Saturday, 1 March 2014

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Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Brisbane Roar break their drought with solid win over Perth Glory

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:30 PM PST

Socceroos defender Ivan Franjic and marquee man Thomas Broich have restored Brisbane Roar's A-League breathing space

Athletic Bilbao 4-0 Granada | La Liga match report

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:25 PM PST

Aritz Aduriz scored a hat-trick to lead Athletic Bilbao's 4-0 rout of 10-man Granada on Friday, as the Basque side strengthened its hold on Spain's last Champions League berth for next season.

Aduriz headed home Markel Susaeta's cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mamés Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the frame of the goal in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The Bilbao defender Carlos Gurpegi capped the win in the 80th with a volley from outside the box. Granada did not muster a shot on goal and would have lost by a wider margin had it not been for the performance of Roberto Fernández in goal.

Bilbao's first victory in their last three home games left them fourth in La Liga, seven points ahead of Villarreal and Real Sociedad before they their matches on Sunday.

Real Madrid lead the table by three points from Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, with Bilbao a further 10 points adrift.

"I'm happy the team won again," Aduriz said. "To stay at the top you have to keep winning week after week. There is a long way to go and it will be very tough, because there are some good teams in the fight but we will give it our all to stay in fourth place."

Granada's fifth consecutive loss away from home leaves them perilously placed just five points off the relegation zone.


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T&T striker Carter dies of suspected heart attack

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:06 PM PST

• Carter, 30, complained of chest pains after training
• Defence Force player won 25 caps for his country

The Trinidad and Tobago international Kevon Carter has died of a suspected heart attack after training with his club team.

The Caribbean Football Union said the 30-year-old striker died in hospital on Friday. He had complained of chest pains following training at Macqueripe with Defence Force in preparation for the CFU Club Championship.

Carter made 25 appearances for Trinidad and Tobago.

The general secretary of the country's football federation, Sheldon Phillips, said: "The young man had a quiet resolve about him and bounced back from a horrific leg injury to once again earn a spot on the national team. The entire football family is in mourning and our thoughts and prayers are with Kevon's family and team-mates."


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Adam Johnson: I left Manchester City for Sunderland to feel more loved

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

Winger has point to prove against former club in Capital One Cup final and says Gus Poyet's side will be free of expectation

Adam Johnson's point may need proving towards Roberto Mancini rather than Manuel Pellegrini, but Manchester City will still be aware of a Sunderland player with a cause in the Capital One Cup final.

Johnson was just one recent victim of City's excesses, with frustration over a lack of playing time cutting short his time at the club in 2012. Martin O'Neill swiftly made him a marquee signing, taking him to the Stadium of Light for £10m.

"I loved it at City," Johnson said. "It's a great club and but for the circumstances I would still be there now. You want to win medals and I did that there. Looking back, I would still have signed and would do it again.

"Yes, I was disappointed the way it ended. I wanted to go and play more games. I was not asking to play every week – I knew I couldn't – I just asked to play one in four. It was as simple as that. I did not mind playing once every couple of weeks. It just wasn't a fair share. I was not expecting to play every minute of every game and I always knew that. It was just more the fact that it wasn't getting shared around enough. So I wanted to play somewhere I could play week in, week out and feel more loved.

"With a different manager, who knows? I just wanted a little bit more game time. All I wanted was for everyone to be treated the same.

"I think the fans at every club I've been involved with have loved me, it's more the managers having the trust in me playing. It wasn't always there.

"Player after player after player was coming in and I was slowly going further and further backwards. That's what it's always going to be like at City, there's always going to be the next best thing coming in and I was going to get sold on again. It was always going to be a revolving door there, I think."

An element of reality was placed upon what had rapidly emerged into lauding of Johnson from certain quarters, from the England manager Roy Hodgson on Thursday. Hodgson has not deemed the Sunderland man worthy of a place in his 30-man squad for the upcoming friendly against Denmark which, by extension, means Johnson has a serious task on his hands to be named in England's party for this summer's World Cup. Given that Hodgson is hardly spoilt for choice, Johnson's omission despite seven goals in nine games was significant.

The reality is that recent history has taught us how Johnson's current burst of form could disappear just as quickly as it arrived. His prominence under Gus Poyet is no surprise, given Sunderland now have more players who display attacking intent than was previously the case. When Johnson was the sole creative force, he was identified as such by opposition managers and commonly double-marked out of games.

Still, it would only be wise to celebrate Johnson's touch for as long as it lasts. Poyet is due credit for bringing out the best in Johnson. "I think it's just down to hard work, not just for me personally but the team has been working on all sorts of things; shape, tactics, defending off the ball and just slowly putting piece by piece together," Johnson explained.

"Slowly that has started to show in our performances. We had the players so it was just about getting that out of us.

"I think the manager has got us playing together better as a team and when you're playing better as a team the individuals come into the game more. We have had the ball a lot more than we have done in the last probably eight months. Under the gaffer we have controlled matches more than we've been controlled."

As a north-east boy from a Sunderland-obsessed family, Johnson is perfectly aware of the historic significance of this final appearance. He also understands the contrasting emotions on each side.

"With City we were expected to win," he added. "With Sunderland this year we're not. The fans of City are wanting that success every year, without doubt. They're disappointed if they're not winning two and three trophies. At Sunderland it's been amazing for us to get to the final full stop after so long. I think the fans are delighted.

"I've seen texts and they're just delighted to be having a day out at Wembley. On the other hand, the City fans are expecting this now so it's different. It's a different sort of pressure.

"Having been on both sides of it, we're going there with nothing to lose. We can go and play with freedom and try and win the game. If City don't win the game it will be a massive failure for them, won't it?"

Ewan Murray

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Brendan Rodgers seeks defensive balance to boost Liverpool title bid | Paul Wilson

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

Manager wants to maintain support of Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge but believes everyone has a defensive responsibility

Liverpool have scored four or more goals in nine of their 27 league games to date, a remarkable strike rate that last week enabled them to overtake Manchester City as the highest scorers in the Premier League. Unfortunately the 4-3 win over Swansea also highlighted why Liverpool have still to overtake City in the title race. Unforced defensive errors keep costing them goals at the back, and Liverpool have easily the highest goals-against tally of the four clubs currently occupying the Champions League positions.

