Sunday, 24 November 2013

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Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Championship roundup: David Nugent fires Leicester to win against Ipswich

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 03:07 PM PST

• Nigel Pearson praises Nugent after two goals in 2-1 win
• Watford lose at home to Bolton 1-0

Ipswich Town 1-2 Leicester City

Nigel Pearson paid tribute to David Nugent's persistence after the Leicester forward recovered from a disappointing performance in his last outing to strike twice inside six second-half minutes. Nugent (pictured) now has 13 goals in 12 games against Ipswich - nine in seven games at Portman Road. "There is no reason why he's on that run against them, but I am pleased it has carried on. Like any striker, there are going to be spells when goals are a little scarce, but he keeps getting in the right areas." Mick McCarthy said: "We made error after error and we were punished. That's the difference."

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Burnley

Sean Dyche said it was a sign of how far his side have come this season that they were disappointed with a point away at Forest. The home side dominated for long spells, but needed a goal from Simon Cox three minutes before half-time to cancel out Sam Vokes' 28th-minute penalty for Burnley. "We've not had to defend that hard very often, but you expect that here. They have overwhelming resources. Still, they did not manage to break us down too often." Billy Davies said: "It is a travesty that we did not get three points today. There was only one team that was going to win this."

Watford 0-1 Bolton Wanderers

Dougie Freedman (right) paid tribute to Bolton's defensive solidity as they capitalised on a bad mistake from Manuel Almunia to make it three successive wins. "We started very well. In the second half, Gianfranco Zola, who's tactically very clever, changed it around but we've worked very hard in the last 10 days so we had an idea what we'd be doing and our defending was spot on." Zola, who confirmed Almunia was replaced at half-time because he was feeling ill, said: "I really wanted to get upset with the players today but I couldn't because their commitment was very good. I've no complaints about that."

And the rest

Ricardo Fuller's equaliser gave Blackpool a 1-1 draw at Birmingham. ■ Blackburn and Reading played out a goalless draw. ■ Derby secured a hard-fought 1-0 away win at Bournemouth via a Jamie Ward goal. ■ Scott Wiseman's own goal gave Millwall a 1-0 home win over Barnsley. ■ Charlie Austin hit a spectacular winner as QPR beat Charlton 1-0. ■ Sheffield Wednesday are stuck in the relegation zone after a 2-1 home defeat by Huddersfield. ■ And Andrew Crofts headed the winner for Brighton as they won 1-0 away at Wigan.


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Saturday Sundae: culture and fashion come to Hull City v Crystal Palace

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 02:42 PM PST

Man about town Tony Pulis abandons his baseball cap and tracksuit at the KC, where home fans crow in defeat

MAN OF THE DAY

Artur Boruc, for services to slapstick and for, bless him, thinking he was Dennis Bergkamp as he tried to dance around Olivier Giroud in his own box. The dance failed, and Giroud took advantage.

Goal of the day

Romelu Lukaku's thundering header to momentarily give Everton a glimpse of a win against Liverpool. Beauty in power.

GAME OF THE DAY

The Merseyside derby provided goals, awful defending, dodgy refereeing calls and nearly a fight. What more could you ask?

THEME of the day

Must-see-again red card decisions: Sunderland's Wes Brown sent off for defending; Palace's Yannick Bolasie for the heinous crime of stretching – a true cancer on the game and no mistake.

FASHIONISTA OF THE DAY

New Palace manager Tony Pulis controversially eschewed his standard togs of tracksuit and baseball cap to wear a very stylish coat while watching his side pull off a surprising win at Hull.

FALSE DAWN OF THE DAY

Mansfield celebrated saving a point in a dramatic trip to Fleetwood with an 89th minute equaliser to make it 4-4 – then conceded the winner two minutes later.

ALL-ROUNDER OF THE DAY

Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Johannes Flum: scored the opening goals for both sides in a 3-3 draw with Schalke as his side's winless league run hit eight games.

SONG OF THE DAY

Hull fans, celebrating their City's newly awarded 2017 status with a chant to the away end: "You're only here for the culture."


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Daniel Taylor on Ballon d'Or favourite

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 02:39 PM PST

Ego, genius and maturity have put Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of his game, likely to be acknowledged with the award in January

By now you may have seen the photograph that helps to define the player Cristiano Ronaldo has become. He is bearing down on goal, sprinting through the Sweden defence, and in the background Hugo Almeida is already celebrating, 30 yards back in Portugal's half. Almeida knows what is coming next. Ronaldo has not even decided which corner he fancies and his team-mate's arms are up, in anticipation of the goal.

That was certainly some calling-card Ronaldo left in Stockholm and the timing of his latest hat-trick makes it almost inevitable the Ballon d'Or will follow. Ronaldo qualified for greatness long ago but an already supreme operator has touched a level recently that makes everyone around him look vulnerable to his force. The new dimensions have coincided with Fifa's voting process for the right to be regarded as the outstanding player in the world, and the speed, power and beauty of movement and assurance surely mean he can attend the ceremony this time without photographers gathering round at the crucial moment to capture the first flicker of sourness.

Better than Lionel Messi? That is like comparing the world's most beautiful sunsets and it would be nice sometimes if the arguments allowed more for there being two superstars at the same time, with barely the width of a cigarette paper between them. Marcelo Bielsa, quoted in Sid Lowe's Fear and Loathing in La Liga, had it spot on when he asked why football required this mano-a-mano contest: "The problem with choosing the best is that, rather than being a eulogy for the man you choose, it can appear a rejection of the man you didn't."

Yet Ronaldo has the momentum and, though he has not always been easy to love, it is not necessarily a bad thing for his performance that his ego is considerable enough to bring to mind the old Clive James line about Peter Sellers. Ronaldo does not just believe the world revolves him, he thinks the cosmos does too.

It is part of what makes him brilliant and, in the bluntest terms, we are still waiting for someone to rationalise his gifts more concisely than Sam Allardyce after a 4-1 defeat for Bolton at Manchester United in 2007, when the visiting manager decided Henrik Pedersen, a striker, should have a go at right-back. Pedersen lasted 28 minutes against the young Ronaldo before being taken off. He sat in the dugout with a towel over his head and Allardyce was asked afterwards whether he was worried his player might have psychological scars. "Scars?" he replied. "We're going to need a fucking plastic surgeon after that."

The list of opponents and managers who can testify to the same is permanently on the rise and that presumably should be reflected in the Ballon d'Or voting. Since signing his new contract at Real Madrid in mid-September Ronaldo has elevated the art of running with the ball, making training-ground cones out of defenders and scoring from any distance or angle to its highest level. It is a blur of improvisational brilliance that has taken his goals total to 67, and counting, in 2013. Back in Manchester his former club have managed 54 and no longer have anyone to fill the No7 jersey he wore with distinction. Ronaldo has 10 more goals this year than Manchester City and Chelsea and, incredibly, 27 more than Tottenham Hotspur.

Equally it cannot be taken for granted when Franck Ribéry, a lesser player in a superior team, was the bookmakers' choice until recently and Fifa's voting system, for national team managers, captains and various journalists, features enough politics to make the Eurovision Song Contest seem a bastion of fair-mindedness.

Bruno Alves, Portugal's captain and Ronaldo's team-mate, left Messi out of his top three last year. Messi had Argentina's vote and Ronaldo missed the cut. Mirko Vulcini voted for Gianluigi Buffon, with Andrea Pirlo as runner-up, the common denominator being they all play for Juventus. Joachim Löw went for Mesut Özil and Manuel Neuer. Alejandro Sabella nominated Messi and Sergio Aguero. Vicente del Bosque? Iker Casillas, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández, naturally. Erik Hamren? Well, take a guess who Sweden's manager selected. Clue: his first name starts with Z.

Then there are the votes that simply defy logic. Winfried Schäefer, the Thailand coach, picked Sergio Busquets. Jaba Kankava, Georgia's captain, went for Wayne Rooney, who barely got a look-in at his club's own awards. Christian Fuchs, the Austria captain, Vixay Phaphouvaninh of Laos and Palestine's Fahed Attal included Mario Balotelli, when the Manchester City player had started 11 Premier League games and frazzled his club to the point Roberto Mancini was close to disowning him.

None of this presumably will matter a great deal to Ronaldo if he can end Messi's four-year winning sequence at the Kongresshaus in Zurich on 13 January. His phenomenal, upward trajectory, from already formidable levels, encapsulates why Luca Caioli, trying to find a title for his Ronaldo biography, settled on The Obsession for Perfection and, though the opening line – "I love being Cristiano Ronaldo" – says a lot about the man, he can get away with it when the touches of genius are so beautifully packaged.

At times, early in his career, it was easy to have a higher opinion of Ronaldo as a footballer than a man. A friend was at Carrington one day when Sir Alex Ferguson walked on to the training pitches carrying a pair of spectacles and asked if anyone knew who had lost them. This was in Ronaldo's final year at Old Trafford, when he frequently gave the impression his move to Madrid could be hurried through. "He looked straight past Ferguson," the witness reports. "It was a look that said: 'Don't bother me with that kind of question. Not me. Not Cristiano, superstar.'"

