Friday, 13 December 2013

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Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Mikel Arteta rails against scheduling before Manchester City showdown

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Arsenal frustrated that Etihad visit is so soon after Napoli trip
• 'Preparation not ideal but there will be no excuses,' says Arteta

Mikel Arteta has expressed frustration and disbelief that Arsenal must visit Manchester City for Saturday's showpiece Premier League fixture a little over 48 hours after getting home from their Champions League tie at Napoli on Wednesday night.

The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, has already made plain his dissatisfaction, calling for the introduction of an independent ethics committee to arbitrate on the fairness of match scheduling. He feels that the television companies ride roughshod over the game's authorities to dictate kick-off times to suit them, with no regard for the clubs' requirements. The Premier League can point out that each club signed up to the lucrative television deal.

Arsenal faced Everton at home last Sunday in the 4pm game, drawing 1-1 and they will kick off against City at 12.45pm. They made the flight back from Naples after the tie, which ended in a 2-0 defeat for them, with the players getting to their homes at roughly 4am.

Arteta, though, says that the mood in the squad remains positive and, as they seek to make a statement of title-winning intent at City, he insisted that there could be no excuses related to fatigue.

"The recovery time is very tight," Arteta says. "I don't understand why we play Sunday afternoon, Wednesday evening, get back at 4am and then play again on Saturday morning in Manchester. There is nothing we can do – just recover well. It's a big game and we want to win it.

"The preparation will just be about recovery. It's not ideal. There is a late warm-down [on Thursday], we try to get our legs back for Friday ... travel on Friday and be as well prepared as we can because they will be ready for us. They rested seven or eight players in Munich [against Bayern on Tuesday night].

"I think we have different options [in the squad]. You could see that we changed the team a bit again against Napoli. We have to be ready, no excuses. We know it can be a big statement if we get a good result against City. That's what we want."

Wenger joked in his post-match press conference in Naples that he would have to hurry as he and the squad "have to fly directly to Manchester because the game is so early". The issue has been on his mind and the changes that the City manager Manuel Pellegrini made to his starting line-up against Bayern have also been noted at Arsenal.

City, though, had earned the right to rest players, having already ensured their qualification to the Champions League last 16. Costel Pantilimon, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Touré, Samir Nasri, Sergio Agüero and Álvaro Negredo were stood down from the team that drew 1-1 at Southampton last Saturday, and they still beat the defending European champions 3-2.

Wenger, by contrast, fielded a virtual full-strength team against Napoli, as Arsenal had not secured their qualification. They did enough to advance, although the defeat meant that they did so as the group runners-up and, as such, they will now face a more daunting last-16 assignment against Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.

It felt like an opportunity missed – a draw would have seen them advance as the group winners – and Wenger admitted that his players' "legs went a bit" in the second half, when they were too passive. In light of the disappointing result against Everton, Arsenal are determined to respond. They still hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, but after City, they face Chelsea at home on Monday week.

"Before the Champions League started, we would have been happy to go through from that group," Arteta says. "But in the position we were in, we wanted to finish first because we know we will face really difficult opposition in the next round so we are disappointed.

"We can compete with any team in Europe on our day but we are making it tougher on ourselves. If we had finished first, it would have been a different story but we will take it on the chin.

"We are looking at top teams who have won their groups easily so it's a tough time, although I'm sure that they are not going to be happy to play against us either. It doesn't matter who we play out of these teams"

Arteta will be suspended for the last 16, first leg after his dismissal against Napoli for two yellow cards. He felt harshly treated, given that he only made two fouls in a game that was littered with them – 32 in total, 16 by each team.

"It was a joke," Arteta said. "Two fouls in the whole game and two yellow cards, so I'm very disappointed. You miss the next game and you put your team in a difficult position. It was harsh and very unfair."

David Hytner

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Everton to offer Ross Barkley an improved long-term contract

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:29 PM PST

• Barkley to be rewarded for rising to Goodison expectations
• 'I felt confident this could be the season I'd break through'

Everton are to offer Ross Barkley a new long-term contract that reflects his emergence as one of the finest young talents in England.

The 20-year-old has two and a half years remaining on the lucrative deal he signed in December 2011 but after he has begun to fulfil long-held expectations at Goodison Park this season, Everton plan to open talks on extending and improving Barkley's terms. The club want to reward the midfielder's impact as a Premier League regular and also deter inevitable suitors before a summer that is likely to feature a World Cup in Brazil for their homegrown talent.

"Ross has got a long-term contract with us so it is not a situation where he is coming to the end of his contract," said Roberto Martínez, the Everton manager. "As a club, we will always want to reward young players if they do well in the first team and their roles change. Remember that Ross was a youngster trying to break into the first-team squad. Now, for me, he is going to have an important role in the squad, so that is going to be reflected. But there is not a timescale [on the contract being signed]."

Everton have always been proactive on Barkley's contract situation, handing the England international a maximum two-and-a-half-year contract at 17, when he was recovering from a triple leg fracture, and replacing that with a four-and-half-year deal days after his 18th birthday. Negotiations on his latest contract, however, are yet to commence.

Martínez said: "It is something that is in my thoughts. As soon as we conclude that, we will let the fans know. It is the same for every young player, not just for Ross. Every youngster that comes in and allows himself to step up into a new role, that is going to be recognised in a contract. If his contract is up at the end of the season or he has another five years, it doesn't matter."

Manchester United and Chelsea were among those interested in Barkley before he turned 18 and made a handful of appearances for Everton under David Moyes, but it is only this season under Martínez that the Liverpool-born midfielder has established himself as a first-team regular. And Barkley, advised to remain at Everton by the Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, admits Martínez's appointment has been crucial to his emergence.

Barkley, who was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United during Moyes's tenure, said: "I knew when I heard he was coming in that I'd get my chance this season. I'd seen the way he was with Callum McManaman and James McCarthy at Wigan, that he gives young players their chance. I knew I was the type of player to suit him because he's a really tactical manager who likes to build up the play. So I felt confident this could be the season I'd break through."

Everton are also looking to extend the contracts of Leighton Baines and Sylvain Distin, who have 18 and six months remaining on their current deals respectively.

"Sylvain has been a terrific performer this season and we couldn't be happier with his role at the club," said Martínez, who would not be drawn on the specifics of Baines's contract negotiations. The England left-back is likely to be subject of renewed interest from Manchester United in January. "All these issues are vital for us and we are going to look after them straight after this Christmas period. At this moment all that matters is to get everyone focused in being ready to help the team and Sylvain clearly has been an example of doing that."

Andy Hunter

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Europa League clockwatch – as it happened | Paul Doyle and Scott Murray

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:08 PM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Swansea and Spurs march on in Europe. Paul Doyle and Scott Murray were watching

Paul Doyle
Scott Murray

Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Anzhi

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:06 PM PST

Two weeks can be a long time in football, especially where André Villas-Boas is concerned. This result made it four wins from five for Tottenham, who advance to the knockout stages having secured a victory in every European match this season and putting talk of crisis around the club firmly to one side ahead of the visit of Liverpool this weekend.

More pertinently perhaps, this was the game when Roberto Soldado showed his true worth. The Spaniard, who has shown glimpses of quality this season, found the form that earned him a reputation as a deadly marksman with Valencia before his summer transfer, scoring a fine hat-trick during a comfortable victory for Spurs.

Anzhi, despite having already secured qualification from Group K before this game, are bottom of the Russian Premier League and without a win in 19 matches. Europe has provided Gadzhi Gadzhiev's side with some welcome relief this season after their billionaire owner, Suleyman Kerimov, drastically cut the club's spending in August.