A win at Southampton on Saturday evening would allow Liverpool to leapfrog City in the table, by virtue of the latter's involvement in Sunday's Capital One Cup final, even if Manuel Pellegrini's side would then have two games in hand. Chelsea are increasingly looking like the team to catch in any case and, though José Mourinho keeps moaning about his lack of goalscorers, his team are the only one in the division that can boast an average of under a goal a game for goals conceded. If Chelsea's miserly 21 goals against is the standard to which defences should aspire, Liverpool's 35 is way off the mark, and never in the history of the Premier League has the title been claimed by sides that have let in so many by this stage of the season.

That will not necessarily worry Brendan Rodgers, who has reined in the title talk of late and seen his side make up ground on the leaders as well-placed outsiders, though he is aware that momentary lapses of concentration at the back can undo hours of good work going forward. "Everyone has seen over a period of time that mistakes have cost us," the Liverpool manager said. "It is an area that we are looking to improve and we will do. The first task on coming here was to improve the goals for total, and we have done that. If I get enough time in the job we will look to improve in the other areas too."

One of Liverpool's problems has been constant changes in the back line due to injuries, although in the game against Swansea Rodgers made a bold call in replacing Daniel Agger after an hour because he did not feel he was strong enough to deal with Wilfried Bony. "Daniel can deal with that, he's been outstanding in training all week and he will play at Southampton no question," Rodgers said. "There was a wee bit of a spotlight on him last week but this is a collective effort.

"I will judge every player, whether he is the team captain, centre-forward or a squad player, and make a decision if I think it will get us a result. I have showed that in my time here and it was no different last week."

Rodgers rejects the charge that Liverpool are missing Jamie Carragher, or that the defence lacks a leader with sufficient personality to impose himself on opponents and maintain a level of defensive discipline. "We have showed resilience in coming back from behind enough times this season," he said.

"I don't think you can question the character of the team, and this is about the team, it's not about any particular individual. I have been coaching for 20 years, I know what top defenders and centre-halves look like, and what it takes to play there. We have been unfortunate at times, some of the mistakes we have made have been through players trying to take responsibility, others have just been mistakes. We all make them, but I don't think it is fair to suggest that all we do is set up to attack, to fly up the pitch without anyone thinking about defending. There is more substance to our work than that, we want to be a really balanced team. We have two great goalscorers but the whole team has a defensive responsibility too. If we concede it is because we are not pressing well enough at the other end."

Southampton are still the only side to have won at Anfield in the league all season, Dejan Lovren scoring the only goal of the game in September, and have an excellent record against Liverpool at home, where they have lost only once in the past seven Premier League meetings.

Luis Suárez was still serving his suspension when Southampton won on Merseyside – he has managed to score 23 goals since – though a greater factor in the game was Rodgers reshuffling his back line to the extent of playing four centre-halves, with Kolo Touré and Mamadou Sakho fitting in as full-backs either side of Agger and Martin Skrtel. "It wasn't ideal," Rodgers said. "We had injuries that meant we had to play people in different positions than usual."

While Rodgers will admit to being concerned about defensive aberrations – "It has been consistent, that's the reality of it" – he is far too much of a glass-half-full man to become depressed about it when everything is still to play for. "We have put ourselves in a great position with 11 games to go," he said. "There has been a focus on this part [defensive shortcomings] here for a while, but it's part of my job to not get too down about it. We really have to focus now on the great parts of our game, and with 11 games to go it is about winning. We want to try and win every single game, and if we win 11 games by four goals to three I will be delighted."

Paul Wilson

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José Mourinho urges Roy Hodgson to take Cole and Lampard to Brazil

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

• Cole has started only three games since 2 November
• Lampard featured in seven of England's 10 qualifiers

José Mourinho has argued that both Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard should retain their places in the England set-up for the summer's World Cup as reward for the significant contributions the pair made in qualification.

Both players have been included in Roy Hodgson's 30-man squad for Wednesday's friendly fixture against Denmark at Wembley, the last game before the national coach names his 23-man squad, plus seven stand-bys, on 13 May for the finals in Brazil. Yet Hodgson has admitted he "could have to leave a big-name player out" with Lampard and Cole increasingly under pressure from the likes of Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley and Luke Shaw.

Only four outfield players featured for more than Lampard's 519 minutes in England's unbeaten qualifying campaign with the veteran, who boasts 103 caps over a 15-year international career, contributing in seven of the team's 10 fixtures. Cole, who has 106 appearances at the highest level, was used more sparingly but three of his four games – in Poland, Montenegro and Ukraine – came in England's most daunting fixtures.

The left-back has started all of the national side's games at major tournaments since Euro 2000, yet he has lost his place at Chelsea more recently to César Azpilicueta and has started only three Premier League games since 2 November. The 33-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, may be utilised at Craven Cottage on Saturday but has only begun one game for his club side since mid-January, with Shaw's impressive emergence at Southampton threatening his position within the set-up.

"It's not my decision, but I'd try to be pragmatic," said Mourinho. "So if, one day, I am the national team manager of any country, I think the players that take me to the European Championships or to the World Cup are the players I'm going to take to the European Championships or the World Cup. They took me, by qualifying. After that, I take them on my plane. I don't think it makes a lot of sense if you trust some players to do qualification and, after that, you don't select them and pick others instead."

Another Chelsea player fretting over his inclusion in Brazil is Fernando Torres, a scorer in midweek at Galatasaray but whose fitness will be monitored before the derby at Fulham, after the striker was omitted for the World Cup holders' friendly against Italy next week. Diego Costa, the Brazilian-born forward who has played in two friendlies for the South Americans, was included for the game in Madrid and could make his debut for Spain after qualifying on residency grounds.

