Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Hodgson casts doubt on Cole's future
Fulham 2-3 Liverpool
Stoke 1-1 Swansea City
Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd
Newcastle 0-4 Spurs
Premier League clockwatch – as it happened | Jacob Steinberg
Arsenal v Manchester United – live! | Barry Glendenning
Carl Froch and George Groves on course for record-breaking rematch
Aston Villa give backing to Bristol City's rail seats plan
Premier League: Arsenal v Manchester United – in pictures
Labour: Fifa must insist Qatar improves workers' rights ahead of World Cup
Games fall victim to the high winds
Bristol City install England's first 'rail' standing area
Hillsborough: investigators recover 2,500 police notebooks
John Terry will not go to World Cup, says England manager Roy Hodgson
Uruguay striker Diego Forlán rejoices at move to Japan's Cerezo Osaka
The Fiver | Dilettantes and heartless manipulators
Falcao's hopes rise for World Cup
Manchester United can cope without Champions League, says Ed Woodward
Sportswomen are stereotyped as gay – but that doesn't make coming out easy | Julie Bindel
Manchester United woes down to 'crazy season of injuries', says Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes: Manchester United dire form due to 'crazy season of injuries'
José Mourinho's bold sense of direction makes Chelsea a side to look up to | Paul Wilson
Michael Sam: NFL prospect's stock falls after coming out in a man's-man game | Marina Hyde
Arsenal's Lukas Podolski: I left Bayern Munich too soon

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Chelsea left-back vulnerable after losing club place
• England manager implies Leighton Baines is first-choice

Roy Hodgson has followed up his announcement that he will not be bringing John Terry out of international retirement for the World Cup by making it clear that Ashley Cole's position has become vulnerable now he has lost his place at Chelsea.

Hodgson gave his strongest indication yet that Leighton Baines, a regular starter for Everton, has the strongest credentials to be England's first-choice left-back and the manager intends to name Southampton's Luke Shaw in his squad for the Wembley friendly against Denmark on 5 March.

Cole has not started any of Chelsea's past four matches, having lost his place to César Azpilicueta, and Hodgson is increasingly concerned about the player's lack of games.

"For years, people have been understudy to Ashley. Now it's Ashley's turn to sit back. We know what Ashley can do. We know how fit he keeps himself, how experienced he is. I certainly wouldn't write Ashley Cole out of any plans because he isn't playing in his club team. But he will have to accept, like everyone else, that the competition for his place in the club team and international team gets stronger all the time, and I will have a decision to make.

"It's a bit of a problem when you are a full-back. If you are a midfield player, there might be three or four positions you can play. Full-backs are like goalkeepers – either you play or you have to be understudy."

Hodgson has admitted in private that he still regards Terry highly but his admiration will not extend to inviting him to add to his 78 caps, despite José Mourinho's assertion that Chelsea's captain has been the outstanding central defender in the league this season.

"John has retired," Hodgson said. "As far as I'm concerned that is the situation. We've got along without him for the whole of the qualification, and quite a few friendly matches, and we'll have to get along without him in the future. As far as I'm concerned retirement is retirement.

"You respect that when players retire. We move on. We moved on after the first qualification game when John Terry limped off [against Moldova]. Since that time we have got on with it and have chosen the players who are available, who have represented us well in my opinion and so we'll continue with that."

That announcement almost certainly closes the door on a recall for Terry unless he declares he is available again. He has come close to doing that at least once before, having retired as a protest when it became clear the Football Association would launch a disciplinary case against him for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Chelsea game at QPR. Terry had been acquitted in court but an independent FA commission ruled he was guilty and banned him for four matches.

Hodgson confirmed he will name a provisional 23-man World Cup squad on 13 May, with seven players on a standby list when they leave six days later for a four-day training camp in Portugal.

Hodgson's squad for the Denmark game will be announced on 27 February, with Adam Johnson and Raheem Sterling expected to win a recall. "They have both done very well," Hodgson said. "Both of their teams have profited enormously from their form. We have had them with us in the past. At the moment we are talking about Raheem and Adam. I am sure we will be talking about others too but its nice to know that competition exists."

As it stands, Hodgson's preference is for Baines and Cole to go to Brazil as his two left-backs, with Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker on the other side but Shaw has been pencilled in for his debut against Denmark.

"We have to be quite satisfied with the number of full-backs who are available," Hodgson said. "Now we have to wait and see who is going to be available and fit when push comes to shove."

Daniel Taylor

Fulham 2-3 Liverpool

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:13 PM PST

This was winning ugly after their exhilarating success at the weekend, but Liverpool will hardly care. Just as they had started to make out the rumbling presence of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth place at their back, Brendan Rodgers' team plucked victory here from a mishmash of a display. Steven Gerrard's penalty was thumped home emphatically and the momentum is with those on Merseyside in pursuit of the Premier League leaders.

This was brutal for Fulham, whose display had merited reward only for panic to grip with 17 seconds remaining. Sascha Riether felled Daniel Sturridge in the area with the offence clear, and Gerrard's conversion dispatched with glee. This time there was to be no stoppage-time salvation to bolster Fulham's struggle against the drop. Their toils are maintained.

A trip to the side propping up the division had felt like an opportunity for Liverpool, fresh from that swashbuckling dismissal of Arsenal and with their credentials as title challengers increasingly persuasive. Yet that 5-1 thrashing had been administered at Anfield, a near impenetrable fortress for Rodgers' charges this term.

Away from home this team have veered from the sublime to the ridiculous: arriving here their record on the road was the worst of the top eight, even if the two wins achieved in their previous nine matches on enemy territory had seen them rattle up five-goal tallies. That shows what can be achieved when they click. When they labour, however, they are vulnerable.

Perhaps they were flummoxed by the conditions, the wind swirling viciously inside the arena, but the visitors had toiled from the outset. Ryan Tunnicliffe, on home debut, might have had Fulham ahead inside the opening 43 seconds only for Steve Mignolet to palm away a shot at his near-post, while Lewis Holtby's probing exposed Liverpool's rather uncertain back-line.

The Fulham owner Shahid Khan, fresh from three days of meetings with the chief executive Alistair Mackintosh back at Motspur Park, must have been hugely encouraged, and he soon had a lead to celebrate.

Kolo Touré had done well to hook away one early Kieran Richardson centre when, eight minutes in, the winger delivered again and the Ivorian's composure drained as the ball bobbled along the six-yard box. The veteran swung his right boot at the cross only to slice it beyond a startled Simon Mignolet. The Merseysiders have kept only one clean sheet in 12 Premier League away games, with concessions this comical wounding their cause. Touré would collide with the referee before the break, sending the official sprawling to the turf, with his clumsiness actually epitomising that of the team.

This was Fulham doing to Liverpool what Rodgers' side have tended to impose on all-comers in recent weeks. The hosts swarmed all over dithering opponents, the feverish pressing instigated from Lewis Holtby down the entire spine.

Starved of time, the visitors were flustered with passes over hit or allowed to dribble out of play, and chances conceded. One shot spat at the near-post by Luis Suárez aside, an effort turned away by Maarten Stekelenburg, Liverpool had been limp in reply.

Yet their quality would rear just before the break. With Ryan Tunnicliffe grounded and possession lost, Gerrard made a first-time pass with the outside of his right foot from inside the centre-circle, which zipped between Dan Burn and Johnny Heitinga for Sturridge to collect at pace. His finish was crisp and accurate, flying in off the far post, and Liverpool, almost inconceivably, had hauled themselves level.

It was the eighth game in succession in which Sturridge had scored, equalling a club record, a haul to warm the watching England No2, Ray Lewington, despite his Fulham connections.

Liverpool needed it to spark a more authoritative display thereafter, with urgency injected into their approach from the restart and Gerrard an increasingly powerful presence at the base of their midfield.

Suárez, too, was finding his range as he glided with menace from flank to flank. The Uruguayan has been enduring a relatively barren spell and was exasperated to see one battered attempt thump against the far post.

Yet, just as the momentum seemed one-way, Liverpool contrived to implode once again. Riether's cross from the right represented a rare foray forward but still should have been dealt with, only for Martin Skrtel to stretch out a leg and succeed in laying the ball off perfectly for an unmarked Kieran Richardson inside the six-yard box. With Mignolet wrong-footed, the winger thumped in from close-range.

It proved a false dawn for Fulham. Philippe Coutinho was permitted to drift across the penalty area with his shot flicking from William Kvist to sear beyond Stekelenburg and into the corner.

The goalkeeper was retired soon afterwards having been caught inadvertently by Suárez, a bruise already swelling up under his right eye.

