Friday, 14 February 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Hodgson urges Rooney to 'explode' on World Cup stage

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

• Striker has chance to show he is a 'world star' in Brazil
• Manager hails Joe Hart's response after being dropped

Roy Hodgson has begun the next stage of his World Cup preparations by issuing a public challenge to Wayne Rooney to start reproducing his club form for England and make sure he lives up to his reputation in a way that has been beyond him in previous international tournaments. It was time, the England manager said, that Rooney "exploded" on the world stage.

Hodgson's message to Rooney was clear and included an admission that the Manchester United striker had generally under-achieved in major competitions since his remarkable contribution at Euro 2004, as an 18-year-old.

Rooney was sent off as England went out of the World Cup in 2006 to Portugal and barely recognisable with his wretched performances in South Africa four years later. His suspension for kicking out at a Macedonian player in the Euro 2012 qualifiers meant he missed the first two games before another disappointing performance in the game against Italy that put Hodgson's men out of the competition.

"Maybe once or twice in the past I think I can say without fear of contradiction that on the world stage he hasn't exploded as he has on our national stage, where we all accept him as an outstanding player," Hodgson said. "We have been together for a couple of years, we are growing slowly and there will be an opportunity for him in Brazil to show he is not just a great star in the Premier League, but a world star.

"I hope with Wayne, and certainly the message to him is: 'This is your chance. Sure, you'll be a bit tired, but so will Luis Suárez and David Luiz and various other players, because they are also playing in the Premier League and playing every game, like you.'

"He is 28, a terrific age, and this is the world stage, the perfect opportunity for him to prove to people around the world what we already know – that he is a very, very gifted footballer, a very all-round footballer capable of playing in many positions and someone who is a leading light in his team, which is one of the best in the world. It would be nice to see him reproducing that form for England and I am confident he will."

One concern for Hodgson is that Rooney is so important for United these days there will not be many opportunities for David Moyes to rest him between now and the end of the season.

"They will be tired, they will be exhausted," Hodgson said. "But going through the players the other day, the fact there are 23 Frenchmen playing regularly in the league, 15 Belgians and 14 Spaniards etc, means we're not going to be quite as alone on that front as we once were. These players will be equally tired. Luis Suárez is not going to be any fresher than Wayne Rooney.

"Wayne has had a an enforced break through injury. You could argue he's had a winter break, which some players didn't get. And I think with Wayne it's a great opportunity this year to show on a world stage what a magnificent player he is."

Hodgson cited Rooney's performances for United and reflected on one moment during the 2-2 draw against Fulham on Sunday. "One thing I was disappointed about was that he didn't get credit for the fact the equalising goal came from Rooney winning a header against Dan Burn in the box. Rooney against 6ft 7in Dan Burn. That says a lot about what he's doing at the moment. He didn't get a lot of credit for that but he got credit in my eyes, that's for sure. I certainly rejoice in the fact that he's playing so well."

Hodgson is also encouraged by the return to form of the Manchester City goalkeeper, Joe Hart. He said: "Hart has had a good response. It must have been hard to lose his place [at Manchester City] and there was a lot of criticism at the time. I don't care how confident a character you are, you are bound to be affected. But since Joe got his chance again he has grabbed it with both hands and turned in good performances. I never doubted his ability to do it."

Hodgson was asked about Adnan Januzaj's possible involvement in future years and the growing sense that the 18-year-old United player, born in Brussels to Albanian-Kosovar parents, would eventually like to qualify for England through citizenship.

"All I can say on the subject is that it is a matter for the FA board," Hodgson said. "It does raise a lot of issues within football. Until the FA board have made it clear what their policy is, whether it's going to be following Fifa dictates or something slightly different, I've got to wait and see.

"The one thing you have to understand with Januzaj, whichever way England decide to go, is the way the rules are at the moment there is no way he can play for England for the next few years."

Daniel Taylor

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Suárez risks new Evra race row

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 02:47 PM PST

• Risks re-opening race row with Mancester United defender
• Admits biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic was a mistake

Luis Suárez has risked reopening his race row with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra by claiming he has no regrets over the incident which he described as "all false".

The Liverpool striker was banned for eight games after being found guilty of racially abusing the Frenchman in 2011. However, Suárez says the only mistakes he regrets in his career involved twice biting an opponent. He told Sport890 AM: "Let me tell you, I've made only two mistakes in my career. My first was when I was playing for Ajax and I bit an opponent. My second was when I bit [Branislav] Ivanovic [against Chelsea].

"The case with Evra was all false. I was accused without proof. But that's in the past. I was sad at that moment, but I'm happy today. I have grown up. I have thought more about things before doing them.

"Now people in England can't talk about me because I'm not doing anything wrong. They have to talk about me only as a footballer. I said I'm sorry [after the Ivanovic bite] and that was all, end of story. I've nothing else to regret. All the other things were like a movie that people in England believed in."

Suárez also admitted to fears over his fitness as he prepares to play for Uruguay at this summer's World Cup. "The truth is that I am scared of what happened to [Radamel] Falcao and [Theo] Walcott," he said, referring to the serious injuries picked up by the Monaco and Arsenal forwards.

"But you live in the present and you always give your best for your club - you can't be thinking about that all the time. It is a unique opportunity and we all want to be there but I prefer to focus my mind on the English league. The moment to think about the national team will arrive later."


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Szczesny: Arsenal on track for title

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Emirates goalkeeper insists recent results are of no concern
• Chastening 5-1 Liverpool defeat is now 'out of our system'

Wojciech Szczesny has contended that Arsenal's Premier League title push remains on course, despite the disappointing results against Liverpool and Manchester United, as Arsène Wenger considers changes to his starting XI for Sunday's FA Cup visit of Liverpool.

Arsenal could only draw 0-0 at home to United on Wednesday night in the wake of Saturday's 5-1 defeat at Liverpool.

But Szczesny said Arsenal could take heart from the more resilient display, in which he made two vital saves to deny the United striker Robin van Persie. He also advanced the draw as evidence that the Anfield debacle is "out of our system". With Chelsea gaining only a point at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday and Manchester City's home fixture against Sunderland on Wednesday being postponed, Arsenal sit only one point off the top of the table.

"We are in a good position in the league, and we are still in the FA Cup and the Champions League, so I don't know what kind of frustration we should have," Szczesny said. "The frustration should have been a year or two ago when we were struggling. We're still there at the top of the table. We are going to push for the title. We are still confident.

He added: "I was happy with a clean sheet against United because we had to recover from conceding five goals on Saturday – and I thought we were solid defensively, as we always are at home. We didn't get the three points and that's disappointing, but I think we got back on track with the clean sheet and, hopefully, we can push on from here.

"If we could have a similar last ten games to last season, we'd be in a good position. With the football we play … other teams might get tired, but we seem to push on. Hopefully we'll do the same thing again and that will give us a good chance."

The Liverpool result was made all the more shocking because Arsenal had conceded only four goals in their previous 10 matches in all competitions. They were 4-0 down after 20 minutes at Anfield.

"You can see from the good performance against United that it is out of our system," Szczesny said. "It was just an accident. They were terrific offensively, we were a little bit weak defensively, and we got punished. I don't think you can say you saw the real Arsenal at Anfield.

"We've seen the real Arsenal over the last year. Our defensive record has been amazing. It was a little bit humiliating to concede five on Saturday and we want to recover as soon as possible. It's a good chance to do that a week after."

Szczesny believes that fourth-placed Liverpool, whose last-minute win at Fulham on Wednesday lifted them to within four points of the leaders, Chelsea, ought to be considered as title contenders, especially as Brendan Rodgers' side have not had the demands of European football this season.

"I don't know whether that's an advantage," Szczesny said. "I wouldn't give up European football. It's very enjoyable. You can also look at it as gaining experience when you do play in the Champions League. Maybe they will have more energy but I wouldn't swap it. There are four teams in the title race and it makes it more exciting."

Liverpool are expected to field their strongest lineup at the Emirates but Wenger, with an eye on Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Bayern Munich, would like to rest the centre-forward Olivier Giroud, among others. Giroud has borne a heavy physical burden this season, and he did not start in either of the club's previous FA Cup ties, against Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City.

Nicklas Bendtner and Lukas Podolski are in contention to start in the attacking positions, together with Serge Gnabry, while at the back the goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and the full-backs Carl Jenkinson and Nacho Monreal are in line to come in. The midfielder Mathieu Flamini returns from suspension.

Wenger said: "We gave a lot [against United] and certainly for Sunday I will have to make some changes. But still, it's a big game for us and we want to win it."

David Hytner

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Williamson: fans right to be angry

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST

• 'We've let the fans down,' says Magpies defender
• Newcastle have managed just one victory in nine games

Mike Williamson believes Newcastle fans are justified in their anger following the club's 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. "We've let the manager down, we've let the club down, we've let the fans down and we've let ourselves down," said the centre half.

