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Manchester City's Joe Hart will return to subs' bench against Arsenal
Jamie Jackson on the Etihad fortress
Mourinho: trophyless season possible
Arsène Wenger: Arsenal must go on the offensive at Manchester City
Roberto Martínez believes Arsène Wenger's criticism was 'a compliment'
Rodgers could make Suárez captain
Old boys like Keane are right to criticise United, admits Moyes
Arsenal is a 'life and death' game
Joe Allen rises above derby downer to show his worth for Liverpool
Lewis Holtby claims Tottenham have self-belief back for Liverpool game
Interactive: How does your team's home record compare to Manchester City?
Pardew hails lean, mean Lambert
Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj wants to spend whole career at club
Arsenal supporters dismayed at 3% season ticket price hike for 2014
Gus Poyet tells Sunderland 'I am realistic and I accept the challenge'
Three AFC Hayes players handed lengthy bans for breaching betting laws
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Squad sheets
Manchester City v Arsenal: Squad sheets
Who was responsible for Lloyds' crass bonus scheme? Don't ask the FCA | Nils Pratley
Celtic urge 'small minority' of fans to behave after another Uefa fine
From chessboxing to conspiracies: our favourite things online this week
Chelsea v Crystal Palace: Squad sheets
Aston Villa v Manchester United: Squad sheets
Hull City v Stoke City: Squad sheets
West Ham United v Sunderland: Squad sheets

Manchester City's Joe Hart will return to subs' bench against Arsenal

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 03:30 PM PST

• Costel Pantilimon to retain place in Premier League
• Hart played against Bayern Munich in Champions League

Joe Hart faces fresh disappointment as Costel Pantilimon is set to be selected by Manuel Pellegrini for Manchester City's pivotal Premier League meeting with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday's early kick-off.

Hart was demoted to second-choice goalkeeper following the error that allowed Chelsea's Fernando Torres to score a late winner at Stamford Bridge on 27 October.

The 26-year-old played in City's 3-2 Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening. But with Pellegrini resting some of his first-choice players, as City had already qualified for the group stages, Hart's inclusion did not necessarily denote a recall to the Chilean's strongest XI.

Pellegrini did consider reinstating Hart for the visit of Arsenal but it is understood that by Friday evening he was again leaning towards retaining Pantilimon who, since his promotion, has appeared comfortable in the role.

When asked at his pre-Arsenal press conference whether Pellegrini would choose Hart to face the leaders, he would not be drawn. "We will see [on Saturday] the 11 starters. We'll see when is the best moment to bring him [Hart] back," said the manager. "Costel deserves respect. He is doing very well and the team are winning almost all the games. We have two goalkeepers and we'll see when is the best moment he can return."

Jamie Jackson

Jamie Jackson on the Etihad fortress

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 03:19 PM PST

Blues take on leaders with a 100% home record this season
• Compare different teams' home strengths on our datablog

The Etihad Stadium has become English football's unyielding fortress. Since the start of the 2011-12 season Manchester City have won 87% of Premier League matches at their stronghold and lost just two. They average 2.69 points and 2.78 goals per game. The blizzard of statistics that confirm Eastlands as a graveyard for visiting sides continues with the 125 goals City have scored and the mere 29 they have conceded in the 45 league games in two and half years.

As Arsenal arrive for Saturday's lunchtime kick-off to try to emulate what only Norwich City and Manchester United have managed the past two years – hand City a home defeat – Arsène Wenger tries to dismiss the Etihad's mystique.

"It makes you less nervous before the game because the history of the results go for you," the Frenchman says of the spring that the sequence puts in the steps of Manuel Pellegrini's players. "But in big games that doesn't count too much. On the big games it is more focused on the day, less on what you have done before. You have to prepare to be at your best."

Roberto Mancini built the citadel in Manchester's blue zone before his sacking last season and Pellegrini continues to fortify it with this campaign's record of a perfect seven wins, 29 goals scored and just two conceded.

The Chilean is clear why City are irresistible at home. "Firstly because we have a style of play which is important for the players we have," he says. "We have important creative players and the way we play allows them to score goals – have more chances to score. So important players don't miss so many chances at home."

Away their record is less convincing. City lost four of their opening six matches before the victory at West Bromwich Albion and draw at Southampton last week, and have scored only 12 times while allowing 13 against them.

To try to explain why Sergio Agüero, Yaya Touré, David Silva, Samir Nasri and Álvaro Negredo can be so muted on the road, Pellegrini says: "Maybe away it is normal not to have the same chances. But we are working to try similarly to how we do at home. That's why it is so important the game we won in Munich [3-2 against Bayern]. It meant we have won the three Champions League games away. You'll see in the Premier League what will happen in the future – we will continue to work and play in our style."

To the non-football aficionado the fillip home turf advantage provides can be a puzzle. Garry Birtles was a member of the Nottingham Forest team that went 42 league games unbeaten, equivalent to a whole season in the First Division era, between November 1977 and November 1978. The record held until Wenger's Arsenal Invincibles went 49 without defeat between May 2003 and October 2004. Twenty-one of Forest's 42 games came on their own patch. Birtles says teams were, simply, intimidated on visiting the City Ground. "Without a doubt. The atmosphere could be very hostile at times. The adrenaline rush that it could give you was tremendous, you could hear the buzz, you didn't know what was going on, a massive buzz around the ground. I think it's a little bit different now to what it was then. Because at that point there was standing, the atmosphere seemed to be more intense, fans closer to the pitch. As players, we fed off that atmosphere.

"The thing was we were playing under a couple of geniuses called [Brian] Clough and [Peter] Taylor and they just gave you so much confidence to go out there and say: 'Right you're the best. Respect your opposition but you're well better than them.' And you went out there thinking you weren't going to get beaten. You just felt you wanted to beat teams, you wanted to beat them badly. You wanted to score as many goals as possible. We always went out there and wanted to inflict as much pain on teams as we possibly could. [Also], I played with some great players."

For Martin Perry, a confidence coach whose clients have included Colin Montgomerie and Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal's performer of the season so far, being successful away from home comforts is all about the mind. He cites basketball's greatest ever player to make the point. "Michael Jordan, when he played for Chicago [Bulls], whenever he travelled he used to have a process where he'd familiarise himself with the arena. Say he was playing in LA, he had a process when he arrived, where basically he would introduce himself to all the staff at the venue – the doormen, the safety advisers – as part of the process of making himself feel at home.

"Then he'd go out on court, generally by himself, way before the game started and talk to the court. He'd say: 'Hello,' to it. He'd visualise plays, he'd see exactly how he'd want [the game] to play out. And when he'd done that he'd sit in the stands and talk to the seats, say hello to them, introduce himself and put himself in the mind of spectator there, imagining someone from LA watching him play.

"What he was doing was taking away the unknown – which if it is a venue you only play in occasionally doesn't have anything like the same familiarity as your home stadium. I'm talking about nervous or sensory impressions, because what's happening is that everything looks different: colours, the advertising, fans, how they're dressed. People sitting in seats are not the same people you see every week in your own ground. Your nervous system is having to take in all those new impressions and process all that information and as a result it uses up energy. So when he performed there, because he wasn't using up nervous energy and felt completely comfortable, his talent could flow.

"That's the principle about home and away. Football teams don't do this. They get out of the coach, and what do they do? They wander on to the pitch with programmes and mobile phones. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Because they're not actually processing it."

Birtles offers an illustration from September 1978 of how Clough's instinctive psychology could combat the difficulties of playing away. "The most hostile experience I've ever had in football was going to Anfield at the peak of Liverpool's powers," he says. "We got there for the second leg of the European Cup. All the Kop used to get there early. Brian Clough said: 'I want you all out on the pitch now, I want you at the end towards the Kop.'