The Atlético Madrid striker had been called up for November's friendlies against Equatorial Guinea and South Africa only to miss out through injury. "When, one day I'm a national coach, I will take only players born in my country, that's for sure," added Mourinho. "Or if not born in my country, then with parents with a big connection with the country. I will never take a player just because he has a passport from my country just because he might make my team stronger.

"For me, the national team means a lot. If, one day, I coach Portugal, I'll go with the Portuguese. I don't do it. The national team is Portugal. It's not 'Portugal and Friends'. Portugal is for the Portuguese. It is an option, and anyone is free to have his options, and I'm not criticising … I'm just saying what I would do if I'm a national coach."

Chelsea make the short trip to Fulham as league leaders hoping to extend their advantage at the top against the side who currently prop up the division, but with Mourinho respectful of his opposite number, Felix Magath, and retaining an emotional admiration for his local rivals. "I don't want them to go down," he added. "If I could choose I'd take defeat tomorrow, then 10 victories and the title.

"I'd like the London teams to stay up. I have that emotional connection with Fulham, who are our neighbours and our rivals. Rivals need each other, so hopefully they can keep their place in the division."

Dominic Fifield

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Ellis Short is finally in sight of a trophy

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

After a weird season on Wearside Sunderland's owner has glimpse of improbable Wembley glory in Capital One Cup final

Good things come to those who wait. And yet it seems they also come to those who flail around wildly looking for the nearest handhold, regularly hurl the last six months of forward planning out of the window, and generally don't seem to be able to sit down for any period of time without jabbing themselves in the foot with the nearest sharp implement. For Sunderland, progress to Sunday's Capital One Cup final has involved not so much a cup run as a compelling kind of cup stampede, fraught with hierarchal change, a fast-paced turnover in playing staff and the continual clank-clank of gear-shift and about-turn.

Not that there is anything new in any of this. It is now four years since Ellis Short bought the club from the Drumaville Consortium, during which time Short's bafflingly incontinent administration has signed 42 players and sold 53, including 14 new signings from 10 different leagues in the past year alone. Four permanent managers have come and gone, along with three temporary ones, a disgruntled-looking Roy Keane, one fascism-related scandal, an improbable ginger-bearded director of football, and at least £200m of Short's own money in transfers and wages. From a distance the American private equity tycoon with a personal fortune of $3bn seems the most unlikely of accidental cup finalists, a man who has effectively blundered his way to Wembley in the past six months.

As ever in football the truth is a little less straightforward. Sunderland's mistakes have been obvious enough, given a sharper focus of late by a disastrous summer transfer window, the sacking of Paolo Di Canio and the departure in January of Roberto De Fanti, a personal acquaintance of Short appointed director of football last year who oversaw a string of hapless new signings.

Even now Sunderland's administration looks oddly callow and homemade, with only Short, a man who knows a great deal about money and a proportionately small amount about elite-level football in any coherent advisory capacity, and the chief executive, Margaret Byrne, above the manager, Gus Poyet.

In spite of which these mercurial Black Cats are currently halfway to performing a mid-air pirouette and landing back on their feet. Should Poyet's team beat Manchester City at Wembley and then, on the back of some encouraging recent momentum, edge themselves from 18th to 17th in the Premier League table in the next six weeks, a season that has at times seemed on the verge of meltdown could end up as one of the most memorable in Sunderland's postwar history.

Yet even within sight of an unlikely good news story there are still contradictions. The League Cup final itself arrives as a mixed mid-season blessing. Such have been the travails of recent winners it is even tempting to talk about the Curse of the Capital One. The holders, Swansea, won just one of their final 10 Premier League matches last season and have since sacked Michael Laudrup. Kenny Dalglish was sacked three months after winning it in 2012. Birmingham won it in 2011 and were relegated the same season. Spurs won it in 2008 and sacked Juande Ramos the same year. Chelsea won it under José Mourinho the year before that and were being managed by Avram Grant within six months.

For Sunderland the fear is naturally that success at Wembley might induce a release of tension at a vital stage in the Premier League season. And yet this in turn raises a broader question, the wider issue of what, exactly, the likes of Short are in this for anyway. Why do they do it, these otherwise rather sober entrepreneur-owners, stakeholders in what is a horribly fraught and emotive business?

It is tempting to compare owning a Premier League football club to owning an airline, a confusingly multifarious business that is on the face of it as much about prestige and status as any sensible notions of money-making. Sunderland's opponents at Wembley, Manchester City, have spent close to £1bn, with a return so far of a single FA Cup and that breathless last-day league title two years ago.

At Aston Villa Randy Lerner has consistently lost money, last year writing off loan repayments worth £20m. Liverpool's debt continues to rise, if not uncontrollably. And yet, as Short has discovered, owning a football club can also feel a bit like owning a house during a boom in the market. Sometimes no matter what you do to it, how many ill-fated schemes you set out on, how may walls you tear down and leave unfinished, it still just keeps on going up in value.

For all the lows of the last year a place in the Premier League remains a guarantee of hugely increased television revenues and ramped up shirt sponsorship deals. Helped by some chaotically productive wheeler dealing, and the Stadium of Light's second life as a concert venue for the likes of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen, Sunderland managed to rake in £96.4m in total revenues last year, more than the Turkish champions, Galatasaray.

Against this, £100,000 for winning the Capital One Cup looks like small beer, as does the promised interference of a turn in the Europa League. Albeit, again the question of exactly what top-level football is for these days raises its head.

Short is the most hard-nosed of operators in his financial career, but there is a creeping, familiar sense – this is after all, English football – of a chairman who does at times seem to enjoy the high visibility benefits of life as a Premier League chairman, who separately owns the Scottish celebrity haunt Skibo Castle, revels in his face-to-face encounters with Sunderland's fans, and who was recently in the news for leaving a £1,800 tip while dining out in a city centre curry house after the win over Everton.

Not that Short does not deserve to enjoy himself a little after the rigours of early season. In particular the appointment of Poyet has been a clear success so far, an indication once again of how in football one good decision can draw a veil over a bucket-load of wrong turns. Sunderland's manager has this week gone from saying he would always choose Premier League survival over winning the League Cup to a state of obvious excitement ahead of Sunday's final.