Everybody can have a bad day at the office but the worry for Alan Pardew is that the Spurs debacle represented his team's third straight defeat, a sequence in which Newcastle conceded 10 goals. Even worse, they have not scored a goal since returning from a warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi last month, have not won at home since Boxing Day and have managed only one victory in nine games.

Newcastle remain ninth but Pardew will not want to contemplate the possible consequences of losing the next fixture at St James' Park, against Aston Villa, on Sunday week.

Williamson said the manager had "torn into us" following the surrender to Spurs. "There needed to be some harsh words," said the defender. "He felt it wasn't good enough from us. It might have come across to the fans that there was no heart and that's a disappointing thing.

"We have players missing out the moment, a lot of quality missing but the fact is that we need the fight and the spirit as well as the quality. For the next week and a half we're going to have to work on that and make sure we react well.

"Sometimes, the fans can be a little bit unfair but you can't say that over the past few games. They are justified. We completely understand their anger, their upset. Believe me, the players are feeling exactly the same. The lads are hurting. Now it is all about making sure we can convey our spirit and fight against Villa when we've got to bounce back."

The loss and lack of replacement for their former playmaker Yohan Cabaye (who moved to Paris Saint-Germain for £20m in January) has hit a team which entertained European ambitions before Christmas extremely hard.

Loïc Rémy's recent suspension along with injuries to Fabricio Coloccini and Cheik Tioté have not helped Pardew's cause as Newcastle's manager struggles to adjust histeam's formation and calibration.

Even so high-calibre individuals such as Moussa Sissoko, Davide Santon, Steven Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cissé and Tim Krul have all underachieved in recent weeks.

This mid-season slump has prompted Pardew to cancel plans to give his squad – who are out of the FA Cup – a few days off ahead of the Villa game.

"Sometimes, it can be good for players to get away and forget about things but there are other times when it's good to get back to the training ground, get back to the drawing board and work hard, back to basics," Williamson said.

"That's what the manager has decided here and rightly so. We can have no complaints. It's fully justified."

Louise Taylor

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Sid Lowe talks to Juande Ramos

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:59 PM PST

The former Spurs manager, who will return to White Hart Lane with Dnipro in the Europa League, nurses a sense of injustice over testing transfer times and unfinished business

"Who got married?" Juande Ramos looks back on his first days as Tottenham Hotspur manager and cannot help but smile. When he and his staff walked into the dining room at Spurs' training ground, they could hardly believe it. "Incredible," he says, shaking his head. "It was like a wedding buffet. Cakes, pastries, sauces – and that was what they ate regularly." The Spaniard leans forward and says softly, if a little mischievously: "Honestly, and I say this with no bitterness at all, there were players who were … well, fat." Then he laughs and adds: "They were sedentary."

"A sportsman's physical condition has to be impeccable: your body is your living. A runner is like this," Ramos continues, raising a skinny little finger. "You can't live like the man on the street who's had dessert or cake. If you eat a cake, you're putting in diesel; a sportsman's got to run off super. A sportsman who makes, say, €6m and drinks and smokes and eats. It makes no sense at all."

And so Ramos, who faces Spurs as Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk manager in the Europa League on 20 October in Ukraine, began. "A lad who's 22, 23 and has cash might think: 'This guy's not telling me what to eat.' We trained not far from a McDonald's and we'd see them in there eating hamburgers, drinking Coke but you explain and they understand. 'This is your ideal weight, the percentage of body fat.' I can't go to their houses to watch their eating but we could train morning and afternoon and weigh them. If you're not in shape, you don't play and with work the team started improving."

By the end of that 2007-08 season, Spurs had recovered in the league and won the Carling Cup, defeating Arsenal in the semi-finals and Chelsea in the final. It was the first trophy they had won for nine years, their second in 17; it is also the last trophy they won.

The fall from grace was swift. Whatever Ramos had, he lost. When the new season started, Spurs could not win: bottom with two points from eight games, it was their worst start. On 25 October 2008, Ramos was sacked. He had been there one day short of a year. He has not been back.

Until now. Tottenham had just announced the sacking of André Villas-Boas when the news broke that Ramos would be returning to White Hart Lane with Dnipro on 27 February. It was the perfect comic combination: great timing and funny because it was true.

The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, may not have found it particularly funny; nor is it a draw Ramos particularly welcomed. As he recalls his year at Spurs over a coffee on Spain's east coast, where he was preparing Dnipro's training camp, you sense that, frankly, he could have done without it.

Dnipro are fourth. In Ukraine, Ramos says with a resigned smile, that's the way it is: they have finished fourth in seven of the last nine years. The way that Ramos tells it, you cannot fight it. There are greater powers. And if competing is impossible at home, it will not be much easier abroad. "I was happy because it's a chance to go back to a team and a city I love, a place where I was happy," Ramos says. "On the other hand, Spurs are superior. They're clear favourites and there's a very good chance of us getting knocked out."

If the likelihood is that defeat awaits, it is likely too that it will be seen as Ramos's defeat. He has not been missed in north London. Largely forgotten, silent too, when he is talked about, his spell is often seen as a kind of strange and disappointing interlude. Ramos has been portrayed as the man who wasn't there – and should never have been there. An underwhelming manager who never really "got" the Premier League and could not communicate with his players. When Harry Redknapp took Spurs to the Champions League that sensation was enhanced.

Never mind his success at Sevilla – five trophies and the last genuine league title challenge from one of Spain's "other" clubs – or Real Madrid's recovery under him, most judge Ramos as just not that good. It is as if his full name is: Spurs flop Juande Ramos.

Ramos knows that. Here starts a defence that he has clearly thought about, if not expressed before. He insists that most Spurs supporters will have good memories but you sense he suspects otherwise. He is not angry and does not rant but the feeling of injustice is there. There are explanations to make and a phrase he returns to often: "quantifiable facts". He has a point to prove and he can prove his point.

A Dnipro defeat may increase the conviction that Spurs were right to sack him, that he was never up to much, but Ramos responds: "Some fans might think that but football people know, they're infinitely stronger. One Spurs player may be our annual budget. You can prepare players and Spurs could still score four. Why? Because they're better. I can say: 'Look out, [Aaron] Lennon's quick on the outside.' They know but, voom-voom and he's gone. What are you going to do, chuck a rope round him?

"At White Hart Lane they'll have good memories: the last title that Spurs won was with me, so I guess they'll remember me fondly," Ramos continues. "We hadn't beaten Arsenal for years and we won 5-1. We won the Carling Cup, everyone's really happy … " And then? Ramos pauses. "I was sacked.

"[Daniel] Levy had an easy explanation: 'No, the thing is, the coach doesn't get it, the players are hungry, they don't eat, he doesn't understand … ' When we won the Carling Cup I understood and then I don't understand any more! They sacked a manager they'd given a four-year contract to. So they say: 'He didn't understand … '"

The image persists, though, of a manager whose relationship with players was non-existent. "My relationship with them was excellent," Ramos counters. "You know who it was bad with? [David] Bentley." Yet the collapse is inescapable. Something changed. What? "It's quantifiable; you can explain it," Ramos says by way of a prelude and then he begins, calmly but firmly. "The year before they'd signed Darren Bent for £17m. They sell Robbie Keane and [Dimitar] Berbatov because they want Bent to play, so they left us with Darren Bent and Frazier Campbell. Without strikers."

And Roman Pavlyuchenko, surely? "Yes but he was new to England, didn't understand and hardly played – and not just under me. I'm sure that if Levy had known what would happen he would have either not sold Berbatov or signed a replacement. But he wanted Bent to play and Bent had a brilliant pre-season, so Levy thinks: 'We've got the players.'"

Ramos laughs. "Bent scored 12 or 13 during pre-season. That's the worst thing that could happen! So Levy says: 'This guy [Berbatov] out, this guy [Keane] out … '"

"Berbatov didn't want to stay. Against Middlesbrough he said: 'No, no, I'm not playing.' I understood. It's more honourable to say 'I don't want to play' than to go out and not even try," Ramos continues. "If he stays and he's pissed off, he's pissed off all year. In my opinion, the problem isn't selling him and Keane, it's not replacing them.

"I wanted Samuel Eto'o and David Villa. Eto'o wanted too much in wages. We negotiated with Villa, when he was one of the world's best. Levy's a hard, hard, hard negotiator and in the end it didn't happen. So we were left with Bent and Campbell. We couldn't beat anyone. We couldn't have scored if we'd used a rainbow as the goalposts."

There were problems at the other end too. Ramos says he could see that Gareth Bale was going to be very good but that the Welshman spent eight months injured. He speaks highly of Jermaine Jenas, who "always offered tactical solutions", describes Tom Huddlestone as like "a bear" with a "scandalously good touch" and calls Jonathan Woodgate a "very good, intelligent player". But Woodgate, as with Ledley King, was injury prone and Michael Dawson was "still just a kid".

He remembers: "We could only use King in important games: he didn't train, which was a pity. He was so talented. Even at 50%, he was the leader but, sadly, you can't fight for the titles like that.