Those of us at Carrington before the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster, to hear from the dignified, elderly men who had survived the plane crash, were not exactly thrilled with his behaviour either when he turned up at the door, rapping impatiently on the window, and whistling sheepdog-style for the press officer to wrap it up because Rooney, who had joined Sir Bobby Charlton and the other players from 1958, was supposed to be giving him a lift home. Ronaldo that day, dressed in all-white denim, demonstrated all the worst excesses of the modern-day footballer. Yet the journalists who cover Real Madrid every week faithfully report there are signs of a new, mature Ronaldo, perhaps as a legacy of fatherhood and the arrival of his son, Cristiano junior.

There is still the occasional diva moment but his brilliance tends to smooth out the rough edges and, at the risk of sounding overly cynical, the Ronaldo bandwagon has cleverly exploited his outrage since Sepp Blatter went public with his preference for Messi and brainlessly fell into the kind of trap Bielsa was talking about.

Blatter has been skating on thin ice for a long time now and Ronaldo will no doubt be in the stampede to hear the splash when Fifa's president finally falls through.

The important thing is that, since then, Ronaldo has done just about everything humanly possible to produce his very best work. It is some portfolio, in keeping with A Bola's front-page headline after he had navigated Portugal's passage to the World Cup. "O Maior!" the newspaper proclaimed. It translates as: The best! Ronaldo – 28, playing at the point of maximum expression – will no doubt share the opinion.

Riley's reputation takes a dive as he gets it wrong on retrospective action

The Premier League has reported a drop in the number of diving incidents this season and there is an obvious joke in there surely, when Gareth Bale has moved to Real Madrid and Luis Suárez has missed the first five games through suspension.

By the first week of November, there had been six cases of simulation, with five players shown yellow cards: Leighton Baines, Marouane Chamakh, Andros Townsend, Adnan Januzaj and, inevitably, Ashley Young. Ashley Cole got away with one for Chelsea at Manchester United, according to the evaluation reports put together by a team of seven former referees, and Micah Richards will be added to the list, from Manchester City's game at Sunderland two weeks ago, when the figures are next updated. So can Ross Barkley after his booking in the Merseyside derby. Last season, however, it was 17 at the same stage, so there is something to be said about the way English football, for the most part, is not willing to tolerate players trying to deceive referees.

All the same, it is strange the relevant authorities are still so reluctant to listen to managers such as David Moyes and Tony Pulis and push for retrospective punishments. "Five years ago Italy had it," Mike Riley, head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, explained, "but the policy was disbanded after three weeks. They stopped it because nobody could agree what was, and what wasn't, a dive." Not true. The law is still in place in Italy, where Adriano, Leonardo Bonucci and Milos Krasic have all been banned since 2007. Plenty of others have escaped without punishment and the system is clearly not flawless, with all the decisions taken by Gianpaolo Tosel, as the giudice sportivo of Serie A, and the rules applied with extreme inconsistency.

Yet there is at least a system of sorts and the people putting together the Premier League data do not seem to have found it too difficult to reach a group decision.

Riley went on to say that Fifa would not allow retrospective action but, again, that is not the case. The Scottish Football Association, for example, decided a while back to punish divers on video evidence. Similar schemes apply in Australia and Major League Soccer. There really is no credible reason why it cannot happen in England as well.

Time to push the envelope into bin

Memo to football managers: the envelope trick was good in its day but, after all these years, it is probably time now to realise the next guy to try it might be laughed out of town.

By now, you will know the one. Sir Alex Ferguson used it after an early title at Manchester United, telling his team he had sealed in the names of three players he suspected might let him down (in other words, make sure it is not you).

Brendan Rodgers plainly thought everyone had forgotten when he dusted it off at Anfield and now, pressed on that memorable scene from Being Liverpool, there was a lovely flash of those brand‑new teeth as he let us into the secret. "There were no names!" Whoever would have known?

Daniel Taylor

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Stefan Kiessling: the German Andy Cole aiming to gun down United | Marcus Christenson

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 01:59 PM PST

The German club could deal United a heavy Champions League blow on Wednesday with the main threat coming from a goal machine ignored by Joachim Löw

The goals kept coming but the call-up did not. Last season Stefan Kiessling scored 25 times for Bayer Leverkusen and finished as the top scorer in a league dominated by two other teams. This season he started off in the same vein but, having been watched by Joachim Löw as he scored his 100th league goal for the Bundesliga club in August and again asked why he was not picked by the Germany coach, he finally cracked and quit international football.

"There will be no more Germany international Stefan Kiessling under Löw," he told Bild. "Every goal is followed by questions about my international future. I am just annoyed by it now and it can't carry on."

He added on Facebook: "I want to take away the pressure to ensure that this issue is not brought up time and time again. I can now fully concentrate on Bayer. For three years now there has not been any contact or any info on why I am not good enough for the national team. I am not the guy to cause a stir but I want to finally bring this issue to an end."

And with that the 29-year-old ended his international career. He has, in a way, become the Andy Cole or Chris Sutton of German football. A striker who is clearly born to score goals (although Chelsea fans may disagree that Sutton was that kind of player) but who for some reason is not appreciated by his international manager. Kiessling played six times for Germany between 2007 and 2010 but did not score. Cole managed 15 games for England, scoring one goal over seven years before quitting international football when not called up for the 2002 World Cup, while Sutton's international hopes were terminated when he turned down an invitation to play for an England B team.

On Wednesday Kiessling will lead the line once again for Leverkusen when they take on Manchester United in the Champions League. A win for the German side would mean they leapfrog United, who could also be overtaken by Shakhtar Donetsk, who face the bottom club Real Sociedad on the same night. Kiessling's stats this season – seven goals in 12 league games, two goals in four Champions League games – are particularly impressive as they have come after he lost his partner in crime, André Schürrle, last summer.

There were fears that Kiessling's goals per game ratio would drop significantly with the departure of Schürrle to Chelsea (which he was told about during his own book launch) but his team-mates Sidney Sam and Son Heung-min have responded to the added responsibility and ensured – with goals of their own and assists – that they have scored as many goals as the Bundesliga leaders, Bayern Munich, have after 12 games.

But for all the goals Kiessling has scored it is the one that did not actually go in that made him famous all over the world. This season, against Hoffenheim, Castro sent in a corner that Kiessling met powerfully with his head, only to steer the ball into the side netting. He reacted the way pretty much every striker reacts to a missed chance, put his hands over his head and turned away to berate himself. By then, however, the ball had found its way into the Hoffenheim goal through a large hole in the side netting and the referee, Felix Brych, had given a goal.

• Stefan Kiessling's phantom goal against Hoffenheim

Kiessling was baffled – his reaction after his header clearly shows that he knew he had missed – but still slowly raised his arms in the air to celebrate 'the goal'. Leverkusen won 2-1 and their opponents were, naturally, outraged. They demanded that the game was replayed but the German FA said, almost apologetically, that it could not take that course of action because of Fifa rules. "There are only losers, no winners, in this episode."

There was anger, too, on social media. Kiessling was forced to deactivate his Facebook account, where he had more than 100,000 followers, and said that he had received threatening letters at home. "It has not been easy. I even received letters to my home," Kiessling told Express. Had there been death threats? "Let's put it that way, it was borderline."

The worst attack, though, came from a German politician – a Borussia Mönchengladbach supporter – who said he hoped the "spineless" Kiessling would "break both his legs". After Kiessling had posted a picture of his injured foot following Leverkusen's 4-0 Champions League victory against Shakthar Donetsk, the politician commented: "Fingers crossed, it falls off."

Kiessling said he hoped supporters "would understand" and added: "I have not changed. I have been, I am and will forever be fair and sportsmanlike. That will never change."

That Kiessling scores goals – and lots of them – is not likely to change either.

Marcus Christenson

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Is Tony Pulis the right man to keep the Crystal Palace dream alive?

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 01:55 PM PST

Fan's view: The no-nonsense new manager needs to build on Palace's win at Hull, adding fight, spirit and a tougher defence

First the epic manager hunt came to an end, then Palace won an away game. The mood has definitely turned.

But however satisfying Saturday was, the task for Tony Pulis is clearly pretty immense. The table doesn't lie: only Sunderland stand between us and the status of being the poorest team in the league, and there is a huge amount to fix.

Any side with a leaky defence and an impotent forward line is going to find it hard, and with so few points on the board, finishing fourth from bottom would, quite frankly, be a miracle. It would also propel Pulis to saint status at Selhurst, and be his finest achievement in management.

So is he the right man? Beguiled by talk of a search for a young manager who would play a passing game and develop the club for the long haul, many fans regard his appointment with real suspicion – but the owners clearly decided that the short-term goal of trying to save the £60m a season was a carrot too tasty to ignore.

The baseball-capped one's priorities are clear enough. Fight and spirit are essential for a side that had lost its way with the addition of so many players in the close season. He will almost certainly bring in his own choices in January, having compiled a dossier on the team before his interview, apparently recommending the need for change in most of the back five and up front.

What worries fans most, apart from the playing style issue, is that this is a club which really prides itself on bringing through young talent, and Pulis has a relative lack of success in this area. Instead, his record shows a preference for spending money on players with little subsequent sell-on value – anathema to a club that has twice experienced the misery of administration, and is eager to build a self-sustaining future.

But while the long-term doubts remain, the short-term prospects have definitely been lifted.

The points tally in our next three games against fellow relegation candidates Norwich, West Ham, and Cardiff will probably determine the course of the season, and Pulis's experience will give us a chance. The performance at the KC Stadium – full of energy and resilience – has given him plenty to build on. Maybe, just maybe, the dream is on.