Short was something of a lone cheerleader for Poyet before his appointment, but the Uruguayan's energy, his commitment to the club, and a run of recent victories have threatened to recalibrate Sunderland's season: post-Wembley they have six winnable home matches in the league, to go alongside away games at Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester United.

If victory against City's heavyweights remains an unlikely prospect, Sunderland have won four and drawn two of the last eight matches between the two, and lost just once in the last five. They have a goalkeeper in fine form, a former City winger in Adam Johnson with seven goals in his last nine matches and opponents who might, just, have their eyes set on broader horizons.

For all that, this is still Sunderland, a club apparently set this season on taking the path of most resistance. One thing seems certain. It is unlikely to be dull.

Barney Ronay

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United to swap big nights in Europe for lucrative friendlies

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Plan to offset revenue lost for failure to qualify for Europe
• United claim a global fan base of more than 650m

Manchester United are poised to play a series of lucrative friendlies abroad next season to offset what could be a minimum £20m loss for failure to qualify for the Champions League and Europa League.

With United constantly offered multi-million-pound deals to play around the world in exhibition and testimonial games, the club hierarchy is confident of filling the financial void left by a dismal season, and has already started planning for the potential absence from European competition next term. David Moyes's side are in sixth, 11 points from a Champions League place.

With United having turned down a sizeable offer to play a friendly during their recent warm-weather break in Dubai, the prospective opposition could be against teams from the Middle East, China or America.

For reaching the Champions League last-16 last season United received £28.9m from Uefa, plus around £2m per home game from ticket sales. With the club having played four matches in that campaign at Old Trafford – three group games and the second last-16 leg – that means United earned nearly £35m from the competition.

United are working on a loss of around £20m for failure to play in either of Uefa's club competitions and believe playing friendlies overseas during the gap in their schedule will help recoup a sizeable proportion of this.

United played a testimonial in Saudi Arabia, in January 2008, for the former Wolverhampton Wanderers reserve team player Sami Al-Jaber. The team jetted out to the Middle East directly after a Premier League game against Reading on a Saturday for the friendly two days later in what was a 6,000-mile round trip.

While that exercise yielded the club around £1m, during the six intervening years the increase in social media and new pay-per-view models means they could expect to earn considerable sums from other friendlies, beyond any appearance money offered by the hosts.

United made last August's pre-season friendly with the Swedish side AIK available on pay-per-view for £5.95. With the club's huge global fan base, the earnings from matches sold in this way next year are potentially lucrative.

United will also have noted how Rio Ferdinand's testimonial against Sevilla later that month is thought to have been watched by a global audience of several million, who took in the game for free via BT Sport and the defender's own website.

Javier Hernández has moved to deny he criticised striker Robin van Persie following Tuesday evening's shock 2-0 Champions League defeat to Olympiakos.

This follows the Mexican posting an image of himself and Patrice Evra on Instagram <%http://instagram.com/ch14_instagram%> that said: "Without your team-mates you can't be somebody in football, always be thankful..."

While this had been interpreted as a dig at Van Persie, who after the loss had criticised some of team-mates for moving into his space, Hernandez said on Twitter the instagram post "had nothing to do" with the Dutchman.

He added: "Why do the press always take comments out of context? We are great team-mates working for the same goal – the team.

"And because the team isn't doing as well as we'd like, everyone just wants to make everything look like a bad thing!"

Jamie Jackson

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Hart to sit out League Cup final

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Costel Pantilimon set to start at Wembley on Sunday
• Hart says he took previous demotion 'on the chin'

Joe Hart is resigned to missing Sunday's Capital One Cup final, with Costel Pantilimon set to be chosen for the Wembley showpiece with Sunderland.

Manchester City's players were given a clear hint during Friday's training session regarding who will be in Manuel Pellegrini's starting XI. The squad will train on Saturday morning before travelling to London in the afternoon and the manager could still have a change of mind. However, if Hart does not start, it would be another blow following the loss of his place to Pantilimon during the autumn.

The 26-year-old has spoken for the first time regarding that decision by Pellegrini and admitted he had to take it on the chin. "You have to be able to accept when you are playing or not," he told the BBC's Football Focus. "When managers have got decisions to make, whether it benefits me or not, I have to be man enough to take it. I work hard every day to win and I understand it doesn't always go my way and you have to move forward."

Pantilimon, who was dropped by Roberto Mancini for last year's FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic after playing in all the previous rounds, would not be drawn on whether he will appear against Sunderland. "Only the manager can say this. I'm like all the players, we are waiting for this," he said. "We don't know what the team is going to be. The manager decides on the day of the game the first XI."

City are clear favourites against Sunderland but Samir Nasri has twice lost cup finals at Wembley to unfancied teams who went on to be relegated, as Gus Poyet's third-bottom side could also be. Nasri was in the Arsenal team defeated by Birmingham City after a late Obafemi Martins goal in the 2011 League Cup final. The Frenchman was also in the City XI beaten by Wigan, again to a late goal, from Ben Watson.

Asked which was the more disappointing reverse, Nasri said: "I cannot choose one of them over the other. The only thing is I lost two finals against teams who went down. It hurts because you play to win trophies and it was a good opportunity to win this trophy. "

Arsenal and City had been favourites ahead of the respective final losses. "Yes, that is really difficult," said Nasri. "You go back home and play the game again in your head and it's difficult."

Wigan's victory came against the backdrop of uncertainty over the future of Mancini but Nasri denied this was a factor. "It is not nice to say it is about the manager," he said. "I just think we didn't play our football. You have some days when you cannot perform well and that's what happened.

"I am not in the head of every player but I cannot say it is the manager's fault. He made his choices, you have to respect them. On the pitch you have to give everything and, to be honest, Wigan were really difficult to play. They play 3-5-2, sometimes 5-3-2 so it was really difficult to play them and they had good players as well."