"We could have gone to the other end – it was empty. But we stood on the edge of the box [near the Kop] and the Liverpool fans were throwing oranges and all sorts at us. A tennis ball came on and John Robertson flicked it up and volleyed it into the net and the Kop just rose in applause."

While Forest drew 0-0 to reach the second round, en route to the first of consecutive European Cup triumphs, Wenger knows that City's 2.78 goals-a-game average at the Etihad means Arsenal may have to score three goals to win, as Manchester United and Norwich needed for their victories.

It could make for a riveting spectacle.

Jamie Jackson

Mourinho: trophyless season possible

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 03:01 PM PST

• No trophy would be 'unacceptable' for Chelsea manager
• David Luiz to start against Crystal Palace on Saturday

José Mourinho has raised the prospect of Chelsea finishing the season without a trophy, describing it as "possible" given the intensity of the competition, as he continues to manage the levels of expectation. But the manager admitted that such a scenario would be considered as unacceptable by himself and everyone at the club.

Mourinho has always won something over the course of a full season in managerial charge, if the Spanish Super Cup that he claimed with Real Madrid last season is included, and, to him, it most assuredly should be. His record has been phenomenal since 2002-03 – his first full season at Porto – but he has suggested that his first campaign back at Chelsea may be among the toughest.

"I think it's possible to happen," Mourinho replied, when asked about finishing empty-handed. "We are competing against very important teams. You go to the Champions League and you see what is there and in the three domestic competitions, there are six contenders, or four in the Capital One Cup because others [Arsenal and Liverpool] are out.

"We are in a transitional period but [given] my personal approach, my personal philosophy of life, the nature of the club, the nature we want everybody here to have ... it's not acceptable [to win nothing]. We want to think that is not acceptable. We have to work hard to try for that not to happen."

Mourinho is battling problems at both ends of the pitch, with his defence conceding uncharacteristically sloppy goals and his strikers labouring for cutting edge. He said that Gary Cahill would not play against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as the centre-half risked aggravating a thigh complaint, and so David Luiz will continue alongside the captain, John Terry.

David Luiz returned to the team last Wednesday against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League after five and a half weeks out with a knee problem. "It was the performance of a player that's been out for a long time," Mourinho said, of the Brazilian. "Not perfect but good. As a start, he was fine."

Ashley Cole will return to the substitutes' bench, having started against Steaua, with Mourinho set to recall César Azpilicueta at left-back. He said that Cole would come back in again for Tuesday night's Capital One Cup quarter-final at Sunderland. Mourinho intends to rotate in other areas over the busy Christmas and New Year period.

The Portuguese stressed that this Chelsea squad was in transition, with two groups of players: the younger ones who need time and the older guard who can no longer perform at the highest level for every minute of every match. He noted that a manager's second season at a club is normally better than the first.

"The last manager, [Rafael] Benítez – and this is not a criticism – knew that he was not going to be the manager for the next year," Mourinho said. "He was chasing results and he was not worried about building up a team with a certain style. He knew that he would not be here and went for results, so we didn't have a real base to start with. For many reasons, we knew it needed time and patience."

The Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, is not renowned for patience or his tolerance of managers who do not win trophies The club, who have advanced to the Champions League last 16, are five points behind the Premier League leaders, Arsenal. "Five points is not a drama," Mourinho said. "But eight, nine, 10 and the situation is more complicated."

David Hytner

Arsène Wenger: Arsenal must go on the offensive at Manchester City

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:47 PM PST

• Wenger wants leaders to learn from Napoli loss 'and go again'
• 'No reason to be scared' even though City have 100% record

Arsène Wenger wants to make sure his team have learned the lesson from their last visit to Manchester. Arsenal's only away defeat in the Premier League came in a tepid performance at Old Trafford, and Wenger has urged his team to go to the Etihad, where they face Manchester City on Saturday, with more attacking intent.

"The only blip we had was at Manchester United and people forget that United had two shots on target on the day and they scored a goal off a shoulder from a corner," he recalled. "But on the day, I believe we were not completely ourselves offensively and that's what we want to do better in this game, to be dangerous offensively."

Wenger and his players have watched a recording of the United defeat again. "In the first half it was like: 'Where are they?' But that's what we can learn from the Man United game. It took us one half to be completely ourselves. I think we have learned from that and we will go into the [City] game on full cylinders."

He was encouraged by the way Arsenal regrouped immediately after swallowing a loss, and set off another undefeated stretch. That came to a halt at Napoli in the Champions League this week. "Learn from it and then grow again," he said. "It's what we want to show at City. We learn from it and we go again."

Wenger is hopeful his team can make a powerful statement. Even if the odds are against Arsenal, and fatigue is a concern, his mission is to win away from home at the club with the most intimidating home record in England this season.

"I don't see why you should be scared," said Wenger, who noted that Arsenal have the incentive of being able to open up an eight-point gap on Saturday morning. "Let's not forget as well that if you are in City's position and they lose, then they are nine points behind, so they have more negative pressure than we have. We have a positive pressure that we can make a big difference with them."

He gives the impression that the tension they feel is not heavy, but almost enjoyable and motivating. "Last season when we went to Newcastle on the last day, and we absolutely had to win. If we don't win it will be a disaster," he added. "Today we are in a position where we can look much more at the game in a positive way. There were clouds over the team with the possible elimination in Naples. We can focus completely on the championship now."

In this duel between the division's top scorers and meanest defence, Wenger cites ball possession as a key factor. "We need to make sure we have the ball," he says. "When they have the ball they are dangerous: Silva, Touré, Agüero, Negredo, they have potential to be dangerous. For us it is important we have the ball. The task of the two teams will be to stop the opponent from being dangerous offensively – but not to forget to get forward. We forgot a little bit to project ourselves forward at Man United."

Wenger refused to use the minimal recovery time between arriving back from the Champions League in the early hours of Thursday and travelling to Manchester for the early kick-off as any kind of excuse. The energy to attack when they can is paramount.

Amy Lawrence

Roberto Martínez believes Arsène Wenger's criticism was 'a compliment'

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Arsenal manager was 'frustrated' at being outplayed by Everton
• Warns against dropping standards against lowly Fulham

Roberto Martínez believes Arsène Wenger's criticism of Everton was "a compliment" to his improving side but insisted the Arsenal manager's words do not stand up to scrutiny.

Wenger again accused Everton, after the 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, of adopting an overly physical approach, claiming: "When we got out of the pressure and got into the passing, they stopped us every single time with a foul." But Martínez believes his Arsenal counterpart was merely frustrated, having been outplayed in the first half and unable to extend his lead at the top of the Premier League.

The Everton manager responded: "I see it is a compliment. When you're top of the league and have the chance to extend your lead because of results of the previous day, the disappointment is there to be seen. When you get a team that stops you doing what you want because of defending, being negative and kicking, well we never did that. We had 63% of the possession in the first half. We were very composed in what we were doing and in control of the game.

"We ended up giving away 11 free-kicks, Arsenal gave away 13, so the stats settle any sort of argument on that. But I respect Arsène Wenger too much and I understand sometimes you're caught up in the emotion of the game. We want to be good on the ball but that doesn't mean we are not going to work hard off it. I was very, very pleased in the manner we did that."

Following a hugely encouraging week on their travels at Manchester United and Arsenal, Everton host third-from-bottom Fulham at Goodison Park on Saturday. But Martínez is anxious to avoid complacency creeping in against a team keen to impress their new manager, Rene Meulensteen.

