as Arsenal drew with Norwich. The scenario is even more worrying as the defender suffered a break in the same place earlier this season when he collided with the advertising hoardings at Tottenham. The injury kept him out for four months.

Sagna was carried off after he fell while trying to control the ball in mid-air. Arsène Wenger said that Sanga had been kicked a little earlier, but tried to play on. "He was kicked on the same leg," the Arsenal manager said, although he did not apportion blame. Sagna faces a battle to regain fitness before the start of next season, but he tweeted: "Another injury, another fight starting for me. I'll make sure I'll win it and come back as I did before."

Per Mertesacker, meanwhile, is hopeful that he will recover from an ankle injury in time to join Germany's squad for Euro 2012. Sagna's Arsenal team-mate has not played since February. "I am very confident because I have spoken to a lot of people in Germany and England – doctors, physios and coaches – and they are all very comfortable with my ankle," he said. "I think I am 90-95% fit. For the past four weeks I have been doing quite a lot of rehab at Arsenal and recently some pitch work with the ball and I am very happy to be back in England because I spent quite a bit of time in Germany.

"Now it's time to see the ball, the pitch and the guys again. It's a good feeling that the injury is going fine. I am very happy about it. I'm looking forward to having some great games this summer."

Amy Lawrence

Roy Hodgson grasps nettle of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as teammates

Dave — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:14:49 +0000

• England manager to explore availability of centre-half pair
• Paul Ince may have a role at the Euros

Roy Hodgson began his reign as England manager by discussing possible changes to his backroom staff with the Football Association and prioritising talks with Rio Ferdinand to establish whether the Manchester United defender would be willing to play alongside John Terry.

Hodgson has been told he will be allowed to bring in his own staff to help prepare for next month's European Championship and has been sounding out various people in the game. He has spoken to Paul Ince, once a player of his at Internazionale, about the possibility of becoming loosely involved, as the Everton player Phil Neville was before the February friendly against Holland. However, it is not thought the FA will have a position open for Ince at this stage.

At the same time Hodgson has set in motion preliminary plans to speak to Ferdinand about the extent of his problems with Terry and determine whether the two can be reasonably expected to play together in Poland and Ukraine.

Ferdinand wants to be involved but Hodgson is aware of the seriousness of the player's issues with Terry and that there is no hope of the two centre-backs renewing their old friendship. Terry will stand trial in July accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, Rio's younger brother, when Chelsea played at Queens Park Rangers last October. Terry denies the charge.

Uppermost in Hodgson's mind is whether Ferdinand and Terry can play alongside one another without their private issues getting in the way. Hodgson would ideally like to include them both in his Euro 2012 squad but will not make up his mind whether it is workable until he has spoken to both players, starting with Ferdinand. What he should not expect is a desire on the part of either player for peace talks.

Hodgson's extensive to-do list will also include establishing the latest condition of Darren Bent after Aston Villa's manager, Alex McLeish, raised the possibility that the striker could be involved in this summer's tournament. Bent had surgery on ruptured ankle ligaments in March and will not play for Aston Villa again this season. "The doc thinks he's got a chance for the Euros, though," McLeish said. "He's talking about four or five weeks [until he's ready to play]."

Daniel Taylor

Arsenal’s Theo Walcott gets all-clear to play for England at Euro 2012

Andy — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:14:41 +0000

• Forward injured hamstring in draw against Chelsea
• Injury will keep him out for only three weeks

Theo Walcott will be fit to play for England at Euro 2012 after scans confirmed that the damage to his left hamstring will keep him out for only three weeks.

The winger will not feature in Arsenal's final three matches of the Premier League season, as they chase Champions League qualification, but he will have time to recover his fitness before the summer tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

Walcott injured the hamstring in the 0-0 draw against Chelsea on Saturday, feeling the muscle tighten in the 57th minute but playing on after treatment. Shortly afterwards, he felt the hamstring tear and he was forced off. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, described it as a "serious" problem.