Pellegrini should be able to choose Sergio Agüero, after his recovery from a hamstring injury. The striker, who has scored 26 goals in 25 games this season, has not featured since 29 January but has had a full week of training since rejoining the squad on Tuesday.

In Agüero's absence Álvaro Negredo has hit the first lean spell of his debut season. The Spaniard has 23 goals for City but has not scored since 21 January. While Negredo was suffering from a shoulder injury for part of this sequence, he believes Agüero's return will help him rediscover his scoring touch.

"We've done well together earlier in the season, we got a lot of goals so maybe that can continue," he said. "All the forwards we have here are good players. I like playing alongside any of them. But Agüero is one of the top strikers around and it will be fantastic to have him back."

Negredo said of his drought: "For the first few games I was struggling with my shoulder. It was an influence for a couple of weeks after it happened but I'm perfectly fine now. As strikers we go through cycles when sometimes the goals stop coming but I am not worried. They will come back. It's been a few weeks now so I hope so."

Jamie Jackson

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Jan Vertonghen says Dnipro comeback proved Tottenham's mental strength

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• People laughed at Spurs' resilience before, suggests Belgian
• Vertonghen: 'I'm not thinking about a new contract yet'

Jan Vertonghen believes that Tottenham Hotspur's stirring comeback against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on Thursday night has shown their critics that they possess the mental strength required to succeed this season.

The defender said people have laughed when he has spoken about Tottenham's resilience in the past but he feels that he was proved right in his side's victory over the Ukrainians in their last-32 Europa League tie. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, they conceded early in the second half of the return match at White Hart Lane to make their task even harder, yet Vertonghen was delighted with the response, Tottenham scoring three times in 13 minutes to set up a last-16 tie with Benfica.

"Yeah, I told people before – and they laughed at me – that we have a very mentally strong team," Vertonghen said. "It is true, we can bounce back from conceding goals. We just have a very strong team. We just have to show it more often."

It helped that Dnipro were reduced to 10 men during that frenetic 13-minute spell. Vertonghen was criticised for his part in the incident that saw Roman Zozulya sent off for a headbutt on the Belgian, with some people accusing him of play-acting. However Vertonghen said: "I walked into him, I think, I walked again and he gives me one. Then I go down. He gave me a reason to go down and I think it's his fault, not mine."

Tottenham, who host Cardiff City on Sunday afternoon, are six points behind Liverpool in fourth place and Vertonghen indicated this week that he would seek a move if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. It has been suggested that Tottenham will attempt to convince Vertonghen to stay by extending his contract, which has two years to run.

"I'm not thinking about that," Vertonghen said. "I only concentrate on winning the fourth spot with Tottenham. We didn't speak about a new contract yet. I don't know if this will happen before the end of season, I don't know what the plans of the club are."

Vertonghen also offered support to the misfiring Roberto Soldado, who was once again peripheral against Dnipro. The £27m striker has not scored since the 3-0 win over Stoke City on 29 December. "We know Robbie's qualities and that's why he is playing," Vertonghen said. "Yeah, he hasn't scored as many goals as he wanted but he is working very hard for the team and he is very important. He makes so many runs. That is what you expect from him and the goals will come eventually."

Jacob Steinberg

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Magath leaves Mitroglou out of squad

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Magath says striker is only fit to play 30 minutes
• But new £12m signing will not even be a substitute

The sense of uncertainty at Fulham has been heightened as Felix Magath revealed that Kostas Mitroglou, the £12m striker they signed from Olympiakos in January, will not feature at all against Chelsea. The German manager initially said that Mitroglou has been left out because he is not fit enough but Magath later retracted those comments, which appeared to have lost something in translation, and instead said that the forward is not ready to handle the intensity of the Premier League.

While Mitroglou had a slight injury when he signed for Fulham, he made his debut as a 61st-minute substitute in last week's 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, which was also Magath's first game in charge. However the manager caused surprise by saying that the 25-year-old, who impressed in a recent outing for Fulham's Under-21 side, is not part of his plans for the visit of Chelsea on Saturday afternoon but could return against Cardiff City next week. Fulham are bottom and four points behind 17th-placed West Bromwich with 11 matches left.

Magath's explanation for Mitroglou's absence did little to clear up the situation, though. "He is fit enough to play half an hour but he is not fit enough to play 90 minutes at the moment," he said. "But he will develop. He was injured and so he needs some time and he has worked a lot for the last four weeks or so. He will be ready to join us next week."

Yet those comments only added to the mystery surrounding Mitroglou. Magath, Fulham's third manager this season, had said that the Greek was fit enough to play half an hour. So why can't he be on the bench? But Magath was not budging. "I have told you," he said. "No."

Mitroglou arrived from Greece with a reputation as a deadly finisher, having score 21 goals for club and country this season, including a hat-trick in Olympiakos's 4-0 win against Anderlecht in the Champions League.

Yet Magath, who oversaw fitness tests for his players last Monday, believes that the lack of competition in the Greek league means that Mitroglou is unsuited to dealing with the rigours of English football. "I think the most difficult thing is he is used to playing in a small league and he was playing in the best club in this league," Magath said.

"They are always the better team and they hold the game. If you are at a team where you defend more, he is not used to that situation. The biggest problem for him is to get used to the higher level of the Premier League and then that he has to do defensive work that he was not asked to do before."

Magath was asked if it seems strange that Fulham have spent so much money on a player who does not appear to fit their style. He replied that he would work with Mitroglou to get him ready. "You cannot change a player in two days," he said. "You have to work with him and show him what you want from him but the time is too short. I have been here 10 days or so. It makes no sense to take that risk."

Yet it might be too late by the time Mitroglou has adapted. "Nobody can tell you how fast he adapts," Magath said. "I cannot see into the future. But we [will] work on it."

Jacob Steinberg

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Solskjaer: blame me for poor results

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST

• The football decisions, they are mine, Cardiff manager adds
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces music after Tan comments

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted that he takes full responsibility for Cardiff City's poor results since taking over as manager at the start of January, despite Vincent Tan suggesting the Welsh club's disappointing form under the Norwegian is down to "bad transfers we did in the summer".