"The timing is very dangerous for us," warned the Everton manager. "We are coming from a real high of The Emirates and Old Trafford and people might think it should be an easy win for the home side. But believe me, Fulham are not the third team from the bottom of this league. I don't think this team is going to be any less difficult than the difficult teams we have faced this season. I really believe that. I will not accept us dropping our standards. We have to be very wary of that."

Andy Hunter

Rodgers could make Suárez captain

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Suárez could take armband from injured Steven Gerrard
• Doubts over recall for vice-captain Daniel Agger

Brendan Rodgers is considering handing the Liverpool captaincy to Luis Suárez when he heads to White Hart Lane without Steven Gerrard on Sunday.

Gerrard is out until January with a hamstring injury suffered against West Ham United and, with vice-captain Daniel Agger uncertain of a recall, the in-form Suárez is in contention to lead Liverpool for the first time in his career.

Glen Johnson took the armband when Gerrard was withdrawn last weekend and Agger will resume the captaincy should he displace Mamadou Sakho in central defence. That is not guaranteed, however, and Rodgers has refused to rule out making Suárez captain just four months after he agitated for a move from Anfield.

"Daniel Agger is fit," the Liverpool manager said. "He didn't train at the start of the week because he was ill, but he has been training now and he's available for selection. We shall see who will be captain."

Asked if Suárez could take the captaincy, Rodgers added: "Would Luis be ready? 100%, absolutely. We will have to wait and see what my decision is at White Hart Lane. You'll see then."

Andy Hunter

Old boys like Keane are right to criticise United, admits Moyes

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Moyes admits performances have not been good enough
• Robin van Persie ruled out for a month with thigh injury

David Moyes has stated that some of the criticism aimed at his Manchester United players by the former captain Roy Keane and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel is correct. The manager also has an ever-deepening injury crisis with the "blow" of Robin van Persie being out for a month with a thigh injury which means United are without six key players, though Moyes denied the Dutchman was rushed back early following a groin problem.

The Scot takes the side to Aston Villa on Sunday, with United having lost their past two league games, to Everton and Newcastle United. They were also unconvincing in Tuesday evening's 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Keane criticised the team at half-time of the Donetsk match for failing to close down space and failing to make tackles, singling out Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Young as individuals whose general play was poor for special mentions.

Schmeichel claimed that Moyes needs to sell "five or six" players. Asked specifically about this comment, who is a club ambassador, the manager said: "The players would be the first to accept that we need to play better and we have to make that happen. I take responsibility. I need to make them play better because I'm the manager and I'll do that.

"Some of what they're [Keane and Schmeichel] saying is correct. There's some of it that's not correct because it's certainly not the [United players'] attitude or effort because they're really trying. I can only tell you every time we've played a game we haven't won, the players have been distraught by it and there's been a real toughness in them to try to put it right."

Moyes also denied Keane's claim that Sir Alex Ferguson still wields power at the club, saying that rather than his predecessor interfering, it is the 49-year-old who asks him for advice. "100%, yeah," said Moyes. "I can pick up the phone to him when I need to, which I do now and again. Obviously we bump into each other because he's a director; we say hello after the games. He doesn't [come to the dressing room]. A lot of the directors do but Alex keeps away from it."

Van Persie suffered his injury while taking a corner during the Shakhtar match. The thigh strain follows niggling groin and toe problems that have disrupted his season. Van Persie's career at his previous club, Arsenal, was injury-blighted before he recovered to be consistently fit in his final campaign. He was also able to play regularly for United last season and Moyes has no concerns about the striker's long-term availability.

"Robin has been great. I know a lot of people have said things [about him being unhappy] but Robin has been fantastic. He has been great to work with, we've looked after him, we've tried to train him and do it the way he needs to work. We've made sure he does that and I'm sure he'd be the first to accept that."

A groin injury ruled Van Persie out for a month following the 1-0 win over Arsenal in early November. Moyes admitted he might have taken the player off earlier during the striker's comeback match, the defeat by Newcastle, but denied the Holland striker was rushed back early. "No, not at all," he said, who introduced Van Persie as a 63rd-minute replacement against Shakhtar as United pushed for the win. "We could have played him [before in that game] but we actually decided not to because I spoke to him and we'd played him probably just too much.

"It's a blow because he's so influential, the goals he's got. If you think about the games that have been tight, even in the last week or so, last year he was the one who was nicking the winner in a lot of those games."

Van Persie's absence means an even greater onus on Wayne Rooney, who will play his 500th career game at Villa. Asked if there is a fear of the England striker burning out, Moyes said: "Strangely enough the idea slipped out of my mind because he'll have to play the games for us and we'll use him as much as we can."

Moyes did admit that, before Van Persie's injury, he might have rested Rooney. "That would have been a consideration for us but obviously not having Robin just now we can't think that way," he said.

Regarding a new deal for Rooney, whose contract expires in 18 months, Moyes added: "The club are comfortable, there are lots of discussions between the club and his representatives so I think that's all fine. I don't see any great panic or great rush."

The manager added that Michael Carrick is still around two weeks away from returning from an achilles problem, with Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra (both with knocks), Marouane Fellaini (back) and Chris Smalling (hamstring) also out.

Jamie Jackson

Arsenal is a 'life and death' game

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Brazilian calls Gunners match a 'life and death game'
• 'Turning point of season was defeat to Sunderland'

Fernandinho knows the stakes as Manchester City welcome Arsenal for Saturday's early game. "I know for us it is a life and death game. We want to win to get to the top," he says of their attempt to cut the deficit to the leaders to three points. "They are the team that has been the most consistent since the start of the season. They have played some excellent games, they have good players and I think we have a huge challenge upon us."

The Brazilian midfielder, signed for £30m in the summer, was in the XI that beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the Champions League holder's backyard on Tuesday evening, an even finer victory considering City were two behind after 12 minutes.

"Our team for about a month or so now has been increasing in confidence and the results have been helping that," he says. "No-one expected us to go to Bayern on Tuesday and beat them. They are European champions. But football is like that - it has these surprises and we might cause another one on Saturday."

Without a title since 2004 Arsenal's credentials are about to be examined with Chelsea next up following City. "Sometimes it is difficult to talk about [the character] of a team that you don't know very well. Maybe they think that way about us as well. But I know they will have some difficult games and of course I hope they lose some of them. I don't know if they have been properly tested yet but we certainly have," says Fernandinho.

If City can dislodge Arsenal over the Christmas period to lead the title hunt they would hope to stay there for the rest of the season. "I hope that is the case. I don't know if it will happen but that is my wish - to get to the top and stay there," he says.

City boast a 100% league record at the Etihad Stadium, the venue where they have experienced only two league defeats since August 2011. Yet the four losses in the first six away games has left their challenge stuttering. After the 1-0 loss at Sunderland a month ago stern words were exchanged.

Fernandinho says: "Our team has been playing much better recently. The turning point was the defeat to Sunderland. After that we changed a few things and since then we have been playing well. We have achieved a few good wins and I think on Saturday we will put in a good performance. Everyone knows that every game in England is a huge game. But when you lose a match against the team that is bottom of the league [as Sunderland were], everyone knows something must change. Each one of us has changed, and that can be seen from the outside.

"We have excellent players and an excellent manager and we only needed a strong chat between us for things to change, and that was what it was all about."

Even the instinctively reticent Pellegrini rates a City squad containing Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Alvaro Negredo, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri as the division's strongest.

Fernandinho concurs. "I agree with the manager's opinion," he says. "I think we are getting close to it now. We are trying to perform in every game the best we can and I think we are very close to achieving that consistency of performance in every match. I think once we get that, we will be there or thereabouts."