Chris Waters is a board member of the Crystal Palace Supporters' Trust


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Said & Done – the week in football: The Pope, brawling and Mr Bean

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 01:33 PM PST

The week in football: @Pontifex keeps the faith; Simunic on racism; Jesus banned for fighting; plus Mr Bean

Pledge of the week

Sepp: asked by the Pope to respect favelas after Rio notched its 19,220th forced eviction ahead of Fifa's tax-exempt World Cup. "He asked me to give hope to the poor through football … We cannot do everything, but we will do what we can."

Partner of the week

Adidas – moving on from their 2011 headline-making stand against Fifa's corruption troubles by signing a new official partnership deal to 2030. "We are proud that our close relationship will continue."

Inquiry latest

Qatar: Attorney general Dr Ali bin Fetais al‑Marri floating the prospect of legal action if the country's official inquiry finds slave state evidence was a Guardian-cooked "conspiracy to malign Qatar's image". His findings so far: "There is total justice in Qatar. Our systems are based on justice."

Progress news

May: Fifa's first female executive, Burundi's Lydia Nsekera, says her rise will send an enduring signal, "important for Africa, important for Burundi, important for women". Nov: Male Burundi ruling party senator Reverien Ndikuriyo ousts her as FA president.

Campaigner of the week

Croatia's Josip Simunic: fined for leading fans in a neo-Nazi chant, a year after becoming a face of Uefa's new anti-racism drive. Simunic told Uefa's press launch in 2012: "There is no room for racism in sport, or anywhere in the world."

Russian legal latest

2: Years in jail for Pussy Riot members on anti-Putin "hooliganism" charges; 2: Months in jail for Greenpeace members for getting at Gazprom; 7: Days in jail for a swastika-waving Spartak fan arrested after violence last month.

Modern football round-up

• Defining moment of the week: Rangers, re-formed after last year's collapse over unpaid tax, becoming majority owned by an Isle of Man-based hedge fund. • Best photocall: Barcelona's official time-keeper Seiko handing players free watches. • Best new record: The £200,000 raised at Manchester United's champagne gala dinner for Unicef, by a squad earning £200,000 every 10 hours.

Bonus of the week

€50k: Paid to Equatorial Guinea's Jimmy Bermúdez for his goal in the nation's image-lifting friendly against Spain – part of a €5m bonus package pledged by vice‑president Teodorin Obiang, who denies embezzlement, money-laundering and misuse of public funds.

Time for change

Last week's manager news:

Brazil, 30 Sept: Coritiba president Vilson Ribeiro de Andrade hires coach Péricles Chamusca as part of a drive to deliver stability. "I have total confidence." 16 Nov: "I thank Péricles for 47 days of hard work and dedication. It was time to change."

• Andrade's previous: 15 Aug 2012, on why fans abusing then-coach Marcelo Oliveira should back off. "Look, I may not know the perfect formula for success, but I do know the one for failure, and that is trying to please everybody. Fans are selective, they only ever recall the defeats, and that's why in Brazil there's this culture of constantly sacking coaches. But my coach can handle the pressure. I'm cool, and totally relaxed. Marcelo does a good job." 7 Sept: Sacks him.

Calming influence

Portugal: Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, banned for a month for reacting to a pitch invasion by chasing and wrestling the police. Jesus, punished for "injuring the honour and reputation" of officers in the September incident, said: "I was attempting to calm things down."

Still got it

Trinidad: Jack Warner – facing defamation action after he accused attorney general Anand Ramlogan of being "evil", profiting from ill-gotten gains and breaching the country's Integrity in Public Life Act.

Row of the week

Romania: Striker Adrian Mutu, barred from the national team for posting a photo of coach Victor Piturca as Mr Bean, on why he did it: "I've suffered so much at his hands, so I do and say what I want. When he's sacked, I'll return." Piturca: "I forbid such jokes. He's a wreck of a player."

Respect campaign news

Brazil: Palmeiras captain Henrique on why he was shown two yellow cards seconds apart – the referee's report detailing how the first was for dissent, the second for "Henrique falling to his knees, waving his fists and crying: 'You crazy clown'." Henrique: "He showed me no respect."

Plus: best restraint

Italy: Inter's Mauro Icardi, waiting a fortnight after model Wanda Nara left his ex-teammate Maxi Lopez before having a "Wanda" tattoo and buying her a Lamborghini. "The tattoo's permanent. I've showered ten times, and it's not come off." Nara: "I'm moving to Milan."

David Hills

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Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Bayern Munich | Bundesliga match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 12:59 PM PST

Mario Götze scored on his return to Borussia Dortmund, the club he left last summer, to set their bitter rivals Bayern Munich on the way to a 3-0 win in the much-anticipated clash of Germany's top two sides on Saturday.

Götze stabbed the ball home in the 66th minute, only 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute to a resounding chorus of jeers, as the Bavarians enjoyed their first league win over Dortmund since 2010.

Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben sealed the win with five minutes left and Thomas Müller side-footed in a third to complete a demoralising evening for Dortmund.

The hosts, with a makeshift back four, created plenty of chances, striker Robert Lewandowski missing the best after two minutes and Bayern's Manuel Neuer denying Marco Reus with a superb save in the second half. The win took leaders Bayern seven points clear of third-placed Dortmund, with Bayer Leverkusen in between.


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The Agenda: Zlatan Ibrahimovic's book battle and BBC chooses shortlist

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 12:59 PM PST

William Hill's book of the year, snooker on show, rugby league's grand final and the BBC chooses its shortlist

BOOK OF THE YEAR …

Will be announced at the William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards on Wednesday (Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 7.15pm). Now going under the rather inelegant title of the "Bookie" prize, there are six works on the shortlist.

The most obviously eye-catching is Zlatan Ibrahimovic's does-what-it-says-on-the-tin autobiography I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The book has drawn considerable plaudits, not least from sports writer Simon Kuper, who draws comparisons between it and Philip Roth's masterpiece Portnoy's Complaint. His tale of rising from poverty to the top of the game was shortlisted for the August Prize, Sweden's literary award, and has sold 700,000 copies in his home country.

Ibrahimovic goes up against Daniel James Brown's story of rower Joe Rantz, The Boys in the Boat: An Epic True-Life Journey to the Heart of Hitler's Berlin; Ed Hawkins' investigation into India's gambling industry, Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Heart of Cricket's Underworld; Jamie Reid's Doped: The Real Life Story of the 1960s Racehorse Doping Gang; and David Epstein's The Sports Gene: What Makes the Perfect Athlete, while perhaps one of the most important books of recent years, David Walsh's Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong, completes the contenders.

SNOOKER SHOWDOWN …

Is at the UK Championship in York (begins Saturday, BBC2, 1pm) which has adopted a new format as all 128 competing players begin in the same opening round – giving rookies the chance to flex their cues in anger with the sport's champions. Thus Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Scottish amateur Rhys Clark and defending champion Mark Selby will play Shane Castle, a mere stripling of just 15 years. A fresh and innovative opportunity for some giant-killing behind the baulk line.

OLYMPIAN CATCH-UP …

Has a welcome bias towards our female athletes in Saturday's edition of Inspire: The Olympic Journey (BBC1, 1.15pm). Gabby Logan meets Becky James, who won gold in the sprint and keirin at this year's world championships; London Games rowing gold-medallist Heather Stanning talks about beginning training on the water after having returned to service with the army; and there's a look at the daily routine for Winter Olympic skeleton medal hope Shelley Rudman.

BBC GONG SHOW …

Begins business with the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, which will be announced on Tuesday during The One Show (BBC1, 7pm) having been chosen by what the BBC rather portentously refers to as "The Panel". This sporting Star Chamber includes the Grande Dame of Spoty, Sue Barker, who, having stepped down from hosting the show after 19 years, is able to help select the finalists rather than just handing over the trophy. The big night is Sunday 15 December.

WORLD CUP FINAL …

Sees the behemoths of bruising, Australia and New Zealand, face off for the top trophy in Rugby League at Old Trafford. The latter were the team to wrest it from Australia's grasp in 2008 after they had held it since 1975. BBC1 is devoting its afternoon schedule to the match (Saturday, from 1.45pm), presented by Mark Chapman, who has been excellent throughout the tournament, as have his panel of Jamie Peacock, Eorl Crabtree and Jon Wilkin.

Giles Richards

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Slade furious after Swindon fan hits Orient keeper

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 12:45 PM PST

• Fan struck Jamie Jones midway through second half
• Swindon chairman apologises and vows to ban offender

Leyton Orient's manager, Russell Slade, has called for a Swindon Town fan who punched goalkeeper Jamie Jones to be banned for life. Orient's 3-1 win at the County Ground was marred by a shocking incident midway through the second half, when the supporter ran on to the pitch and attacked Jones.

The goalkeeper was thankfully unhurt and able to finish the match and afterwards a shocked Slade said: "It was a great win but it was clouded by the fan coming on to the pitch and throwing three punches at my goalkeeper. It was totally unbelievable – the worst scene I have seen since I have been a manager.

"Jamie is OK but it doesn't make it right, it is outrageous. He needs a ban for life and should never go to another football match. He had a long time in the six-yard box before the stewards did anything."

Swindon's chairman, Jed McCrory, apologised to Jones and vowed to ban the offender, as well as to launch a review of the club's safety measures. "We will be speaking to the police with reference to their report next week," he told the Swindon Advertiser. "We don't condone any actions where supporters come on to the pitch and, if found guilty, he will receive a ban.