The club's Malaysian owner made those comments in a BBC interview that has gone down badly with Cardiff fans and, once again, taken the focus away from events on the pitch at a time when Solskjaer and his players are embroiled in a relegation scrap. Cardiff, who face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Laneon Sunday, are second from bottom in the Premier League and have picked up only four points out of a possible 21 since Solskjaer replaced Malky Mackay as manager.

Tan, however, continues to lay the blame for Cardiff's season unravelling at Mackay's door. He described him as a "lucky" manager, accused the Scot and Iain Moody, the club's former head of recruitment, of going "berserk" in the transfer market last summer and, rather bizarrely, claimed that Dave Jones had been more successful when in charge of the Welsh club.

Tan also called on the Cardiff fans who oppose him to apologise and signalled his intention to become "personally involved" with transfers in the summer, after adopting a more hands-on approach in January. All of which left Solskjaer picking up the pieces at his morning press conference.

Solskjaer refused to subscribe to Tan's view that the reason he has won only one of seven league games is due to anything that happened before he was appointed. When asked if he took responsibility for results under his watch, as well as whether Cardiff are relegated or survive this season, Solskjaer replied: "Definitely. Results haven't been what I wanted or expected in the two months I've been here. It's my responsibility to get us out of here as well. I'm in charge of the team now, we're in with a chance. We've got two and a half months to get out of the situation and we'll give it a go."

It was pointed out to Solskjaer that when Tan said he was "convinced" the former Manchester United player could keep Cardiff in the Premier League, it could be interpreted by some as the dreaded vote of confidence. "I'm not the person who wants to live a safe life and say 'He's got a job for 10 years'. That's not how it is. I'm in a results business," said Solskjaer, who has a 12-month rolling contract.

"The measure of a man is not when he stands in a zone of comfort, it's when challenge and adversity is there. That's when you've got to show your personality and character. I'm not one to say 'You've given me a contract for this long or that long'. I've got to prove that I'm good enough, and I'm sure I am."

On the subject of transfers – Cardiff have signed seven players since the turn of the year and a pre-contract agreement has been reached with Real Valladolid's Javi Guerra to join on a free in the summer – Solskjaer insisted that Tan is not involved in identifying targets. "I do [control] football matters," he said. "He [Tan] is very willing to invest, he wants us to be successful but he wants to know what we're doing. He wants to know the ins and outs of it, it's got to be transparent, it's got to be in a structure and he's involved in that structure. But the football decisions, obviously they're mine. I decide the players."

Solskjaer was also asked about Tan's hugely controversial decision to change Cardiff's kit from blue to red and whether he could understand supporters' concern about what remains an extremely emotive issue. "Of course you can, because that's the identity that they've been part of. But that was a decision made before my time, so I cannot come in and change what's been done," he said. "We work on what we have and we look forward to making this a success."

Does Solskjaer think that it was a mistake on Tan's part to change Cardiff's colours? "You know what I look at, maybe some of the mistakes I made, maybe picking that player or picking those tactics or that game-plan," he said. "I can't be looking at that [the kit colour] now."

Stuart James

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Arsenal's upbeat Theo Walcott says: 'There will be other seasons'

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:29 PM PST

Walcott might wonder if he is fighting a World Cup curse but insists: 'I've bounced back before and it's made me stronger'

The irony of the situation was not lost on two of the stretcher-bearers, who found themselves in the line of fire as they carried Theo Walcott from the closing stages of Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup home win over Tottenham Hotspur on 4 January.

"Yeah, two of them were Spurs fans," Walcott says with a smile, but they were not laughing at the time, as the coins came down on them from the visiting end of the Emirates Stadium. The travelling Tottenham support had seen red at the sight of Walcott depicting the scoreline at them with his hands.

"The guys actually said: 'Theo, can you stop now?'" Walcott continues. "I did stop eventually, as soon as I got in front of the Arsenal fans, and they were throwing scarves. I stopped, yeah. I will have to treat those guys to some cupcakes or something."

Walcott says that the coins were already being thrown when he performed the gesture that, it has to be said, gave belly-laughs to the home crowd. Jack Wilshere said Walcott would "be an Arsenal legend now".

"I don't regret it at all," Walcott says. "All the stewards and the doctors were getting stuff peppered at them even before. Me and Tottenham … you always do that banter. They do it to me. I do it to them. I have seen some Tottenham fans since then and they have said that, if it was one of their players, they would have loved it. It was just a bit of fun."

Walcott was feeling good and not only because he and Arsenal had stuck one over their neighbours. He had entered the tie with five goals in five games and, better still, he had started as the centre-forward; he has long pleaded with Arsène Wenger for greater opportunity in what he considers his best position.

Moreover, as the adrenaline coursed his system, Walcott felt no pain following the innocuous coming-together with the Spurs full-back Danny Rose. He says that he heard something "pop" but, the following day, the left knee did not seem too bad, even though it was clear that there was something wrong with the ligaments.

When he checked in for an appointment with the specialist the day after that, he expected to be told he faced a lay-off of about four weeks. What followed hit with the force of a hammer. The cruciate ligament had ruptured. His season, and his part in Arsenal's push for the Premier League title, was over. And, the final insult, he would miss another World Cup with England.

"The day after wasn't too bad and then, when it swelled up … obviously, there was a lot of damage but we didn't know the extent of it," Walcott says. "It probably did hit me quite hard. It would hit anybody hard. I try not to think about that day, really."

Walcott has just hobbled into the media suite at Arsenal's training ground to give his first interview since the injury. It is exactly seven weeks since he was operated on by the leading surgeon, Andy Williams, at London's Cromwell Hospital and, if each day has brought mental and physical challenges, there have also been regular indicators of progress.

The leg brace came off and the crutches went on Tuesday while he returned to driving an automatic car on Thursday, which was good news for his various chauffeurs, including his father, Don, and his wife, Mel. "I'm a terrible back-seat driver," Walcott says. "They are probably pleased to get rid of me from their cars."