Of his move from Shakhtar Donetsk to City, Fernandinho, 28, says: "We all know the Premier League is a competitive league and that every game is competitive. That was something I didn't have in my eight years in Ukraine, so I had to prove to myself I was able to play in a huge competition like this, and I think I made the right choice. Since I arrived here it has been well above my expectation. This is exactly what I was hoping for."

The former Atlético Paranaense player has five international caps though has not featured for Brazil since last year. To make Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad for the World Cup in his homeland would be a dream, although the midfielder might not be so welcome in Manaus – the Amazon city which host's England first group match against Italy. "The city has never had a Premier League team. I remember about 10 years ago the national team played there once. But the city doesn't have any football history," he says. "Manaus has got nothing in relation to Brazilian football history."

Unlike Fernandinho, who is starting to write himself into the annals of his new club.

Jamie Jackson

Joe Allen rises above derby downer to show his worth for Liverpool

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

Midfielder has acclimatised to pressure of being at Anfield and insisted he was not affected by bad miss against Everton

Times have changed since the erratic Everton striker Mickaël Madar was pinned to a dressing-room wall after missing an open goal at Anfield, and spent the rest of the night in a bar where an irate supporter repeated; "Ball. Goal. Ball in goal. Understand?" But there remains nowhere to hide after a glaring error in a Merseyside derby, as Joe Allen discovered last month at Goodison Park. He concedes: "A lot of people probably wrote me off the second that game finished."

To recap, and with apologies to the genuinely decent Liverpool midfielder, the visitors were leading 2-1 when Luis Suárez beat three blue shirts on the edge of the area and the ball broke for the unmarked Allen. Time and Everton defenders stood still as he side-footed beyond Tim Howard but also wide of the post, earning an earful from Suárez, a booking and finally the hook from his manager within the next eight minutes.

The breathtaking derby ended 3-3 and with many questioning how the Wales international would recover from the latest setback in his short Liverpool career. The answer has been brief but encouraging, two assured displays in the heavy Anfield defeats of Norwich City and West Ham United, with the 23-year-old's resolve also demonstrated in his analysis of that Goodison moment.

"It was something that would have affected me in the past but, in all honesty, it didn't really affect me too much," Allen says. "I understood the significance of it. It was a pivotal moment in a massive game and there is no hiding from that. But I understood it was a miss and it happens in football. I would have been more disappointed if it had been a terrible performance for the team.

"The only disappointment I had was whether it would affect my chances of selection, and luckily it hasn't. I've had an opportunity to get straight back out there soon after, which was important, and it hasn't knocked my confidence in a way people probably expected."

Allen's philosophical approach and improved confidence reveals plenty about the difficulties of swapping his boyhood club, Swansea City, for the pressures of being a £15m player at Liverpool. Adapting to Brendan Rodgers' passing style was never going to be an issue for the Liverpool manager's former charge at the Liberty Stadium. Adapting to the scrutiny, however, was a different matter.

"In the 18 months I've been here that is probably the side of football I have improved a lot," the midfielder admits. "Being at a club like Liverpool you understand that the scrutiny and the pressure is probably 10 times greater than at certain other places and you have to learn to deal with that. That has been a positive thing for me and that is why I was so excited to get back out there playing straight away. I didn't affect my confidence as I think it would have done in the past. That is down to myself and others at the club who help you in that regard."

The "others" at Liverpool include Dr Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist involved in Britain's cycling success story, whom Rodgers hired last November to help players with their "mental tuning". Allen adds: "We are very lucky at this club to have someone like him available to us and he is someone I've looked to use. To overcome something like that miss has been 18 months in the making. Obviously I was hugely disappointed after the game, but it's happened and there's nothing I can do about it now. The best response is to get out there and show it hasn't affected me."

Allen particularly impressed against West Ham last weekend and heads to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday insisting: "We are probably a run of good away results from really turning the corner and taking this team to a new level." In the maelstrom of the derby it was overlooked that Rodgers lamented: "We never kept the ball and needed to control the game better," in the final 20 minutes – when Allen was off the pitch. With Steven Gerrard injured for a demanding festive period the responsibility on Liverpool's available central midfielders will intensify.

"That's natural when you lose an inspirational figure and the leader of the team," Allen says. "We have to see it as an opportunity to come to the fore. We will have to show leadership amongst ourselves without Stevie out there. Obviously it is a massive blow for us to lose Stevie, he is a key player for us and our leader, but this is the reason you try to build a strong squad. People have got to step up and show we are able to cope with that loss."

White Hart Lane marks the start of three December away fixtures that could shape Liverpool's Champions League qualification credentials, the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge completing the set. Allen's improved self-belief extends to a top-four finish this season. "It is certainly realistic," he states. "As players you have to set your sights right up there and believe you can do it. We do. We can beat anyone with the players we've got here.

"That's enough evidence to show we can get in there. At the start of the season you would have looked at this period in the fixture list and thought it will be challenging. But we've got a base now of good performances and good victories and we have the momentum and confidence to come out of this period with some very good results."

Andy Hunter

Lewis Holtby claims Tottenham have self-belief back for Liverpool game

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Manchester City nightmare is history, he adds
• Spurs win would see them level with the Reds

Lewis Holtby believes Tottenham's self-belief is back after their emphatic defeat at Manchester City a fortnight ago, with André Villas-Boas' squad confident of overcoming Liverpool on Sunday in a "massive, massive game".

Spurs' 4–1 victory over Anzhi in the Europa League on Thursday secured a fourth win in five matches, and three points against Liverpool at White Hart Lane would see them go level with their opponents in the Premier League.

Holtby, who scored a fine effort against Anzhi, insisted that the result at City is history and that Spurs are close to returning to top form. Asked what has changed in the past two weeks, the German midfielder said: "I think the belief in ourselves and the way we want to play. The momentum we have now, that winning streak, these good performances in the last two weeks, we have to show it against a big side like Liverpool, especially at home. If we win that game we could bounce maybe to second or third place, and that's what we're aiming for. Now it's on to us to handle that pressure."

Tottenham have beaten Sunderland and Fulham and drawn with Manchester United since their 6-0 capitulation at Eastlands.

Holtby added: "We played against Man United at home, where we had a lot of pressure on us, had a good result but unfortunately we didn't win that game. Then we got two difficult games against teams who sit with their backs to the wall, had very tough times. It wasn't easy to win both away games but we did that. Now we are ready to play Liverpool, but we have to do the talking on the pitch."

James Riach

Interactive: How does your team's home record compare to Manchester City?

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

Using the interactive below, select your team from the drop down menu to see how they compare to Manchester City for points per game and the number of goals scored. To see your team's performance at a glance, click on the box under the club name and it will highlight the specific data for the team in the main table

George Arnett

Pardew hails lean, mean Lambert

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST

• Former Saints manager says striker's ability never in doubt
• 'But he liked a pint and a pie and I had long chats with him'

It is more than four years since Alan Pardew paid Bristol Rovers £1m to sign Rickie Lambert for his then League One Southampton side.

Fast forward to the present day and Lambert, who turns 32 in February, is not only a key element of Southampton's Premier League attack but seems set to be part of England's World Cup squad next summer.

"I think Rickie will go to Brazil," said Pardew, now in charge of a Newcastle United team aiming to prevent Lambert and friends from scoring at St James' Park on Saturday. "I never believed Rickie was too old to make it. His technical ability was always immense but he's certainly improved since I had him."

There was a reason why Lambert spent so much of his career in lower league and non-league habitats. "I think he would admit that perhaps his lifestyle let him down a little bit and he liked a pint and a pie," said Pardew. "I had a couple of long chats with him about it. I remember saying: 'I've just paid £1m for you. I've put my neck on the line a little bit here at this level; you better get that in order.'