"He had a small injury and then made it worse," Wenger said. "We assessed the hamstring but he wanted to stay on the pitch. I think he should have come off straight away because the second time, it was a real hamstring."

Walcott is determined to make an impression at the European Championship after being cut at the very last from England's 2010 World Cup squad by the then manager, Fabio Capello. He had been a shock inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson's 2006 World Cup squad as a 17-year-old, without Premier League experience, only not to feature.

David Hytner

Ukraine starts charm offensive over Euro 2012 accommodation concerns | Paul Wilson

Dave — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:29:28 +0000

Finding somewhere to stay in the country that will host England's group games is not the problem Fabio Capello made it out to be

Andriy Shevchenko smiles but shifts a little uneasily. He has been talking happily about Chelsea's chances against Barcelona in the Champions League but is clearly waiting for the inevitable questions about accommodation and hotel prices in Ukraine for this summer's European Championship.

"This is difficult for me," he says. "I have so many friends ringing me looking for rooms. Always a problem, even though the people here worked so hard to make things right and ready. I have even given my house to my friends for the tournament, but I can maybe tell you more about the football preparations. I am quite sure the stadiums where we play, like the Donbass Arena and Olympic Stadium, are really great.

"The whole country is excited and is doing everything possible to get things ready in time. Now at Dynamo [Kyiv] we are playing in front of crowds of 50,000 or 60,000. That never happened before and it is because of the new stadiums. The quality is much better than it used to be and people like it, so they come."

And why would you not, when a seat to watch Dynamo at the newly kitted-out and splendidly central Olympic Stadium in Kiev will set you back not much more than a euro?

The same seat at the same stadium for a group match during the summer will cost at least 30 times as much, but that, as the tournament director for Ukraine, Markiyan Lubkivskyi, patiently explains, is a price level set by Uefa. "You always expect to pay more for big events. I believe it is the same with the London Olympics," he says. "Thirty euros is a big price in Ukraine but it is still cheaper than the tickets for Euro 08 in Austria and Switzerland."

Admission pricing for group games is not the most burning of issues in this part of the world, however, because most fans will attend only a handful of such fixtures and the cost is not significantly higher than watching club football in other parts of Europe. What is significantly higher – through the roof, as in think of a number then square it – are the sums being asked for accommodation. In some host cities on match days, four-figure sums are being asked for rooms that would normally be offered for less than €100, and even some of the official campsites are asking more than €300 per person per night to sleep under canvas, though in Kiev's case you do get a luxury tent with hotel service.

The scare stories were enough to make Michel Platini denounce Ukraine for its crooks, bandits and profiteers, a quote that did not greatly help Lubkivskyi and his organisation reassure the football world that there is sufficient reasonably priced accommodation.

"We are not a country of criminals. I don't see any threat to the safety of foreign supporters in Ukraine," he says. "Mr Platini made an emotional statement, but he was addressing hotel owners, not accusing Ukrainians in general. This is a market issue. If people are setting their prices too high, and I do not deny that some hotels are doing that, then no one will go to them. They will find cheaper accommodation instead, because we are making sure that option will be available.

"This is quite a challenging project for us, because a city like Donetsk is not a tourist destination but an industrial centre of Ukraine, like Manchester. But we are doing our best, and if people give us a chance I think they will be surprised by our hospitality."

With Uefa booking out what few four- and five-star hotels the country has to offer, tournament organisers in Ukraine are having to be resourceful and enterprising. There are two main alternatives; offering existing low-cost accommodation such as student halls and health spas, or setting up fairly sophisticated "fan camps" under canvas. There are image problems in both areas.

Not everyone wishes to pay over the odds to stay in a student flat or converted sanatorium, even though in some cases the standard may be superior to a designated hotel or guest house. "We have accommodation ranging from €10 per night to €10,000, so you will most likely find something," says Andrii Stavenko, a tourism organiser. "One particular bargain at the cheaper end is the law academy in Kharkiv. We cannot call it a hotel, because it is not, but as student accommodation goes it is quite superior. The place has marble halls, showers in every room, Wi-Fi and a reception desk open 24 hours a day. Two people could stay there for around €80. We want to be honest, so we are not selling it as a hotel, but we don't want to scare clients away."