It has been a miserable domestic campaign ever since for Anzhi, who were denied the first chance of the game here when Ilya Maksimov prodded a shot straight at Brad Friedel when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Spurs, who made seven changes to the team that won at Sunderland last Saturday, did not wait long to punish their opponents who, backed by approximately 25 supporters, had appeared comfortable on the ball in the early stages. However, after seven minutes Soldado had scored his first of the evening.

The Spaniard, who had previously only scored three goals from open play since his summer move from Valencia and had not found the back of the net in five matches, got the faintest of glances with his head to guide Gylfi Sigurdsson's fine, curling cross onto Evgeni Pomazan's left-hand post and in following a free-kick won by Andros Townsend on the left edge of the penalty area.

If this match was a dead-rubber before kick-off, it soon turned into a Spurs exhibition. Less than 10 minutes had passed before Villas-Boas's side had doubled their lead. Erik Lamela, playing on the right flank, received the ball 30 yards from goal and, slipped in Soldado with a precisely-weighted pass and the striker needed just one touch before firing low across the goalkeeper.

Anzhi were starved of the ball in a first-half dominated by Lewis Holtby and Moussa Dembélé, with Townsend causing severe problems down the left. The Russians remained a threat on the break though, with Étienne Capoue sliding in brilliantly to halt a slick attack.

They did reduce the lead one minute before the interval, Ewerton prodding in from a Nikita Burmistrov corner shortly after Townsend had chipped narrowly wide at the opposite end.

Danny Rose, making his first appearance at left-back following a three-month absence, was replaced for the second-half by the youngster Ryan Fredericks, who came on at right-back with Kyle Naughton switching to the opposite flank.

And Fredericks played a key role in Tottenham's third, starting a move by turning smartly and distributing calmly when under pressure in defence. Yet it was Holtby who put the gloss on the move, controlling expertly inside the area following a deft chip from Townsend and steering the ball with remarkable poise into the far corner.

The German ensured that a period of Anzhi possession at the beginning of the second-half had been dispelled, with Spurs once again taking control of the match. Soldado, on the hunt for his hat-trick, saw a header saved by Pomazan before Christian Eriksen was brought on for his first appearance in more than a month.

Soldado got his hat-trick eventually, although his penalty was not initially given by the referee after Fredericks was brought down in the area by Jucilei following a jinking run from deep. The Spaniard found the side netting to cap a productive night for Spurs.

James Riach

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Sid Lowe meets Real's English coach

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST

The English coach at the Bernabéu reveals just how good Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are to work with every day

From the balcony at Valdebebas you can see for miles. To one side stands the new terminal at Barajas airport with its huge bamboo frame. Further round, the sierra rises up, bordering Madrid to the north and west, snow settling on the peaks. And towards the city, Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham tower above everything –the nicknames given to the four skyscrapers constructed on Real Madrid's former training ground – while below, maybe 10 metres down, lie the immaculate pitches where Real Madrid train now. And from here, Paul Clement smiles, looking right, you can just about make out his new house, too.

It has been some journey. The pitches are empty but not for long. It's mid-afternoon and training begins in little under an hour. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will be joined by Xabi Alonso and Isco, Karim Benzema and Iker Casillas. Clement will be in the middle, leading them. The son of the QPR player Dave Clement but never a professional himself, Paul Clement is the Londoner who followed Carlo Ancelotti from Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain, where he worked with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Now he's assistant coach at the biggest club in the world, alongside Zinedine Zidane.

"There were a couple of opportunities, including one abroad and one in the Championship," he admits. "But I was really excited about coming here. It's an ambition [to be head coach] but I'll stay here as long as I can. It's a great experience to work at this level: it's the pinnacle."

It's hard to disagree: in Monday's Champions League draw, no one will want Madrid, who finished on 16 points, having scored 20 goals in six games with Cristiano Ronaldo getting a record nine goals in the group phase. Since losing the clásico, Madrid have scored 24 in five league games. But it is right here, on these pitches, that the difference really strikes Madrid's English coach.

"I can think of one particular exercise we've done at all three clubs. The players were doing it here very early on, and myself and Carlo just looked at each other. We couldn't believe the level," Clement says, his tone conveying the impact. "Chelsea had fantastic players but they were different: mature, powerful, very strong physically. Paris Saint-Germain had a mix of the old PSG and the new, and Ibra would do things that were just unbelievable, things I've never, ever seen before, but there was a big range. Here, from young players to old, the technique is so good. The thing I noticed from day one was that the execution is at a higher level. Much higher.

"You have to keep challenging them, so you reduce time and space so that they have to think quicker, act quicker."

That ability is especially evident at Madrid but Clement believes it runs throughout the Spanish game. "When you go down to teams in 18th, 19th or 20th they all try to play, they have good creative players: wingers, players off the front. There's a higher technical level than the lower levels in England and in France as well."

Is there an explanation for that? Clement ponders. "I think it's a cultural thing, a belief in a certain way of playing. You see it in the national team and the academies. At seven or eight, they're already developing two-footedness, they're not so concerned about the physical side or winning. They believed in that and now they're reaping the rewards. English clubs are now more interested in that [approach] and are working hard to improve but it is a long process."

It is a process Clement has seen with different eyes, having embarked on a coaching career from the age of 23 and taken the opportunity to work abroad with Ancelotti. He concedes that he might have been offered jobs sooner had he played but would not necessarily have been a better coach. "Signing ex-players is a safer bet in terms of the pressure, but the thing about playing is you're often thinking about yourself; when you're learning to be a coach you are thinking about bigger things and I have been doing that for a long time now." Instead, he has watched, studied, and developed.

Much is said about the result of the work players undertake; rather less is said about the work itself. Clement believes in "open, attractive football", with the emphasis on intelligence and technique, even as he accepts that it carries some risks: the short blanket theory. As he explains the mechanisms, the methods and ideas that underpin what he, Carlo Ancelotti and their players actually do, the drills and the lessons, it's clear that these are processes that have been thought and re-thought, discussed, applied and adapted over time; it's clear too that Clement believes in coaching.

Yet the knowledge is worn lightly and presented simply; there is no mystification of the manager and no possessiveness. He says it's natural to watch England games, for example, and wonder what he'd change, who he'd play. But asked what he would do in Roy Hodgson's position he laughs a laugh that says "nice try" and responds: "Roy's doing a great job." He talks naturally about shifting Madrid's shape from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 depending on the players available; about the discussions that led them to their current formation. And about what the daily work entails.

"Today, for example, because the players have had two days off we won't work hard," he explains. "The old style in England would be the first day in after a day off you'd kill the players, but there's more knowledge about how to train effectively now. What we do is conditioned by and focused on the next game, aided by the work from the scouting team which you incorporate as quickly as possible.

"You work from the game and come backwards to the sessions. You don't invent things for the sake of it. All the drills, even the warm ups, which are always with the ball, emphasize good control and passing: diagonal passing. Not playing straight, not playing lateral; always an open body position, trying to play forward, playing on angles.

"But football is not complicated; it's simple. We don't make up things. It's not a circus. We try to keep things simple and related to the game. Coaches like to be guarded and I certainly wouldn't put my set plays up in the opposition's dressing room but I'm not sure there are that many secrets. Take set plays: when you're defending: individual marking, it's your responsibility. When you're attacking, I always say to the players: 'guys, it's about the ball you put in'.