"But we had a good sports science team at Southampton and that helped him. I'm not sure he was getting the right guidance before and maybe there were people who were a bit loose round him. He certainly looks a meaner, finer-looking specimen now as a player than he did even when he was with me. I've heard he still has a large collection of friends but I think now he just gives them money and sends them into the pub while he stands outside with the crisps."

Pardew, though, could always see beyond the slightly dodgy friends and ill-advised "refuelling" habits. "Rickie was a natural goalscorer," he said. "When I scouted him he scored with his left foot, his right foot and his head. There wasn't any weakness. He's the closest player I've had to Dean Ashton, who's the best striker I've worked with, and I've worked with a few good 'uns. He is up there in terms of technical ability.

"Back then I never thought he'd play for England but I did tell him he could get to the Premier League. I'd managed there with West Ham. I'd coached Carlos Tevez and Dean Ashton and I thought he could definitely have played in my West Ham team."

Now Newcastle's manager hopes to cheer his old protégé on in June. "If Rickie plays in Brazil, I'll certainly be having a glass of beer and toasting him," he said. "If he scores, I'll be jumping around the room."

Louise Taylor

Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj wants to spend whole career at club

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 12:46 PM PST

• 'If I could play all my life at Manchester United I would'
• Januzaj wants to move into No10 role

Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj has claimed he wants to stay at Old Trafford for the remainder of his career.

Januzaj has broken into the first-team this season and has become one of the few bright spots in David Moyes's troubled first few months at the club.

The 18-year-old has already been rewarded with a new five-year contract and made his Champions League debut in Tuesday's victory over Shakhtar Donetsk. And despite United's present problems, Januzaj has a long-term plan that revolves around remaining at Old Trafford.

"My first opinion was to sign for Manchester United," Januzaj told MUTV. "It was my first choice and I have signed for them. I am happy here. If I could play all my life at Manchester United I would do it for the club."

Moyes has largely been using Januzaj in wide positions. However, the youngster eventually feels he will move into a more advanced role.

"My best position is behind the striker as a No10," he said. "I always used to play there when I was really young. I can also play on the wings and I always do my best. I would do that even if it was at left-back. It is my job. But No10 is the position I always wanted to play."

For now though he just wants to make the most of his opportunities. Scoring twice on his first Premier League start at Sunderland in October was not a bad way to make his mark, however Januzaj understands there is much still to do – especially when he has set his goals so high.

"My parents always told me to stay on my feet and keep working for myself and, if I can, try to be the best player in the world," he said. "Football is not about age. If you are good enough to play, you have to play.

"The boss gave me a chance and I couldn't have asked for more than to score two goals on my debut. I was really happy with those goals. Now I have to continue and score more if I can because I have to prove I can play at first-team level."

Arsenal supporters dismayed at 3% season ticket price hike for 2014

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 12:44 PM PST

• Independent Supporters Association calls for talks
• Club points out rise is only third in nine seasons

The Arsenal Independent Supporters Association has expressed disappointment over the club's announcement to increase tickets prices for next season.

A club statement from the Premier League leaders on Friday evening confirmed the 3% increase "in line with inflation" for next season.

AISA's chair, Lois Langton, hopes the club will continue their dialogue over freezing the cost of season-ticket renewals, some of which can cost £1,900, with a decision yet to be confirmed either way.

"AISA has always been committed to securing affordable ticket prices for supporters which has resulted in some positive developments in recent seasons, including the introduction of the Young Guns enclosure and Category C tickets. Whilst it is the case that this is only the third ticket price increase in the last nine years, the announcement will be met with disappointment by many supporters," Langton said.

"AISA believes that it is vital that football, both at the Emirates Stadium and at away grounds, is accessible to as many supporters as possible.

"AISA will continue its dialogue with the club with regard to freezing of season ticket prices for the 2014-15 season, in respect of which an announcement has not yet been made, and will also continue to campaign for reductions across the league in away ticket prices."

Arsenal's statement highlighted no increases for some concession tickets at the 60,000-seater stadium.

The club statement read: "Arsenal Football Club has announced it will be increasing its ticket prices by 3%, in line with inflation, next season.

"It will be only the third across-the-board increase on prices in the nine seasons the club will have been at Emirates Stadium.

"Prices within the Family or Young Guns Enclosure for Team JGs (four to 11 years) and Young Guns (12 to 16 years) to attend B and C category matches will remain unchanged at £10.

"Season ticket holders' individual prices will be communicated at the time of renewal. Renewals for Club Level season tickets will begin in February."

In January 2013 Manchester City returned some 912 unsold tickets for their travelling fans at the Emirates Stadium, which had been set at £62 by Arsenal.

Gus Poyet tells Sunderland 'I am realistic and I accept the challenge'

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 12:25 PM PST

• Manager admits he is not enjoying life at present
• Next two games could reveal light at end of tunnel

Gus Poyet has acknowledged he is enduring the toughest challenge of his football career at Sunderland but is determined to prove equal to it.

The Uruguayan's side travel to West Ham United on Saturday five points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table. "I've never experienced anything like this," said Poyet, who criticised his players after last weekend's home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. "But I've accepted the challenge and now I am not going to hide. I have got no problems.

"It's not enjoyable; at the moment I'm not really enjoying my life but it's the way it is. I am trying to make sure I can enjoy life in a few weeks' time – that would be nice."

After collecting one point from their past four games, the visit to a vulnerable West Ham followed by a home date with Norwich have assumed real importance but Sunderland's manager is endeavouring to maintain a sense of perspective as he attempts to choreograph a great escape.

"We need to control the emotions, be realistic and accept the challenge," said Poyet. "But at the same time not go over the line because, if so, somebody will die, will have a heart attack and it will be a shame."

Louise Taylor

Three AFC Hayes players handed lengthy bans for breaching betting laws

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 11:32 AM PST

• Lawrence Shennan received longest penalty of two years
• All three players admitted multiple breaches of FA rules

Three players from the non-league side AFC Hayes have received bans after admitting multiple breaches of betting regulations.

Lawrence Shennan was suspended for two years, Ben Goode for one year and Chevy Hart, who is no longer with the Southern Football League club, was banned for four months by a Football Association independent regulatory commission.

The sanctions for Shennan and Goode have been set aside following a request by the players to receive the written reasons before deciding whether they will appeal.

The three players breached rules by betting on competitions in which Hayes was involved, which is strictly against FA rules, and were also fined.

The bans come days after the National Crime Agency arrested six people including Blackburn striker DJ Campbell as part of an investigation into spot-fixing in football, but it is understood there is no evidence to suggest match-fixing took place in the case of the Hayes trio.

Shennan was fined £580.20, which includes the £330.20 net profit made from the bets, Goode was fined £606.42, which includes the £456.42 net profit, and Hart, £145.65, which includes the £45.65 net profit.

The FA said in a statement: "Following an independent regulatory commission hearing, suspensions from all football activity totalling three years and four months have been given to three AFC Hayes players after they admitted multiple breaches of the FA's betting rules."