"We apologise to Jamie Jones, the Leyton Orient board members and their supporters and will review the stewarding around the ground to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"I would also like to mention that overall the Swindon Town fans during my time at the club have been impeccable. We don't want one incident to ruin the club's supporters' reputation for being a fun and well-behaved crowd both home and away."


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Shame on the greed of my beloved Celtic FC | Kevin McKenna

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 12:00 PM PST

Celtic FC are so rich, yet they cannot bring themselves to pay the living wage

A living tapestry slowly emerges from the walls of Celtic Park as you approach the main entrance to one of the cathedrals of European football. Over the last few years, thousands of otherwise unremarkable red bricks have been turned into memorial stones on which are inscribed the names of individuals and entire families who have stood here these last 100 years or so and supported their beloved Celtic FC. Many of the family names bear witness to the journey this club has made from its angry birth among the slums and soup kitchens of the East End of Glasgow, where it was immediately put to work providing funds for the poor Irish escaping famine and death in the country of their birth. I belong to this club and so have five generations of my family.

Ten days ago, at Celtic's annual general meeting, the sacrifices and unstinting devotion of these people and their forebears were betrayed by those who claim to be the modern custodians of what the club is supposed to stand for. A motion by the Celtic Trust calling for Celtic to ensure that each of its employees is paid the living wage of £7.45 per hour rather than the minimum wage of £6.31 per hour was thrown out by the rich men and money-changers who hold sway at Celtic Park. Directly addressing them, Jeanette Findlay of the trust stated during the debate that preceded this act of corporate and social irresponsibility that it was a decision that "shamed you and shamed us". It was all of that and then some.

For this is a football club that for decades has portrayed itself as the Mother Teresa of world soccer: scattering goodwill and charity in its wake; healing the sick and comforting the poor. The romantic narrative of its scrofulous origins has helped to spread Celtic's fame well beyond Scotland and Ireland. While many of the descendants of the Catholic Irish who came to Scotland have become affluent, successful and influential, the fact remains that the Celtic support still occupies the lowest rung of Britain's socioeconomic ladder. Its bedrock is in neighbourhoods of Glasgow's East End and Lanarkshire where the indicators of poverty and illness are among the highest in Europe.

Many of those who are in work will be labouring for barely the national minimum wage. A top-up to the living wage would make a considerable improvement in their lives. This winter,they will encounter fuel poverty and food shortages. Many will need hand-outs from the increasing number of food banks in Glasgow. Yet, and let's be frank here, the so-called living wage isn't really a wage to live on at all. The Living Wage Foundation calculates that it is the minimum required to allow a person to rent property, run a car and eat healthily.

But then you might choose to include factors such as the ruthless exploitation by some landlords of the shortage of social housing, the extortion of the energy cartel, the vagaries of petrol prices and the onerous taxes on cigarettes and alcohol. A family of two parents and two children cannot survive on £7.45 an hour. Celtic likes to think that some of its traditions are rooted in the values of a close-knit family unit.

Companies that elect to become "living wage" companies are helping to build Britain's economy by taking a long-term view on the health of their businesses. They are expressing appreciation of and respect for all their workers who, buoyed by that little bit extra in their pay packets, will put it back into the economy. No job is too menial or too unimportant not to be considered worthy and noble. In a civilised society, are we really saying that those among us who are cleaners or shelf-stackers do not deserve the dignity that goes with the living wage?

The plc directors of Celtic FC don't seem to think so. Two of the three main reasons cited by the club for rejecting the living wage proposal were these: that it would cost £500,000 annually to implement, and that no other British club does it. Lest we forget; in the last two seasons, Celtic have spent around £10m on fees and wages for three strikers who would struggle to locate a coo's arse with a satnav, let alone hit it with a banjo.

I would have thought that these were precisely why they should have opted for it. Celtic's group revenue increased by 47.7% to £75.82m this year and its profit before tax was £9.74m. The remuneration of its chief executive, Peter Lawwell, was £999,591. The members of the plc board each receive a £25,000 emolument for the onerous task of attending monthly board meetings and travelling all over Europe first class. They include Dermot Desmond, one of Britain's richest men, and Brian Wilson, the former Labour minister, who is an outspoken and eloquent campaigner against the iniquitous pattern of land ownership in Scotland. Like many other companies that refuse to implement the living wage, Celtic can comfortably afford to do so.

Following the AGM, Mr Lawwell, otherwise a very able husband of the club's resources, attempted to explain further by pointing out that most of the 180 or so employees paid below the living wage were part-time and topping up existing salaries. Did it not occur to him that the main salaries of these people may be so low that they are forced to take a second job? Surely no one thinks that because many of them have an emotional attachment to the club they are happy to accept scant remuneration because that would simply be exploitation.

Many Celtic fans have already been betrayed by our church and those Labour politicians who failed to turn up last week for the vote on the bedroom tax.

Until 10 days ago, we thought we could at least rely on our football club. "Celtic is more than just a football club," its directors like to proclaim. Well, now we know that we are not really that special at all.

Kevin McKenna

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Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers furious over Everton tackle on Luis Suárez

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 11:58 AM PST

• Rodgers claims Kevin Mirallas should have been shown red
• Manager says Mirallas tackle 'could have ended' Suárez career

Brendan Rodgers accused Everton forward Kevin Mirallas of a "naughty" potentially career-ending knee-high tackle on Luis Suárez, which deserved a red card, after Liverpool's 3-3 draw at Goodison Park.

The Belgium international escaped with a booking for his challenge.

"I thought Mirallas should have been sent off. It would've been interesting if Luis made the challenge," the Liverpool manager said.

"He caught him on the back of his knee and that can end your career."


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West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea | Premier League match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 11:40 AM PST

For José Mourinho and Chelsea, there was beauty in this East End stroll. Needing victory after the loss at Newcastle United and the fortunate home draw against West Bromwich Albion, they found opponents only too happy to oblige.

West Ham United were a shambles in the first half. Sam Allardyce persisted with his 4-6-0 formation and the manager watched his players offer nothing and, seemingly, look to do little more than cling on.

So bad were his tactics and his team that he made two substitutions in the 40th minute, with one of the new faces being a striker, Modibo Maïga. Joe Cole was furious to be withdrawn and he stormed straight off to the dressing room.

The damage was done by then. Chelsea took advantage of West Ham's lack of ambition and, also, defensive slackness; the opening goal, thrashed home from the penalty spot by Frank Lampard against his old club, followed a faintly ludicrous lapse. Oscar got the goal that his man-of-the-match performance deserved after the half-hour and that was pretty much that.

Mourinho's team were helped on their way but they were stable, confident and incisive. They might have struggled at times when opposing teams have flooded the midfield but not here. Mourinho's only gripe was that the third goal took so long to come and, at 2-0, Chelsea risked allowing West Ham back.

Maïga did fluff their only chance on 65 minutes, and it was a glorious one, but a comeback never looked likely. Lampard scored again, shooting home after yet another flowing move and West Ham, despite showing more spirit and purpose in the second-half, could not escape being booed off.

Allardyce believes that the striker-less strategy is the best way to compensate for the absence of Andy Carroll and it did work in the 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on 6 October. Since then, though, there have been two points taken and the club have been left to teeter above the relegation places.

The tactic, quite simply, feels negative at home and when any manager tears up a blueprint after 40 minutes, it is tantamount to an admission that he got things horribly wrong in the first place.

What Allardyce did not need was the darkly comic moment that served to put Chelsea in charge. Gary Cahill's chip did not appear to present a problem but Guy Demel contrived to create a big one, when his attempt to get the ball back to Jussi Jaaskelainen with his thigh went askew. Oscar nipped in, Jaaskelainen sent him spinning and the only discussion concerned the colour of the goalkeeper's card.

Mourinho said it should have been red; the referee Chris Foy ruled that it was not even yellow. Oscar was running away from goal and it was not a clear scoring opportunity. Lampard relished converting in front of the Bobby Moore stand and the supporters who continue to jeer him.

Chelsea ratcheted up the intensity, Lampard twice went close and Oscar's goal came as no surprise. It was another soft concession. James Collins lost his bearings after Eden Hazard's flick and Oscar ran and kept running before, in the absence of any challenge, he threaded low into the corner from the edge of the area.

Allardyce chuntered about Cole's reaction to his removal. "All any player ever does is think about himself," Allardyce said. "It's up to him the next time he gets a chance to make it impossible for me to substitute him."

Allardyce also removed his captain, Kevin Nolan, in the 76th minute, a decision that was greeted by cheers from the home crowd.

Chelsea might have had more before the interval – Jaaskelainen made one save from Samuel Eto'o – and the visitors could revel in lovely individual flickers, with Hazard running Oscar close for star billing. Eto'o showed his touch and skill.

Mourinho had started Mikel John Obi in front of the back four to counter West Ham's high balls and allow Lampard to get forward while the team was configured to allow Hazard to eschew any defending. He enjoyed himself and so did the travelling fans. "Frankie Lampard," they told their West Ham counterparts. "He's won more than you."

Chelsea pushed for more. Cahill had a header cleared off the line by Mark Noble and Oscar was off target following a Chelsea counter. Maïga's point-blank miss, after Demel's wonderful run and cross, seemed to sum things up for West Ham and Lampard twisted the knife with his second.