"At this high level, it's about the little marginal gains, whether that's having an excellent nutritionist or someone to help recovery: those things can make a difference. That's down to both the players and the club."

Ronaldo is the obvious example. "Cristiano's a senior player and has had a great upbringing, working under Ferguson," Clement agrees. "He's at a stage of his career where he's made mistakes and learned and he manages himself really well. There was a game we arrived back from at 3am and he went off for an ice bath. Another time, we got back from Istanbul at 6am and the physio's giving him a rub down." You might be thinking that it's the physio you feel sorry for. Clement laughs: "Yeah exactly. He's alright, he's just got to lie there!"

"As for Gareth [Bale], what I like about him is that he's down-to-earth in the dressing room," the Englishman continues. "He's quiet, he's humble. On the training field he knuckles down. He's young still so it's very exciting. He's coachable ..."

Coachable? Are there players who aren't? "Oh yeah, without doubt," Clement grins. "Gareth wants to improve. A couple of games ago, he got into good scoring positions and wasn't finishing. So the next day he says: 'can we do extra shooting?' After training, he's one of the last to leave, whether it's having additional treatment, the gym, or ice baths. His food is right. He's a very, very good professional. In my experience of working with players like Frank [Lampard], John [Terry], or Ashley Cole at Chelsea, Zlatan at PSG, or Cristiano or Gareth here, what stands out is that they are top professionals. They have the talent but they do all those other things that make the difference."

Some have seen in Bale a clone of Ronaldo. "Do you think so?" Clement asks. There is surprise in his voice. "Cristiano's an incredible player: at the moment in my opinion the best there is in the world. Listen, there are similarities, no question: both are good with dead balls, both are wingers who score an incredible amount of goals, both are athletes ... but I think Gareth comes in between the lines more. Cristiano is very direct in his style, whereas Gareth will come inside and play combinations. He'll look to slide balls into others. Ronaldo is very direct.

"Football is simple: there is a goal and you have got to try to put the ball in it. And I think that's exactly what Cristiano thinks."

Sid Lowe

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Real Madrid coach Paul Clement assesses English chances in Europe

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST

With Manchester United and Chelsea in transition, it's Manchester City and Arsenal who look best placed to challenge

Manchester United are going through that transition period after Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea are going through a little bit of a transition now too: it's not a typical José Mourinho team in terms of the players he is working with compared to his last spell at Stamford Bridge. Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole are still there though. My experience of working with them is that the thing that sets them apart is that they are so competitive. They're hungry every day and that shows in training. Every day, every day. Those three in particular give it everything and I think that is what has given them that longevity. In my opinion the teams that are the strongest at the moment are probably Manchester City and Arsenal. Manchester City are through for the first time and I would say of the four teams this year they are the strongest. I'm not sure they have made an especially big shift from Roberto Mancini to Manuel Pellegrini but they are a more mature team having come off the back of winning the league and two disappointing runs in the Champions League. Now they have made that step. They have got an experienced coach who worked here at Real Madrid and they have added some other good players. Arsenal are looking good as well. They took Mesut Özil from here at Real Madrid and that was really good signing for them. I went through their team the other day and the amount of creative, technical midfielders they have got is striking. They look strong. With Özil they got a player who has great experience of playing four years here at a very, very big club with a lot of pressure. He now goes into a club that has probably underachieved for a good number of years, he goes into a dressing room where he is going to be a real senior figure, and I think it's a perfect time in his career for that. It's human nature: we love that responsibility.

There is a lot of competition for places and Gareth came here and there were no guarantees of anyone playing regularly. Mesut wanted that guarantee and it couldn't be given and so he decided to move on. But he's a great signing for Arsenal – a really talented player and a big plus for them. He can play wide, can play behind, has got a killer pass. That's nice for them. They are all good teams but if I had to pick two I would say Manchester City look the strongest and then Arsenal.


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Sports Direct shares fall in Adidas football kit row

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 01:56 PM PST

Retailer biggest faller in FTSE 100 after losing sales of premium strips worn by Chelsea and World Cup favourites

The high street sports retailer Sports Direct is embroiled in a spat with Adidas which means it could lose out on sales of football kits worn by Chelsea and World Cup favourites including Spain next year.

Concerns about the dispute contributed to a 12.5% slump in Sports Direct's share price yesterday, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100.

The retailer's stock dived 97p to 674p, as it also revealed slightly-lower-than-hoped-for profits after a £6.3m hit from restructuring costs at its new Republic chain as well as a cautious outlook for the next few months.

Adidas said in a statement that it would not sell premium-priced football kits, such as Chelsea's strip, through Sports Direct from next spring, citing factors such as "in-store environment" and "customer service levels."

A spokesman for Adidas said: "Like all manufacturers, we regularly review, season by season, where our products are distributed. We determine distribution channels for all products based on criteria such as in-store environment and customer service levels. This is normal business practice and Adidas has done this before. This season, we're implementing a new distribution strategy across Europe for key products in football and other sports."

David Forsey, chief executive of the British chain, which claims to be the biggest seller of replica football kits in Europe, said that the company would pursue "various strategic options to protect its leading global market position within the football category," following the Adidas move.

Forsey would not comment on whether Sports Direct would consider legal action but said he hoped to persuade Adidas to change its course. The Adidas move applies to kits which exactly match the on-field outfits worn by teams.

It is understood that Sports Direct will not be able to stock shirts for national teams such as Spain, Argentina and Germany – all teams which Adidas sponsors and which are expected to play a leading role in next year's football World Cup.

The competition is a key event for sports retailers when sales of shirts can rise nearly 90%. The policy will not affect a range of other products, including more generic Chelsea team shirts that differ from the premium-level replica kit.

The spokesman for Adidas said: "We'd like to point out that Sports Direct continues to be an important retailer for Adidas and their customers still have the opportunity to buy a great range of Adidas products in their stores."

While City analysts were disappointed with the profit performance of Sports Direct, the company continued to defy the tough times experienced elsewhere on the high street to reveal a 23.5% rise in group revenues to £1.34bn.

The revenue boost was led by a 13.4% rise in UK sports retail sales to £903m in the six months to the end of October thanks to rapid growth online. Despite underperforming expectations, pre-tax profits still rose 17% to £146.2m.

Sarah Butler

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A-League: what to look out for this weekend

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 01:28 PM PST

Paul Connolly: Which Sydney FC will turn up?; losing streaks; Wanderers and the Jets; some myths exposed

Paul Connolly

Jürgen Klinsmann signs to stay as USA coach until 2018 World Cup finals

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 01:06 PM PST

• Former Germany coach adds title of USSF technical director
• New deal extends to 2018 tournament in Russia

266. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST

Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett's verdict appears in Sunday's Observer, and here from Monday.

Competition: win an official club shirt of your choice

For a chance to win a club shirt of your choice from the range at Kitbag.com send us your questions for You are the Ref to you.are.the.ref@observer.co.uk. The best scenario used in the new YATR strip each Sunday wins a shirt to the value of £50 from Kitbag. Terms & conditions apply.

For more on the fifty year history of You Are The Ref, click here.


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Jürgen Klinsmann signs a new deal to coach USA for the 2018 World Cups

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 12:51 PM PST

• World Cup winner agrees to a four-year contract extension
• Head coach is also given additional title of technical director

Even before leading the United States into next year's World Cup, Jürgen Klinsmann has been signed to stay on as coach for the 2018 World Cup.

Klinsmann, whose side play Germany, Portugal and Ghana in the group stage in Brazil next summer, has agreed to a four-year contract extension. The German has been the US head coach since July 2011, however his new deal gives him the additional title of the US Soccer Federation's technical director.