His replacement, David Stockdale, could do nothing to prevent Gerrard's penalty in the closing seconds. This was cruel for Fulham while Liverpool could not believe their luck.

Dominic Fifield

Stoke 1-1 Swansea City

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:02 PM PST

Stoke City missed the chance to go above Swansea in the table when they let a first-half lead slip and allowed their opponents to take control of the second period. Garry Monk can now add surviving a wet Wednesday in Stoke to winning a Welsh derby as his first two managerial achievements, though in truth Stoke were a shadow of their usual selves and seemed to be affected by the weather more than their visitors. Swansea did almost all of the attacking after the interval, and nearly gained full reward when Jonathan de Guzman forced a good save from Asmir Begovic in the closing minutes.

"We grew into the game," Monk said. "We were magnificent in the second half, we pressed really well. I know this side has character, I've been with these players long enough, it just needs bringing out." Mark Hughes took issue with a couple of refereeing decisions but not the overall outcome. ""It wasn't one of our better days, we didn't play particularly well," the Stoke manager said. "Swansea did, and our only consolation is that a few weeks ago we might have lost that game."

Stoke went ahead just over a quarter of an hour into the game when Peter Odemwingie struck a post and Peter Crouch tucked away the rebound, deservedly as it happens since the scorer had supplied the pass to set up the initial shot. Swansea had made a lively start but were lucky not to go two down a minute later, when Marko Arnautovic attempted what David Moyes would doubtless describe as a "worldy" from the edge of the area and was only denied by a fine reaction stop from Michel Vorm.

The gusty weather that had necessitated two pitch inspections and a delayed kick-off relented soon after the game started and Swansea began to rally.

José Cañas put a chance high and wide at the far post from a Wayne Routledge cross, before Nathan Dyer broke forward and fired a shot narrowly wide. Charlie Adam was rightly booked for a barefaced trip on Dyer, an incident that led to a short outbreak of pushing and shoving during which Ashley Williams also received a caution for manhandling Jon Walters.

By the interval Swansea were doing most of the attacking, with Stoke content to sit on their lead. On a wilder than average night the sprinklers watering the pitch at half-time seemed a tad unnecessary, particularly as their unexpected appearance from ports in the pitch surprised and further drenched a hardy party of schoolchildren attempting a mini-football exhibition.

Routledge got into a good position right at the start of the second half but was forced too wide, Cañas could not connect properly with a decent shooting opportunity and when Wilfried Bony attempted a shot on the turn from close range, Ryan Shawcross stuck his face in the way.

Bony, who saw another second-half effort fly narrowly wide, was gradually beginning to cause a few problems for the Stoke defence though it was Chico Flores who supplied the equaliser with a glancing header after Pablo Hernández had returned a half-cleared corner. It was not the most powerful of headers but the direction was perfect, leaving Bergovic little chance of keeping it out of his bottom left corner.

Hughes made a double substitution almost immediately, sending on Steven N'Zonzi and Oussama Assaidi, though Swansea had found the encouragement they needed and continued to press more effectively and pass more accurately. Reverting to type slightly, Stoke began to look most dangerous at set-pieces, and with Adam's delivery there was always a chance. A free kick on the hour only just eluded Shawcross and N'Zonzi, and from the next Bony was back in his own area to help out.

Bony turned up in the Stoke area next with a chance to win the game from eight yards out, only to see Begovic get a hand to his goalbound shot to allow Shawcross to tidy up on the line. John Guidetti was on the pitch by that stage, but on the few occasions he came close to getting involved the Manchester City loanee's first touch let him down.

While it was that sort of night for Stoke, for whom Crouch had a late penalty appeal turned down after being tripped by his own team-mate, Swansea are clearly no longer the soft touch they were beginning to appear. "It was a swirly night but it was far from unplayable," Monk said. "I think we proved that."

Paul Wilson

Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:01 PM PST

Tom Jenkins' best pictures from the Emirates Stadium

There was a moment when Arsenal's public announcer informed the Manchester United fans, without any notable sympathy in his voice, that the trains north had been cancelled, every single motorway back to Manchester was closed and, even if they did get there, the ring-road was also shut.

Arsenal's supporters enjoyed their moment of schadenfreude at the expense of the visiting fans but their team, ultimately, could do nothing to make it an even longer night.

Arsenal had the better of the chances and Olivier Giroud will reflect with anguish on at least four occasions when he missed the target from crosses into the penalty area. Yet United played with the durability of a side that has grown sick of hostile headlines. They lacked refinement and a club with their ambitions will have to start taking better care of the ball, but they could also reflect on their own chances to register a morale-boosting win.

Robin van Persie struck the crossbar with the best of them and, from a defensive perspective, they could reflect on a reasonable night's work. Arsenal had missed the opportunity to return to the top of the league and, by the end, the frustrations of the home crowd were becoming increasingly audible. At the final whistle, there were boos for the second-placed team in the league. Not the loudest boos that have been heard here by any measure, but boos, nonetheless.

As these fixtures go, it was certainly not a classic. A streak of carelessness ran through the game for long spells and it was strange to see two sides who pride themselves on control and assurance losing the ball so frequently. The sheer pace of the game was always going to lead to lapses but in other moments there was a lack of refinement from both teams.

Mikel Arteta was certainly fortunate to get away with his first touch of the night, as Robin van Persie gratefully took the ball off his foot and advanced on goal. To give Arteta the benefit of the doubt he probably did not want the pass from Wojciech Szczesny in the first place. The night would have taken on a very different complexion if Van Persie had been able to remind his former club of his penalty-box qualities. Instead, he slipped as he was shaping to shoot and could only fire his effort straight at the goalkeeper.

Van Persie's record against Arsenal meant there was always a shudder of apprehension among the home crowd when he was on the ball in promising areas, but his only other attempt at goal in the first half was a poor one and there were only passing moments in the first half when Moyes's men threatened their opponents.

Arsenal also struggled for penetration in that period. Mesut Özil looked eager to dispel the criticism that has accompanied his recent performances, and Jack Wilshere was always prepared to break forward from his more deep-lying midfield position. Yet it was telling that Arsenal's best opportunities in the first half both came from corners. The first was swung over by Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud beat Nemanja Vidic in the air. The second came from the opposite side but, again, Giroud could not get the ball on target.

It was mediocre, for the most part. Arsenal did not have a great deal of pace to examine whether this was a flaw at the heart of United's defence, especially when Rafael da Silva took a heavy fall and Rio Ferdinand came on to partner Vidic. Wayne Rooney, struggling to exert any real influence, spent so much time nagging the referee, Mark Clattenburg, he was called over more than once and ordered to quit the back-chat. Mata was playing on the left and has now operated in three different positions since his transfer from Chelsea. His input here did not alter the sense that he does his best work centrally – or, to put it another way, Rooney's position.

For Arsenal, the most encouraging part was probably the strength of personality Özil demonstrated. He could not conjure up the killer ball and there were times, in keeping with the rest of the match, when his passes were misjudged. He was always willing, however, to take responsibility.

Özil has been accused of a dereliction of duty and he played like a man who wanted to make a point.

With the German growing in influence and Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky beavering away behind Giroud, Arsenal's first real period of sustained pressure arrived quarter of an hour into the second half. Giroud missed again with his third headed opportunity of the night and another header, this time from Laurent Koscielny, was dropping past David De Gea until Antonio Valencia cleared the danger from under the crossbar.

Van Persie's chance came after the kind of link-up play with Rooney that has been conspicuous by his absence in United's recent fixture. Rooney's clipped pass was weighted beautifully and a stooping header was going in until Szczesny turned the ball against the crossbar.

At the other end De Gea twice denied Cazorla but the game petered out after that and the boos at the end felt incongruous for a team supposedly challenging for the title.

Daniel Taylor

Newcastle 0-4 Spurs

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST

From Tim Sherwood's viewpoint, arguably the most encouraging thing was that Emmanuel Adebayor had serious competition for the man-of-the-match honours.

True the Tottenham manager's "prodigal son" scored twice, Adebayor thereby boosting his "goals for" tally to nine in 12 games but Paulinho, Moussa Dembélé and Hugo Lloris all enjoyed splendid evenings too. Lloris's importance in making some fabulous saves along the road towards seriously enhancing Tottenham's Champions League ambitions will prove of little consolation to Alan Pardew, whose ninth-placed side have conceded 10 goals in the course of three straight Premier League defeats.

Only one place and three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, the visitors' outlook is significantly brighter. "From first to last whistle we were very very good," said Sherwood, whose side celebrated their first win on Tyneside for 10 years, making a further mockery of the notion he should be replaced by Louis van Gaal this summer.