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 11:06 AM PST

Only three points separate Tottenham from Liverpool as second travel to sixth. Spurs have been frugal at home this season, with only Aston Villa scoring fewer goals in front of their own fans, but consecutive away wins have healed the wound of their calamitous loss at Manchester City. Liverpool have not won away from home since September, and are looking to end a hoodoo that has seen them lose their last five games at White Hart Lane. James Dutton

Kick-off Sunday 4pm

Venue White Hart Lane

Last season Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1

Live Sky Sports 1

Referee J Moss

This season G8, Y30, R1, 4.00 cards per game

Odds H 6-4 A 2-1 D 12-5

Tottenham Hotspur

Subs from Friedel, Gomes, Naughton, Fryers, Capoue, Kaboul, Lamela, Sigurdsson, Eriksen, Townsend, Holtby, Defoe, Adebayor, Kane

Doubtful Kaboul (thigh), Chiriches (knee)

Injured Vertonghen (ankle, Jan)

Suspended None

Form WWDLLD

Discipline Y27 R0

Leading scorer Soldado 4

Liverpool

Subs from Jones, Agger, Cissokho, Touré, Kelly, Aspas, Moses, Alberto, Ibe, Ilori, Yesil, Sinclair, Morgan

Doubtful None

Injured Gerrard (hamstring, Jan), Sturridge (ankle, Jan), José Enrique (knee, Feb), Coates (knee, Mar)

Suspended None

Form WWLDWL

Discipline Y22 R0

Leading scorer Suárez 15

Manchester City v Arsenal: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 11:01 AM PST

The day's early match sees Manchester City, buoyed by their midweek win at Bayern Munich, looking to turn over the Premier League leaders. If either of these teams can claim victory they will lay down the clearest marker yet of where the championship might end up in May. And, as both managers send their teams out to play high-tempo stuff, this should definitely be an exciting contest. Jamie Jackson

Kick-off Saturday 12.45pm

Venue Etihad Stadium

Last season Man City 1 Arsenal 1

Live BT Sport 1

Referee M Atkinson

This season G10, Y30, R0, 3.00 cards per game

Odds H 5-6 A 18-5 D 14-5

Manchester City

Subs from Hart, Wright, García, Rodwell, Milner, Guidetti, Jovetic, Navas, Boyata, Dzeko, Lescott

Doubtful None

Injured Clichy (foot, 21 Dec), Nastastic (leg, 28 Dec), Richards (hamstring, unknown)

Suspended None

Form DWWWLW

Discipline Y24 R0

Leading scorer Agüero 12

Arsenal

Subs from Fabianski, Viviano, Vermaelen, Monreal, Frimpong, Rosicky, Wilshere, Gnabry, Jenkinson, Walcott, Bendtner, Park, Akpom

Doubtful Sagna (hamstring)

Injured Podolski (match fitness, 21 Dec), Ox-Chamberlain (knee, Jan), Sanogo (back, Jan), Diaby (knee, Mar)

Suspended None

Form DWWWLW

Discipline Y22 R2

Leading scorer Ramsey 8

Who was responsible for Lloyds' crass bonus scheme? Don't ask the FCA | Nils Pratley

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 10:52 AM PST

Despite dishing out a £28m mis-selling fine, the Financial Conduct Authority doesn't seem interested in accountability

Two questions stand out from this week's £28m slap on the wrist for Lloyds Banking Group. First, how could anybody of seniority at Lloyds in 2010 or 2011 have thought it a good idea to threaten staff with demotion if they didn't meet a quota for stuffing customers with investment products? Second, why doesn't the Financial Conduct Authority think it important to find out who at the bank approved and encouraged a crass incentive scheme that also offered "grand in the hand" bonuses to super-salesmen?

Remember the context. In late 2009 Lloyds, freshly bailed-out by the state, had completed its takeover of HBOS. It was a moment to impose common standards on the new banking beast and recognise that those newly minted pledges about treating customers fairly would require a dose of caution.

Yet managers in January 2010 introduced revamped schemes that offered pots of gold and promotion to salesmen who helped to meet group targets, and threatened the lazy and the scrupulous with demotion and pay cuts. A 10-year-old could have spotted the danger that mis-selling would follow.

By March 2011 the bank had yet another prompt to examine itself. António Horta-Osório had arrived as chief executive and, in almost his first act, declared that Lloyds' past mis-selling of payment protection insurance, or PPI, was a grave wrong that had to be put right. So best to ensure the same thing couldn't happen again, right?

Not exactly – or not immediately. The incentives farce ran until March 2012. The only relief, from Lloyds' point of view, is that the stock market rose and most of the equity-based products did well. Thus the bill for redress should be modest. In that regard, Lloyds was lucky.

"The findings do not make pleasant reading," said Tracey McDermott, the FCA's director of enforcement and financial crime. Yes, but your analysis is not impressive either. The FCA doesn't seem interested in identifying who at Lloyds ordered, or approved, the absurd incentives. In a 35-page report, no names are mentioned. The closest the regulator comes to acknowledging that decisions are taken by people is this passage: "Retail Finance had overall responsibilty for the process, including reviewing and challenging the sales plan and approving the final sales targets. This was subject to supervision and approval by senior management and relevant committees."

Senior management? Relevant committees? What does that mean? Is Helen Weir, head of retail banking until 2011 and now finance director at John Lewis, ultimately responsible? Should Archie Kane, head of the insurance side, carry some of the blame? How about former chief executive Eric Daniels?

Was Horta-Osório, having spotted the seriousness of the PPI scandal, at fault for not ordering an immediate review on incentives in March 2011? Should chairman Sir Win Bischoff have intervened? Did the non-executives on the remuneration committee, led by Anthony Watson, bother to explore incentives outside the boardroom?

Don't ask the FCA or Lloyds, it seems. Instead, shareholders, and the outside world, will have to wait until next spring to learn whose bonuses for 2010, if anybody's, Lloyds claws back. Weir, for example, may still have about £300,000 outstanding from her 2010 award.

In an era when it is agreed that greater boardroom accountability is an important way to make banks behave better, the Lloyds tale is a classic case of responsibility being lost in the wind. The same applies to the £28m fine that Lloyds accurately says "is not expected to have a material impact on the group". Feeble.

RSA chief quits

Farewell Simon Lee, we hardly knew you. Two years into the job, the chief executive of RSA has had to walk the plank. There can be no complaints: three profit warnings in six weeks, a dividend in peril (again) and the emergency dispatch of £135m across the Irish Sea requires a resignation.

RSA's shares have plunged almost to levels seen a decade ago, when investors were wondering whether the old Royal Insurance and Sun Alliance could ever be successfully welded together. Asbestos claims and a weak stock market didn't help either.

Andy Haste, Lee's predecessor and boss, completed the welding job and, in 2010, confidence was so high that he could make a cheeky approach to Aviva to buy its non-life business. That now seems a long time ago. After the surge in Irish whiplash claims, plus alleged "accounting irregularities" in the Irish unit, RSA is definitely a seller, not a buyer of businesses. That's what "optimising the group's business portfolio", as chairman Martin Scicluna puts it, means.

A radical remedy would see one of the crown jewels – the Canadian and Scandinavian divisions – depart. Or perhaps RSA's need for capital can be met with minor disposals plus a rights issue and a dividend cut. A rights issue is "not our current plan", says Scicluna, keeping his options open.

At this stage, that's the only possible position to adopt. Scicluna, thrust into an executive role, first has to get to the bottom of the crisis in Ireland, still a mystery to shareholders. Then he has to determine how much capital RSA requires and find a chief executive. It's a long to-do list.

If would-be bidders for RSA emerge along the way, one suspects shareholders will demand that Scicluna talk to them. Investors are understandably weary.

Manchester United going down

Would you say Manchester United, the New York-listed company, is worth 20% more than it was a year ago? Minus a long-serving managerial genius, and with the club standing 9th in the Premier League, it is hard to understand why the shares trade at $17, (about £10) versus the $14 at which the Glazer family sold a 10% stake in August last year.

United may yet scramble into a top-four slot this season, ensuring qualification for next year's Champions League, which is where the big bucks are earned. But, even if they do, it's obvious that a hefty bill will have to be paid in the transfer market to improve the squad.

In the age of Gareth Bale, for whom Real Madrid paid £85m, being a forced buyer of top-end footballing talent is not a comfortable position. The Glazers have paid down a lot of debt since their leveraged buyout in 2005, but the company was still carrying net borrowings of £300m at the end of June this year.