"One of the reasons we hired Jürgen as our head coach was to advance the program forward, and we've seen the initial stages of that happening on the field and also off the field in various areas," the USSF president Sunil Gulati said.

"In the past two years he has built a strong foundation from the senior team down to the youth teams, and we want to continue to build upon that success."

The US have won 27 and drawn seven of 44 games under Klinsmann, qualified for its seventh straight World Cup and won this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

"I am very fortunate to continue the work we started more than two and half years ago," Klinsmann said. "The role of technical director is a huge challenge and also a huge opportunity as we look to keep connecting the dots to the youth national teams, coaching education, the development academy and the grassroots efforts in this country."

After winning the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the 1996 European Championship with Germany, Klinsmann retired as a player in 1998 and moved to California. Now 49, Klinsmann coached Germany from 2004-06, leading the team to a third-place finish at home in the 2006 World Cup and then quit. He coached Bayern Munich in the 2008-09 season.


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NK Maribor 2-1 Wigan Athletic

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 12:31 PM PST

• NK Maribor 2-1 Wigan Athletic
• Mezga 43 & Filipovic 59; Gómez 41pen
• All the best images from Maribor

Wigan's new manager, Uwe Rösler, accused the Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, of costing his side a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Rösler's men led through Jordi Gómez's penalty four minutes before half-time. But Dejan Mezga levelled from the spot two minutes later and Zeljko Filipovic's goal just before the hour mark ended Wigan's hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

The German said: "It was a deflected ball that led to a penalty, which could be discussed, but even worse was it leading to a [Chris McCann] sending-off. He shot from a very close distance on to his thigh and from his thigh the ball bounced on to his arm. First of all, it's not a penalty for me, and second of all, never a sending-off.

"I think the referee didn't have his best day, he influenced the game in a massive way. He looked to me very inexperienced, he made a lot of errors. My players deserved better, that's all I can say."

The former Manchester City striker Rösler took charge of his first Wigan match, having succeeded the unpopular Owen Coyle at the weekend. Wigan's hopes of reaching the last 32 were hanging by a thread after a costly home defeat by Zulte Waregem two weeks ago that played a major part in Coyle's departure.

That left Rösler's side needing to win in Slovenia and hoping Rubin Kazan, who had already secured top spot in Group D, could beat Zulte. The Russians did their bit with a 2-0 victory but, having been reduced to 10 men in the first half, Wigan were unable to prevent a sixth consecutive defeat.

Rösler's favoured passing style was in evidence from the start but Maribor were the first to offer a shot on goal, and it was a good one, Filipovic almost beating Scott Carson with a fine effort from 20 yards.

Wigan were probing but it took another eight minutes for them to really threaten, Nick Powell striking a volley from outside the box that was dipping but always too high. Callum McManaman was keen to show his trickery down the right and he whipped in a fine cross that would have provided Powell with a great chance had Soares Arghus not diverted the ball behind.

Wigan continued to increase the pressure and Gómez was extremely unlucky with a free-kick in the 36th minute. The Spaniard was fouled 25 yards out and picked himself up to curl a shot against the near post. It was therefore no more than Wigan deserved when Powell tumbled under pressure from Arghus and the referee pointed to the spot. Gómez's penalty was central but the goalkeeper, Jasmin Handanovic, dived over the top of the ball to give Wigan the lead.

However, they were guilty of switching off as Maribor responded immediately, and paid a heavy price. Marciniak had set his stall out with early bookings for Roger Espinoza and McCann so, having decided the latter handled Damjan Bohar's shot, a red card was not a complete surprise – although harsh. Carson pushed Mezga's penalty on to a post but the ball fell nicely for the same player to equalise.

Rösler made a change for the second half, sending on Ben Watson, the man who won the FA Cup for the Latics, in place of McManaman.

Not surprisingly, the Slovenians offered a lot more in attack, with Damjan Bohar drawing a diving save from Carson at the near post before Ales Mertelj shot over.

Wigan tried to hit Maribor on the break and they came close when Jean Beausejour crossed for Powell, but he could only guide his shot wide.

The Maribor pressure was growing and, after Nusmir Fajic had shot wildly over the bar with only Carson to beat, the hosts took the lead . James Perch gave the ball away in a dangerous area down the right but it looked like the chance had gone as a misplaced pass rolled out of the box. But running on to it was Filipovic, who had served notice of his threat early on, and this time his shot arrowed into the top corner.

Watson almost drew Wigan level after good work from Espinoza but his finely-struck effort from the edge of the box was well saved by Handanovic.

Maribor broke away and should have put the game to bed but Bohar rolled his shot past the far post with only Carson to beat.

It was a shocking miss, and a minute later the Slovenians were also reduced to 10 men when Mertelj was shown a second yellow for a foul on Gómez. Wigan kept pushing for an equaliser and both Leon Barnett and substitute Marc-Antoine Fortuné came close. A draw would have denied Maribor a place in the knockout stages but it was not to be and the home side celebrated their first win over an English side – and a place in the last 32 – exuberantly.

Rösler will now turn his attention to trying to halt Wigan's slide down the Championship when neighbours Bolton visit the DW Stadium on Sunday.


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FA to consult Hull City supporters

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 12:08 PM PST

• Name change requires backing of entire FA council
• Owner Assem Allam says name change will boost marketing

The Football Association will consult Hull City supporter groups before considering the owner Assem Allam's request to rename the club "Hull Tigers", which many fans vehemently oppose. Allam, who has reacted with increasing anger to the fans' campaign, has formally applied to the FA for permission to play as Hull Tigers from next season.

Such a change to a club's playing name requires written permission from the full FA Council, which has absolute discretion to decide on its merits. Changes are exceptionally rare; most recently in 2010 Stevenage Borough returned to their original name, Stevenage Football Club, when they won promotion to the Football League.

A coalition of Hull City supporter groups, campaigning as "City Till We Die", argues Allam's proposed change contravenes the identity of the club which has played under its name, with Tigers as a nickname, since 1904. They also argue Allam's case, that "Tigers" will boost global marketing, is unconvincing.

Allam has told the Guardian that his original plan to make more money and enable the club to be financially sustainable was to expand the KC Stadium. However, after becoming angry at one councillor's comments on a local radio interview, Allam "severed relations" with the council. Instead he spent £30m on players and players' wages to win City promotion. He now argues that the name Hull Tigers will give the club a crucial advantage in global marketing, and make the money it requires. Allam said he had not yet undertaken research into this plan.

In the year to 31 July 2013, City's accounts show the club has become totally dependent on Allam's loans, now up to £72m, charged at five per cent interest. To finance promotion to the Premier League, City made a loss of £26m, following £9m lost in 2011-12 and £20m the previous year.

Confirming it had received the name change request, the FA said: "As part of the evaluation of the request, a consultation process will be undertaken with various stakeholders including supporter groups."

City's manager, Steve Bruce, said Allam should be allowed to change the name "for the money he has put into the club".

City Till We Die said: "We remain confident that the FA will make the right decision, and protect the heritage and traditions of Hull City AFC, and those of other clubs whose identities may come under threat in the future."

David Conn

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St Gallen 1-0 Swansea City

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 12:08 PM PST

• All the best images from a foggy AFG Arena

The Swansea manager Michael Laudrup was delighted to reach the knockout stages of the Europa League, despite his side ending their Group A campaign in defeat here. The Welsh club needed a draw to guarantee their progression to the last 32, but Kuban Krasnodar's failure to beat Valencia in Spain ensured this defeat did not prove costly.