"There's two types of manager," said Sherwood, half jokingly. "One whose just been sacked and the other waiting to be sacked so I've just got to crack on and do what I can. Liverpool are doing excellently but we think we can put a charge together. We've got to make sure we keep breathing down their necks."

Pardew looked like a man already feeling the heat for very different reasons. "That wasn't good enough," he said. "We looked uncomfortable, a little bit unsure what we were doing. We lacked energy. I'm not happy. As a manager you expect players to give life and limb on the pitch. Tottenham were good but my team has to be better than that. I made my views very clear in the dressing room."

Davide Santon was dubbed the new Paolo Maldini during his Inter Milan days but Pardew has re-branded him as "the new Phil Neville". It was intended as a compliment but hardly seemed to have filled the Italy left-back with confidence as the excellent, apparently adhesive booted, Dembélé cleverly dodged him before releasing Adebayor.

Courtesy of a deflection, Adebayor's shot whizzed fractionally wide but, within minutes, the subsequently withdrawn Santon was again deceived, this time by Paulinho whose drive was very well repelled by Tim Krul.

Newcastle have not scored a goal since returning from a break in Abu Dhabi last month and are seeking a first home win since Boxing Day.

Clearly missing the injured Cheik Tioté in central midfield, they struggled to retain possession. It did not help that Pardew's decision to revert to 4-4-2 left his side outnumbered in this department against visitors configured in 4-3-3 guise and wonderfully adept at playing between the lines.

Spurs took the lead when Nabil Bentaleb connected with Aaron Lennon's flick and evaded Moussa Sissoko's tackle before unleashing a shot which Krul saw late before parrying. It fell into the perfectly positioned path of Adebayor who swept home from eight yards.

Briefly, Newcastle rallied, forcing Younès Kaboul and company to jump through a few awkward defensive hoops, and sporadically highlighting the vulnerability inherent in Sherwood's high defensive line but Spurs always appeared poised to pounce on the counter-attack.

One such break concluded with Aaron Lennon hitting a post after his change of pace bamboozled a couple of defenders and the ensuing shot flew through Mathieu Debuchy's legs.

Sherwood's team doubled their advantage at the end of an exquisitely crafted, beautifully subtle move featuring a gorgeous backheel flick from Paulinho, a parried shot from Adebayor and an assured finish on Paulinho's part, who stroked the rebound beyond Krul.

Signficantly much of Newcastle's attacking play was appreciably less three-dimensional, too frequently relying on a long ball over the top. While Lloris excelled in variously pushing Paul Dummett's shot around a post, stopping Yoan Gouffran's slice of long-distance opportunism and resisting Debuchy's closer-range power, Hatem Ben Arfa's liberation from the home substitute's bench was proving too little, too late to save Pardew's night.

By now Andros Townsend had stepped on to the pitch and back into the limelight.

All Geordie hope was extinguished when Krul beat away his shot only to be punished by Adebayor's stunning half-volley.

Spurs were not quite done, Nacer Chadli scoring his first league goal to make it four, the substitute's searing right foot shot from outside the area swerving unerringly into the top corner.

Afterwards a few disgruntled home fans gathered outside the ground calling for the departure of Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner. If such largely muted grumbles hardly amounted to a full-on protest, there can be litte doubt Pardew's next assignment at home to Aston Villa on Sunday week has assumed considerable importance.

Louise Taylor

Premier League clockwatch – as it happened | Jacob Steinberg

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 01:59 PM PST

Minute-by-minute report: The weather disrupted the action, before Liverpool beat Fulham, Tottenham thrashed Newcastle and Stoke drew with Swansea

Jacob Steinberg

Arsenal v Manchester United – live! | Barry Glendenning

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 01:52 PM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Extreme caution was the order of the evening as it finished scoreless and all square at the Emirates

Barry Glendenning

Carl Froch and George Groves on course for record-breaking rematch

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 12:33 PM PST

• Most anticipated fight in British boxing could be on 31 May
• World super-middleweight fight possibly at Wembley stadium

Carl Froch and George Groves are on the verge of signing for a rematch, the most anticipated fight in British boxing, outdoors at a football stadium on 31 May.

Froch's promoter, Eddie Hearn, told the Guardian the fighters had agreed on a split of the purse and an announcement is expected, "within the next 48 hours". He expects the fight to break all box-office records for a British fight, hoping for a crowd of 80,000, possibly at Wembley.

Froch beat Groves to retain his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles in highly controversial circumstances in Manchester last November when the referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the ninth round after the champion had landed a barrage of head shots on the challenger, who protested he was fit to continue.

They have engaged in vitriolic exchanges ever since and, although there was a huge demand for them to fight again, the return looked to be in jeopardy because of Froch's intransigence. While Groves – who put down Froch in the first round and was ahead on points when it was stopped – appealed to both the IBF and the British Boxing Board of Control for a rematch, money has decided the issue, as it always does. They have until Friday afternoon to lodge signed contracts with the IBF, or it will go out to purse bids again.

Hearn said: "31 May is the most likely date. We're talking to Old Trafford, the Etihad, Wembley, Twickenham, Emirates, Nottingham Forest, Millennium Stadium – I can't really give you anything more specific than that. That's been my main concern over the past two weeks. We'll talk to all of those and, if we get the deal done, it will be in the next 10 days.

"The discussions have been much more positive but, as of now, there is no deal. I am hopeful that within the next 48 hours we will be there. Our deadline with the IBF is the end of close of play Friday. Last week we pretty much agreed terms but a signed contract is slightly different. So we wrote to the IBF and said, look, in principle we've agreed to the fight. We just need another week to get it signed, to get the contracts drafted. They gave us an extension last Friday. We are nearly there – perhaps even in the next 24 hours for the full go-ahead.

"The percentage split [which the IBF previously declared would be 85-15 in the champion's favour, appearing to kill negotiations] is only relevant in a purse-bid scenario. It can give you a yardstick but we're at the numbers now where I believe everyone's happy. It's not even the money that's being finalised, it's just dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, but until that is all complete, you never know.

"I think we will get way more than 50-60,000. We sold 20,000 tickets in around two hours last time and that was not a third of the fight that it is now. I think you're looking at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000, and it could be the biggest gate of all-time, postwar in British boxing. I think the Ricky Hatton fight against Juan Lazcano [at the City of Manchester Stadium in May, 2008] did 51,000, and I think Joe Calzaghe against Mikkel Kessler [at the Millennium Stadium in November, 2011] was around that mark, as well."

Rumours spread rapidly on Wednesday on the back of a report on the BoxinScene.com website, which quoted the International Boxing Federation president, Daryl F Peoples, as saying, "We have been informed by Carl Froch's people and George Groves's people that they have come to an agreement, so it will not go out to purse bids. It is an excellent fight, great for the IBF and the UK, and I understand that there's been quite a demand for it. They're two top-notch fighters. We haven't been notified of a venue just yet – they're trying to finlaise those details – but I understand that the contracts will be with us soon."

Kevin Mitchell

Aston Villa give backing to Bristol City's rail seats plan

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 12:32 PM PST

• Only rugby at Ashton Gate can use standing areas
• Villa open to giving standing idea a chance in Premier League

Aston Villa would be keen to trial the use of rail seats to help promote the introduction of safe standing in the Premier League.

Villa's football operations manager, Lee Preece, was at Bristol City's Ashton Gate where a block of rail seats, which can be flipped into an upright position to create rows of standing areas, were installed at an English football ground for the first time.

Legislation means that when more rails seats are installed as part of City's redevelopment, only Bristol rugby supporters will be able to use them. Having watched a demonstration of the seats in action, Preece said that Villa are keen to adopt the system.

"We at Aston Villa have said we are quite happy to use an area of Villa Park as a trial so the Premier League, the authorities and the government can see a safe standing area in practice," he said.

"A survey carried out earlier in the year surveyed over 1000 of our supporters and in the region of 96-97% wanted to see a return of standing areas.

"I'd like to think it could happen in the Premier League. The main thing from Villa's perspective is we have put our head above the parapet simply to further the debate - We think people should be looking at it.

"There are clearly lots of sensitive issues and debates at high level that needs to take place if we are to get to a point where legislation can change.

"But it is the sensible and practical solution to an issue that exists in football at the moment. There is still work to do but lets have those discussions and see if we can't make it happen."

Preece believes one of the key factors behind his club's openness to change is the problems they have with supporters who persistently stand.

"Like most Premier League clubs we suffer at the moment with persistent standing in seating areas in certain parts of the ground," he said. "It would be safe to say that the vast majority of away fans at Villa Park this season have stood up and don't want to sit down, I don't think any Premier League club to my knowledge has any success with various tactics that get people to sit down. We feel there are clearly thousands of people who want to stand up and so lets do it in something which is designed for standing."