Fan camps went well in Germany in 2006 and in Austria and Switzerland two years later but as James McCabe, a tournament partner who helped organise tented villages at Euro 2008, freely admits, there is no camping tradition in Ukraine. "You would struggle to buy a tent here, you won't find any branches of Blacks and there is no festival culture either," he says.

"Camping is an easy sell to Dutch or German fans, in fact the Dutch like it so much they often set up their own camps, and English visitors are at least familiar with the concept. But when we came to Ukraine with plans for a 50,000 square metre beach club on the bank of the Dnipro, with 3,000 beds, beer tents and big screens, all just 10 minutes from the city centre, they initially didn't have much idea what we were talking about.

"It will be happening, though, along with something similar in Donetsk, and we think it will be more fun than city-centre accommodation, as well as being a little more affordable. You can pitch your own tent for €20 a night, or stay in a pre-erected one for €35. And, yes, you can swim in the river."

Apart from the joint hosts, only France and Sweden have elected to base themselves in Ukraine for the tournament. All the other teams are staying in Poland, even England, and most Ukrainians are perplexed if not affronted by Fabio Capello's insistence on using Krakow as a base even when the draw gave his side two group games in Donetsk and one in Kiev. Capello is long gone now, but so are the pick of the Ukraine bases. England have ended up with just the third best training camp in Krakow, whereas they could have moved into the mightily impressive facilities used by Dynamo or Shakhtar Donetsk.

Shevchenko was speaking at the Dynamo training ground which Ukraine and Sweden will share, complete with six-storey hotel, two swimming pools, a press conference hall with a suite for interpreters and a choice of Turkish, Finnish or Russian saunas, but the full folly of England's decision is best illustrated by a glance at Shakhtar's palatial new facility, which, with nine full-size pitches, a hotel and an ornamental lake, is among the very best in Europe.

Germany wanted it first and had signed a deal for exclusive use until they were drawn in Poland. Holland and Spain also made provisional reservations, but when France were drawn to play in Ukraine they snapped it up at first sight. England did not even bother to take a look.

"I cannot understand that," says Joe Palmer, Shakhtar's English commercial director. "The club is quite famous in this part of the world, after all. You would think England might have checked out what was on the doorstep before deciding to fly in from another country. They might as well stay at home and do that. It would only take an extra hour to fly in from London rather than Krakow."

Tomas Hubschman, Shakhtar's long-serving Czech defender, is similarly incredulous. "I don't know why anyone would choose to stay in a different country when Donetsk can offer such magnificent facilities," he says. "I think a lot of Europeans are afraid of Ukraine because they don't know anything about it, but not to even come and have a look is madness. Footballers don't like having to travel between countries before matches, and all the time England are flying, France will be resting."

Hubschman likes Donetsk so much he has stayed for eight years and he is sure if the England supporters can be just a little bit more adventurous than their national team were they will enjoy the experience.

"The people here are very friendly," he says. "They like beer, football, food, karaoke, all the things the English like. There are lots of bars and restaurants, lots of cafes to sit outside and the weather will be great. English football supporters will love it."

Two officially recommended sites for fans seeking accommodation in Ukraine are accom2012.com and hotelsukraine.com.ua. Shakhtar Donetsk are also willing to help fans with tickets and accommodation via their Fan Partners Programme: euro2012.donbass-arena.com. Paul Wilson's visit to Kiev and Donetsk was paid for by the Ukrainian Embassy in London: ukraine.embassyhomepage.com

Paul Wilson

Euro 2012: Ukraine downplays fears of measles outbreak

Andy — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:50:50 +0000

• 'There are a lot of horror stories,' says tournament director
• 'My understanding is that this is not true'

Ukraine's Euro 2012 tournament director Markiyan Lubkivskyi has downplayed fears over a measles outbreak in the west of the country.