In sub-zero temperatures and with a low fog hindering visibility, the visitors had the better of the opening half with Roland Lamah twice going close. But they slackened off after the break and were punished when Marco Mathys found the net from close range with 10 minutes to go. It was an inauspicious way to end a group campaign that had started with a 3-0 Mestalla masterclass against Valencia, but Swansea will be in Monday's draw along with clubs such as Benfica, Ajax, Napoli and Juventus.

While the result and performance were not what would have been wanted in Switzerland as Swansea limped over the line, Laudrup was happy to have progressed. "Being through is the most important thing," he said. "In a couple of weeks we won't think about how we got there, we will just know we are in the last 32.

"We have two months to wait before the knockout stage, and we are there because we deserve to be there. Maybe you can always take things out from these games and say we should have done more, but we are through.

"When we were 1-0 down and Kuban equalised against Valencia, for just a second their late goals against us went past my mind. When St Gallen got a last-minute free kick – two goals in injury time could have sent us out – but fortunately it didn't go like that."

Kuban's 1-1 draw in Spain means Swansea have reached the latter stages of a major European tournament for the first time in their history, and Laudrup hopes it is an achievement the club will be able to look back on fondly in years to come.

"I hope that it is huge for everybody in Swansea. We don't know when we will play in Europe again," he said. "Sometimes you appreciate it but maybe not enough when you are in it. Maybe you appreciate it more when you are more distant from it.

"I can only compare it with my experience at Getafe when we reached the quarter-finals. It was a nice at the time, but four or five years later is when they really appreciated playing Bayern Munich and Benfica.

"I hope thinking back it will be the same with Swansea, when it comes to winning the League Cup and playing in Europe. Now let's see what happens in the draw. You never know, the weaker team of the two can move on if you play well."

Laudrup said it would be a couple of days before the club know the full extent of the knee injury suffered by the defender Chico Flores, who limped off during the second half.

"I talked to the doctor and we have to wait a couple of days to know. It was a knock to his knee, but we can't say any more about how long he will be out," he said. "He was already suspended for Norwich on Sunday, but we will have to wait a couple of days to know how bad it is."


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Europa League: Thursday night's matches- in pictures

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 11:52 AM PST

The best images from the European games featuring Tottenham Hotspur, Swansea and Wigan

Steven Bloor

For Crystal Palace's Barry Bannan his 8-0 trauma at Chelsea is behind him

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 10:21 AM PST

The midfielder says his revitalised side are capable of beating anyone, even a Chelsea side in the same mood as the team that dismantled his old club Aston Villa last season

Barry Bannan should be reduced to a quivering wreck at the mere mention of Chelsea. Players who are scarred as he was at Stamford Bridge a little under a year ago, a member of the Aston Villa side thrashed by eight goals without reply, would usually shudder at the prospect of a return to that merciless arena, particularly when their current club is nestled beneath the cut-off without a win across the capital in 31 years and must confront elite opponents whose manager has not lost a home league game in 67 matches.

Yet mention of last December's shoeing prompts little more than a nod of recognition, a hint of a sheepish smile and something akin to a shrug. That trauma was then, and this is now. "We can get something," offers the midfielder in his new guise as a Crystal Palace player. "With the confidence we have at the minute, and everything we have in the team, we're capable of beating them there. Of course it'll be about everyone putting in 'that' performance – you can't carry players – but, if we all bring our best games …" Palace, it seems, will travel to SW6 on Saturday anything but braced for a beating.

That flash of confidence is born of recent results and displays under Tony Pulis's management though, with Bannan, it also stems from involvement. This season is about reinvention for the Scotland international, a fresh start provided by his deadline day move from Villa for an initial £500,000 to re-establish his credentials. A player who has brimmed with self-confidence from the day, as a nine-year-old ball-boy at Albion Rovers, he collected from behind the dugout, flicking from foot to foot, then dinked the ball cheekily over a visiting Montrose player, had rather lost his fizz. For a while, the youngster lured from Celtic as a teenager, had been the great hope of Villa's Bodymoor Heath academy. There were glowing reports, and wild proclamations of similarities with Xavi or Andrés Iniesta from managers and team-mates alike. Then came stagnation.

His progress "stalled", to use his word, with off-field issues fuelling suggestions he had lost his way. There were 64 Premier League appearances for the seniors interspersed with loan moves to Championship clubs, but a midfielder whose promise had been mouth-watering under Gérard Houllier's stewardship saw his form drift under Paul Lambert last term. "I was one of the ones to look out for coming through, but it just didn't pan out that way," he says. "I'd have good runs at times, but when things weren't going so well, I'd take most of the flak. Last year, when we weren't doing so well, it would come on me and away from certain other players in the team. I'd grown up there, coming up through a club I loved, and I'd always give 100% on the pitch, so it was hard to take.

"Maybe it was because of the expectation. They might have expected things I wasn't capable of and, in fairness, I didn't have the best of seasons last year. But I don't think many players had a good season last year. It was tough for all of us. If it could have gone differently, I would have loved it to. Paul Lambert was brilliant, but sometimes you have to move on to kickstart your career. I needed a different, well, everything really. Certainly a change of environment. I was stalling at Villa. I needed something to freshen it up, get me moving again."

Palace's interest, expressed by the then manager Ian Holloway, crystallised late in the summer while Bannan was contemplating life as an outcast at Villa Park, dismissed as he had been to work with the likes of Alan Hutton and Stephen Ireland in the reserves.

At least his idol, Stiliyan Petrov, was overseeing that squad at the time. "Stan pushed us really hard and set me up for the move. I remember being star-struck when he first came down to Villa from Celtic: he'd be the scorer, the creator, the kind of player I wanted to be when I was growing up. I was lucky to work with him in that period. His doctor eventually told him he had to take a break from it – it was all too quick for him, really. Stan's Stan. You wouldn't know he had been struck down with leukemia. What's happened to him is so unfair. But I thank him and Gordon Cowans for pushing me.

"Palace took me out of my comfort zone. If I was back in Birmingham, I'd always have a mate back at mine after training. It would be the same after a game and, if you'd lost, you'd never get a chance to think through what you could have done better. Down here, while we've been losing games, I've had to sit there on my own and think about it, analyse it. That's kind of helping me, really. I'm thinking about the game more than I ever have, because it's just me and my dog and no distractions. It's about self-improvement."

Much about Palace has been rehabilitated in recent weeks. When Holloway departed in the wake of a 4-1 home defeat to Fulham, the newly promoted side appeared broken, out of their depth and dazed by a frantic shopping dash over the summer that saw 16 players signed up and the team spirit that had earned elevation wrecked. Keith Millen steadied the ship for a month before Pulis's appointment. The last five games have yielded 10 points and only one goal conceded, with Bannan having started every fixture since the end of October. He has scored a winner at Hull, and assisted a revitalised front pairing of Cameron Jerome and Marouane Chamakh. The latter, with three goals from four shots on target this season, was all high-fives and beaming smile as he strutted around the club's Beckenham training complex in a pair of comic-strip boxer shorts. He may make an unlikely saviour but this team and its perceived damaged goods have been collectively revived.

"With Cham, he's been getting knocked a lot, but he's been a brilliant team player," says Bannan, his own mood presumably pepped by the reality he has swerved an 11.30am yoga session to contemplate the season to date. "He's started to score now, he's not had that many chances, and his work rate's unbelievable. He has a point to prove to the Premier League. He's been getting knocked pillar to post, from every angle, and no matter how strong you are it must be hard. But he's been one of our best players in the last couple of weeks, and he's probably out there to prove everyone who's doubted him wrong. It's the same with Cam: the pair of them bully defenders, work opponents, and that's massive.