Mourinho said that a "third game without a win would not have been acceptable" but for Allardyce, comfort was scarce. "We've lost our home fortress," he said. "We are struggling in front of goal and now, we are suffering with our defensive errors."

David Hytner

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West Ham v Chelsea – as it happened | Scott Murray

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 11:25 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Frank Lampard scored twice as Chelsea easily saw off a dismal West Ham United to go third in the table. Scott Murray was watching

Scott Murray

Barcelona 4-0 Granada

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 11:01 AM PST

An under-strength Barcelona side consolidated top spot in the Primera División on Saturday afternoon with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Granada at the Camp Nou.

Two first-half penalties, from Andrés Iniesta and Cesc Fábregas, set the champions on their way and Alexis Sánchez put the result beyond doubt 19 minutes from time – soon after the visitors had lost the midfielder Manuel Iturra to a red card.

Pedro added a fourth in the final minute to complete the rout as Barça moved provisionally six points clear at the summit ahead of the rest of the weekend's action.

The Catalan club headed into the game decimated by injuries, with Víctor Valdés, Dani Alves and Xavi having recently joined Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Jonathan Dos Santos, Ibrahim Afellay and Cristian Tello on the sidelines.

Fábregas and Gerard Piqué returned after injury, though, and the home team always looked like they had too much for the eighth-placed visitors.

Sánchez and Iniesta tried their luck from the edge of the box in the opening few minutes, but the Granada goalkeeper Roberto was equal to both, while Neymar also lashed over the bar from 20 yards.

The best Granada could muster in the early stages was a couple of long-range efforts – from Youssef El Arabi and Piti – neither of which troubled Barça's goalkeeper, José Pinto.

The hosts took the lead in the 20th minute, Iniesta coolly placing his right-footed penalty into the bottom-right corner after the referee adjudged Fábregas had been fouled by Dimitri Foulquier.

Piti went within a whisker of snatching a swift equaliser, but saw his fierce left-footed shot hit the bar.

And before the break Gerardo Martino's side had doubled their advantage – again from the penalty spot. This time it was Iniesta who won it, when he was brought down by Fran Rico, and Fábregas who converted, despatching into the top-right corner of Roberto's net.

Granada could have pulled a goal back soon after the restart, but El Arabi directed his header over the bar.

The visitors' afternoon took a turn for the worse midway through the second half when Iturra was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Pedro, having been shown the yellow card in the first half for a challenge on Neymar.

Again they showed they should not be written off and forced a decent save out of Pinto soon after, the Barça keeper parrying a close-range attempt from Allan Nyom in the 70th minute.

However, the game was put beyond their reach moments later when the Chile forward Sánchez latched on to Neymar's slick pass and dinked over the advancing Roberto for his eighth goal in La Liga this term.

With the points in the bag, Martino handed a first-team debut to 17-year-old Adama Traoré in place of Neymar with seven minutes left.

And then, just to rub salt into the Granada wounds, Fábregas teed up Pedro for a fourth goal in the 90th minute.


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Billy McKay's early strike is enough as Inverness beat St Johnstone 1-0

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 11:00 AM PST

• Ryan Gauld inspired Dundee United to another victory
• Motherwell's win at Kilmarnock lifted them up to third place

Inverness kept the deficit on Celtic to five points after a 1-0 home victory over St Johnstone.

A close-range effort from Billy McKay decided the contest after four minutes, as both teams cancelled each other out in the remainder of the game.

The score was McKay's 10th league goal of the season and ensured he would remain at the top of the Premiership's goalscoring charts.

Motherwell remainwithin touching distance in third place after a 2-0 win away to Kilmarnock. Strikers John Sutton and Henri Anier were on target in the 55th and 88th minutes respectively, to take their tally to 11 league goals between them.

The result leaves Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off places and above only Hearts, who required a last-minute strike from Ryan Stevenson to earn a 2-2 draw at home to 10-man Ross County.

Melvin De Leeuw put the visitors ahead for a second time in the opening stages of the second half after Graham Carey's 23rd-minute strike was cancelled out almost straight away by Callum Paterson.

The Staggies were reduced to 10 men when captain Richard Brittain was shown a second yellow card and Stevenson equalised with two minutes of the game remaining. David Smith's cross was layed off by Danny Wilson and the forward forced the ball home from inside a congested six-yard box.

The drama was not over, however, as Paterson crashed a header off the bar from a Smith free-kick.

Two Gary Mackay-Steven goals helped Dundee United to a 4-1 defeat of nine-man Partick Thistle.

Jackie McNamara's men won the contest at a canter, with further goals coming from Andrew Robertson and Brian Graham, after Aaron Muirhead had scored from the penalty spot in the 57th minute for Partick, who had Conrad Balatoni and Stuart Bannigan sent off.

In the lunchtime kick-off, Terry Butcher enjoyed a positive start to his Hibernian reign with a 0-0 draw in his first match in charge at St Mirren.

The new Easter Road manager may not have had a win to celebrate at the end of the goalless Scottish Premiership encounter at St Mirren Park, but he would have taken some satisfaction from ending a run of four straight defeats endured by the Edinburgh side before he took over the job at Hibs.

Nial Briggs

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Football League blog: your thoughts | Tom Davies

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 10:56 AM PST

Burnley hang on to top spot on goal difference as Leicester's David Nugent scores twice to close gap on leaders
• All Saturday's results and scorers

Championship

A gap has opened up between the division's top three and the rest, with Burnley remaining top on goal difference from QPR and Leicester City. The league leaders took a point from a tricky away game at Nottingham Forest though they were ahead early on through Sam Vokes's penalty, awarded after Gonzalo Jara's handball, before Simon Cox equalised just before half-time. David Nugent scored twice to keep Leicester in second place as Nigel Pearson's side came from behind to win at Ipswich, who had opened the scoring through David McGoldrick within two minutes. Charlie Austin continues to prove his worth at QPR; he scored his eighth goal of the season with a fine 30-yard drive just before half-time to settle their derby against Charlton at Loftus Road.

Blackpool are seven points back in fourth place after a 1-1 draw at Birmingham, who went ahead in the first half through their Manchester United loan star Jesse Lingard, but Ricardo Fuller promptly levelled. Leeds have climbed into the top six after beating Middlesbrough 2-1 at Elland Road, their fourth successive home win. It meant a losing start for Boro's new manager, Aitor Karanka, who also saw his team reduced to 10 men when two minutes before half-time the goalkeeper Jason Steele was sent off after clumsily bringing down Leeds's Dexter Blackstock. Leeds were ahead by then through Ross McCormack's 35th-minute header and although Mustapha Carayol equalised on 52 minutes, Jason Pearce headed Leeds back in front five minutes later.

Reading could only manage a goalless draw at Blackburn, while Brighton pulled off an impressive away win at Wigan. Andrew Crofts's looping 72nd-minute header secured victory for Oscar García's team to end Wigan's four-match unbeaten run. Also improving are Bolton, 1-0 winners at Watford, although their third win in succession owed much to Manuel Almunia's howler, the Watford goalkeeper dropping a Neil Danns cross between his legs and presenting Jermaine Beckford with an easy chance to score.

At the bottom, Sheffield Wednesday continue to look like relegation candidates, having been beaten at home by Huddersfield, whose alleged training ground feuders Martin Patterson and Adam Clayton scored a goal each to put them 2-0 up. Connor Wickham's injury-time goal for Wednesday was only a consolation. The other big result at the foot of the table was Millwall's win over Barnsley, Scott Wiseman's own goal 13 minutes from time proving decisive. Yeovil remain bottom after their Friday-night defeat at Doncaster.

League One

Fears that the wheels were coming off the Leyton Orient bandwagon, after consecutive Johnstone's Paint Trophy and league defeats, proved unfounded at Swindon as the O's returned to the top of the table with a 3-1 win. A swift exchange of goals midway through the first half set the tone for a lively encounter, Nick Ajose's opener for Swindon being answered by Orient's David Mooney within a minute. Moses Odubajo then scored twice either side of half-time to put Orient in control, though there were ejections off the pitch, after a Swindon fan attempted to attack Orient goalkeeper Jamie Jones midway through the second half, and on it, when Jay McEveley was sent off in the closing stages. Wolves slipped back to second after they could only draw 0-0 at home to the division's form team, fourth-placed Brentford.

Peterborough's sudden slump continues. Darren Ferguson's side suffered their third consecutive defeat, at home to lowly Stevenage, who secured an excellent away win thanks to Lucas Akins's 20th-minute goal. Their win was all the more impressive for the fact that they played the last 26 minutes with ten men following Jimmy Smith's sending-off. Posh remain third, however, because of Brentford's draw and Preston's failure to beat Colchester. Preston looked well set for victory when the in-form Joe Garner scored just before half-time but Luke Garbutt struck to secure a morale-boosting point for the visitors.

The shock of the day was undoubtedly at Coventry, who were mugged 5-1 by struggling Tranmere. Unbeaten in seven matches going into Saturday's "home" match at Northampton, they were undone by the defensive frailties that have been apparent all season as Tranmere's Ryan Lowe scored a hat-trick. There was a lively match just down the M1 too where Bradford won 3-2 at MK Dons.

At the bottom, Sheffield United won the battle of the big underachievers at Bristol City, a result that dumps City back in the bottom four, one place below Nigel Clough's team in 22nd spot. Crewe's slide continues too, Jennison Myrie-Williams striking late to give Port Vale a 2-1 win at Gresty Road.