When asked whether the measles outbreak was serious, Lubkivskyi said: "No, I can check this with the Ministry of Health but, to my knowledge, no.

"There are a lot of horror stories coming but this tournament is covered by a lot of rumours from everywhere. My understanding is that this is not true."

The eastern European nation will host the European Championships for the first time this summer alongside co-hosts Poland, although the pair's preparations have been beset by issues.

The latest concern relates to an outbreak of measles in Ukraine, which the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has predicted will "accelerate and spread" through until June, when the tournament begins.

The ECDC has urged fans to be inoculated before travelling to Euro 2012 as a result, while the Foreign Office "strongly recommends" fans get vaccinated.

Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere ruled out of Euro 2012 with ankle injury

Andy — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:12:17 +0000

• Return at Olympics would be 'worst idea', says Arsène Wenger
• Mikel Arteta suffers injury in defeat by Wigan at Emirates

Arsène Wenger confirmed that Jack Wilshere will miss the rest of the season and the European Championships with England, as he digested Arsenal's shock 2-1 home defeat by Wigan Athletic – who scored twice in the first eight minutes through Franco Di Santo, above, and Jordi Gómez – which represented a setback in their challenge to finish third in the Premier League.

The Arsenal manager complained bitterly about the time-wasting tactics of the Wigan goalkeeper, Ali al-Habsi, while he also reported a "serious" ankle injury to Mikel Arteta, the full extent of which will be revealed after scans. But it was the ankle trouble that another of his midfielders has suffered that took particular prominence.

Wilshere has not played all season because of the stress fracture he picked up on England duty against Switzerland at the end of the 2010-11 campaign. He has suffered a series of setbacks and his worst fears have now been realised.

"Jack will not play again this season and he will not go to the Euros, that is for sure," Wenger said. "He is not ready to practise today or next week. He is devastated and you can understand that. What kept him going was that he still felt that, if it was not with us, he would have a good chance to go to the Euros but that is over now."

Wilshere tweeted that he was "gutted, sad and devastated". "It's been a test mentally for me this season and it will continue to be tough until I am back out on the pitch," he said.

Wenger bridled at the suggestion that Wilshere's next competitive football could be for Team GB at the London Olympics. "The Olympics would be the worst idea for him," Wenger said. "When a guy has not played for a year, he needs a good preparation and a slow preparation to start the season. It is not that I do not want him to go to the Olympics, it is just that now he has other priorities than that. The FA know, although at the moment, the [England] manager is invisible, so I cannot tell him."

Wigan's manager, Roberto Martínez, could revel in the victory that gave his team breathing space above the relegation zone but Wenger struggled to conceal his frustration with Habsi, who was not booked until very late on.

"It is disrespectful to people who pay big money to watch the game," he said. "We are sorry we did not play well but that the referees do not act on that is not right. The referee has to give him a yellow card the second he does it. After that you will play football."

David Hytner

Apps Rush: UEFA Euro 2012, Microsoft Office, Titanic 100, Lords of Acid, Scanner Pro, Tatler and more

Dave — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:08:16 +0000

What's new on the app stores on Wednesday 11 April 2012

A selection of 19 new apps for you today:

Official UEFA EURO 2012 app with Orange

UEFA and Orange have teamed up for an official Euro 2012 app providing results, alerts, news and video highlights – the latter will require an in-app purchase on iOS and Android, and aren't available in the BlackBerry version judging by its listing. The link above is for Android, but here's BlackBerry, here's the iPhone version and here's the iPad version.
Android / BlackBerry / iPhone / iPad

Microsoft Office for Symbian

Microsoft has ported its Office suite to Symbian, making it available for Nokia's 701, 700, 603, E7, X7, C7, Oro, and C6-01 smartphones. That means Word, PowerPoint and Excel, which will be initially made available through Nokia's Software Update tool, before hitting its Nokia Store in a few weeks' time.
Symbian