The Football Supporters' Federation has long been an advocate of rail-seating and their chairman, Malcolm Clarke said the green light from the Football League's 72 clubs at their meeting last week is a big step forward.

"What we were often told for many years is that none of the football authorities were in favour of it," he said. "But that is clearly no longer the case as the Football League, after a very thorough consultation, have shown that a large majority are in favour.

"We hope that the Premier League now, at the appropriate time, will consider this. There are a number of Premier League clubs who are openly in favour and then we can take the debate forward. It has been really useful to see rail seats installed in a proper football stadium."

Premier League: Arsenal v Manchester United – in pictures

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 12:08 PM PST

With Arsenal looking to prove their 5-1 defeat to Liverpool was nothing more than a freak accident and move to the top of the Premier League, Manchester United also have a point to prove, with their hopes of a Champions League place ebbing away. There was a lot on the line for both sides at the Emirates Stadium. Both teams' confidence seemed lacking however, and this lead to a conservative game and an inevitable 0-0 draw. Guardian photographer Tom Jenkins was at the Emirates to capture the best of the action.

Tom Jenkins

Labour: Fifa must insist Qatar improves workers' rights ahead of World Cup

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 11:08 AM PST

Labour MP Jim Murphy emphasises welfare demands for migrant workers prior to key European parliament hearing

The Labour party has warned Fifa it must insist that Qatari authorities improve the rights of all construction workers in the Gulf state ahead of the 2022 World Cup, not just those working on stadiums.

Ahead of a key European parliament hearing on the subject, shadow international development secretary Jim Murphy said world football's governing body "cannot pretend that the only things that matter are the pitches and the stands". He also called on the British government to do more to protect migrant workers.

The European parliament meeting follows a resolution last year that expressed concern over the plight of the 2m migrant workers in Qatar and urged Fifa to send a "clear and strong" message over the issue.

Since the publication of damning reports by human rights organisations and a series of Guardian articles revealing the scale of the suffering of migrant workers, pressure has grown on the Qatar authorities.

"This isn't just about the World Cup venues, a commitment that covers only stadia isn't enough," said Murphy in an article for the Guardian. "Many hotels, roads and railway projects under construction in Qatar are geared towards helping the tiny state deliver for Fifa in 2022."

A senior executive at one of Qatar's largest banks told a conference in Bahrain last month that the Gulf state would spend $205bn on infrastructure in the next four years.

Murphy said that the government should examine ways to make existing budgets stretch further in order to expand the Department for International Development's current Work In Freedom programme.

The programme, which aims to fight forced labour, currently covers 100,000 girls and women from South Asia. Murphy said it could include a similar number of construction workers in Qatar.

Official records show that at least 185 Nepalese migrant workers died in 2013, many from heart failure and workplace accidents. The numbers killed from other nations including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India have not been revealed.

"Fifa must receive a full report from Qatar, cataloguing the full scale of the problem – and a serious plan to make things right. Nothing less will do. The shortcomings in the current system leave too many vulnerable people exposed," said Murphy, who plans to travel to both Nepal and Qatar in the next few weeks.

"Qatar has come an incredibly long way in the last twenty years, and there have been real advances that should not be ignored. But the simple fact is that the conditions faced by some of these workers – and no-one is suggesting it's every single one -–fall within the International Labour Organisation's definition of forced labour."

The Qatar 2022 organising committee this week issued a 50-page charter guaranteeing basic standards of accommodation, pay and conditions for all workers on its stadiums. The move was welcomed by Fifa, who will be represented at Thursday's meeting by German executive committee member Theo Zwanziger, who is liaising with NGOs and trade union organisations to co-ordinate its response.

"What we need are clear rules and steps that will build trust and ensure that the situation, which is unacceptable at the moment, improves in a sustainable manner," he said last month.

While Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch gave a cautious welcome to the limited progress represented by the Supreme Committee's new standards, they said authorities must go further to ensure they applied to all workers and reform the kafala system that binds workers to their employers.

The International Trade Union Congress, which has been a key campaigning voice in the debate, was more critical still. Its general secretary Sharan Burrow said the proposals were a "sham" and if Fifa was serious it would demand changes to the law.

"Unlawful practices will only continue with these provisions, which reinforce a system of forced labour with kafala. Qatar's announcement is reaction to public pressure, but it won't take the pressure off workers," she said.

"Similar provisions announced by the Qatar Foundation nearly a year ago have made no difference. The death toll of workers in Qatar has increased. Qatar has to change its laws, nothing else will do."

Last month Fifa wrote to the Qatari organisers demanding a detailed report on the improvement of working conditions in the months since president Sepp Blatter visited the emir in November following the Guardian's revelations.

Owen Gibson

Games fall victim to the high winds

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:56 AM PST

• Games called off following high winds and safety fears
• Authorities had warned people not to enter city centre

Manchester City's Premier League match against Sunderland and Everton's game with Crystal Palace fell victim to the storms that battered the British Isles on Wednesday.

In Manchester, police were concerned by "unsafe" conditions caused by the severe weather in and around the area. High winds were the main problem, with the strength of the gales making walking difficult.

Manuel Pellegrini said the postponement at the Etihad Stadium was the sensible decision. The Manchester City manager said on City's website: "The safety of the City and Sunderland supporters is the most important thing and we understand and fully support the reasons behind the game being called off.

" We were ready to play this game but the well-being of the people coming to the Etihad is paramount. We hope everybody gets home safely, both in Manchester and Sunderland."

Everton's game was postponed only 35 minutes before the kick-off after gales damaged buildings outside Goodison Park.

The decision was taken by Merseyside Police and Everton's head of safety, Dave Lewis, after roof tiles and a chimney stack fell into Goodison Road ahead of the game. Everton had given assurances the game would go ahead during a day of high winds on Merseyside but changed tack once debris landed in the road that provides access to the Main Stand at the stadium.

Police closed Goodison Road owing to public safety concerns and despite criticism of the timing of the postponement, with supporters having to overcome train cancellations and the closure of the M6 to reach Liverpool 4, the Everton chief executive, Robert Elstone, insisted there was no alternative.

"It was our head of safety in conjunction with police advice who took the decision to call it off," he said. "We and the police had been monitoring Goodison Road and at the point we noticed debris coming down onto Goodison Road we took the easy decision to call it off. A chimney stack came down off the top of the Winslow public house and when that happened there was only one decision we could take – to call the game off.

"Goodison Road was getting busy and 10 minutes before kick-off it would have been full of thousands of fans and we had to put their safety first. It's very disappointing because we'd worked very hard in testing weather. We were acutely aware the fans had probably had the worst journey here they have had in many years due to motorway closures, trains being postponed and nearby roads and bridges being closed. At 6.30pm I had a meeting with our head of safety, the police and the referee and it was decided we should go ahead. But 10 to 15 minutes later things started dropping off roofs."

Asked why a decision could not have been made earlier, Elstone said: "We would have come in for criticism if we'd called the game off in anticipation of tiles falling from roofs. Our intention was to get the game on. Lots of people had come from far and wide but once you see stuff falling off buildings there is no other decision you can take. Fans' safety always has to come first."

Elstone confirmed tickets for the game would be valid for the rearranged fixture. That may have been no consolation to Rick Wee, an Evertonian from Malaysia who was attending his first match at Goodison Park. Wee was treated to a VIP tour of the stadium, including a meeting with Everton manager Roberto Martínez and players, after the club heard of his misfortune.

The postponement was heartbreaking for one Everton fan who has supported the club for over 30 years, and had travelled from Kuala Lumpur to watch his side play. "Finally, 30 years since supporting @Everton, will b watching EFC "live" for 1st time,' he tweeted only for his dreams to be dashed. However the club took pity and took him to the team hotel to meet the manager and players.

A League One game was also beaten by the weather as heavy rain forced the postponement of the Sheffield United v Brentford match. The decision to postpone the game was taken after a pitch inspection at 1pm.

Road and rail travellers endured a miserable day with wind and rain closing major highways and curtailing rail services.

There are motorway closures in the north-west, notably the M60 at Barton Bridge, making travel for fans difficult. The M6 was also shut at the Thelwall Viaduct.

Gusts of 80-100mph disrupted train services throughout the country, with a section of the West Coast main line in Lancashire closing between 7pm and 9pm.

Virgin Trains, which operates across large parts of the UK including between London and Edinburgh, posted a message in capital letters on its official Twitter account urging "all customers to abandon travel".

Those travelling from London through the midlands and to the north-west had to put up with speed restrictions, with passengers warned to expect their journeys to take up to 60 minutes longer than normal. Dates for the rearranged fixtures have not yet been set.