League Two

Somewhat surprisingly, given how often the top positions have changed hands this season, Saturday morning's top five all won. Oxford made swift work of Morecambe, scoring three times in the first 31 minutes through James Constable, Sean Rigg and Ryan Williams, and their 3-0 win keeps them top on goal difference from second-placed Chesterfield and Rochdale, in third. First-half goals gave Chesterfield a 2-0 home win over Wycombe, while a late winner from Andrew Tutte brought Rochdale a 2-1 victory against Exeter at Spotland.

Game of the day in this division though, and perhaps the whole league, was fourth-placed Fleetwood's 5-4 ding-dong at home to Mansfield, in which Antoni Sarcevic's hat-trick-sealing injury-time penalty finally sunk Mansfield, who had been 2-1 ahead and then come back from 2-4 down to level before losing out at the last. Southend, in fifth place, were also celebrating a late winner, Luke Prosser's late goal against York maintaining their handy run of form in a 2-1 win at Roots Hall.

At the foot of the table, Accrington moved further away from the bottom two with a 2-1 home win over fellow strugglers Torquay. Paul McCallum put the visitors in front in the first half but Kai Naismith's double brought Accrington victory. Northampton remain bottom after losing 2-0 at Hartlepool, while Bristol Rovers are now third from bottom after losing 1-0 at Bury, a match they finished with nine men following the dismissals of John-Joe O'Toole and Chris Beardsley

Tom Davies

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Leeds United 2-1 Middlesbrough | Championship match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 10:20 AM PST

Aitor Karanka was pleased with the attitude shown by his new charges in a narrow defeat but admits it was mistakes which cost him a result in his first game as Middlesbrough manager.

The former Real Madrid assistant claimed a trip to Elland Road was the perfect way to start to his reign on Teesside but a goal from Ross McCormack followed by a red card for goalkeeper Jason Steele left him with a mountain to climb at half-time. Mustapha Carayol grabbed an equaliser early in the second half but the hosts hit back swiftly through defender Jason Pearce's header and closed the match out.

Despite the defeat Karanka was pleased with the effort and work-rate shown by his players, especially after going down to 10 men. "I am sad about the result but I am also happy because I have a team which has a good attitude," he said. "It is the same attitude which I have seen in the 10 days which I have been working with them.

"We were still in the game right up until the last minute with one less player. We played better with 10 players. We played a good second half but we need to keep working hard and improving. We made two mistakes with defending from a corner and the red card.

"We have only had 10 days together but the most important thing is the attitude. If your players don't have the right attitude it's very difficult to do anything."

McCormack "who scores when he wants" according to the Elland Road faithful was in the right place at the right time on 35 minutes to stoop and head home the opening goal after defender Tom Lees put the ball across the six-yard box following a corner.

Steele's rush of blood to the head came right on the stroke of half-time. Dexter Blackstock ran clear and got to the ball first but was taken out in clumsy fashion by the keeper. Referee Philip Gibbs showed no hesitation in reaching for the red card despite protests from the Boro players that there were men getting back behind the ball.

Karanka got the response of an early second-half equaliser as Albert Adomah raced down the right wing to cross for Carayol to volley home an expert finish.

But Leeds were kick-started back into life and a great deep cross from Austin was met with a powerful header by Pearce to restore the advantage on 57 minutes.

The result meant Boro slipped to 18th in the table but Brian McDermott's Leeds side are charging in the opposite direction – largely thanks to the form of McCormack. That's seven goals in three games for the Scotland international and 13 for the season.

McDermott was quick to heap praise on the front man, not just for his goals, but his all-round play. He said: "He's having a fantastic season. Every time he plays he looks like he's going to score a goal, or two, or three.

"At the end of the match he took the ball up the far end of the pitch and won a free-kick. That's the sort of thing that top, top players do. It's not just goals which he brings to this team."

McDermott was also pleased with the way his side saw the game out against 10 men to make it four wins out of five and climb into the play-off places. "It was really pleasing to get the result because we struggled against Bournemouth when they went down to 10 men earlier this season," the manager added.

"The first half we played some good stuff but the second half was tough. It's a great result. I'm pleased to be in the top-six but it would be better to be in the top one. I genuinely believe there is so much more [to come] from this group of players."

Earlier, spectators paid tribute to Gary Speed on the second anniversary of his death, as both sets of fans applauded.


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Ipswich 1-2 Leicester | Championship Match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 10:07 AM PST

David Nugent's incredible run against Ipswich continued as his two goals in six second-half minutes proved the difference in Leicester's 2-1 win at Portman Road.

The home side made a storming start when their top scorer, David McGoldrick, put them ahead with less than two minutes on the clock. But the Foxes responded brilliantly after the break with Nugent twice capitalising on the flying Lloyd Dyer's buildup play to make it an amazing 13 goals in 12 matches against the Suffolk side.

Ipswich caught their high-flying visitors cold after just one minute and 45 seconds. There appeared to be little danger when McGoldrick picked up the ball about 25 yards out, but the in-form striker's low shot went under a bemused Kasper Schmeichel for his seventh of the season.

Leicester looked to hit back instantly but Nugent's shot from an acute angle went wide.

The visitors, second at kick-off, almost contrived to concede a second with only eight minutes played when Paul Konchesky's back pass was woefully under-hit but Schmeichel smothered McGoldrick's side-footed shot.

Leicester came closest to levelling with three minutes to play in the first half when Andy King met Danny Drinkwater's corner and Dean Gerken had to be alert to tip over.

But it was Ipswich who ended the half on top, Daryl Murphy and Paul Anderson unable to take advantage of half chances before Schmeichel fisted clear Ryan Tunnicliffe's cross-shot.

Manchester United loanee Tunnicliffe almost doubled Town's advantage moments after the restart but his low shot was well held by Schmeichel after good build-up play by Murphy and Jay Tabb.

In the 51st minute Leicester were level with a cracking goal, both in terms of build-up play and execution. Dyer's run down the left saw his cross teed up by Jamie Vardy and Nugent buried a 12-yard shot into the corner.

Town were on the ropes and Dyer's cross almost again provided dividends but Vardy's powerful half-volley was blocked by the chest of home goalkeeper Gerken.

It mattered not as Dyer burst onto Drinkwater's perfect through ball to round Gerken and tee up Nugent for his and the Foxes' second to complete a dramatic six-minute turnaround.

Shell-shocked Ipswich looked to fight back and substitute Paul Taylor's teasing cross was headed just wide by Luke Chambers in the 73rd minute.

Within 60 seconds, it was the visitors who almost extended their lead when a low cross was clipped just over by the advancing Dyer.

Ipswich huffed and puffed but never looked likely clawing back an equaliser, McGoldrick's speculative long-ranger curler was the closest they came.

At the other end, Nugent came close to a hat-trick but narrowly missed the far post after breaking clear down the left.


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Celtic 3-1 Aberdeen | Scottish Premiership match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST

Celtic struck twice in injury time, through the substitute Derk Boerrigter and Kris Commons, to beat Aberdeen 3-1 in an enthralling Scottish Premiership encounter at Parkhead.

Commons opened the scoring in the 35th minute before the former Hoops forward Niall McGinn levelled in first-half stoppage time. Georgios Samaras and McGinn both hit the woodwork as the sides swapped chances in the second half before Boerrigter, on for Teemu Pukki, prodded the ball over the line in the first minute of added time after Jamie Langfield had parried a Virgil van Dijk header. The Dons were taken by surprise again moments later when Commons slammed the ball in from close range to extend the leaders' unbeaten league run to 13 games.

Aberdeen have not won in the league at Parkhead since 2004 and they will perhaps feel aggrieved they did not leave Glasgow with a point, and the Hoops will have to improve their game when they face Milan in their crunch Champions League Group H clash at Celtic Park on Tuesday night.

With that match in mind, manager Neil Lennon drafted in Samaras and Commons as winger James Forrest dropped out with a hamstring strain, with midfielder Nir Biton starting on the bench.

The Dons showed one change with Joe Shaughnessy in for former Hoops midfielder Willo Flood, who is out with a hamstring injury.

The game started at break-neck speed with the home side looking to make a quick breakthrough. In the fifth minute, the Celtic left-back Emilio Izaguirre found Scott Brown with a cross to the back post but the Celtic and Scotland captain failed to make proper contact. The next source of danger to the Dons came from Hoops right-back Darnell Fisher, who curled a left-footed shot in from 20 yards forcing a decent save from Langfield.

Samaras had an effort blocked by Langfield before the keeper saved a Pukki header from close range after being set up by Izaguirre.

Commons' first goal, though, came when Langfield punched clear an Izaguirre cross only to see it fall straight to the former Derby County and Nottingham Forest player, who struck the ball into an empty net.

The goal looked to be enough to give the home side the interval lead but Aberdeen drew level in time added on by referee Craig Thomson. Jonny Hayes' corner from the left was headed back into the box by the Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine, with Zola beating Forster to flick the ball on and McGinn bundling it over the line from a yard out. It had been a mostly backs-to-the-wall first half for the Aberdeen but they trotted up the tunnel finding themselves back in the game.

There was a weak appeal for a Celtic penalty at the start of the second half when Joe Ledley went to ground under pressure from Michael Hector but referee Thomson played on.

The Wales midfielder took his frustration out on the ball moments later with a thunderous drive from 25 yards which had Langfield stretching to tip over the bar for a corner. The corner came to nothing but Celtic were clearly playing with more urgency – at times too much urgency – as they drove forward looking to restore their lead.