Titanic 100

UK newspaper the Daily Mirror's latest standalone app focuses on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster, mixing reports from the time with archive photographs and a chronology. It's an app spin-off from a printed supplement.
iPad

Lords of Acid

Techno band Lords of Acid are returning with a new album after a 12-year absence, and there's an app for it. Or, as they describe it: "Part game, part interactive comic book, part concept album". There's one mini-game per song on the album, in an aim to "return us to the days where the listener would stare at the magic of a vinyl album cover art, playing the songs and reading through liner notes over and over".
iPhone

Scanner Pro

Impressive document-scanning iPhone app Scanner Pro has been made universal, making it available on iPad for the first time. Its user interface has been overhauled, and it takes advantage of the new iPad's faster processor and better rear camera.
iPad

Bloomberg Businessweek+

Bloomberg's Businessweek+ app has signed up 100k subscribers since its launch in April 2011. Now it's been updated to be universal, meaning iPhone and iPod touch owners can use the app to download issues, watch videos and listen to audio in the background.
iPhone

The O2

AEG Europe has launched new iOS apps for its London venue The O2, providing information on eating, drinking and clubbing around events, as well as offers, travel details and social sharing. The link above is for iPhone, but here's the iPad version.
iPhone / iPad

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Microsoft's latest featured Xbox Live game for Windows Phone is a classic: Sid Meier's Pirates!. As on iOS, it sees you sailing the high seas battling ships, duelling barons and chatting up governers' daughters.
Windows Phone

Tatler

Condé Nast's latest iOS Newsstand app is for its society magazine Tatler, charging £3.99 a month for a digitised version of the magazine.
iPhone / iPad

Magic: the Gathering Toolbox

Wizards of the Coast has launched an official Android and iPad app for its Magic: the Gathering card games. Not a standalone game itself, but rather "tools to support" the games in the real world, tracking player life, providing card search and deck builder features, as well as news from the game community. The link above is for Android but here's the iPad version.
Android / iPad

Europe - The Michelin guide 2012

This year's Michelin Guide to hotels and restaurants in Europe has an iPhone app, helping people find local eateries, share details on social networks, and rate them after visiting.
iPhone

Time Out New York for iPad

Time Out New York has a new iPad app to inspire readers "to do more in your city", providing suggestions for events, places and things to do, while learning from each user's preferences to tailor their recommendations.
iPad

Advena

Korean publisher Gamevil's latest action RPG has a nifty "party play" feature that lets you switch between characters during combat. There's a huge world map to explore, as well as online player-versus-player battles.
Android

Boats - Byron Barton

Byron Barton's popular children's book has been turned into an app by Oceanhouse Media, with interactivity, animation and voice narration.
iPhone / iPad

Macworld Digital Magazine (US)

The American edition of Apple-focused magazine Macworld now has an iPad digital edition, using Apple's Newsstand system.
iPad

The Lorax

Popular Dr. Seuss book The Lorax now has a new iOS game by Miniclip, which involves tapping objects to make marshmallows fall down so character Pip can eat them. Cut scenes from The Lorax film are included too. The link above is for iPhone, but here's the HD iPad version.
iPhone / iPad

Happy Ever After

Author and journalist Joyce Lamb is in charge of USA Today's Happy Ever After section, reviewing romantic fiction. Now there's an official app for that, which she promises will "shower you with book reviews, author interviews and lots of other fun stuff to help you get to know your favorite authors just a little better".
iPhone / iPad

TCM Hollywood Tour

Here's an interesting brand extension: Turner Classic Movies has launched an iPhone app for tourists in Hollywood, providing details of more than 100 film locations and celebrity houses. Augmented reality technology is built in, as are "badge rewards" for visiting the locations.
iPhone

Kidbliss

iPhone app Kidbliss now has an Android version. Both offer a mobile diary for parents to track stories, photos and videos of their children, to be shared with family and close friends.
Android

Stuart Dredge