Jamie Jackson

Andy Hunter

Bristol City install England's first 'rail' standing area

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:13 AM PST

• Rails include seats that can be flipped up to allow standing
• Club seeks approval from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority

The first "rail" standing area at an English football ground has been installed at Bristol City, the latest move in the growing campaign for standing to be permitted again in the game's top two divisions. Three rows of "rail seating" have been built at Ashton Gate to exhibit standing accommodation commonly used in European football including Germany, and the plan is to seek approval for it from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA).

The rails incorporate seats which can be flipped up to allow standing, planned currently to accommodate one supporter in front of each seat to prevent the possibility of overcrowding.

Standing remains permitted at rugby union and league so if approved by the SGSA, rail seating areas for 3,770 supporters will be built on two sides of Ashton Gate. Steve Lansdown, the Bristol City owner, also owns Bristol Rugby, who are moving into Ashton Gate next season, so fans of the rugby team would be able to stand while fans of the football club will by law have to sit, in the same area.

Football League clubs have resolved to lobby the government to change the law to license rail seating, and to allow standing in the Championship. Standing has been banned in football's top two divisions since 1994, after the Taylor report on Hillsborough recommended all-seat stadiums.

Doug Harman, Bristol City's chief executive, said there is "clear strong support from clubs" for a change to the longstanding ban on standing.

"We have received feedback from our supporters who are keen for the option of safe standing," he said.

Peter Daykin, of the Football Supporters' Federation, which has led the campaign for safe standing, said: "Bristol City are acceding to the wishes of their supporters and the overwhelming majority of football fans. The benefits of standing are better atmosphere, lower ticket prices and an end to problems caused by standing in seated areas."

The government has said it will discuss the proposal with the Football League but remains of the view – principally on the advice of police, who are concerned about misbehaviour – that standing should stay banned.

David Conn

Hillsborough: investigators recover 2,500 police notebooks

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 08:37 AM PST

Home secretary Theresa May refuses to confirm or deny that families of victims were spied on in police operations

More than 2,500 police pocket notebooks that could provide vital information about the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and which were not available to previous inquiries have finally been recovered by investigators, the home secretary has revealed.

MPs told Theresa May they were shocked to learn that only now had the missing police pocket notebooks been handed in by officers and the forces who had stored them.

The home secretary also fuelled concerns that some of the families of the 96 Hillsborough victims were spied on in undercover police operations, including tapping their phones, when she told the Commons that convention meant she was unable to confirm or deny that such activity had taken place.

However, she said the Independent Police Complaints Commission was aware of the concerns and, although no formal complaint had been received, would pursue any evidence that secret surveillance had taken place. May said she was considering writing to all chief constables to remind them of the need for full disclosure to the Hillsborough inquiry. It was disappointing, she said, that it had taken so long for the police pocket notebooks to be produced.

"They have been treated [by the officers concerned] as personal possessions which they could take home and do with as they wish," she told MPs.

She appealed to any officers, retired or serving, who still had notebooks from that day to come forward.

May was updating the Commons on the progress of the new inquiry into the disaster, which happened during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday FC's Hillsborough stadium on 15 April. May confirmed that the fresh inquests were due to start on 31 March and reported that more than 1,600 witnesses, including 250 who had not come forward before, had responded to the IPCC's witness appeal.

She said the number of police accounts believed to have been "amended" had reached 242 and 160 interviews had already taken place in relation to them.

The fresh criminal inquiry, Operation Resolve, led by the former Durham chief constable Jon Stoddart, which is investigating the deaths has so far completed 1,000 interviews of witnesses.

The home secretary said IPCC investigators were analysing the 2,500 police notebooks that had not been made available to previous investigations. "I think everybody has been perhaps not surprised but disappointed that there have been further documents that have come forward as a result of the two investigations, particularly documents like the police pocket notebooks.

"I have written both to Dame Anne Owers, as chairman of the IPCC, and to Jon Stoddart to ask them whether they would find it helpful for me to ask all police forces … whether they are having any problems in relation to getting material and whether it will be helpful for me to write to chief constables to ask them for their forces to look at any material that they might have."

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, called for the immediate release of any surveillance material to do with the Hillsborough families and campaigners. She said the last 25 years had been extremely difficult for the families and the next few months would also be very hard for them.

Maria Eagle, Labour MP for Liverpool Garston, tweeted after the statement that MPs had been shocked that the 2,500 police notebooks had only just been brought forward.

Alan Travis

John Terry will not go to World Cup, says England manager Roy Hodgson

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

• Chelsea defender will not be considered for Denmark friendly
• 'As far as I'm concerned retirement is retirement. We move on'

Roy Hodgson has made it clear he has no plans to persuade John Terry to come out of international retirement despite José Mourinho's description of the Chelsea captain as the outstanding defender in the Premier League this season.

Terry's form has been instrumental in helping them to the top of the league but Hodgson has decided to stick with the players who helped England qualify for the World Cup.

Terry will not be included when Hodgson names his squad for the home friendly against Denmark on 5 March and he is not in Hodgson's thoughts for Brazil.

"John has retired,'' Hodgson said. "As far as I'm concerned that is the situation. We've got along with him for the whole of the qualification, and quite a few friendly matches, and we'll have to get along without him in the future. As far as I'm concerned retirement is retirement.

The announcement almost certainly closes the door on a England recall for Terry unless he takes the matter into his own hands and declares he is available again.

Terry has come close at least once to doing that since he retired in protest at the Football Association's decision to hold a disciplinary case against him after he had been acquitted in court of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Chelsea game at QPR. He was found guilty of misconduct by an independent FA commission and banned for four matches.

Daniel Taylor

Uruguay striker Diego Forlán rejoices at move to Japan's Cerezo Osaka

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 07:32 AM PST

• Striker is most high-profile recruit to J-League in years
• 'I think this will be good preparation for the World Cup'

The Uruguay forward Diego Forlán says he did not think twice about taking his career to Japan, where he will become the most high-profile player in the J-League in years.

The 34-year-old Forlán was introduced on Wednesday as the newest member of Cerezo Osaka, the latest stop in a career including stints at Manchester United, Internazionale and Atlético Madrid. Osaka declined to reveal the financial terms of the deal but Japanese media reported it was $5.8m for the 2014 season, a record for the J-League.

Forlán will join compatriot Luis Suárez this summer when Uruguay play England, Costa Rica and Italy in Group D at the World Cup but said he was not concerned the switch to Osaka will interfere with his preparations for Brazil.

"I'm not worried about that at all," Forlán said at a news conference. "The level of football here is very high from both a technical and physical standpoint so if anything, I think this will be good preparation for the World Cup."

Forlán has already played for club teams in six different countries so moving to Japan should not be too daunting.

More than 1,000 Osaka fans greeted the player at the team's home stadium, an indication of the excitement his signing has generated.

"I've never received such a reception," Forlán said. "This is my third time to visit Japan and I am always impressed by the level of respect people are given here."

Osaka finished fourth in the 18-team J-League last season and hope that a striker of Forlán's calibre can help the team win their first title. The Serb Ranko Popovic, who previously managed J-League clubs Oita Trinita and FC Tokyo, was brought in as manager.

Forlan scored 10 goals in 34 games last season for Brazilian club Internacional and has an impressive career representing his country. He was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the 2010 World Cup and was joint top scorer with five goals, bringing his international total to 36 since his World Cup debut in 2002.

The signing of Forlán is a watershed for the J-League of late. When the league was launched in Japan's bubble economy, teams spent lavishly on imports such as Gary Lineker, Zico, Pierre Littbarski and Dunga. But with a downturn in the economy and lagging attendances, clubs have been forced to scale back in recent years.

The Fiver | Dilettantes and heartless manipulators

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 07:28 AM PST

Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arriving

THE BAD NEW DAYS

The Fiver's list of things that used to be much better back in the day grows with every passing moment. Take TV for example. Once a medium that passed on useful information and the occasional t1tillation via the Friday night foreign film on Channel 4 – you told the parents you were staying up late to watch a double-bill of Jack@ss and Celebrity Death Match; they knew – it now belches out reality programmes as relevant and interesting as the latest trends on Twitter. Music too. It used to be all soft crooning from men who cared about their children and loved their wives, real gentlemen such as Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby, but now it's just a big load of trashy old noise performed by dilettantes and heartless manipulators. And then there are Arsenal and Manchester United.

This clash used to be about fire and steel and anger and blood and guts and glory and glory and guts and blood and anger and steel and fire. A million thunderstorms could clap their hardest and all the One Direction fans in the world could shriek their shrillest shriek at the thought of Niall being duffed up by the Wales rugby union team and the combined cacophony would be a mere whisper compared to the rumble that a match between these two used to create. Patrick Vieira! Roy Keane! Oh, they were men. They'd break your leg as quick as they'd look at you. But they could play too. Boy, could they play.