"Things feel more settled now. There haven't been that many changes in the team recently, and that brings togetherness. If you're out there in the battle with the same players almost every week, you grow closer. That's what we've picked up from a solid team, solid formation, and everyone's working for each other. It's shown on the pitch with the results we've had recently. The new manager has given everyone a lift. The first day he was here he called us in and gave this brief, sharp meeting. He said: 'I've never been relegated and I don't plan to start here.' He's not going to let us just go down.

"He's massive on work rate, so if you're not working you ain't going to play. We've tried to press teams high up because, if you just give the opposition time, any side can look good in this league. If you press them higher up, you're winning the ball higher up the pitch, and you have fewer yards to go before you're in sight of goal. It all makes sense. It needs that energy to maintain it. But if you want to stay in the division, it's the least you must do. The message is to work as hard as you can, and he expects his wide men to work hardest of all. I don't mind that. I've done that all my career. It's second nature, really."

Bannan has bought into the philosophy. As the team's set-piece taker, he has studied footage of Chelsea conceding three times from free-kicks and corners at Sunderland last week in the hope of spying some vulnerability to exploit. "But it's not like Chelsea to be conceding from set pieces," he adds. "Their previous sides have been so solid, and I really don't think this team have got any weaker. It's just this season's been funny. The gap between the top six and the rest is closer. Clubs are spending more money to bring in better quality, and that's bridging the gap. You're getting more results you didn't expect."

Palace extracting anything from Stamford Bridge would constitute one of the more eye-catching shocks to date but, as unlikely as that feels, the Scot in their midst travels across town expectant.

Dominic Fifield

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Champions League 2013-14: The best and worst bits from the group stage

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 10:04 AM PST

From Zlatan's tache-bash to racism in Russia, the Champions League group stage has provided some memorable highs and some depressing lows

Best goal Aaron Ramsey

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 30-yard blooter against Anderlecht was the most spectacular but in the context of his personal portfolio it was little more than a tap-in. Ramsey's header in Dortmund wasn't exactly in the same aesthetic ballpark, but it was a gentle eyebrow-brush that was heard around the world: no other goal turned a team's campaign on its head like this. Arsenal were under the cosh when it occurred, staring the Europa League in the face; after it went in, qualification for the second round was suddenly a realistic possibility.

Man of the groups David Moyes

The poor bloke is getting brickbats for Manchester United's dismal performances in the Premier League, so it's only fair he should be thrown a sweet-smelling bouquet for guiding his new club through Group A with the minimum of fuss. Bayer Leverkusen were thrashed 9-1 on aggregate, no small feat as Sami Hyypia's men are currently ahead of last year's Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. The half-time hairdryer turned on against Shakhtar Donetsk in the final game is worthy of note too, sending the Ukrainians out rather than sneaking off with a shock win and leadership of the group. Moyes's achievement has been strangely underplayed: even Sir Alex Ferguson failed to make it through the groups on occasion.

Lowest moment CSKA Moscow v Manchester City

Yaya Touré was visibly upset after Manchester City's trip to CSKA Moscow, where he was subjected to racist monkey chanting. Afterwards, he called on Uefa to take tough action, saying: "I'm not just disappointed, I'm furious. I'm very, very disappointed about what those fans have done today and I think Uefa have to take action because players with the same colour of skin will always be in the same position. For me, as captain, I was wearing an armband which said 'No to racism' and I was totally disappointed." The reaction from CSKA Moscow was unedifying. Though the manager, Leonid Slutsky, made it clear the club were against all racism, he described the fallout to the incident as "very exaggerated" and "an overreaction."

Best team Atlético Madrid

The La Liga side may have had one of the easier draws of the competition – Porto, Zenit and the debutants Austria Vienna – but the old adage of only having to beat the team in front of you holds true. And Atlético did that with aplomb. At home they won all three of their matches and away they only dropped points at Zenit, who were the eventual runners-up in the group. Diego Simeone's side also went through with a goal difference of 12 – second only to Real Madrid, equal with Bayern, and scored by a team put together for a fraction of the cost of either.

Individual performance Kostas Mitroglou v Anderlecht

The Belgians are the side to play should you be looking to impress. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four on his own past them, one of them a 30-yard piledriver and the other a clipped, backheeled flick. But while scoring four past the likes of Anderlecht is impressive, it's no longer unexpected. More of a surprise, then, was Olympiakos's Kostas Mitroglou, whose three goals against the Belgians was the first-ever Champions League hat-trick by a Greek player. He has since been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool, suggesting there is more to come.

Best result Bayern Munich 2 Manchester City 3

The European champions fielded a strong XI for their final game in Group D, while it was City who made all sorts of changes with the upcoming Premier League showdown against Arsenal in mind. No matter: Manuel Pellegrini's jazz band came from two goals down to record an astonishing win. It was Bayern's first home defeat since March and only their second since October 2012. City had already qualified for the knockout stage, the first time they had made it through a round of the European Cup since they started trying back in 1968, but this was the moment they finally felt at home among the big boys.

Poorest performance Giorgio Chiellini

How different would Juventus's campaign have been had Giorgio Chiellini not been such a daft sod at the Bernabéu? Juve were giving as good as they got with the score 1-1, until Chiellini wrestled Sergio Ramos to the ground in the penalty area. Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away the resulting spot-kick, then just after half-time made the most of Chiellini's inexcusable decision to flap his fingers in his face. Red card! A 48-minute performance of the crassest buffoonery, and one which really cost Juve, who nevertheless pushed Real hard despite being down to 10 men. With 11 men, a point wouldn't have been beyond them that evening – and maybe the narrative of Group B might have unfolded in a more acceptable fashion for the Old Lady. Oh, Giorgio ...

Surprise hardman Mikel Arteta

When Mikel Arteta got his marching orders at Napoli this week for two questionable challenges, he had the audacity to look shocked to see red. But it had been coming – he really should have walked in Dortmund for persistent fouling. Arteta has always had a bit of the devil in an otherwise artistic make-up, but he's suddenly laying it on a wee bit too thick, and as a result Arsenal will miss him dreadfully in the first leg of the second round. Arteta needs to calm down, a point Arsène Wenger is sure to have made to the player in a lyrical style.

Best row Zlatan's tache-bash

A toss up between Mathieu Flamini's right to bare arms and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's tache-bash. Flamini was forced to apologise for cutting off the sleeves of his Arsenal shirt, defying the club tradition in which the captain decides whether short-sleeved or long-sleeved attire will be worn. "I like to wear short sleeves, that's what I like to do," sniffed Flamini. "I do not like that and he will not do that again," reckoned Arsène Wenger. Meanwhile, Anderlecht's moustachioed midfielder Sacha Kljestan revealed that Ibrahimovic turned to him midway through their match against Paris Saint-Germain to offer some style advice. "After a perfectly normal challenge, Ibra turned to me and provoked me, making a joke about my moustache, saying: 'That really is terrible,'" said Kljestan, clearly not one to take it lying down. "I responded by saying that he should think about his nose."