Hedge funds, such as Odey, are taking short positions in the shares. There are no open goals in the shorting game, but this one looks attractive. United's stock market value is $2.78bn (£1.7bn). When total revenues are just £400m-ish, and staff routinely consume half, the valuation looks too rich for a business facing a major capital expenditure programme.

Turbulent airports commissioner

Get ready for another round of the great runway debate. It should be worth watching because Sir Howard Davies, head of the airports commission, may have an opinion that ministers, and the Mayor of London, do not like.

Davies will unveil his interim report on Tuesday. As a rule, interim reports skirt around their subject and leave everything up for grabs. Davies may not play ball. He seems determined to advance only a few options for a new runway or runways.

If they all involve expansion at Heathrow, there will be panic in government ranks. Ministers were hoping the politically-toxic issue could be ignored until after the 2015 election, which is when Davies' final report is due. If a new Thames estuary airport gets a thumbs-down, watch Boris Johnson explode.

The view here is that Gatwick is the way to go. Far more important, though, is that Davies says what he actually thinks. Reports of last-minute political lobbying to expand the shortlist are alarming.

Nils Pratley

Celtic urge 'small minority' of fans to behave after another Uefa fine

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 10:33 AM PST

• Club fined £42,000 over banner display at Milan home game
• 'It goes without saying that such actions must stop now'

Celtic have appealed to a "small minority" of their supporters to improve their behaviour after being fined €50,000 (£42,000) by Uefa for a banner display at the home Champions League game against Milan.

The banners, put together by Celtic's Green Brigade group, showed images of William Wallace and the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. An adjoining message asked: "The terrorist or the dreamer? The savage or the brave? Depends whose vote you are trying to catch or whose face you're trying to save."

Uefa inevitably deemed the banners to be illicit and non-sporting in nature and the governing body's control and disciplinary panel handed down its latest fine to Celtic; the Scottish champions were also fined after fireworks were let off at a Champions League qualifier in July and on account of a "fuck Uefa" banner and illicit chanting at Europa League games in 2011.

In a statement Celtic said: "Clearly it is extremely disappointing that the club must pay another sizeable penalty following the actions of a small minority, particularly given the previous assurances which were made to the club and the widespread understanding of the likely outcome of such actions.

"Regrettably, due to previous charges being brought against the club, again following the actions of a small minority, the fines imposed by Uefa are increasing in scale.

"It goes without saying that such actions must stop now, before the club receives a competitive sanction or one which would affect our supporters attending European matches.

"We are Celtic supporters and we must now move on and look ahead to tomorrow's [Saturday's] match against Hibernian. We are sure our fans will come together, unite with the club and support the team with the commitment and passion we are famous for, ensuring that Celtic Park once again provides a positive footballing occasion for all."

The meeting with Hibs will be the first since Celtic took the decision to move 250 season ticket-holders from the Green Brigade's section of their home ground. Celtic have also suspended 128 fans from attending their matches, home and away, after vandalism marred last Friday's win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Ewan Murray

From chessboxing to conspiracies: our favourite things online this week

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 10:27 AM PST

The best sports journalism from around the web, featuring Keane v Vieira, a 70-year-old jockey, basketball mums, the great World Cup draw conspiracy and a kid who helped heal a town

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions on our last blog.

1) Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Paul Kimmage has interviewed Eamon Dunphy for the Irish Independent and, naturally enough, it's superb. Dunphy has always known how to sell himself and, with an autobiography to promote, he has been doing the rounds with particular gusto recently. But Kimmage manages to take his subject to new places and capture from him stories and opinions we have never heard before.

They talk about growing old, religion, fatherhood, journalism and Seamus Heaney in an article that feels like a warm conversation between two men who have seen more than most of us; it's only a pity they didn't record it for a podcast. One for Jarlath Regan perhaps.

2) Real basketball moms of Kentucky

It's hard to read the first paragraph of Nate Taylor's article in the New York Times about "real basketball moms" without wanting to vomit: "Michelle Green brings a billboard-size poster of her son's head to his basketball games and has been known to cheer so aggressively that she has been thrown out of the gym. Susie Walker-Byrd has switched her son's high school three times to accommodate his basketball dreams. Carmelita Clay is convinced that her son should be on national television because of his basketball skills."

These women undoubtedly want the best for their kids, but they have a funny way of showing it. Their over-reaching parenting pressurises the young athletes to be successful, but the sad truth is they probably don't have enough talent to make it. Not that their mothers understand the concept of falling short in life.

One of the mums says she turns into "a completely different person" while her son plays; another says she becomes "an animal". The youngsters are stripped of any choice in the matter and are shunted from school to school as their parents search desperately for a coach who will nurture their supposed abilities.

"I don't want my children to go through what I've had to go through," said one of the embarrassed young basketball players. Well, it could get a lot worse; a TV executive has been in touch to say the meddling mums would make perfect characters for a reality show. Won't someone think of the children?

3) Was the World Cup draw rigged?

One for the conspiracy theorists in Slate, as Daniel Politi examines the claim that the draw for next summer's World Cup was rigged by Fifa.

4) Imran Tahir and the Where Pitch Project

You don't need to know a lot about cricket or Imran Tahir to enjoy this piece by the venerable Scott Oliver in Wisden. Few sportswriters can match Oliver for his breadth of knowledge – anyone who has written an article entitled What can the Big Lebowski teach us about cricket? is welcome here – and he brings all his charm, warmth and experience to this thoughtful reflection on Tahir's career.

5) The mystery of chessboxing

Chess meets boxing as Buzzfeed meets longform in this article by Chris Stokel-Walker. It's an intriguing combination, even if the standfirst includes the word "dudes".

6) The masks we wear

From Scott Oliver, the man who looks for cricket's meaning in Coen brothers films, to Martin Crowe, who starts this article for Cricinfo with some ruminations on why we exist: "I admire the quote from Mark Twain where he said, 'The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.' It's a deep, thought-provoking observation. Why are we here and who are we? The more fortunate ones have an inbuilt belief as to why they exist. They flow through life. Then there are the masses who ebb and flow, searching and evolving. There are also many who discover that for much of their lives they are unsure. Then one day they realise that, in fact, who they are is masked. They reach the point when enough frustration is enough. Only at that point does the real truth surface; the mask must be removed."

Crowe goes on to talk about Jonathan Trott, the confusion of life and the masks we wear: "My mask was firmly in position by the age of 22. I had tasted Test cricket for two years, played 13 Tests, averaging 21. I was supposed to be one of the best young players in the world. Expectations were high and I wasn't meeting them. I cried a lot, moods ebbed and flowed, emotions ran hot. My dream as a boy of scoring a hundred at Lord's was fading fast. Then I found a mask, and I began to fake it until I made it. Part of the mask was to copy great players to hide my own inadequacies. The other part was: I was created from a fast-tracking system and had no emotional stability, so I had to make up time fast. As time went by I completely lost touch with that warm-hearted kid from Titirangi. Instead I became an aloof, intense, moody son of a bitch from New Zealand. Darth Vader, playing top-level cricket."

7) The Favourite

Calling all Hollywood movie executives: here is a story that demands a showing on the big screen. Robert A "Cowboy" Jones – yes, that really is his name – is a 70-year-old jockey who has lost the final race of his career and is in need of redemption. But wait, he has one last opportunity to get back on the horse and race. He has one shot, one opportunity to seize everything he ever wanted, one moment. Did he capture it or let it slip? (And was it a fix from the start?) Dave McKenna explains all for Grantland.