Now, however, what we are left with is a shambles. A whiff of what it used to be. United have been boiled down to a one-dimensional side that aren't even very good at that one dimension and who cannot even beat Fulham. As for Arsenal, well, they may be second in the league but recently they were more humiliated than the time the Fiver was caught crying at an episode of Don't Tell the Bride. Hence, both teams come into this game after demeaning results, looking to get their pride back on track with some much-needed points up for grabs. Years ago that would have meant more fire and more steel and more anger and more blood and more guts and more gore than you can shake a stick at. Not any more, though. If it is big, banging fireworks that you are expecting then don't come crying to the Fiver when all you get is sparkler.

Mind, if Arsenal versus Manchester United is not up your street then you also can also have the pleasure of enjoying Stoke's scoreless stalemate with Swansea, or Everton's evisceration of Crystal Palace, or Newcastle's shoeing at the hands of Spurs, or Manchester City's slaughtering of Sunderland. That's without even mentioning Brendan Rodgers' British-based bashing of Fulham. The problem with all of these games though is that they're as easy to predict as a 100m dash between your very own wheezing Fiver and a cheetah on steroids, thus rendering them about as interesting as a remake of Cast Away staring Jude Law as Chuck Noland and an old Mitre ball playing Wilson. That's another thing you can add to the list of things that used to be better: actors. And don't get the Fiver started on …

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE TONIGHT

From 7.30pm GMT … join Barry Glendenning for MBM coverage of Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United, and Jacob Steinberg for a full clockwatch of the night's football.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Although we noted from the documentation supplied that the Strisselspalt hop used by Heineken was sourced from the Alsace region of France, we also noted that it did not constitute a significant majority of the total hops used in the recipe for the beer. We therefore concluded that [the] ad was misleading" – the Advertising Standards Agency bans Eric Cantona's Kronenbourg advert.

FIVER LETTERS

"I noted with amusement that yesterday's link to Ryan Bailey's tweet allowed us to see a little picture of his smiling visage. Moreover, he went on to win prizeless letter of the day, which has me wondering whether the Fiver will now be inundated with letters featuring senders' pictures. I've always had a mental picture of Paul Jurdeczka as a slightly scruffy, Worzel Gummidge-like character, yet my imagination has Noble Francis as a diminutive, bookish character … not unlike Penfold of Danger Mouse fame. Please keep Fiver letters photo-free – my imaginary world is a peaceful, happy place" – Euan Donald.

"Can I just congratulate the Advertising Standards Authority on its decision to outlaw that Eric Cantona Kronenbourg advert. As someone who remembers Eric the King in his pomp (Selhurst Park et al), it is sad to see him reduced to this" – Noble Francis.

"I was very impressed by Philip Mercer's letter (yesterday's Fiver letters). Not that he was able to construct a vaguely sensible letter out of song titles, but that anyone would have the guts to admit to knowing that many Mick Hucknall songs" – Joel Gaskell.

"Might I declare my outrage at Alexandra Patten's demand that O Fiverão should be renamed O Adidas Cocacola Hyundaiemirates Sonyvisabudweiser Castrolcontinental Johnsonandjjohnson McDonalds Oisearayingli Apex Brasil Centauro Garoto Itaulibertyseguros Wiseupfutbolforhope Fiverinho. Anyone with a basic pedantic grasp of Brazilian Portuguese adjective organisation would know it should be O Fiverinho da Adidas Cocacola Hyundaiemirates Sonyvisabudweiser Castrolcontinental Johnsonandjohnson McDonalds Oisearayingli Apex Brasil Centauro Garoto Itaulibertyseguros Wiseupfutbolforhope. I'll just get my coat" – Steve Wingrove.

• 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 prizeless letter o' the day is: Euan Donald.

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BITS AND BOBS

Man Utd suit Ed Woodward isn't worried about failing to qualify for Big Cup for a prolonged period. "What I am focused on is long-term strategy," parped Woodward, who also went on to trill about – and you'll like this – how Juan Mata's signing had increased the club's Twitter followers "14-fold" and Facebook likes "four-fold". Honestly.

Arsenal forward and Miss Marple enthusiast Lukas Podolski reckons he left Bayern Munich too early. "From a purely sporting perspective, returning to Cologne [in 2009] was certainly not very helpful," he wept.

Falcao has successfully completed the first phase of his recovery following an operation on knee-knack, and been given "a 55% chance of playing in the World Cup" by Dr Jose Carlos Noronha. Given the Colombian was rated 50% less than a fortnight ago, he should be at 110% well in time for the shenanigans in Brazil.

Big Sam reckons West Ham's upcoming warm-weather training camp in Dubai has been the catalyst for their upturn in form. Well, results. "The critical need for every player we have is for them to get a bit of sun on their back, do a little bit of light training and ease the pressure on the mind, soul and body," he wibbled.

And Chelsea boss José Mourinho claimed his side had been undermined by "a lack of personality" in the 1-1 draw at West Brom. "A ready team, a complete team, kills this game," he sniffed. "2-0. Goodbye. We didn't."

STILL WANT MORE?

The 25 stunning World Cup moments series kicks off with No1 from Simon Burnton: Cameroon stunning Argentina (and booting Claudio Caniggia) at Italia '90.

David Moyes is in a bad mood. Daniel Taylor reports.

Is Darren Bent really the most prolific visiting striker at Old Trafford? The Knowledge has the answer.

José Mourinho's return is proving a success, isn't it, reckons Paul Wilson.

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

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Want your very own copy of our free tea-timely(ish) email sent direct to your inbox? Has your regular copy stopped arriving? Click here to sign up. And you can also now receive our weekly World Cup email, O Fiverão; this is the first edition, and you can sign up for it here.

OH THE STATH, HOW COULD YOU?

Ian McCourt

Falcao's hopes rise for World Cup

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 07:12 AM PST

• Striker underwent succesful surgery on his knee
• Surgeon gives player '55%' chance of making World Cup

The Monaco striker Radamel Falcao boosted his bid to recover in time to play for Colombia in the World Cup after successfully completing the first phase of his recovery following an operation on his left knee.

The French club said in a statement on Wednesday that the Colombia forward will go to a sports clinic in Madrid on Thursday to pursue the second phase "in close collaboration with the medical department of Monaco."

Dr José Carlos Noronha operated on Falcao on 25 January in Portugal and gave the player "a 55% chance of playing in the World Cup". Colombia's first game is against Greece on 14 June.

"Monaco and the player would like to thank all the people who took care of Falcao, in particular the medical department of Dr Jose Carlos Noronha and (the) club of FC Porto," Monaco said.

The 28-year-old Falcao, who joined Monaco from Atlético Madrid in a deal worth around £53m in the summer, tore knee ligaments following a heavy challenge during a French Cup game against the amateur side Chasselay on 22 January.

Monaco recently signed the striker Dimitar Berbatov from Fulham to fill in for Falcao until the end of the season.

Manchester United can cope without Champions League, says Ed Woodward

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:35 AM PST

• Executive vice-chairman said revenue is up to £42.3m
• 'It's fair to say we are focused on strengthening the squad'

The Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, said he is not "concerned" that failure to qualify for the Champions League for a prolonged period would affect commercial and financial strategy.

David Moyes is also expected to strengthen the squad with a minimum of four players in the summer, more signings than the club have made in recent years.

In a conference call with investors to discuss United's quarterly results, Woodward also stressed the club's digital strategy, citing how Juan Mata's £37.1m arrival last month increased the champions' Twitter followers by 288,000 – "14-fold" – and on Facebook "four-fold".

United are seventh in the table and if they lose at Arsenal and Liverpool beat Fulham on Wednesday evening they will be 12 points from a Champions League place.

Yet Woodward was bullish regarding how the prospect of not playing in the competition would affect United. When asked how long the club's financial strategy could continue without Champions League football, Woodward said: "The first thing I would say is our starting point [for] long-term strategy is to focus on building a competitive squad that challenges for trophies. Part of the financial strength we have and we have presented in the results today demonstrates that we have the ability to do that. We have the ability to buy players, to churn players, to make sure we are competing at the top level, which is what we should be doing.

"The second thing I'd say is that I think it takes a long time to build up a huge fan base, to have, if you like, the equity values of what we are as a business and a club projected out there so people can understand from a commercial perspective why it make sense to partner with us. And I don't think that will go away for a long time.

"Some of our competitors haven't won the Premier League for a long time but still sell a huge number of shirts – out there globally, some just down the road from us. So that's not something I'm sitting here concerned about. What I am focused on is that long-term strategy."