Walcott has done a bit of work on the exercise bike and some walking in the swimming pool but it remains a gruelling road to fitness – the doctors hope to have him back in the early part of next season – and, were he to have darker moments, he might wonder whether he is fighting a World Cup curse.

Picked as a 17-year-old by Sven-Goran Eriksson, he did not play at Germany 2006 while he was cut, at the last, by Fabio Capello for South Africa 2010. Capello later admitted that Walcott's omission had been a mistake. "It was nice of him to say that," Walcott says, but it changed nothing. And now this.

Walcott does not seem to have darker moments or, at least, he has not had any since the day that the specialist gave him the bad news. Perhaps it is because the last seven weeks or so have been a whirlwind and the grind has yet to grip or, more likely, he knows that, despite the injury, he has so much to be grateful for, including the impending arrival of his first child. Mel is due in May and Walcott will be able to attend the birth.

"It's a silver lining, I suppose," Walcott says. "A lot of footballers miss out on the birth of their children and you don't get those days back. The baby is the one thing that keeps me going."

Walcott is remorselessly upbeat and it is no mere coping mechanism. He simply does not see the point of negativity. He says that, unusually for an injured player, he is an "easy watcher" and he has become an enthusiastic Emirates Stadium-going fan at what is an exciting time for Arsenal. He also says that he will be fully behind England in Brazil.

It is remarkable to think that he is only 24 and, having packed so much in, he takes the long-term view when looking forward. There will be other seasons and there will be another World Cup.

"I don't want to look at six months' time," Walcott says. "I want to look at 10-15 years and still be playing. I've bounced back before and it's made me stronger."

David Hytner

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Terry McDermott and Derek Fazackerley leave Birmingham by mutual consent

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:40 PM PST

• Departure of assistant manager and coach confirmed
• Lee Clark: 'This wasn't a decision imposed by the board'

Birmingham City have confirmed the departures of the assistant manager, Terry McDermott, and the first-team coach, Derek Fazackerley, by mutual consent.

Reports first emerged 11 days ago suggesting the pair, who formed part of manager Lee Clark's backroom team, had left St Andrew's although the Championship club have made no official comment, with legal ramifications involved.

Clark, unable to go into too much detail, insisted last week that the pair had not been sacked and dismissed speculation over involvement from the club's board.

Neither was in the dug-out for last Saturday's 2-1 victory at Blackpool, where Clark – reportedly keen on a fresh approach – was flanked by an existing backroom team of Steve Watson, Richard Beale and John Vaughan, who will each remain in place.

Birmingham, who are 16th in the table, have now confirmed the formalities of McDermott's and Fazackerley's departures, adding that it was not a cost-cutting measure.

Clark told the club's website: "The three of us have been having amicable discussions and we all decided that it was in the best interests of all parties for Terry and Derek to part ways from the club.

"This certainly wasn't a decision imposed by the board, who have been very supportive, but a conclusion Terry, Derek and I reached following the discussions.

"I have known Terry and Derek for many years and they both remain good friends. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their loyalty, friendship and work ethic during my time as a manager with both Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City."

McDermott, a three-times European Cup winner with Liverpool as a player, and Fazackerley, who worked alongside Kevin Keegan when he was in charge of England, were part of the backroom set-up at Newcastle during Clark's playing days in the north-east.

McDermott became Clark's No2 at Huddersfield after the latter's appointment in December 2008, with Fazackerley also joining as first-team coach before linking up with Leicester less than two years later.

Clark and McDermott were relieved of their duties by Town in February 2012. However, Clark reunited the trio when he landed the Birmingham job in June 2012.


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Cyprus FA postpones matches after bomb damages car of top referee

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:03 PM PST

• Bomb on hood of referee Leontios Trattos' car explodes
• United States due to play Ukraine on island next week

The football association in Cyprus has postponed all first division matches over the weekend after a bomb damaged the car of a top referee in the country.

Police say an explosive device was placed on the hood of the referee Leontios Trattos' car and it exploded early Friday in a parking lot outside his apartment in a Nicosia suburb. No one was injured but his car and another vehicle nearby were damaged.

The attack comes days before the United States are due to play a friendly against Ukraine in Larnaca on Wednesday. The match was moved from Kharkiv because of violence in Ukraine.

Trattos is the president of the Cyprus referees' association and he has overseen international matches.


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Uefa 'not afraid' of FFP challenges

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:52 AM PST

• 76 clubs being investigated for possible breaches of rules
• 'We are not afraid of decisions being contested,' Uefa says

Uefa has pledged to defend legal challenges it expects some major football clubs to make if sanctions are imposed on them for breaches of the financial fair play rules. Clubs in European competition are required to limit their financial losses to €45m in total over 2011-12 and 2012-13 and this limit will be enforced for the first time before the beginning of next season. Clubs in breach of the rules, introduced to encourage European clubs to be more financially responsible, face sanctions ranging from a fine to exclusion from European competition in the most serious cases.

Uefa's general secretary, Gianni Infantino, revealed that 76 clubs, almost a third of the total 237 involved in European competition, were being investigated for possible breaches of the rules, including making substantial losses, based on their 2011-12 accounts. Manchester City, who lost £98m in that year, bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, are thought to be included in the 76, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, who are now making significant losses bankrolled by the club's owners, a division of the state of Qatar.

Clubs' accounts for 2012-13 have mostly been submitted to Uefa now, and are being investigated. Minor cases will be decided by late April, Infantino said, and final decisions in all cases by mid-June. Alasdair Bell, Uefa's legal affairs director, said he expects legal challenges to be made by clubs on whom sanctions are imposed and maintained that Uefa will fight them. "We are not afraid of [Uefa decisions] being contested," Bell said. "We fully anticipate there will be challenges – it would be strange if there weren't. July and August could be a busy time."

David Conn

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Football fan fined for ripping up Qur'an at match

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:27 AM PST

Middlesbrough supporter Mark Stephenson ordered to pay £235 for tearing and pretending to set fire to pages

A football fan who ripped up pages of the Qur'an during a match has been fined.