"So, eight weeks into the season: 'out!,'" Ramos continues, presenting Exhibit A, a "quantifiable fact". "Then what happens? In December they spent £51m to rectify the mistake. [Jermain] Defoe, Keane, [Younès] Kaboul, [Wilson] Palacios. £51m! 'No, the manager doesn't understand … it's the coach, that silly little Spaniard who hasn't got a clue … I took the blame but they had to spend £51m to sort it out. The honourable thing Levy did was sack [director of football Damien] Comolli too: if he'd truly blamed the signings on me, Comolli would have continued but the whole structure changed. He knew but when it came to the [message to] the press and fans, it was the manager's fault."

Did you feel let down by that? "Yes, totally. They know they ruined the team when they sold two strikers and left me none."

You must accept some blame, surely? You must have made mistakes. "Of course," Ramos says. "I shouldn't have accepted some decisions that weren't mine. I can't think of a specific thing I'd change but the responsibility for the team is mine, absolutely. I accepted Comolli's players, who I hadn't proposed. That was a mistake."

Should you have refused to work with Comolli, then? "With hindsight that might have been the right thing to do."

Ramos accepts the way Tottenham is run but not the apportioning of blame when it comes to not being among the country's very best sides. "Spurs works as a business," he says.

"That's legitimate and I'm sure the model's built with the right intentions. They think the economic model enables the sporting model to function but that's not always true. Levy makes a £17m investment [Bent] but has two better players in the way. They have to remove obstacles so the investment plays. In economic terms, fine. In sporting terms it turned out to be a disaster."

He explains: "Spurs spend a lot of money but only sign players who are 20 or 22 because they're thinking of future sales. [Gareth] Bale, for example, or [Luka] Modric: I advised Spurs to sign him. He's a great player but you still need patience; it doesn't happen immediately. The idea is: sign players, see if they take off, sell and reinvest. Fine but are you trying to win money or titles? The criteria at Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea is that the sporting side is the priority. If City sign [Jesús] Navas or [Álvaro] Negredo, they don't look at the player's age; they look at his performances.

"Spurs aren't going to win the league. Economically, it works well but in sporting terms maybe it needs retuning. You can't demand something that doesn't fit the reality."

So Ramos comes back to the Europa League and will reappear at White Hart Lane as the only manager to have won a trophy in 15 years. "The reality," he says, "is that we're light years away from Spurs right now."

Daniel Levy
Sid Lowe

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Five reasons why Liverpool may, or may not, challenge for the title | Andy Hunter

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:38 AM PST

Brendan Rodgers's 'chihuahuas' have the best striker in the Premier League and a good work ethic but countered by a vulnerable defence and lack of strength in depth

Brendan Rodgers likened Liverpool to "chihuahuas that run in between the horses' legs" in the increasingly bizarre, animalistic title race that no one appears to want to win. But even chihuahuas are known to bite. A stoppage-time win at Fulham in midweek, combined with draws for Chelsea and Arsenal, brought Liverpool to within four points of the Premier League summit. Their manager insists Liverpool are outsiders for a first league title in 24 years but momentum is with them. Here we consider why Liverpool may, or may not, go the distance …

1 The best league striker and strikeforce

The reason Rodgers's team find themselves where they are today. Liverpool's manager maintains his system is not built around one player, and that many can prosper from the team's relentless, aggressive attacking style, but no player has carried more of a consistent threat this season than the phenomenal Luis Suárez. The statistics are staggering enough – 23 goals in 24 appearances from Suárez, 19 goals in 21 club games for Daniel Sturridge – but the Uruguay international has also offered a new-found maturity and assumed more of a leadership role, without curbing his individual brilliance. Sturridge has sharpened the penetration of the Liverpool front line and whether obliterating Arsenal and Everton in sensational first-half displays at Anfield or creating comebacks against Fulham or Aston Villa, together they have shown an opponent can never be comfortable in their company. A formidable attack can cover a multitude of weaknesses in this Premier League and Liverpool's delivers with unerring regularity.

2 Workload ahead – compared to rivals

It caused a jolt to hear the manager of a club with five European Cups claim last season that Liverpool would benefit from a campaign without European football but Rodgers has been proved correct. The relative lack of depth in the Liverpool squad – as much to do with another wasteful summer in the transfer market as the finances behind their rivals – has not been exposed as it might have been with Champions or Europa League commitments and their schedule has kept key players fresh. As the final third of the season opens, Liverpool have played 30 matches in total compared to Manchester City's 39 and 38 for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. Liverpool have stayed in contention during the break in European football and its return next week, with the prospect of Bayern Munich and Barcelona inflicting a psychological as well as physical blow on two teams above them, should increase Anfield's hopes of reeling in the horses.

3 Influence of manager and captain

It is difficult and has been impossible on occasions for a Liverpool manager to keep expectations in check when a good run or a disappointing result sparks extreme reactions. Rodgers can stray into hyperbole about his players (and as long as they vindicate his confidence with results, who cares?) but has been refreshingly realistic about the title. Liverpool were not under pressure to win the league this season, unlike at City, Chelsea and gradually at Arsenal, and their manager has ensured it stays that way while players improve under the style he has implemented over 18 months. Swansea City, when winning promotion to the Premier League, and Liverpool last season both finished strongly under Rodgers, whose tactical intelligence has been further underlined by Steven Gerrard's recent shift into a holding midfield role. After a few adjustments the captain's influence is soaring once more and, as Fulham discovered, Gerrard's ability to inspire a recovery does not belong to the past.

4 A vulnerable, inconsistent defence

Fulham also discovered Liverpool's weak point – a fragile and occasionally error-prone defence, one that was indebted to the team's attacking power yet again at Craven Cottage. Given Liverpool's quality up top it is perhaps understandable their defenders pale in comparison and, in fairness, only the recently free-scoring Manchester City have a superior goal difference this season. Injury, form and Rodgers's ongoing search for a settled pairing in central defence have caused disruption to Liverpool's rearguard and only Martin Skrtel has shown the consistency required for a title contender, his slip at Fulham and Jon Flanagan's recent emergence notwithstanding. The relationship between summer signing Simon Mignolet in goal and his varying defenders has been found wanting at times, while the recent reliance on Kolo Touré and Aly Cissokho has tried the blood pressure. That may be coming to an end, however, with Daniel Agger returning from injury in the closing stages on Wednesday and Mamadou Sakho, plus Glen Johnson, close to following suit.

5 A lack of strength in depth

The strongest argument in favour of Rodgers's appraisal of the title. While it was refreshing to see the highly rated Portuguese playmaker João Teixeira make his Liverpool debut as a substitute against Fulham, there was a lack of trusted match-changing options alongside the 21-year-old on the bench. So far, with Sturridge to the fore when Suárez completed a suspension at the start of the season and vice-versa when the England international was sidelined by an ankle injury, Rodgers's concern about squad strength has not been realised. With only 12 league matches remaining he can only pray he stays that way. Liverpool's progress under Rodgers is impressive by any standards but particularly when considering that only one of his four transfer windows as manager – January 2013 – has been an unqualified success. On the flip side, Liverpool's team spirit and character has improved around an established core and – without the distractions of Europe or Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United – the finishing line is clearly in sight.

Andy Hunter

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275. Adnan Januzaj, Manchester United

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:04 AM PST

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

Competition: win an official club shirt of your choice

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

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


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Football Weekly Extra: Liverpool close in on the top

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 09:02 AM PST

On today's Football Weekly Extra, James Richardson is joined by Jacob Steinberg, James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and Barry Glendenning. That's a lot of podders, but boy, do we have a lot to talk about.

After first glossing over the snorefest between Arsenal and Manchester United, we turn our attention to Liverpool, who followed up their annihilation of Arsenal with a gutsy win at Fulham. Can the Reds go all the way in the title race - especially if Kolo Touré continues to be part of the squad?

Next up for Liverpool is a trip to the Emirates in the FA Cup. We look forward to that game and the rest of the fixtures in the Greatest Cup Competition in the World™ before getting stuck into a number of other topics such as the best tacticians in the league, beenie hats and Taribo West's birthday party.

Jimbo will be on his annual skiing break next week, but fear ye not. His paper review will be with you on Friday morning, and Dave Farrar will be holding the fort in his absence. Fernando Duarte will be along on Monday too, so we'll see you then.

James Richardson
Ben Green
Barry Glendenning
Jonathan Wilson
Sid Lowe
Jacob Steinberg

Morrison to join QPR on loan to boost promotion bid

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 09:01 AM PST

• 93-day loan period coincides with play-off final
• Midfielder has fallen out of favour at Upton Park

Ravel Morrison is poised to join Queens Park Rangers on loan from West Ham United until the end of the season, with Harry Redknapp, the Rangers manager, hopeful that the midfielder can inspire the club to promotion from the Championship.

The deal is not expected to be confirmed until next Friday, which would be 93 days before the Championship play-off final on 24 May. The maximum loan stay for a player at this time of the season is 93 days.