Best quote Benítez's donkey tale

Having previously delivered sermons on 'John The Milkman' and the story of the priest and the mountain of sugar, Rafael Benítez teed up Napoli's match against Arsenal with a tale about a donkey. "If a man is walking with his son and his donkey," he said, "the first person will come along and say: 'Why don't you put your son on the donkey?' So he puts his son on the donkey, and a second person meets him and says: 'Why aren't you sitting on the donkey, too?' Every decision you make, someone criticises. It is best to stick with what you know."

Scott Murray
Tom Bryant

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Barcelona land £15.3m deal for putting sponsor's logo inside shirt

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 09:58 AM PST

• Logo will be seen only when Barcelona players lift shirt
• Lionel Messi and co under no obligation to reveal logo

Barcelona have agreed a sponsorship deal said to be worth £15.3m with Intel under which the chipmaker's logo will be printed on the inside of players' shirts.

The idea behind the unusual positioning of the logo is that it will be revealed when a player lifts his shirt to celebrate a goal.

Barcelona's players would be under no obligation to display the logo, which will be added to the shirts for the first time in Saturday's La Liga home match against Villarreal

Barça have not revealed how much the four and a half year deal is worth, saying it was "confidential", but Spanish media and Forbes magazine, without identifying the source of their information, reported Intel would pay $25m(£15.3m).

As part of their first foray into football sponsorship, Intel will also provide technology to players and coaching staff as well as the recruits at Barça's academy.

Deborah Conrad, Intel's chief marketing officer, said: "We did not want to put the players under any obligation to show the logo a specific number of times but we do know that such goal celebrations are a big part of the culture of the sport."

Barça's main sponsors include Nike, carmaker Audi, and Qatar Airways, whose logo will remain on the outside of the players' shirts.


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New York City FC close to $400m stadium deal in the Bronx

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:59 AM PST

NYCFC reportedly nearing agreement to build near Yankee Stadium just days after signing new coach Jason Kreis

Steve Busfield

Newcastle United v Southampton: Alan Pardew on Premier League clash with former club – video

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:56 AM PST

Newcastle manager Alan Pardrew says his team have always been strong performers at home, and are counting on their fans to help them beat Southampton

Football Weekly Extra: Manchester City stun Bayern Munich

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:33 AM PST

The conclusion of the Champions League group stage is discussed by Barry Glendenning, Amy Lawrence and Iain Macintosh who join James Richardson for more near-earth-orbit based tomfoolery.

Man City impress the pod with their football but not their maths, while Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea progress less impressively. Juventus are out but cry foul-play after some dodgy snow clearing on the Galatasaray pitch. Have they been hard done by? The pod thinks so.

There's also a full premier league preview, more ridiculous goings-on at St James' Park and the excitement of watching matches with former players.

Leave your comments below …

Peter Sale
James Richardson
Barry Glendenning
Amy Lawrence

Sunderland's Gus Poyet on facing West Ham in Premier League – video

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet says his players have suffered a setback after recent defeats, but are ready to face West Ham United

Watford Under-19s walk off pitch after alleged racist abuse in Italy

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:05 AM PST

• Kick It Out launch investigation following claims
• Incident occured against Latina Calcio on Wednesday

Anti-racism group Kick It Out is investigating claims a Watford youth side was ordered off the pitch by its coach after an alleged incident of racist abuse during an Under-19 tournament in Italy.

The Watford side were playing Italian team Latina Calcio 1-0 in a Wojtyla Cup game in Rome on Wednesday when they were taken off by coach Dave Hughes following an incident.

The club and Kick It Out are both now trying to find out the full facts behind the incident – a video of which has appeared online.

A Kick It Out spokesman said: "We have been made aware of an incident, we have been in touch with the club and they and we are now looking into exactly what happened."


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Celtic did not need Barcelona rout to tell them they have gone backwards | Ewan Murray

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

Despite raking in tens of millions of pounds through consecutive Champions League qualifications and player sales, Celtic's squad is suffering from an alarming lack of progress

Knee-jerk reactions are best avoided when prominent teams are dismantled. The routine, worldwide fawning over Barcelona also implies it would be unfair to be too harsh on Celtic after their 6-1 crushing at the Camp Nou.

Still, this inglorious end to Celtic's Champions League campaign had more than a hint of being a line in the sand for Neil Lennon and some of his players. Group H concluded with Celtic having garnered just three points and three goals. They conceded 14 times.

It is uncommon for Lennon to lambast his personnel publicly but after a bad night in Catalunya Celtic's manager dubbed his players "weak" and "half-hearted" while dubbing their performance "unacceptable". The Northern Irishman added: "Some players didn't do the jobs they were assigned to do."

Lennon excused Virgil van Dijk, Adam Matthews, Fraser Forster and Mikael Lustig from the criticism. That quartet are currently the most consistent performers on Celtic's books; all are defensive players, despite what the Champions League goals-against column would otherwise indicate.

The remainder have come up woefully short and are no longer worthy of managerial protection or the adulation which they gladly lap up when successful domestically. They lack composure on the ball, are unable to provide a timely final pass and are short of that clinical touch in front of goal. These aspects were prevalent earlier in Group H. Even Celtic's attitude looked highly questionable in the matches at Ajax and Barça.

It should be remembered that Celtic were seriously troubled even before reaching the Champions League group stage, in qualifying ties against Shakhter Karagandy. At that juncture, warning bells should have rung.

The most damning indictment towards Celtic as a club is that since last year, when they qualified for the last 16 and were in a brilliantly strong position domestically and financially, they have regressed. Lennon is surely smart enough to realise that, and hungry enough to be equally frustrated.

Celtic's recruitment flaws are now well-documented. Despite raking in tens of millions of pounds through consecutive Champions League qualifications and player sales, Celtic's squad has gone backwards. This season, back-up players for European competition have been that in name only.

It seems a farcical situation that a club of this size have consistently brought in centre-forwards, either on loan deals or permanently, who are so ill-equipped for what lies in front of them. Temmu Pukki and Amido Baldé look the latest to fall into that category, which also includes Morten Rasmussen, Mo Bangura, Pawel Brozek, Miku and Lassad. The shortcomings of Anthony Stokes are shown up whenever he steps outside the Scottish Premiership.

The simple solution lies in sourcing better value for money rather than automatically assuming Celtic must spend more of it. The appointment of the former Dundee United manager Peter Houston, who has an excellent knowledge of the game, in a scouting role suggests that point is already known.

Should Lennon seek more resource, and he unquestionably will, there is scope from within his current squad in the form of Georgios Samaras and Joe Ledley. Both are on high salaries, out of contract in the summer and have made only tentative noises about remaining at Celtic Park. It should be noted that Celtic have done far more for the careers of both than vice-versa. Neither is likely to play for as big a club again.

Samaras offered his latest, dreadful display, both in an attacking and defensive sense, against Barcelona. When relied upon in Europe this season, the Greece international has proved to be a luxury Celtic could not afford. Ledley, although earlier troubled by injury, also flatters to deceive.

The captain Scott Brown enjoys lording it over opponents on the Scottish domestic scene. When he steps into a bigger pond, however, his limitations are often exposed. Brown undermined both his manager's faith and his team's European hopes with an act of gross stupidity to earn a sending off against Barcelona in Glasgow. Little that has happened since suggests the midfielder has learned a behavioural lesson; he should no longer be regarded as an indispensable Celtic asset.

When they return to domestic action on Saturday, it will be to a league in which they lie seven points clear after 14 matches. In their last two outings in Scotland Celtic have scored 12 goals and conceded none. The Premiership champions are yet to lose a game in a league which cannot even attract a title sponsor.