8) A boy helps a town heal

... And the Sports Illustrated 2013 SportsKid of the Year award goes to Jack Wellman, a 14-year-old from Newtown, Connecticut. Gary Gramling tells the remarkable story of how the young man started coaching and mentoring wrestlers in this piece of longform for SI.

9) Keane and Vieira: best of enemies

If you missed this ITV documentary about the rivalry between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, it's worth watching on catch-up. Both men come across well, with their intensity giving away to mutual respect and good humour. That being said, even Keane's gentler moments are a little scary.

10) Two gymnasts on a seesaw

Debate the articles and share your own suggestions below

Paul Campbell

Chelsea v Crystal Palace: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 10:15 AM PST

Crystal Palace's revival faces the acid test. Ten points from the past five matches and only one goal conceded have fired their survival chances. Tony Pulis, the new manager, is a natural-born fighter but if José Mourinho is sure of what to expect from his counterpart – "maybe a style that people are not attracted by" – he also knows precisely what he expects of his Chelsea team: "We lost the last game to Stoke. We need a victory." David Hytner

Kick-off Saturday 3pm

Venue Stamford Bridge

Last season n/a

Referee M Clattenburg

This season G10, Y33, R0, 3.30 cards per game

Odds H 1-5 A 18-1 D 13-2

Chelsea

Subs from Schwarzer, Hilário, Blackman, Bertrand, Cole, Essien, Oscar, Mikel, De Bruyne, Schürrle, Eto'o, Ba

Doubtful None

Injured Cahill (hip/thigh, 23 Dec), Van Ginkel (knee, Apr)

Suspended None

Form LWWWDL

Discipline Y22 R1

Leading scorer Hazard 6

Crystal Palace

Subs from Alexander, Price, Parr, Moxey, Kebe, Bolasie, Campaña, Grandin, O'Keefe, Williams, Gayle, Phillips

Doubtful Moxey (hamstring)

Injured Hunt (ankle, 26 Dec), Thomas (groin, 26 Dec), Guedioura (lung/ribs, 26 Dec), Murray (knee, Jan)

Suspended None

Form WWLWDL

Discipline Y15 R2

Leading scorer Chamakh 3

Aston Villa v Manchester United: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 09:59 AM PST

The last time these two teams met at Villa Park it took a late header from Javier Hernández to seal a win for Manchester Utd. David Moyes would certainly take something similar as he looks to arrest a run of two consecutive league defeats. The Scot is without the injured Robin van Persie, however, ahead of facing an Aston Villa side who have won only one of their last four games. Callum Hosier

Kick-off Sunday 1.30pm

Venue Villa Park

Last season Aston Villa 2 Man Utd 3

Live Sky Sports 1

Referee C Foy

This season G9, Y23, R1, 2.80 cards per game

Odds H 17-4 A 3-4 D 14-5

Aston Villa

Subs from Steer, Kozak, Lowton, Albrighton, Sylla, Baker, Bowery, Helenius, Burke, Johnson

Doubtful Luna (groin), Kozak (ankle)

Injured Okore (knee, May), Vlaar (calf, unknown) Bennett (back, unknown), N'Zogbia (calf, unknown)

Suspended Delph (one match)

Form LWDDWD

Discipline Y29 R0

Leading scorer Benteke 4

Manchester United

Subs from Lindegaard, F da Silva, Anderson, Zaha, Young, Nani, Giggs, Januzaj, Hernández

Doubtful None

Injured Vidic (knock, 21 Dec), Fellaini (back, 21 Dec), Evra (knock, 21 Dec), Carrick (achilles, 28 Dec), Van Persie (thigh, Jan), Smalling (hamstring, unknown), Fletcher (match fitness, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LLDDWW

Discipline Y31 R0

Leading scorer Rooney 8

Hull City v Stoke City: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 08:54 AM PST

Mark Hughes takes Stoke to Hull, as 12th hosts 13th at the KC. Buoyant in the wake of their recent 3-2 win over Chelsea, Hughes will hope to arrest the poor away form which has seen Stoke lose four of their last five on their travels. Hull have conceded three goals at home all season, and given their emphatic win over Liverpool a fortnight ago, their home form will be the bedrock of the campaign. James Dutton

Kick-off Saturday 5.30pm

Venue KC Stadium

Last season n/a

Live Sky Sports 1

Referee M Dean

This season G10, Y34, R2, 3.80 cards per game

Odds H 5-4 A 12-5 D 9-4

Hull City

Subs from Harper, Jakupovic, Faye, Rosenior, Koren, Fryatt, Boyd, Gedo, McShane, Dudgeon, Townsend

Doubtful None

Injured Quinn (hamstring, Jan), Aluko (achilles, Feb)

Suspended None

Form DLWLLW

Discipline Y25 R1

Leading scorer Brady 3

Stoke City

Subs from Muniesa, Wilkinson, Ness, Pennant, Palacios, Edu, Jones, Shea, Etherington, Assaidi

Doubtful Adam (knock), Etherington (match fitness)

Injured Begovic (hip/thigh, 21 Dec), Huth (knee, unknown)

Suspended Walters (one match)

Form WDLWDD

Discipline Y36 R0

Leading scorer Adam 3

West Ham United v Sunderland: Squad sheets

Posted: 13 Dec 2013 08:24 AM PST

Only goal difference is keeping West Ham out of the relegation zone, with four defeats in the last five games dragging the Hammers down to 17th. Sunderland threatened a brief revival under Gus Poyet with their 1-0 win over Manchester City last month but now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table, having lost three of their last four. The home side have won just twice at home this season butwill fancy their chances against the division's worst travellers. James Dutton

Kick-off Saturday 3pm

Venue Upton Park

Last season West Ham 1 Sunderland 1

Referee A Marriner

This season G12, Y43, R4, 4.30 cards per game

Odds H 10-11 A 3-1 D 12-5

West Ham United

Subs from Adrián, Henderson, Spiegel, Collison, Rat, C Cole, O'Brien, Vaz Tê, Chambers, Spiegel, Lee, Taylor, Moncur

Doubtful Demel (illness), Collins (illness), Tomkins (hamstring)

Injured Downing (calf/shin, Feb), Diarra (knee, unknown), Carroll (achilles, unknown), Petric (thigh, unknown), Reid (ankle, unknown)

Suspended Nolan (first of three)

Form LLWLLD

Discipline Y23 R2

Leading scorer Morrison 3

Sunderland

Subs from Pickford, Celustka, Mavrias, Karlsson, Ji, Roberge, Diakité, Gardner, Borini, Altidore, Giaccherini, Cabral, Ba

Doubtful None

Injured Cuéllar (hip, Jan), Westwood (shoulder, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LLDLWL

Discipline Y20 R4

Leading scorers Bardsley, Fletcher, Gardner, Giaccherini 2

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Saturday, 14 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:36

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool

Manchester City

Arsenal

RSA chief quits

Manchester United going down

Turbulent airports commissioner

1) Mirror, mirror on the wall...

2) Real basketball moms of Kentucky

3) Was the World Cup draw rigged?

4) Imran Tahir and the Where Pitch Project

5) The mystery of chessboxing

6) The masks we wear

7) The Favourite

8) A boy helps a town heal

9) Keane and Vieira: best of enemies

10) Two gymnasts on a seesaw

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Aston Villa

Manchester United

Hull City

Stoke City

West Ham United

Sunderland

Written by TBMU Admin

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Saturday, 14 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:36

Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool

Manchester City

Arsenal

RSA chief quits

Manchester United going down

Turbulent airports commissioner

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Aston Villa

Manchester United

Hull City

Stoke City

West Ham United

Sunderland

Written by TBMU Admin

0 comments :

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Follow TBMU FBook/Twitter

Popular on TBMU

About TBMU

Subscribe TBMU