Rangers, who sit third in the Championship, hope to win automatic promotion to the Premier League following their relegation last year but they will ensure that they do not trip up on a technicality and lose Morrison for a potential appearance in the final.

Morrison, 21, has long been touted as one of England's brightest talents, a player with beautiful touch, awareness and acceleration. The former Manchester United trainee has made his Premier League breakthrough this season at Upton Park, after spending last season on loan at Birmingham City.

He has started 12 times in the Premier League and scored three goals, including the eye-catching solo effort at Tottenham Hotspur last October, when he burst from the half-way line, beat two defenders, drew the goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, and dinked the ball beyond him. He also contributed two goals in West Ham's run to the Capital One Cup semi-finals.

But Morrison has tested the patience of the West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, with his attitude, which has reflected a theme of his career and reinforced his reputation as a difficult player to manage. His last appearance for West Ham came on 21 January in the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester City.

Redknapp appears to be taking a calculated gamble, although he has reasoned that it is only a three-month loan – the Football League allows loans up until the end of March – and he enjoys trying to coax the best out of temperamental players. He needs a creative lift, with the top scorer, Charlie Austin, expected to be out until April with a shoulder injury and the winger Matt Phillips out for the season with a fracture to his leg.

Morrison was the subject of interest last month from Fulham, whose manager, René Meulensteen, had worked with him when they were together at Old Trafford. Meulensteen incensed West Ham by suggesting that Morrison wanted to come to Craven Cottage and the Premier League was asked to arbitrate over a tapping-up row. It has yet to make a judgment.

David Hytner

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Nigel Clough's rivalry with Billy Davies mirrors feuds of legendary father | Daniel Taylor

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 08:59 AM PST

The 47-year-old Sheffield United manager prepares for the FA Cup visit of Nottingham Forest on the back of subplots his dad would have been proud of

By now, you might have seen that little piece of television gold, almost 40 years old now, as Brian Clough is interviewed live for a Calendar special, Goodbye Mr Clough, on the night he has been sacked at Leeds United, with his predecessor, Don Revie, also in the studio.

Clough has lasted 44 days but there is absolutely none of the dark despair depicted in The Damned Utd, as he smiles into the camera and sets out why he thinks he would ultimately have done a better job than the last man – "it was inevitable" – if Leeds had not been so impatient.

Revie is bristling with awkward body language. At one point he pointedly mentions that his successor at Elland Road always referred to him by his surname and it is a look of unmistakable joy on Clough's face. "Leeds had to get someone who was slightly special," Clough says. "Now, I don't want to sound blasé or conceited … " It is compulsive viewing, not least because Revie, then the England manager, appears to be avoiding eye contact by the end. Clough, leaning in, even gets in a wonderfully patronising "good lad". Revie gives the impression that if Clough had been drowning, 15ft from shore, he would have thrown a 10ft rope.

As feuds go, Nigel Clough versus Billy Davies, back on the agenda when Sheffield United take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend, certainly falls a long way short of what happened a little further north in 1974. They will not be discussing their differences with the modern-day equivalent of Calendar's Austin Mitchell and Clough Jr's real beef these days is actually with Sam Rush, the chief executive who sacked him at Derby in September, straight after a defeat by Davies's Forest.

Yet the Clough-Davies dynamic is still a good old-fashioned case of two men not liking one another. It makes an intriguing backdrop to Sunday's game and it is tempting to wonder what Clough Sr might have made of the trouble his lad has had with the manager of the club that will always be synonymous with their family name. Almost certainly, fatherly instincts would have kicked in, given the story Steve Bruce tells about going to the toilet during one function years ago and, mid-flow, taking an almighty whack to the back. Bruce ended up getting soaked in the urinals. "That, young man, is for all the times you kicked my Nigel," came that familiar nasal voice. "Now, carry on."

This weekend, it is another minor assault from behind, or at least an alleged one, that explains why there will be few pleasantries between the two dugouts at Bramall Lane. Clough has never admitted delivering a knee into the back of Davies's leg, as his rival claims, during a typically spiteful Derby-Forest fixture at the height of their recent tensions. Nor has he accepted an offer from Davies to be strapped to a polygraph to establish who is telling the truth.

"There's always a smile from Nigel," a former colleague at Derby says. "He's never said if he did it but that was the end of their professional relationship. After that, there were never any post-match drinks or conversation."

What started it all is not entirely clear and Clough's current employers sent out a note before his press conference in Sheffield on Thursday making it clear he wanted it to be predominantly about their FA Cup run, rather than dwelling for too long about his relationship with Forest and everything around the edges.

What can be said with absolute certainty, however, is that the two men are poles apart temperamentally. Davies's ability to pick a fight in an empty telephone kiosk is well known (he would also probably leave the phone off the hook and take the directory home to feed his pet Rottweiler, Axel). He is, by his own admission, the classic Glaswegian "nippy sweetie", with an outrage reflex that sometimes borders on paranoia, whereas the unusual thing about Clough's involvement is that it is not easy thinking of too many other people within the sport who would say a word against him.

Don't be mistaken, however, into thinking the "nice young man" does not have a tough streak. He just hides it well. The rivalry has brought out the worst in Clough at times and he has a complicated, often awkward, recent history with Forest, which might be worth bearing in mind when trying to make sense of how everything unravelled with Davies.

On the one hand, Clough's 131 goals makes him Forest's record post-war scorer, an integral part of the side that reached Wembley six times from 1989 to 1992, and a player who epitomised the qualities his father demanded from his teams, always wanting the ball and seeing the pass. He has been reminded of those times recently and, no longer inside the Forest-Derby bubble, it has been revealing to hear him talking about his former club in a positive light again, emphasising that he still thinks fondly of their supporters – and still harbouring a grudge against the referee Roger Milford for not sending off Paul Gascoigne as Forest lost to Spurs in the 1991 FA Cup final.

On other occasions it has been less civil. There were times at Derby when he spoke of Forest with something approaching disdain, maybe even resentment, and not a trace of underlying affection. When Clough took over Derby in January 2009 he made a point of saying they were the only club that could have lured him away from Burton Albion. Those comments went down badly in Nottingham, where some supporters would serenade him with chants of "non-league Nigel" Clough barely seemed able to mention Forest by name at one point. Davies, nursing his own grievances towards Derby, brought more politics and subplots. The two clubs soon became embroiled in the worst period of conflict in their history. Robbie Savage, the former Derby captain, blames Davies. "Billy really has a problem when it comes to playing Derby," he writes in his autobiography.

Everything came to a head during a 1-0 win for Derby at Pride Park in January 2010 but by that point every meeting of the sides seemed to bring a new disrepute charge. Earlier in the season, Nathan Tyson had celebrated a Forest win at the City Ground by picking up the corner flag and embarking on a victory run past the away end, sparking an almighty bust-up between the players. The next match culminated in another mass confrontation and Davies going in to pull away his players. Clough also headed into the scrum, just behind Davies, and with so many bodies around it is not particularly easy to see precisely what happens next. What the footage does show, however, is Davies look behind him and his expression change. He is convinced Clough has kneed him. "Davies went into orbit again," Savage recalls.

Davies refused to shake Clough's hand afterwards. "I told him I wouldn't have minded him doing it to my face but to do it when my back was turned was cowardly. I said to him he was out of order. He tried to claim it was an accident but he knows, as well as I know, it was no accident. If he's happy to sit on an electric chair and tell a truth or a lie then I'm happy to sit on an electric chair and we'll see what the outcome is."

Davies's theory was that Clough was too wrapped up in the derby atmosphere and that it was not the normal, amiable Nigel when that game came around. "I got on very well with him before. Something has changed and it may be the pettiness of Forest-Derby and what goes around it. I've been involved in Old Firm games that have never had this pettiness."

The people who know Clough best argue in response that Davies loves to play the innocent party and appears to suffer from a classic case of little-man syndrome. The FA did not charge Clough and Derby did not hold an internal investigation. "People say Nigel used to take after his mother more than his father," says one family friend. "He's actually more like Brian than people realise."

Daniel Taylor

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Uruguay's chief ambassador | The Fiver

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 08:58 AM PST

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

ONCE BITTEN

The Fiver just wants a quiet life. That's not too much too ask. It dreams of one day retiring, leaving the big smoke and heading off to live in a small, hidden-away cottage, free from chatter and bluster about dodgy owners, cheating players, transfer sagas and self-interested managers. By our calculations, a weekly salary of £3.06 – with expenses and access to the staff vending machine at any time of the day – makes this an achievable goal by the year 2067, by which time the entire English countryside will be under water. But that's the dream, as long as The Fiver has developed gills by then. That's the dream. The Fiver doesn't want to be about controversy anymore. We've had enough of the internet shouting and name-calling. If we could just see out time writing pleasant stories about our favourite football kits, maybe throwing in a lame gag here, a terrible pun there, that would be great.