Regarding the prospect of Moyes' sizable rebuilding in the close season, Woodward, who would not offer the potential spend, said: "It's fair to say we are focused on strengthening the squad. We are looking at some players that perhaps we will sell this summer. We wouldn't necessarily be looking to churn a huge number of players as that can have a destabilising effect, but we aren't afraid of moving in the market in a way that perhaps we haven't seen in recent years.

"If you look at historic numbers [of new players recruited in previous summers] that gives you one guide; if you look at historic churning of players by numbers that gives you another guide. Historically we've had roughly three purchases and three sales each year and it's possible that we would do more than that. It is a dynamic situation and the market can throw up opportunities or the opposite of that as we go through the window."

Woodward also accepted that United are having a disappointing season, stating that "everyone from the team manager" is conscious of the club's poor performance.

He said: "We once again achieved a record revenue quarter with strong contributions from our commercial and broadcasting businesses despite the league position. We continue to see meaningful opportunities to grow our commercial business and the popularity of football on TV is leading to continued broadcasting revenue growth – all of which bodes well for the long-term stability and financial strength of our business. We are also very pleased to have added a world-class player in Juan Mata to our squad, who has already made a positive impact."

In the last three months of 2013 commercial revenue was up 18.8% to £42.3m.

Jamie Jackson

Sportswomen are stereotyped as gay – but that doesn't make coming out easy | Julie Bindel

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:40 AM PST

Reverse homophobia made it impossible for Casey Stoney to come out publicly. What does that say to girls who love sport?

Casey Stoney, the England football captain and Arsenal defender, has spoken in detail for the first time about being a lesbian.

Her sexuality has been written about in the past – notably in 2012, when she was included in the Independent on Sunday Pink List. But, inspired by the bravery of Olympic diver Tom Daley, Stoney told BBC Sport: "I was living a lie. I've never hidden it within football circles because it is accepted, but to the outside world, I've never spoken about my sexuality."

The macho world of male professional football and the appallingly sexist behaviour of some high-profile players towards women is hardly a context in which male players will feel supported if they came out as gay. The fans, despite the FA encouraging more families and women to attend the game, add to the overspill of testosterone by chanting anti-gay slurs about players they do not like.

Conversely, women with a penchant for sports, aside from perhaps beach volleyball, curling and ice hockey are often assumed to be lesbians. Why else would they risk messing up their hair? Oddly, many sportswomen actually put their skills before appearance when they are working, which serves as a dividing line between female sports professionals and men like David Beckham. But this assumption that many women in sport are lesbians does not actually help women come out.

According to a 2008 report, Barriers to Women and Girls' Participation in Sport and Physical Activity, by the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), a charity that aims to get more girls and women involved in sport, there are several barriers to women's participation, one of which is prejudicial attitudes to sexuality: "Some girls avoid certain sports for fear of being perceived as unfeminine or lesbian; some parents discourage their daughters from taking up sport; some lesbian athletes avoid going public about their sexuality in case they experience prejudice from other athletes and coaches, or lose public support or sponsorship."

Because women are made for cross-stitching and bringing up babies, it is obviously unnatural, goes the sexist stereotype, that women wish to get hot and sweaty with other women on the pitch. It is not that far a leap, if you do believe such activity among females is an oddity, to assume that off the pitch, men are cast aside in favour of lesbian trysts in North Face clothing to the theme tune of Match of the Day.

Couple these attitudes with the fact that the majority of sports journalists and sports editors are men, and we have a double bind of sexism and anti-lesbian prejudice that prevent women from both participating and, if they are lesbian, coming out.

When I interviewed the out lesbian legend Martina Navratilova in 2010 I asked her why she thinks there are so few out gay sporting icons, 30 years after she came out. "There is a kind of reverse homophobia with women because they have to almost prove they are straight," she told me. "They are seen as dykes just because they play sports. A journalist would never dare ask a male athlete, a football player or a softball player: 'Are you gay?', unless they were a figure skater, but it is OK to ask a female tennis player."

Stereotyping women who love sports as lesbians may mean that folk are less shocked if one of them does actually turn out to be gay, but it certainly does not help her journey in coming out with confidence.

Julie Bindel

Manchester United woes down to 'crazy season of injuries', says Paul Scholes

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:35 AM PST

• Former midfielder says David Moyes will turn things around
• 'We'll always come back from bad patches like this'

Paul Scholes blames a "crazy season of injuries" for Manchester United's disappointing season, with the former midfielder confident that in the long term David Moyes will reverse their fortunes.

United are seventh and will drop 12 points off a Champions League place if they lose at Arsenal and Liverpool beat Fulham on Wednesday evening. Yet Scholes believes that the absence of key players has seriously hampered Moyes during his inaugural season in charge.

"I don't think the manager can legislate for the amount of injuries he has had to deal with," he said. "We've missed [Wayne] Rooney and [Robin] van Persie for big chunks of the season – they are two of the best centre-forwards in the world and any team would miss them. When we finally got them both back for the game against Stoke [the 2-1 defeat on 1 February], suddenly we had four centre-halves not fit to play.

"It's been a crazy season for injuries. Hopefully we'll get a bit of luck with injuries and I'm sure if we get all our players fit we'll get moving up the league."

Scholes, who retired in the summer after two decades at United, can recall many similar periods of dire form during his career. "We'll always come back from bad patches like this. We have been on worse runs," he said. "I think there was a time that we went three years [ending in 2007] without winning the league, which was a disaster for a club of this size – this is nothing in comparison.

"Once the manager gets his own players in, gets his defenders fit and Rooney and Van Persie flying again, I'm sure we'll be OK."

Jamie Jackson

Paul Scholes: Manchester United dire form due to 'crazy season of injuries'

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:30 AM PST

• Former midfielder cites absence of Rooney and Van Persie
• 'If we get all our players fit we'll get moving up the league'

Paul Scholes blames a "crazy season of injuries" for Manchester United's disappointing season, with the former midfielder confident that in the long term David Moyes will reverse their fortunes.

United are seventh and will drop 12 points off a Champions League place if they lose at Arsenal and Liverpool beat Fulham on Wednesday evening.

Yet Scholes believes that the absence of key players has seriously hampered Moyes during his inaugural season in charge. "I don't think the manager can legislate for the amount of injuries he has had to deal with," he said. "We've missed Rooney and [Robin] van Persie for big chunks of the season – they are two of the best centre-forwards in the world and any team would miss them.

"When we finally got them both back for the game against Stoke [the 2-1 defeat on 1 February], suddenly we had four centre-halves not fit to play. It's been a crazy season for injuries. Hopefully we'll get a bit of luck with injuries and I'm sure if we get all our players fit we'll get moving up the league."

Jamie Jackson

José Mourinho's bold sense of direction makes Chelsea a side to look up to | Paul Wilson

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:29 AM PST

Compared to what is happening at Manchester United and to a lesser extent Arsenal – or what is not happening at those clubs – the Chelsea manager's decisiveness stands out

Never mind the little horse nonsense, the two points dropped at West Bromwich Albion or the distraction of whether Chelsea are better equipped to win the title this season or next. José Mourinho's return is proving a success, isn't it? If there is truth in the maxim that it is never a good idea to go back, Mourinho is unafraid of it. While Chelsea may not have been his preferred destination, at this stage you would never have guessed. Despite approximately half the country hoping he would fall flat on his face at Stamford Bridge, things have gone so smoothly it is almost as if he had never been away.

Looking at the first knockout stage of the Champions League that begins next week, it could reasonably be argued that Chelsea are the English club with the best chance of progressing. That has a lot to do with the difficult ties faced by Arsenal and Manchester City and the lamentable state of Manchester United at the moment, but it also has something to do with the confidence Mourinho inspires in these situations. Without intending any disrespect to Galatasaray, Chelsea supporters will already be looking ahead to the next round, even if the impressive Nemanja Matic is cup-tied for the Champions League this season.

Both Mourinho's January signings are cup-tied for the Champions League in fact, Mohamed Salah having played for Basel in the group stage just as Matic appeared for Benfica, and many a manager might have thought twice before going for such a pair. Not Mourinho. The Chelsea manager argued, quite reasonably, that those were the two players he wanted even if they would only be fully integrated into the team next season, and in the meantime he had players such as Eden Hazard, Willian and Mikel John Obi who could fill in for this season's Champions League fixtures. He knows what he wants, in other words. He can see the way his team should be playing and he knows the personnel he needs in order to make it happen.