As the game opened up further, the Celtic midfielder Charlie Mulgrew sent Samaras through the middle of an exposed Aberdeen defence in the 61st minute but the Greece striker struck a powerful shot off the post, before Langfield made a fine save from Commons' angled-drive at the expense of another corner which came to nothing.

Celtic Park braced itself for a traditional late onslaught after Amido Baldé replaced Ledley in the 79th minute but it was the visitors who might have scored two minutes later when Shaughnessy headed a Greg Wylde corner over the bar when unmarked.

In the final stages Samaras sent a header wide from eight yards and McGinn had a decent scissors-kick saved by Forster before driving a shot off the post after a mistake by Izaguirre. But, following Mulgrew's corner in the first of three minutes of added time, Boerrigter knocked the ball over the line before Commons clinched the win from close range with almost the last kick of the game after another save from Langfield, this time from Samaras, landed at his feet.


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The 10 best tattoos

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:30 AM PST

The most talked about examples of celebrity body art, from Cheryl's roses to Tupac's acronym. By Michael Hogan

Michael Hogan

Stoke City 2-0 Sunderland | Premier League match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:26 AM PST

Gus Poyet called for the referees' chief, Mike Riley, to apologise to him after Sunderland were beaten 2-0 at Stoke City in controversial circumstances.

Poyet's side, already 1-0 down at the time, were reduced to 10 men in the 36th minute when the referee, Kevin Friend, deemed a sliding tackle from Wes Brown on Charlie Adam to be worthy of a straight red card.

Brown, who was travelling at considerable speed, won the ball with the challenge and replays suggested any contact had been minimal.

Friend's call drew an angry reaction from the Sunderland manager and, when asked about the incident after the match, the Uruguayan said: "I would like the referees' association [the Professional Game Match Officials Board] to apologise to me this time.

"They did it last week. I think it is fair – they called a British manager and I think it is time for them to call a foreign manager. Then, the referee will have said it was not a red card and I don't need to appeal."

Riley, who heads the PGMOB, recently contacted the West Brom manager, Steve Clarke, to apologise for Andre Marriner's contentious decision to award a late penalty to Chelsea in Albion's game at Stamford Bridge on 9 November 9, a spot-kick which was converted by Eden Hazard and saw the contest end 2-2. Poyet was in no doubt that the Brown-Adam incident merited a similar response from Riley and brought a laptop with him to his post-match press conference, which he offered to use to show footage of what had happened.

Poyet said: "I'm not going to comment on the referee because I don't want to get fined. Did you see the action? Look at the computer – if you want, we will watch it. If you didn't see it, feel free to do so, from every angle.

"Charlie said he [Brown] touched his shinpad but he kept running – he didn't go down [immediately] and he is not in hospital. There is no doubt about it. It was the referee who made the decision and he took three or four seconds to give the foul, which was not even a foul."

In the five league matches Poyet has overseen since he succeeded the sacked Paolo Di Canio at Sunderland – who are now back to the bottom of the table – there have been three Black Cats players sent off.

And asked if he thought the Wearside outfit were getting a reputation with referees, Poyet said: "It's a good question and I think we should ask Mike Riley.

"He could tell us that. Let's see what they tell the referees inside. Let's see what they do next week when we make a tackle."

Giving his view of the incident, Mark Hughes said: "I'm sure Gus feels a little bit aggrieved about it, but my interpretation of it was that maybe Wes was a little bit out of control and a little bit reckless.

"

"At the time I thought it was a poor challenge. Whether or not it merited a sending-off that is obviously the debate after the game, which is a shame because it takes the shine off our performance. We played really well today. I've looked at it myself on a laptop and I think from different angles it looks worse than from other angles.

"Obviously the referee, from his angle, felt it merited a sending-off and I can understand why that's the case.

"Charlie got caught on the outside of his legs about shin-level. We can get a video on a laptop and take a look if you want!"

Adam had given Stoke the lead six minutes prior to the red card incident, slotting in from a cut-back by Steven Nzonzi, who then neatly converted his team's second in the 81st minute having been teed up by Peter Crouch's through-ball.

Stoke, who had been 17th at the start of the day and separated from the relegation zone by goal difference alone, moved up to 14th after the result.


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Arsenal 2-0 Southampton

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:23 AM PST

As if struck by a sign from the heavens, Artur Boruc suddenly had a vision: he would, he could, for five seconds only, be Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ballon d'Or was tantalisingly close. Just a stepover here, a Cruyff turn there, and his opponent would be destroyed ... Only in real life, Boruc stumbled and bumbled and Olivier Giroud pounced to score.

It was a barely believable moment. This was more personally punishing than being beaten by a fellow member of the brotherhood of goalkeepers, which happened recently against Stoke.

After that flourish of vaudeville, the tide in this high-tempo contest could not be turned. Arsenal got back to business after the frustration of a bad day at the office at Old Trafford, and increased their lead at the top of the table to four points. "That was vital," Arsène Wenger reflected, on the need to return to winning ways.

"Your character is tested. Can you win straight away again after a big disappointment and the international break? That was really at stake today."

In some ways, the nil was as important as the two as a symbol of Arsenal's case to be a long-term title challenger. In the second half, when Southampton enjoyed plenty of possession and made some dangerous drives towards Wojciech Szczesny's goal, there was a solidity and confidence in the Arsenal back line that contrasted with the moments of panic that have been their undoing in the past. Southampton could be pleased with their effort, especially after a problematic first half, but they seldom found the room to pose serious questions.

Arsenal's probing caused problems even before the opening goal as Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey struck the woodwork with two demonstrations of sublime individual skill.

After Ramsey's fancy flick was diverted by Jose Fonte, Wilshere burst on to the ball and eked out a chip so delicate it sailed over Boruc as if in slow motion. Both teams held their breath to see where the arcing ball would land. To Southampton's relief, it bounced off the base of the far post. Then Ramsey steered a shimmering volleyed backheel against the same section of woodwork. The post to Boruc's right was having a blinder for the visitors.

But there was nothing it could do to prevent Arsenal taking the lead at the third time of asking. With Giroud hovering, Boruc tried to take him on with all the elegance of a pantomime dame wearing the latest in lead-encrusted boots. The Frenchman stole possession and dinked the ball into a vacant net.

Wenger admitted he has at times had words with his own keeper, who has diced with disaster trying to take on strikers in the past, and at half-time he told Szczesny if in doubt, he was welcome to kick the ball at his manager on the touchline.

Mauricio Pochettino was in no mood to dwell on the incident. "Footballers need to be able to learn from these mistakes. Accept it, and move on," he said. "We want to offer 100% support to him."

Boruc's team-mates gave a lot to try to redeem their keeper. They challenged Arsenal with a flurry of set-pieces. Adam Lallana tested Szczesny with a looping shot that needed tipping over. The Arsenal keeper was agile again in beating away Jay Rodriguez's firm effort.

Southampton flew into action after half-time, playing with the zest and determination that has taken them so far up the Premier League table. Arsenal showed the defensive focus, though, to ensure the visitors' efforts were not easily turned into clear chances. A Rickie Lambert shot was blocked, and Rodriguez's lung-busting run halted, before Szczesny was called upon.

Theo Walcott was given a run out for 20 minutes, and the threat posed by his pace meant Arsenal were dangerous on the break. So it was a tall order for Saints to chase without being vulnerable.

In the end a taller order in the shape of Per Mertesacker concluded the result. Fonte tugged the big German back at a corner, and Mark Clattenburg awarded a penalty. Giroud thumped confidently past Boruc to take his tally into double figures. It took him two more months to hit his 10th Arsenal goal last season.

"Other strikers will tell you: 'I am not obsessed with scoring goals,' but if they do not they are sick. He didn't expect it himself to score so many but this will only boost his confidence," said Wenger. The player dedicated the goals to his grandfather, who died on Thursday.

Southampton played well, but paid the price for two critical errors. They want to move on. Arsenal are not in the mood to look over their shoulders.

Amy Lawrence

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Fulham 1-2 Swansea City | Premier League match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:17 AM PST

Craven Cottage used to be a fortress, now it is a house divided. Fulham fans cannot stand the performances of their team, who used to atone for wobbles on the road by excelling on their own patch but not any more. This was their eighth defeat in their last 10 home league matches and a result that leaves them rooted in the relegation zone.

Martin Jol trudged down the tunnel to the now-familiar sound of supporters calling for him to be sacked. "It is not the nicest period of my life," admitted the Dutchman, appearing more dejected than at any time in his two-and-a-half-year reign. "We needed the points. Four defeats on the trot is terrible."

This is not how the first match since the appointment of René Meulensteen as head coach was supposed to pan out and, in fairness, for a while it looked like this game might become the happy turning point that it was intended to be. Jol insists his compatriot has been hired to help him plot a path clear of relegation rather than to replace him as manager and that plan was looking well-founded early on as personnel changes and a formation adjustment gave renewed solidity to a side that has leaked goals all season.

"It's a different mouth, different things in training," said Jol. "When he phoned me and said he wanted to come I was happy. We worked for the last eight days on strengthening the spine of the team but you can't change the world in one or two weeks."