So imagine our dismay after being told to look into Luis Suárez's latest act of half-wittery. A brief bit of digging revealed that Uruguay's chief ambassador has been jabbering away to some radio station in his refreshingly inimitable style. "Let me tell you," the Liverpool striker said, as The Fiver's shoulders slumped so low that they sunk to the earth's core. "I've made only two mistakes in my career." Well hang on. This could be interesting. Was he finally about to apologise for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra in October 2011? Let's see. "My first was when I was playing for Ajax and I bit an opponent," he continued, before taking a large gulp of breath – for the moment had arrived. "My second was when I bit [Branislav] Ivanovic [against Chelsea]." Wait a minute. What? There's been a mistake here, a typo perhaps. The Fiver can't see a sheepish admission that Being A Bit Racist might have been A Bit Much anywhere! Must be on its way, though. Definitely on its way!

"The case with Evra was all false," Suárez vomited. "I was accused without proof." Apart from when he admitt ... oh, what's the point any more? Let's hear what else this little charmer has to say. "But that's in the past," he continued, admirably keeping it together and doing his best to make sure that it's very much in the present. "I was sad at that moment, but I'm happy today. I have grown up." Having got this far, The Fiver was wondering who would play Suárez in the feature film, an inspiring tale of how one poor misunderstood soul who racially abused another man proved everyone wrong by scoring a few goals. What suffering! What bravery! What heroism! What dignity! You guys, getting a little bit emotional over here.

But there was more. Try not to cry. "I have thought more about things before doing them," Suárez whispered in hushed tones, his voice audibly cracking up. "Now people in England can't talk about me because I'm not doing anything wrong. They have to talk about me only as a footballer. I said I'm sorry [after the Ivanovic bite] and that was all, end of story. I've nothing else to regret. All the other things were like a movie that people in England believed in." And with that, the dam burst and the waterworks had arrived. Someone get on the phone to Liverpool – looks like they need to order a new set of t-shirts.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The key shareholders have made their dissatisfaction of such a huge loss known to the board of directors, which they believe is due to imprudent and careless management undertaken by the previous football management" - Cardiff's CEO Simon Lim offers former club manager Malky Mackay and head of recruitment Iain Moody a slap across the chops after cheering the capture of "top professional" Kenwyne Jones.

FIVER LETTERS

"Why was a late lunchtime version of yesterday's tea-timely email sent to all subscribers. Do you have Kolo Touré handling the subscriptions?" – Edward Demicoli.

"Can I suggest an alternative long term strategy for Manchester United suit Edward Woodward (yesterday's Fiver). My son recently purchased about 3,000 followers on Twitter for a fiver. Assuming that said suit doesn't negotiate a volume discount he could have increased his Twitter followers by 22,260,000,000 instead of buying Mr Mata. Given they now have 1.91m followers, assuming the 14-fold increase, they had 136,429 before. They could have achieved an increase of 163,162 times number of twitter followers for the same price as one Juan Mata. (I'm flinching at the thoughts of all the maths pedants going through the numbers)." Jonathan Nattrass.

"Your story yesterday about Falcao being 'at 110% well in time for the shenanigans in Brazil' either involves typically shady Fiver math, or the Fiver is hiding its light under a bushel. You see, if Falcao's fitness has now improved by a straight 5% in two weeks (55% today compared to 50% a fortnight ago), then he'd be at 110% by 16 July. However if we were taking a compounding approach and saying that he improved by 10% every two weeks, then he'd reach 110% by the end of May. They do say that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while – so was this just 'luck' or is The Fiver cleverer than it lets on?" – Paul Dixon. (No – Fiver ed.)

"Given that Arsenal are seemingly on course to maintain their annual tradition of seeing their dreams fall down like a flimsy house of cards on this month of the year, perhaps Wenger and co might be best served to dedicate their attention towards a more fruitful venture for the rest of the season and start a STOP FEBRUARY! campaign." – Saurav Samaddar.

• 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: Jonathan Nattrass.

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

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BITS AND BOBS

Lazio have threatened legal action against anyone who claims their Cameroonian youth-team player Joseph Minala is older than 17.

After José Mourinho said Chelsea were "little horses" and Brendan Rodgers called Liverpool "the chihuahuas that run in between the horse's legs", $tevie MBE has got in on the act. "We feel as if we're dark horses," he shark-jumped.

At least some good has come out of Juan Mata's move to Manchester United: he has got a free holiday out of it. "Once we come back from this mini break hopefully we will win many matches," he whooped after the club headed off to Dubai for warm weather training.

The Premier League may not have put its foot down, but it is standing firm on its stance on standing areas in grounds. "We support the current legislation and see no reason to change it," tootled a suit.

Richard Moller Nielsen, the manager who guided Denmark to the 1992 European Championship, has died aged 76.

And pity poor Ric Wee, who travelled 7,000 miles to see Everton for the first time, the side he has supported for 30 years. And when he got there, the game got called off.

STILL WANT MORE?

In a radical break from tradition: eight Talking Points from the midweek action.

What, no $tevie MBE etc. Europe's best teams this week.

In this week's Classic YouTube: the brilliance of Enzo Francescoli, 40 of the best Vélez Sársfield goals ever and John Fashanu misses an open goal from a yard out on GamesMaster.

Jonathan Wilson on why Hugo Lloris's sweeper-keepering is a good thing.

SIGN UP TO THE FIVER (AND O FIVERÃO)

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 second edition, and you can sign up for it here.

NED!

Jacob Steinberg

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Manchester City to expand stadium

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST

• Etihad to be second-biggest in country
• Old Trafford leads with 76,000 capacity

Manchester City have been granted planning permission to expand the capacity of the Etihad Stadium to around 62,000.

The increased capacity will make the Etihad Stadium the second largest in the Premier League, behind only Manchester United's Old Trafford which holds 76,000.

Manchester City Council has confirmed that a planning application to add up 14,500 extra seats at the venue has been approved.

The Premier League club intend to increase both ends of the 47,670-capacity arena by 6,250 and add up to 2,000 additional seats around the pitch.

City made public their proposals for the stadium last summer and a formal planning application was made in November.

It will be the club's second major construction project in quick succession following the building of the £200m City Football Academy adjacent to the stadium.

The academy, which will become the training base for all the club's teams and house medical and accommodation facilities, is due to open later this year.


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Fifa says there is little it can do about labour conditions in Qatar

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 08:33 AM PST

German member of Fifa executive tells EU parliament that decision to hold 2022 World Cup in Qatar cannot be reversed

The world footballing authority conceded on Thursday that there was little it could do to remedy the ordeal for migrant workers in Qatar reduced to slave labour conditions in creating the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup. But a Fifa board member dismissed all talk of reversing the decision to hold the tournament there even if conditions were not improved.

A European parliament hearing on the scandal, first revealed by the Guardian last year, was told that Qatar was a slave state for migrant workers, scores of whom had died in appalling conditions while or after working on the building sites of the Gulf country.

Theo Zwanzinger, Germany's member of the Fifa executive, admitted conditions for migrant workers in Qatar were "absolutely unacceptable", agreed that human rights considerations should play a bigger role in the decisions of world and European football authorities, and added that Fifa would be carrying out detailed and independent monitoring of the working conditions surrounding the World Cup building boom. But there could be no going back on decisions already taken.

"This feudal system existed [in Qatar] before the World Cup," he said. "What do you expect of a football organisation? Fifa is not the lawmaker in Qatar."

Human rights activists and trade unionists demanded a more forceful role by Fifa at the meeting, which also heard wrenching testimony from the French-Algerian footballer Zahir Belounis, who had his passport confiscated and was denied an exit permit because of a dispute with his Qatari club. He was trapped in Qatar for two years largely unpaid and unable to leave.

"I just wanted to go home," he told the hearing. "I'm the victim of a system of modern slavery."

Much of the criticism of Qatar centred on the so-called kafala system in the labour market, which essentially confers quasi-ownership rights over employees or migrant labourers, a form of neo-feudalism.

The Qatari World Cup organisers submitted a 50-page report this week pledging to improve the plight of migrant workers. Chairing the meeting, the German Greens MEP Barbara Lochbihler said the Qatari promises were welcome but that a more systemic policy was needed rather than piecemeal remedies.

The Qatari government sent a letter to the parliament in Brussels on Thursday stating that about 2,000 companies had been blacklisted last year and almost 500 so far this year for questionable labour market and employment practices.

MEPs complained at the hearing that the Qatari embassy in Brussels had declined to take part in the hearing and that firms recruiting workers for contracts in Qatar had also stayed away, as did Uefa, the European footballing authority.

Zwanzinger signalled that there were frictions within Fifa and Uefa over how to deal with political, ethical and human rights issues.

"If you continue to run the World Cup in a state which enslaves workers, it shames the game. The government must end of the system of kafala if the World Cup is to be played in Qatar in 2022," said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the international trades union congress. "We want hear from the Fifa president and executive committee about how they will guarantee that the World Cup must only go ahead if there is legal reform to kafala and for workers' rights. The new charter from World Cup organisers in Qatar sets out sham conditions, without even any means to ensure that companies comply."