That may seem obvious, normal, football manager stuff, but compared to what is happening at Manchester United and to a lesser extent Arsenal – or more accurately what is not happening at those clubs – Mourinho's decisiveness and bold sense of direction stands out. Arsène Wenger usually appears to have a good idea of what he wants but is diffident about going out to get it. Part of the reason for what now looks like over-excitement over the arrival of Mesut Özil was that Arsenal fans had been made to wait so long for a top line, serious signing. For a while it appeared the German could transform the club on his own, before a few indifferent performances suggested that might be wishful thinking, but whatever the eventual verdict on Özil the Arsenal manager was slightly lucky to land him in the first place since the player could easily have ended up at Manchester United.

Where presumably he would have looked as lost and bewildered as Juan Mata is doing at the moment. Or in fact as lost and bewildered as he looked playing for Arsenal at Anfield at the weekend. How did my career come to this, he seemed to be asking Wenger as he made his way off the pitch on being substituted. Privately, Mata is probably wondering the same thing at the moment, and most likely Robin van Persie too, though at least the latter was exactly what United needed for a season. Even as the £37m deal for Mata was going through it was unclear whether the Spain player was exactly what David Moyes needed, and having off-loaded a player who was surplus to requirements and got the asking price without any haggling, this was a transfer that looked much more like Mourinho getting exactly what he wanted.

Whether he is doing it intentionally or not is a good question, but having been snubbed by the Old Trafford heirarchy as a possible replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson, Mourinho now appears to be enjoying showing United what a fearless and uncompromising manager they could have had. United have been crying out for a strong, energetic midfield presence for years, even going back to the last few seasons under Ferguson.

Mata is not that player, and unless first impressions are unusually deceptive it is doubtful whether Marouane Fellaini fits the bill either, but when Mourinho identified such a performer he went straight out and bought him with complete disregard to the fact that Chelsea looked slightly foolish in paying £20m for a player – Matic – they had let go for almost nothing three years earlier. Practically no other manager on earth would have done that, though of course Mourinho could argue he still had change from the Mata money. Mata was well liked at Stamford Bridge, player of the season twice running, but few have attempted to argue against Mourinho's reasoning. After a few convincing wins with Matic in the side, Chelsea look far from foolish now.

Mourinho also seems to be responsible for replacing Ashley Cole without fuss and for rejuvenating John Terry's career to the extent that he is being touted for England again. It is perhaps unfortunate that the direct comparisons again look unflattering for Moyes, but United are still in the hunt for a new left back after two unproductive transfer windows and Nemanja Vidic has decided he will not be sticking around at the end of the season.

Mourinho can also cope with the media, manipulate it even, in the same effortless way that Ferguson could. Having been through the Real Madrid experience, not to mention his time in Milan, he is even more relaxed and self-assured than when he was last in England, and that is saying something. It goes without saying that Moyes – "I don't know what we have to do to win" – is not in the same league, though few are.

History will be the judge of whether Ferguson and United made a good choice of new manager, and history may not take as long as everyone seems to think it will, but one thing has been certain since the very beginning of the season when Mourinho got his feet back under the table at Chelsea and said he would like to buy Wayne Rooney. Moyes was always likely to find it hard at United, and is doing. The very last thing he needed was a personal rival at Chelsea making it all look so easy.

Paul Wilson

Michael Sam: NFL prospect's stock falls after coming out in a man's-man game | Marina Hyde

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:08 AM PST

The debate has centred on what social stigma being gay carries with supporters, but what stigma does it carry among the people with sport's chequebooks who hold the power?

Are gay rights in sport a bit like feminism, in that they've "gone too far the other way now"? I do admire that line of reasoning as far as us birds go, and always remember to resist the temptation to reply: Oh God yes. And given it was too far your way for literally thousands of years, I'm totally clearing my 9018 diary to have this conversation with you then. In the meantime, make us a cup of tea, there's a love.

And so to the struggle against homophobia in the big pro sports, where each time a footballer comes out – or rather, on the two occasions a footballer has come out, safely after his retirement – you will find no shortage of clear-eyed idiots dismissing the gesture on the basis that the focus on their announcement is ludicrous. "Why is this even a news story?" they will wonder. "Who cares?" they will inquire rhetorically. "Sexuality is an irrelevance."

On the contrary, alas. Sexuality should be an irrelevance, but it absolutely isn't, and anyone still fannying about under the misapprehension that the focus on it is a media nonsense, or maybe something the gays have cooked up as cover for their advancing strategy of global domination (see also: the Jews/women/people who don't think Loose Change is the real story behind 9/11) is cordially directed to the most sobering of reports in Sports Illustrated.

The occasion for the article was the coming out of the Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam, who has chosen a wildly unconventional moment for his already wildly unconventional announcement, and one that guarantees the next few months will see unprecedented focus on the NFL's culture. Far from revealing he is gay after retirement, Sam is a college player who has chosen to do so before entering the NFL draft in May. Before his press conference last Sunday, he was an All American, Missouri's MVP, a Cotton Bowl winner, and the Associated Press's defensive player of the year for the Southeastern Conference. And now he's all those things, as well as out. Is he still a likely third-round draft pick?

Well, that brings us to the reports. Instead of going the conventional route, and simply collecting the tweeted well-wishes of various sportsfolk, balanced with the odd few characters of keep-'em-out bigotry from an embittered ex-pro, Sports Illustrated did something far more interesting. It spoke – anonymously – to eight NFL executives and coaches for a piece headlined "How will news that Michael Sam is gay affect his NFL draft stock?". The results were what might be euphemised as sobering. All eight predicted a slide.

"In blunt terms," summarised Sports Illustrated, "they project a significant drop in Sam's draft stock, a publicity circus and an NFL locker room culture not prepared to deal with an openly gay player."

"This is going to drop him down," explained a veteran NFL scout. "It's still a man's-man game," opined an NFL player personnel assistant, who added: "It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room." "Not a smart move," was the withering verdict of one assistant coach, saying it "affects [his] future earnings". The inevitable media circus Sam will now draw was cited by a couple, while another returned to there being "nothing more sensitive than the heartbeat of that locker room".

To read the Sports Illustrated report is to be invited to press one's nose against the glass of the cigar lounge frequented by some of the people who actually make decisions in the NFL – and the vista is not desperately appealing. It is, however, familiar to students of previous rights struggles in sports, especially that old chestnut about this sort of thing being preferable at some handily unspecified point in the future. Football wasn't "ready" now, but might be "in the coming decade or two", apparently. Perhaps these caution-mongers and all those leery executives wringing their hands about a media circus – oh do man up! – might consider that an awful lot of people didn't think 1947 was the right time for Jackie Robinson to break baseball's colour line. A decade or two would have been better then, no doubt.

As for what reflections the Sam story might cast on our own shores, and football in particular, I found it offered a useful shift in perspective. When discussing the possibility of high-profile footballers coming out, it has become conventional – not to the exclusion of all else, but conventional – to frame it as a matter of what sort of abuse they'd get from the fans or on the pitch, when the Sports Illustrated story does something far cannier and follows the money. Never mind what might happen to a gay player should they get picked away against Chelsea or whoever: isn't the far more engrossing question whether a gay player would get signed?

The debate has become so caught up with what social stigma being gay does or doesn't carry among the supporters. But what stigma does it carry among the people with the chequebooks – the people with all the power? What do the managers really think? What do the owners really think?

Without wishing to be a cynic about the sort of people who control English football, you can't help thinking that the traditional focus on what those horrid opponents and fans might say plays right into the hands of the real big hitters, whose prejudices would carry far more weight than those of some idiot in row 31.

Marina Hyde

Arsenal's Lukas Podolski: I left Bayern Munich too soon

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 03:30 AM PST

• Arsenal forward says he should not have left Bayern in 2009
• Gunners play Bayern Munich in Champions League last 16

The Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has acknowledged he made a mistake in returning to his hometown club Cologne in 2009 from Bayern Munich. The Germany international struggled to make the breakthrough in Munich following a transfer from Cologne in 2006.

However, he feels he rushed into a return home and that he should have stuck it out longer in Bavaria, and perhaps he would have broken into the first team under Jupp Heynckes. "I believe that if Jupp Heynckes had arrived one or two weeks earlier in 2009, I would probably still be at Bayern now," he told Germany's Sport Bild magazine.

"He was desperate to keep me. From a purely sporting perspective, returning to Cologne was certainly not very helpful."

Despite scoring 18 goals in the 2011-12 season, Podolski was unable to prevent Cologne being relegated to the second tier and he subsequently joined the Gunners. There was talk of him returning to Germany last month, with Schalke tipped as a potential destination, but Podolski says those rumours were unfounded. "That was a myth. There was absolutely no truth to it," the 28-year-old said. "The coach told me as such, and I knew there was no truth in it."