Scott Parker was given the captaincy instead of Dimitar Berbatov and was also given greater freedom to go forward as Derek Boateng was brought in alongside him in central midfield, with Pajtim Kasami and Bryan Ruiz also playing close to the middle as Fulham delegated the flanks to the full-backs. That gave them a sound platform on which to play. The fact that the game was scoreless at half-time represented a sort of progress for Fulham in the light of recent hammerings but they should really have been in front. Darren Bent missed two clear chances in the first half, heading a Parker cross wide from seven yards in the 28th minute and then, four minutes later, whacking a 16-yard shot against the post after Chico Flores had inadvertently headed a long ball into his path. Berbatov flicked a header wide from a corner moments later.

So long as the scores were level there was always the risk of the hosts' fragile confidence being pricked and that nearly happened before the break. Alejandro Pozuelo pilfered the ball from Boateng in midfield before nudging it through to Nathan Dyer, whose low shot across goal was saved brilliantly by Maarten Stekelenburg. Fulham have flickered this season but never produced 90 minutes of excellence so the challenge here was to reproduce their strong first-half showing in the second. They failed.

Swansea improved and, unlike Fulham during their period of dominance, soon capitalised with a goal, albeit thanks to a stroke of luck. In the 56th minute Chico hurled himself at a low cross from Roland Lamah and although he failed to connect, his attempt to do so confused Aaron Hughes and the ball deflected off the Fulham centre-back into the net.

Fulham sought an equaliser but were almost undone on the counter-attack, Dyer firing inches wide after a rapid break from one end to the other. Then fortune swung in Fulham's favour. In the 64th minute, just after Bent had squandered another chance, Ruiz rolled a short corner to Parker, who surely tried to pick out a team-mate at the back post but instead wafted a misdirected cross into the net.

Fulham frittered that good fortune away. Their play became increasingly scrappy and Jol's substitutions were curious, especially his withdrawal of Boateng and Parker, although taking off Ruiz at least won the approval of the crowd. Ten minutes from time a Swansea substitute, Jonjo Shelvey, deepened the manager's woe by driving past two players and firing into the net from 18 yards. Cue that chorus of "Jol Out", again.

Paul Doyle

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Newcastle United 2-1 Norwich City | Premier League match report

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:16 AM PST

Alan Pardew has predicted that Shola Ameobi will become Britain's Prime Minister one day. For the moment though the centre-forward, by common consensus Newcastle United's most intelligent player, still has important work to attend to on the pitch. Politics can wait.

A week after helping Nigeria – he holds dual nationality – qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil, Ameobi failed to score but, delighting in deconstructing Norwich's defence, was largely responsible for consigning his former mentor, Chris Hughton, to a thoroughly miserable Tyneside return.

There was a warm welcome for Hughton, sacked by Newcastle almost three years ago, but an awful start from his Norwich side.

Despite a second-half rally featuring a fine goal from Leroy Fer, the visitors were effectively sunk from the moment Yohan Cabaye's second-minute in-swinging corner confounded Hughton's defence, the back line allowing the ball to bounce.

With John Ruddy completely wrong-footed, Loïc Rémy opened the scoring, directing a simple, far-post close-range header into the empty net.

Ruddy's positioning proved rather better after Moussa Sissoko's connection with Ameobi's superb through-ball left the French midfielder with only the goalkeeper to beat. Spreading himself adroitly, Ruddy out-psyched Sissoko, forcing him to shoot wide.

Demonstrating precisely why he is keeping Papiss Cissé on the bench, Ameobi created Newcastle's second goal for Yoan Gouffran. Meeting Sissoko's cross, his powerful header was stopped by Ruddy but the keeper could not prevent the ball from squirming out of his hands.

Hovering hopefully, Gouffran – currently restricting Hatem Ben Arfa to substitute duties – needed no further invitation to tap it into the net.

A third successive Premier League win beckoned for Pardew. "We weren't at our best, we were better without the ball than with it," he conceded. "But we were really committed to win, Shola was terrific and, up until Norwich scored, we were in total control."

Following his heroics during Newcastle's victory at Tottenham a fortnight ago, Tim Krul virtually enjoyed an afternoon off although the Holland goalkeeper was deceived by Anthony Pilkington's header and looked extremely relieved to see it loop tantalisingly wide of his far post. Poor Pilkington – a winger apparently on Pardew's shopping list – was subsequently taken off on a stretcher with a torn hamstring.

Newcastle could easily have been three up at the interval, Ruddy doing very well to repel an awkward shot from an increasingly inspired Ameobi, whose ability to hold the ball up was creating all sorts of inviting spaces for the ever menacing Rémy to exploit.

Another shot and save from the same pair early in the new period emphasised that for all Norwich's bouts of pretty passing and Nathan Redmond's tricky change of pace, Pardew's team were dominant. When Ameobi departed to an ovation and was replaced by Cissé, the game appeared over.

Or so it seemed until the otherwise assured Fabricio Coloccini – once again hankering after a return to Argentina – lost Fer at a Redmond corner and saw him thump a high velocity header past Krul.

On came Ben Arfa but Norwich had renewed hope and Pardew endured a perhaps unexpectedly nervy final 10 minutes, Newcastle's manager looking suitably reprieved when a Wes Hoolahan free-kick from a highly dangerous position was deflected to safety. Admittedly Cissé had earlier despatched the ball into the back of the net but, not for the first time in his career, he was blatantly offside.

No matter; his team-mates did enough to ensure Pardew was in a position to offer Hughton a consolatory handshake at the final whistle. It could have been worse for Norwich's manager had Ryan Bennett been shown a red rather than yellow card for an iffy, late, arguably "last-man" foul on Sissoko as, clean through, he accelerated towards goal.

Ever the gentlemen, Hughton made a point of praising a favourite former protege with whom he once enjoyed debating politics.

"Shola Ameobi is a very, very good player," he said. "He allows Newcastle to be a bit different and Rémy is as good as anyone at running into the space around him. I'm really delighted Shola is going to the World Cup at this stage of his career. It will be a wonderful moment for him."

Louise Taylor

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Hull City 0-1 Crystal Palace

Posted: 23 Nov 2013 09:12 AM PST

Tony Pulis is understood to have negotiated what is being described as a "hefty" bonus if he keeps Crystal Palace up this season, and the former Stoke manager was watching from the stands as the Eagles made the best possible start towards earning him that reward.

Not, however, that Pulis will have been misled as to the size of his task. Barry Bannan's late goal notwithstanding, this was a match of desperately low quality, throughout which neither side looked remotely as though they belonged in the Premier League. The question for Pulis, who has signed a two-and-a-half year contract and starts work on Monday, is whether there are three worse teams, and on the evidence of this match, Hull City may be one.

Even so, the 55-year-old acknowledged the result. "I'm very happy to be at the club, and this result makes it a great start," he said. "The first thing I'd like to do is thank [caretaker manager] Keith [Millen] for what he's done over the past few weeks. It's terrific to come in on the back of a win."

Millen himself, who will find out on Monday whether he will continue to be part of the club's coaching team, said he had told Pulis the players he will be working with still believe they can escape the drop.

"I spoke to him on Friday and this morning and told him I honestly believed these lads can stay up. You pick up on the vibes in training, and there is a belief there that we have a fighting chance, and I think Tony was pleased to hear that," said Millen.

They will need help though, and Pulis has been given the go-ahead to bring in as many as five new players in the transfer window, a fact which can only have added to the motivation of the starting XI selected by Millen. A formation featuring Mile Jedinak playing just in front of the back four suggested a draw would suit them just fine, and a horribly sterile first half, during which each team mustered precisely one shot on goal, confirmed as much.

Crystal Palace were playing with ten men for much of the first 15 minutes, an early clash of heads between Paul McShane and Marouane Chamakh seeing the Moroccan twice having to leave the pitch to have the flow of blood from the resulting wound staunched. The delays and stoppages meant the game struggled to gather momentum.

With nothing going on on the field, the crowd's interest featured on a protest in which some of the home supporters against the club's mooted change of name to Hull City Tigers were initially prevented from parading a banner reading 'We Are Hull City' in front of the East Stand. Eventually the stewards relented, taking the heat out the situation, but the chanting continued, and the episode left club owner Assem Allam's assertion that most supporters do not care about the issue looking ridiculous.

City manager Steve Bruce made a change at half-time, bringing on Danny Graham for Robbie Brady and switching to a conventional 4-4-2. Millen left Cameron Jerome ploughing a lonely furrow up front, but the game did become a little more open, and City should have taken the lead when George Boyd slipped the ball into the path of Yannick Sagbo in the Crystal Palace penalty area. The striker scuffed his effort, allowing Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni to make the save.

With 13 minutes remaining the game changed. Yannick Bolasie's poor touch let him down, and diving in with studs up to try and retrieve the situation, he slid into Jake Livermore and was sent off. It looked like Hull's game to win, but within a minute Dwight Gayle had found Jerome, who pulled the ball back across goal for Bannan, coming in at the far post, to turn the ball past Allan McGregor.

There was still time for Liam Rosenior to volley a half-cleared corner against Speroni's left-hand post, but Hull's luck was very much out.

"The biggest disappointment is the performance, because although I don't think we deserved to lose, we just didn't do enough to win the game," said Bruce. "The big issue in the Premier League is whether you can create and score goals, because everyone is well organised."

He also added his voice to the chorus applauding the appointment of Pulis. "He's been there, done it and got the T-shirt, hasn't he."

Millen agreed. "I said from the start what was needed was someone with experience at this level, because the club hasn't got that." Now it has.

Richard Rae

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