Zwanzinger declined to give such assurances from Fifa.

"That would be absolutely counter-productive," he said. "Pressure and threats won't achieve much … We have a duty. The decision has been taken to grant the World Cup to Qatar, whether I like it or not."

Burrow said: "Qatar is a slave state for 1.4 million migrant workers. It doesn't have to be that way. Qatar chooses to build its modern nation with the labour of migrant workers and deliberately chooses to maintain a system that treats these workers as less than human."

Ian Traynor

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Homophobia in football a big problem, says ex-PFA chairman Clark Carlisle

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 08:04 AM PST

• FA-endorsed campaign Football v Homophobia under way
• Only 16 of 72 Football league clubs have signed up so far

Homophobia in football is still a big issue and requires increased education to combat the problem, according to the former PFA chairman Clark Carlisle.

The FA-endorsed campaign Football v Homophobia is currently in its "month of action", attempting to fight prejudice against lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender people within the game, with particular emphasis on the grassroots level.

At the time of the campaign's February-action launch at Selhurst Park last week, 11 Premier League clubs had signed up to the Football v Homophobia campaign while only 16 of the 72 Football League clubs had done so.

Carlisle, discussing the issue during a Homophobia in Football special to be aired on BBC 5liveat 9pm on Thursday, admitted using homophobic language early in his career before beginning to understand the negative effect of his words, claiming increased education is key throughout all levels of the game.

"I've used the language that now I would be really disgusted to hear," said Carlisle. "I used it maybe flippantly, maybe thinking it was banter, but it was only by awareness and interaction and actually understanding the effect and power of the words that I was using on someone who is homosexual that I got an understanding and started to address my base-level language use.

"That progressed to being able to be in a dressing room over the last three years of my career and actually being able to challenge others."

There are no openly gay players in English professional football, although the former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger came out last month. Owen Coyle, the former Bolton and Wigan manager, was also part of the BBC debate and admitted he was surprised that no players have come out since Justin Fashanu.

"I was a team-mate of Justin Fashanu, God rest him, in the 92-93 season. It was a couple of years before that when he told everyone what his sexuality was. I'm totally amazed that, where we are, there has not been a follow-up," said Coyle.

"I think we can understand why, with all the stigmas involved. But I just thought when he did that at the time there would be a follow on and it never really came about."

James Riach

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Cardiff claim they lost over £8.5m on signing of Andreas Cornelius

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 07:09 AM PST

• Malky Mackay's regime dismissed as 'imprudent'
• Ole Gunnar Solskjær praised for astute dealings

Cardiff have been heavily criticised by the League Managers Association after claiming that "imprudent and careless management" has cost them in excess of £8.5m over their signing of the Danish striker Andreas Cornelius.

The club's chief executive, Simon Lim, condemned the transfer policies of the former manager Malky Mackay and Iain Moody, the former head of recruitment, in a statement Cardiff unexpectedly put out on Thursday.

Mackay has not agreed a settlement with the club since his departure and is involved wrongful dismissal claim.

Lim claimed the club effectively wrote off nearly £9m over Cornelius, who has returned to FC Copenhagen after just seven months in Wales. The club-record signing failed to score during his time at the club and the statement said: "The key shareholders have made their dissatisfaction of such a huge loss known to the board of directors which they believe is due to imprudent and careless management undertaken by the previous football management."

Lim also praised the new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's work in the January transfer window, saying: "Our shareholders have expressed their support and pleasure to the new management team."

He said the owner Vincent Tan was "encouraged by the work done by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the January transfer window.

"Solskjaer was instrumental in attracting top professionals who have the experience and the willpower to make an immediate impact in the club's desire to maintain its Premier League status."

Lim said in the statement that Cardiff spent £6m on six permanent January recruits and the loan deal for Wilfried Zaha, and recouped £3m from player sales in the same period.

"This is good business for the club, where all participants were fully informed and an integral part of a process," said Lim.

"There has been a lot of press speculation on the loss incurred by the club due to sales. This unfortunately is true. We took the hard decision to incur these losses for the good of the club.

"To commit the club to a significant cost and liability over a five-year contract for one player is not prudent, especially as he was not to contribute to our success now, but was for the future."

He said that "in the case of Andreas Cornelius, who cost the club in total just under £10m, we realise a large loss in excess of £8.5m, inclusive of transfer fees, salaries, business and compensation paid to player's agents and other miscellaneous expenses".

Solskjaer, who was appointed on a 12-month rolling contract after the sacking of his predecessor Malky Mackay, has won only once in the league, losing four and drawing one. Cardiff currently lie second from bottom, two points from safety.

They have at least enjoyed a good run in the FA Cup, where they have knocked out Newcastle and Bolton. They take on the holders, Wigan, in the fifth round at home on Saturday.

The League Managers Association chief executive, Richard Bevan, defended Mackay, branding Lim and Cardiff's statement "inappropriate and unprofessional".

"It is most unfortunate that Mr Lim has chosen to speak out in this way," said Bevan. "Mr Lim is aware that there is a legal process under way between Malky Mackay and Cardiff City and it is both inappropriate and unprofessional for either party to be making public statements of this nature at this time. Given that Mr Lim has spoken out against Malky Mackay in relation to the acquisition of a player, however, it is only right that the record is put straight on the following two key issues.

"This is the same Mr Lim to whom, under the specific and express terms of Malky Mackay's contract of employment with Cardiff City, Malky was obliged to report in respect of all matters pertaining to the transfer of players. This is the same Mr Lim who, when being asked more than once, upon dismissing Malky Mackay, why he was dismissing him, said that he did not know the reason.

"All football clubs at the elite level have systems in place for corporate governance. Cardiff City is no exception. A manager, even in the Premier League, does not go out and "sign" players. All recommendations go to his CEO and board, essentially the Chief Executive on the board's behalf - deals with all financial arrangements to finalise any signings."


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Steven Gerrard says Liverpool are 'dark horses' to win the Premier League

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 06:52 AM PST

• Captain says team are well placed to challenge for title
• 'We're in the mix. It's still early days, but we are in good form'

Steven Gerrard is enjoying Liverpool's position as "dark horses" for the Premier League title.

The Reds continued their unbeaten start to 2014 on Wednesday, following up the incredible 5-1 defeat of Arsenal with a last-gasp victory at Fulham.

Having twice come from behind at Craven Cottage, Gerrard's stoppage-time penalty saw the Merseysiders through 3-2 as victors, moving them to within just four points of leaders Chelsea.

José Mourinho described the Blues as a "little horse" not yet ready to win the title, with Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers joking his side "may be the chihuahuas that run in between the horse's legs".

There is, though, a growing belief that the Reds could mount a serious late challenge, with Gerrard returning to the equine theme when summing up their chances.

"Against Arsenal, we showed how much class we've got," the Reds skipper told the club's official website.

"We showed we've got talent all over the pitch; at home, with the atmosphere behind us, you don't have to motivate yourself - you just go out and perform, and more often than not you play well.

"But coming away on a Wednesday night, windy, on a difficult pitch, away to Fulham is a big test for the team.

"We've passed it but we still have to learn from our mistakes and defend better on the road if we're to finish in the top four places.

"We're in the mix. It's still early days, there's a lot of football to be played and we're not going to get carried away. But we are in good form. We feel as if we're dark horses.

"We just carry on playing and trying to win as many games as we can. We have the advantage, in a funny way, of no European football, because we have just got the league and FA Cup to focus on."

Rodgers' welcomes former side Swansea to Anfield in Liverpool's next league match, although before that comes a return to London for another clash with Arsenal, this time in the FA Cup.

The Gunners will be looking for revenge just eight days after their mauling at Anfield, with Gerrard all too aware of the threat posed by them in the fifth-round tie.

"Top sides, when they get beat 5-1, they are hurt," he said. "They have just battled to a 0-0 draw against Manchester United so they have showed they have defended quite well in the game.

"We're expecting a tight game at the Emirates and I think the 5-1 game will have no bearing on this game coming. We're expecting a really tough game.

"It's a break from the league and we'll go there and give it everything we've got because we want a good cup run."


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European best XIs and replacing Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 06:05 AM PST

Best XIs from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1, plus analysis of David Moyes's transfer options

Premier League team of the week

La Liga team of the week

Bundesliga team of the week

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Tactical talking point: replacing Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United

Manchester United simply cannot fight their way out of the headlines. After finally signing the creative midfielder they so craved in Juan Mata last month, they looked to have found a way to silence their critics, but, with only one win in four games, their problems persist. Mata has struggled to create clear openings for his team-mates and the headlines are still being written for the wrong reasons.

Nemanja Vidic's announcement that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season has made for further talking points regarding United's future. Their problems with the ball have been so widely discussed that perhaps issues without it have been overlooked to an extent. Vidic was key for United as they kept only their third clean sheet in 10 matches at the Emirates on Wednesday night. His positioning was typically superb and he made an incredible 18 clearances to keep Arsenal at bay on his way to being picked as our man of the match.