Scotland's other participants in European competition this season – St Johnstone, Motherwell and Hibernian – were eliminated to varying degrees of embarrassment in the qualifying rounds. Celtic operate in a different stratosphere, in a football and non-football sense, to Scotland's other clubs.

If the automatic conclusion some would jump to is that the return of Rangers to the top flight is necessary to stimulate competition, that would be simplistic. A duopoly offers little improvement to a monopoly after all.

What is without question is that the Scotland scene was afforded a wave of positive attention last season, when Lennon took his team to the Champions League's knockout phase. Few commentators recognised Celtic's progress as actually unrepresentative of the Scottish scene.

This time round, those observers are entitled to bemoan Celtic's lack of progress. Quite the opposite has, in fact, occurred. Going by his post-match comments on Wednesday, Lennon instantly recognised a defining moment.

Ewan Murray

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The Fiver | Galatasaray's answer to Mr Plow

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 07:52 AM PST

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A COMPLETELY ARBITRARY NUMBER OF THINGS THE FIVER LEARNED FROM BIG CUP GROUP STAGES

1) Galatasaray's answer to Mr Plow from the Simpsons deserves an extra large Christmas bonus. With an hour of the match to be played after the first attempt to be abandoned, his decision to drive his tractor all over the half of the sodden pitch Juventus would be playing into for 45 minutes was a stroke of genius. Juve officials were suitably angry afterwards, probably because it's one of the very few bits of chicanery and skulduggery they've never had the gumption to think of.

2) Not for the first time in his career, YouTube sensation and notorious big game bottler Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed himself up for the charlatan most right-thinking folk he is by failing to impress against an English team. Conclusive evidence, if any more were needed, that the man is a fraud despite his eight goals against Benfica, Olympiakos and Anderlecht.

3) Speaking of Zlatan, you just know he'll be radged off that Cristiano Ronaldo got nine.

4) Milan have clearly signed a pact with the devil. Zenit St Petersburg advance to the last 16 of Big Cup with six points, while Napoli crash out with twice that amount and Juventus somehow manage to get eliminated at the expense of a team with a goal difference of -6. So who gets every cent of the money for Italian teams that make it though to the knockout stages? The worst Italian team in the competition, that's who.

5) Queen's Celtic fans are very quick to complain about the lack of coverage afforded to their team by the anti-Scottish London-based media when they beat Ajax, but have little to say when they get slaughtered 6-1 by a Barcelona side whose players are quite literally tripping over each other to score. Then laughing about it.

6) Sky Sports need to make more of an effort to advertise those matches played in eastern Europe that kick off early, rather than just sticking them on, mumbling something about it on their news channel and hoping a few die-hard nerds take two hours off from writing their heat-map blogs to tune in. The Fiver's lost count of the number of times it's been watching nonsense like Pointless or Neighbours, only to discover we could have been enjoying a Big Cup humdinger instead. Perhaps the good people at Sky are too busy pondering what to put in the equivalent slot come 2015.

7) Lauren's old feelings for Brad have begun to stir, while Rhythm of my Heart was a very surprising Pointless answer for the topic: "Rod Stewart UK Top 40 Singles".

8) If a man is walking with his son and his donkey, the first person will come along and say: "Why don't you put your son on the donkey?" So he puts his son on the donkey, and a second person meets him and says: "Why aren't you sitting on the donkey, too?" Every decision you make, someone criticises. It is best to stick with what you know.

9) When writing a list of things you learned from an evening's Big Cup action in its immediate aftermath, don't be surprised or irritated when people posting comments on the bottom half of the internet complain that you neglected to mention several of the matches that were played. It is in no way unreasonable of them to demand that you be aware of everything noteworthy that occurred during eight football matches that were all played at the same time.

11) Like Manuel Pellegrini, the Fiver can't count either.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The manager was out of order. I praised him for his team's performance and with their conduct on the bench, if it was Steve Evans and his staff, I have no doubt there would have been action taken" – Rotherham boss Steve Evans gets his third person on in a tiff with Fleetwood Town counterpart Graham Alexander, after the Millers' Freight Rover Trophy defeat.

FIVER LETTERS – STILL WITH PRIZES

"After the retort offered by Arthur Virgilio – mayor of Manaus – to British reports of his city as a 'murderous hell-hole' (yesterday's Quote of the Day), can I please propose a Sideshow Bob-esque riposte – on behalf of the wider British media – of, simply: 'cheerfully withdrawn'?" – Kyle Barber.

"Manaus appears to be getting a bit of a metaphorical kicking these days, courtesy of Mr Roy and the media. So I thought I'd attempt to redress the balance, using this clip of Monty Don's visit to the city. I'm sure that, should any fans attending next year's match against Italy be concerned about poisonous snakes and falling spiders (an assumption that is also often erroneously applied to my current home town of Melbourne too), they're likely to find it just as pleasant as the green-fingered housewive's favourite did" – Tim Grey.

"Silly old Manchester City (yesterday's Fiver). Thinking that they had to beat Bayern by three goals, eh? Where did they get that stupid idea? Probably from reading the Fiver before the match ('If they are to top their Big Cup group and increase their chances of getting a favourable draw in the next stage, they must beat Bayern Munich away. By three goals.'). Perhaps the Fiver could use its power over its readership to engage in more mind games and its non-athletic readers could have an occasional laugh" – Simon Hannaford (and 1,056 others).

• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver. Today's winner of our letter o'the day is: Kyle Barber, who wins a signed(!) copy of Sid Lowe's Fear and Loathing in La Liga. We've got one more copy to give away tomorrow, so if you haven't been lucky thus far, keep trying.

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

We keep trying to point out the utter futility of advertising an online dating service "for interesting people" in the Fiver to the naive folk who run Guardian Soulmates, but they still aren't having any of it. So here you go – sign up here to view profiles of the kind of erudite, sociable and friendly romantics who would never dream of going out with you.

BITS AND BOBS

Is Ashley Young sorry for diving? What do you think? "The referees have made decisions and that's it … they're the ones who are giving free-kicks and penalties. I don't take notice of the headlines," he sniffed.

Meanwhile, in a damning indictment on a nation's male population, diving's Didier Drogba has been named GQ's Man of the Year in Turkey.

Barcelona have announced a new deal with Intel whereby the tech company will sponsor the inside of their shirts.

Milan chief suit Adriano Galliani claims the club has agreed a deal to sign Japan striker and free agent Keisuke Honda. "Honda will be a Milan player from 3 January," he beamed.

"I still don't think we have a clear system. Most of the time it looks like 4-3-3 but sometimes it's very offensive and sometimes it's not" – Gus Poyet confirms that it was probably his man-management skills that got him the Sunderland job.

Blackeye Rovers have given DJ Campbell time off after he was bailed this week over his arrest in a spot-fixing investigation.

And Spurs' Vlad Chiriches has been fast-tracked back from knee-knack in time to face Liverpool on Sunday thanks to medical bods' use of 'blood spinning', which sounds Frankensteinian and really dodgy but isn't, apparently.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

One hundred Hakan Sukur goals, seven sublime 1987 goals and Chilean chaos feature in this week's Classic YouTube.

STILL WANT MORE?

Scott Murray and Tom Bryant pick out the best and worst from Big Cup's group stage.

Argentina is set for a final-day league cliffhanger, reports Jonathan Wilson.

James Milner's mastery for Manchester City makes mockery of mediocre image, writes Barney Ronay.

Remembering a Serie A classic: Ronaldo v Baggio from 1997.

Oh, and if it's your thing, you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace.

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DON HOWE DID WHAT?

Barry Glendenning

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