With Rio Ferdinand coming towards the end of his career and Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones not being reliable enough to make a central pairing, investment is needed at the back. United have both the finances and the reputation to attract the best players in the world, but they look increasingly likely to be without Champions – or maybe even Europa – League football next season and, without the Alex Ferguson-factor, they may have to look to smaller clubs for replacements this summer. Vidic stands out for his aerial dominance, strength, reading of the game and passing, so here, we look at who could potentially fill the void when he leaves.

Dejan Lovren
A revelation since arriving from Lyon last summer, Lovren ranks in our top 20 Premier League players of the season – and is the second highest-placed centre-back after Martin Skrtel – with an average rating of 7.41. He is immense at reading the game, making the sixth most interceptions per game in the league, while also ranking in the top 20 for clearances. Still only 24 years of age, he exhibits leadership qualities beyond his years and has made a huge contribution to Southampton's fantastic defensive record. A move to United would be a step up for the Croatia international, but he has Premier League experience and could be a viable option for David Moyes.

Neven Subotic
Borussia Dortmund are struggling to keep up in the Bundesliga and their best players continue to jump ship when presented with opportunities to do so. Robert Lewandowski will be next out the door, and there could be an opportunity for United tap into Dortmund's talented pool of defenders. Neven Subotic has won trophies, played in the Champions League and could be an ideal replacement for Vidic. Before injury curtailed his season, Subotic was winning an average of 3.7 aerial duels per game and, like his Serbian compatriot, he keeps the ball exceptionally well; sufficiently so to boast a "very strong passing rating in our statistical rankings. Powerful and positionally adept, the Serbian connection isn't the only reason to favour him as Vidic's successor.

Loïc Perrin
While Chelsea have snapped up Kurt Zouma from St Etienne, Manchester United could look to their captain Loïc Perrin. The Frenchman ranks second for headed clearances (153) of all players in Europe's top five leagues this season. He provides an aerial threat going forward, having scored three times already this season. At 28 years of age, he is possibly too old to win over some United fans, but he would bring experience and leadership to the table.

Jonathan Tah
With Smalling and Jones already at Old Trafford, it might not be the time to invest in youth, but Jonathan Tah is showing signs of developing into a top quality centre-back. The 1.92m German is still only 18 years old, but he has become a regular at Hamburg, making the third most clearances per game (8.3) in the Bundesliga. He has made 1.6 interceptions per appearance this season and could become a great player, although he might not yet be the answer for Manchester United.

Shkodran Mustafi
Another German youngster, Shkodran Mustafi excels in aerial duels and interceptions, ranking in the top 10 in Serie A in both categories this season. He is still only 21 and has had the more experienced Daniele Gastaldello alongside him at Sampdoria, so may need a wiser head beside him at United, but he too is showing exceptional signs of development. Another one for the future, Mustafi could be a risk, but as a cheaper option, he might be one that pays off.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.

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Alistair Tweedale

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Sport picture of the day: running scared

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 05:34 AM PST

Manchester City's match with Sunderland was called off last night due to wild weather in the region. Our reporter Jamie Jackson got caught up in it all – and behind him, even the programme-vendor's booth couldn't stand up to the battering

European Championship winning coach Richard Moller Nielsen dies

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST

• Denmark defeated Germany in 1992 final
• Peter Schmeichel leads tributes to coach

The former Denmark coach Richard Moller Nielsen, who led the country's national team to the European Championship in 1992, has died aged 76, the Danish football association said on Thursday.

Moller Nielsen had been ill since undergoing an operation for a brain tumour in July last year.

After ending his seven-year playing career with Odense, his hometown club, in 1962, he went on to coach several Danish clubs, as well as the Finland and Israel national teams, in a coaching career that spanned four decades.

The highlight was Euro 92 in Sweden, when Denmark were a late replacement in the tournament for the former Yugoslavia, and under Moller Nielsen went on to clinch the title with a 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.

Peter Schmeichel , their goalkeeper in the final, called Nielsen "an inspiration, my teacher and my friend".

He added: "Rest in peace my friend."


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World Cup Fiver | Great Pomp and Codswallop

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 04:20 AM PST

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CLOTHES HORSEPLAY

A thing of beauty lasts forever. Funnily enough, so does a downright abomination. Zaire's jersey for the 1974 World Cup will always be remembered as a work of art, the huge leopard print in the middle making it as cherished a piece of World Cup paraphernalia as Socrates' headband, Gary Lineker's cast and Roy Keane's unopened suitcase; by the same token, no one can forget that Jorge Campos turned up to USA '94 in a self-designed kit that made it look like the Mexico goalkeeper had headed to the biggest tournament on earth straight from an explosion in a paint shop.

Mind you, O Fiverão's all-time favourite World Cup jersey is the one worn by France for their group match against Hungary in 1978, an encounter that truly tested Fifa's supposed commitment to ensuring that football remains essentially the same at every level from the local park to the peak of the professional game: because like countless Under-12 sides all over the world, both countries pitched up wearing the same colours. Cristiano Ronaldo not being French or Hungarian, nor born, neither side wanted to resolve the problem by playing bare-chested, but postponement was averted at the last minute when the local club, Atlético Kimberley, offered to lend France their gear. So for the first and only time in their history, Les Bleus played in green and white stripes. And they were winning 3-1 when their mums called them in for their tea.

The point of this hobble through history is that looks matter. They matter even more to Colombians, whose hopes of making a lasting impression through their performances on the pitch when they make their first World Cup appearance in 16 years have been dented by the possible absence of star striker Radamel Falcao. So when Adidas unveiled the national team's new kit amid great pomp and codswallop, there was much interest down Bogota way in ensuring that the "exclusive" new design would do the nation proud.

Eyebrows were raised when it emerged that the manufacturers decided to break with tradition by producing an entirely yellow and blue jersey, with nary a trace of red, but Adidas quickly moved to fend off anger by reassuring the population that the revamped kit is indeed profoundly Colombian because it was inspired by the sombrero vueltiao, the famous hat that for centuries has been made from cane by the Zenu tribe in northern Colombia. A nice yarn, to be sure, but Colombian Twitter users couldn't help wondering that if that's the case, then how come the "exclusive" jersey looks a lot like the jerseys of Ecuador and, more alarmingly, are almost identical to the one worn by Dohuk Sport Club, an Iraqi first division side? Irate fans suggested that it was almost as if as if Adidas decided to save themselves time and money by simply taking Dohuk's kit, slapping a Colombian badge on it and hoping no one would notice.

Embarrassed Adidas officials have launched an "urgent investigation" promising to get to the bottom of the freakish coincidence. "Adidas confirms it does not sponsor or produce Iraqi team Duhok Sport Club's kit, we value our relationship with the Colombian Football Federation and will take measures to protect our trademarks and design registered both nationally and internationally," read a statement that may bear an uncanny resemblance to a statement issued by another company in a different part of the world.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 1

"I don't expect any surprises in the squad." - Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella responds to questions about a possible World Cup call-up for Carlos Tevez and, in the process, really gets on the Fiver's goat. Of course you don't expect any surprises, Sabella, nobody expects surprises! That's what a surprise is! Besides, you're picking the darn squad so the only way you could be surprised by any inclusions is if you chose names at random from a phone book. Mind you, even if that is how Argentina selected their squad, chances are they'd still end up with at least a couple of world-class forwards.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 2

"We have the best player in the world and we are also playing on the patio beside our house, the only problem is that that house is owned by the five-times world champion." - Sabella atones for his crazy talk in the first quote by delivering an amusing metaphor.

BITS AND BOBS

Mr Roy has announced that he will not be getting down on his knees in front of John Terry. Phew! "As far as I'm concerned retirement is retirement," barked the England manager, showing typical flexibility.

A spate of injuries to key players has led Australia coach Ange Postecoglou to consider looking for some hardy replacements to take to Brazil. Top of the list? 35-year-old Harry Kewell, of course.

Forget winning the thing, Switzerland may not even be able to field a team at future World Cups after voters passed a referendum to clamp down on immigration. Michael Lang, Fabian Schär, Reto Ziegler and Steve von Bergen are the only four members of the current Swiss side who would have been sure of being eligible if the proposed new laws had been in place previously.

The Algerian blazers who have spent the last few months singing love songs under the balcony of Nabil Bentaleb have been rewarded as the Tottenham midfielder, who represented France at youth level, has blown them a kiss and declared his willingness to play in the World Cup for Algeria.

Cameroonian blazers are even better wooers. They've just returned from France claiming that five of their six targets have decided to become Indomitable Lions, including three players who won the U-20 World Cup with France last year – Samuel Umtiti (Lyon), Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (Valenciennes) and Patrick Mboma's nephew, Axel Ngando (Auxerre).

Ghana Football Association buffet enthusiasts met the country's government to explain why they should be given at least £12m to prepare the Black Stars for the World Cup.

O FIVERÃO LETTERS

"Re: the inaugural O Fiverão. Like an ageing rock band, has the Fiver decided to fight off its own inevitable decline by embracing a hip international sound? Or like Spinal Tap, are you just hoping the same old schtick sells big overseas?" – Scott Connolly.

"Given the likely paucity of content in the coming months, wouldn't O Fiverinho have been a more appropriate name? One Portuguese word that might come in handy is falta meaning foul although this time it's a more of case of falta de educacão" – Gary Lane.

"I see what you did there O Fiverão. The direct translation for the Fiver – 'a nota de cinco libras' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in the same way. I guess you're testing us to see if we can type a funny squiggle over the 'a' (damn you!)" – Dave Gill.

"So the Fiver launches its World Cup email in February, four months before the event kicks off? Even the Christmas adverts wait until October these days. Although, in the festive spirit, I'll take a present now if you have one. A copy of Football Manager or one of those £200 footballs would do me nicely. Ta" – Nick Stephenson.

"I see your first World Cup special-themed Fiver contained no mention of Scotland whatsoever. Yet another fine example of the English bias which pervades the British media. No doubt this sets the tone for the rest of the Fiver's World Cup coverage. I can't say I'm surprised" – Nick Plain.

"Good job on O Fiverão No1. I especially enjoyed the letters page; no pedants, no know-it-alls and nobody building up our chances of World Cup glory. It would be appreciated if this pattern were to continue. With the exception of this missive, obviously" – Ben O'Mahoney.

• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com, with O Fiverão in the subject line. Or just World Cup Fiver if that's easier. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver. Today's winner of our prizeless letter o' the week is: Nick Plain.

STILL WANT MORE?

Last week Radamel Falcao's chance of participating in the World Cup were put at 50%. Now they're 55%. O Fiverão calculates that by the time the summer comes, he'll be ready to give 110% in every game.

Diego Forlan reckons that the best way to prepare for beating England is to join the J-League.

"Of all the World Cup upsets, this one stands alone in myth and memory" - Simon Burnton recalls Cameroon's 1990 victory over Argentina.

SIGN UP TO O FIVERÃO

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OH NAHEE MINI BILLY

Paul Doyle

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Premier League unwilling to change rule banning standing in stadiums

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 04:02 AM PST

• Football League will ask government to review law
• Aston Villa want rail seat trial after Bristol City's stance

The Premier League sees no reason to change the current rule that bans standing areas in top-flight grounds. The Football League is to ask the government to review the law, which was brought in after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, while Aston Villa said they want to conduct a trial for the use of rail seats to promote the introduction of safe standing in the Premier League.

A Premier League spokesman said: "We support the current legislation and see no reason to change it." Several top-flight clubs, including Manchester City, are understood to be open-minded about allowing rail seating – where seats can be locked upright to allow standing and there are safety barriers between each row.

The Hillsborough disaster cost the lives of 96 Liverpool fans and the Merseyside club back the Hillsborough Family Support Group, which has voted unanimously to oppose any reintroduction of standing areas.

On Wednesday, Bristol City installed a block of rail seats at their Ashton Gate home, the first at an English football ground – but only Bristol Rugby supporters will be able to use them.

Aston Villa's football operations manager Lee Preece confirmed his club are keen to further the campaign. He said: "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."

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


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David Beckham visits typhoon-hit Tacloban in Philippines – video

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:57 AM PST

David Beckam visits typhoon-hit Tacloban in the Philippines on Thursday in his role as a Unicef goodwill ambassador

Tottenham's Hugo Lloris is Premier League's supreme sweeper-keeper | Jonathan Wilson

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:15 AM PST

The role of a goalkeeper means hours of competence can be undermined by one slip but the Frenchman's expertise in leaving his line quickly to mop up behind the defence is a key skill

There was a moment during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday when Steven Pienaar, drifting in from the left, sought out the run of Kevin Mirallas, cutting in from the right. He played what probably seemed a well-weighted through ball, only for a flash of orange to materialise to stifle the danger almost before it had gestated. The moment went largely unnoticed, particularly by comparison with the diving save he made from Leon Osman's early drive, but this was Hugo Lloris at his best.

When things began to go awry under André Villas-Boas, Lloris's confidence seemed to be as badly hit as anybody's. His mistake in the first minute away to Manchester City, gifting a goal to Jesús Navas, was arguably the moment at which the Villas-Boas regime imploded. Even on Sunday, there was one ill-judged pass to Michael Dawson that led to an Everton chance, but generally his form appears slowly to be returning.

That's the problem with goalkeeping in general and Lloris's way of playing in particular – hours of competence can be undermined by one slip and much of what is best goes unremarked upon. Peter Shilton claimed that in some of his best games for Nottingham Forest he hardly touched the ball but he knew he was shutting off attacks at source with his positioning and his organisation of the defence. Although Lloris can pull off the spectacular, his key skill is arguably leaving his line quickly to mop up behind the defence – or, even more significantly, being known to be quick off his line and so dissuading opponents from trying to slide passes behind the defence; which when one of your central defenders is as slow in the turn as Dawson, is a huge advantage.

Dawson's lack of pace, presumably, was why Villas-Boas initially wanted to sell him as he tried to impose his high line – and also why he signed Lloris in the first place. The goal Spurs conceded at home to Newcastle this season was in part the result of the lack of pace off his line of Brad Friedel, deputising for Lloris, who had been concussed at Everton.

Opta's statistics (not including the midweek fixtures) show clearly where Lloris's strength lies. Although he has saved only 67.31% of shots hit at him this season, which ranks him 23rd of the 34 goalkeepers to have played in the Premier League this season, he has successfully swept up behind his defence 33 times, more than anybody apart from Newcastle's Tim Krul (39).

When Lloris arrived from Lyon in the summer of 2012 he quickly became aware that he played differently to the majority of Premier League keepers. "In England there is a lot of contact in the box, a lot of quality crosses," he said. "A lot of presence too. Here, the keeper is less protected than in France or in European competitions. It is important to know to fight, notably on corners. I have always heard I am not strong enough, I didn't have the right body for that league. That is no trouble to me, as long as you know your body and your qualities and drawbacks.

"Since I have been in England I didn't rush into bodybuilding. I have gone on working as I did in France but adapting to the different approach of the keeper's position. I always had a risky game. I have always tried to control my box and even a bit further away. I want to be the boss of the area, then, sometimes you get success, sometimes not."

As such, Lloris stands as the modern exponent of a strand of goalkeeping stretching back into the great Hungarian Gyula Grosics. After the Football Association restricted goalkeepers to handling in their own box (as opposed to their own half) in 1912, goalkeepers tended to hang back, coming off their lines to narrow the angle but little more. Grosics, the keeper when Hungary beat England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, began to change that – at one point in that game, he kicks a ball clear right on the 18-yard line, something that drew gasps of astonishment from the commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme.

Apostol Sokolov, Lev Yashin and Amadeo Carrizo took the notion further, while in England the first real exponent of the sweeper-keeper's art was Liverpool's Tommy Lawrence. Nicknamed the Flying Pig for the way he would charge from his line, his willingness to act as an additional defender allowed Liverpool to play with what was, for the time, an aggressively high offside line. It was the Ajax of Rinus Michels who took the concept to its extremes, though, their hard pressing demanding a goalkeeper who could fill the space behind the defensive line. "If everybody moves forward," Johan Cruyff explained, "you need an extra defender, so the goalkeeper has to be able to play as well."

They found the ideal man in Heinz Stuy, the keeper for each of their three European Cup wins between 1971 and 1973. His ability to sweep behind the back four kept him in the side, despite a habit of dropping crosses as though they were a croquette that had just emerged from a deep fat fryer – earning him the nickname Heinz Kroket. As a coach, Cruyff remained adamant his goalkeeper had to be prepared to leave his line, to take risks. "You have to learn that the great fear of goalkeepers that they will be beaten by a ball lobbed over their head from the halfway line is not based in reality," he said. "If he plays like that, in the interests of the team, then it doesn't matter … if once in a while he doesn't save a high ball." [There is far more on this and other theories of goalkeeping in The Outsider.]

The likes of Edwin van der Sar and Víctor Valdés have taken the theory even further, functioning, as Cruyff demanded, not merely as a defender but at times almost as a playmaker. Lloris does not do that – just as well, given his pass completion rate this season is only 42.5% – but his pace off his line remains a major asset. It just has to be accepted that it comes with risk.

Jonathan Wilson

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A-League: what to look for this weekend

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:11 AM PST

Paul Connolly: How will Sydney cope with the off-field drama?; Ernie Merrick's fine work; is the A-League really worse than the Zambian league?

Paul Connolly

Fan travels 7,000 miles for his first Everton game ... and it is called off

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:11 AM PST

Ric Wee travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Liverpool for the match to be postponed 35 minutes before kick-off. Have you ever

Paul Campbell
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