Mark Stephenson, a Middlesbrough season-ticket holder, was ordered to pay £235 by magistrates.

The 25-year-old from Shrewsbury committed the religiously aggravated public order offence last December during Middlesbrough's Championship fixture at Birmingham City. He was reportedly "shocked and appalled" at his own actions.

The purchasing manager was among a group of about 20 visiting supporters who were handed pages of the Qur'an by a woman during the match.

Jonathan Purser, prosecuting, told Birmingham magistrates court that Stephenson, who had no previous convictions or cautions, was seen with a lighter, apparently pretending to set fire to some of the pages. Stephenson told a steward who asked what the book was: "It's the Muslim bible: we hate Muslims."

Other fans were shouting and chanting at the time of the offence, and the words Qur'an, Muslims and burning were overheard by a steward.

Defence solicitor Ash Mistry told magistrates that his client had been drinking alcohol before the match and at half-time, and had very little recollection of his actions.

Magistrates opted not to impose a football banning order on Stephenson.


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England v Denmark at Wembley fails to sell out

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:13 AM PST

• 55,000 tickets have already been sold for friendly
• But some Club Wembley members will not attend

The Football Association does not expect Wembley to be full for England's penultimate home friendly before the World Cup, against Denmark on Wednesday. So far 55,000 tickets – priced up to £55 – have been sold to the public, with 17,000 already held by Club Wembley members. However, not all those members are expected to attend the game, and the FA expects an attendance of approximately 68,000 to watch Denmark, who last played at the stadium 20 years ago during Terry Venables' first match as manager.

England's final game on home soil before fixtures in Miami against Ecuador and Honduras will be against Peru on 30 May, with Hodgson using the fixture to prepare for South American opposition at the World Cup. That will be their ninth match at Wembley in the space of one year.

The lowest attendance for an England match at Wembley in the last year was 61,607 for the World Cup qualifier against Moldova in September, while 62,953 watched the friendly with Chile. More than 85,000 spectators were in attendance for matches against Poland and Germany in 2013.

James Riach

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Sunderland reduce season ticket prices for 2014-15 campaign

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:10 AM PST

• Capital One Cup finalists want Stadium of Light 'affordable'
• Adult season seats will be available from £370

Sunderland have announced reduced season ticket prices for the 2014-15 campaign.

The Black Cats, who will take a following of 31,000 to Wembley for Sunday's Capital One Cup final clash with Manchester City, revealed on Friday that all season ticket holders who sign up before 11 April will pay less.

The chief executive, Margaret Byrne, said: "Our fans have been amazing throughout the season, both home and away, and it is incredibly humbling to see such fantastic levels of support.

"They show unbelievable commitment to the club and we want to demonstrate to them just how valued and important their backing is.

"Keeping football at the Stadium of Light affordable is something that we are fully committed to.

"By reducing prices for next season, we hope that our existing season card holders will be able to continue to support the team in such huge numbers. We also hope to encourage more fans to join us for the 2014-15 season."

Adult seats will be available from £370, while supporters aged over 65 will pay £270. Season tickets for under-22s will be reduced by £90 to £190, while under-16s can watch a whole season's football for £69.

Tickets for the club's family zone, which cover an adult and one child, are priced at £395 and additional children can be added for £25 each.


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Swansea v Crystal Palace: match preview

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:02 AM PST

Now their European adventure has concluded, following a 3-1 defeat at Napoli on Thursday, Garry Monk's Swansea can place all their focus on assuring their top-tier status. Four points clear of 18th, they could easily be dragged into the mire – and Palace, who have won three of their past six despite defeat to Manchester United last weekend, would overtake them with a win here. Alan Smith

Kick-off Sunday 4.30pm

Venue Liberty Stadium

Last season n/a

Referee M Dean

This season G18, Y67, R3, 4.1 cards per game

Odds H 11-13 A 4-1 D 13-5

Swansea City

Subs from Tremmel, Cornell, Pozuelo, Taylor, Amat, Vázquez, Lamah, Tiendalli, Cañas, Ngog, Emnes, Richards

Doubtful None

Injured Shelvey (hamstring, 15 Mar), Michu (ankle, 15 Mar)

Suspended None

Form LDWLWL

Discipline Y44 R1

Leading scorer Bony 10

Crystal Palace

Subs from Hennessey, Alexander, Moxey, McCarthy, Mariappa, Gabbidon, O'Keefe, Guedioura, Dikgacoi, Thomas, Bannan, Murray, Jerome, Gayle, Wilbraham

Doubtful Thomas (back)

Injured None

Suspended None

Form LWLWWL

Discipline Y31 R2

Leading scorer Chamakh 5


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Spurs v Cardiff City: match preview

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:57 AM PST

So many things have been against Cardiff City, according to the owner Vincent Tan, from an unfair and racist press to a previous management team that could not do business. Yet the greatest single issue is the club's league position and they sorely need a response to last weekend's 4-0 home loss to Hull. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team, having now failed to score in three league fixtures. What a relief that 90% of the Cardiff support remain firmly behind Tan then … David Hytner

Kick-off Sunday 4.30pm

Venue White Hart Lane

Last season n/a

Referee P Dowd

This season G18, Y80, R1, 4.6 cards per game

Odds H 4-11 A 10-1 D 4-1

Tottenham Hotspur

Subs from Friedel, Gomes, Fryers, Naughton, Chadli, Bentaleb, Paulinho, Townsend, Kane

Doubtful Sigurdsson (thigh), Rose (knee), Capoue (ankle), Walker (hip), Kaboul (muscular)

Injured Chiriches (back, 22 Mar), Lamela (back, 29 Mar)

Suspended None

Form LWWDLW

Discipline Y45 R2

Leading scorer Adebayor 8

Cardiff City

Subs from Lewis, Turner, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Daehli, John, Kim, Eikrem, Berget, Taylor, McNaughton, Cowie

Doubtful Medel (thigh), Mutch (hamstring)

Injured Hudson (hamstring, season)

Suspended None

Form LDLWLL

Discipline Y31 R0

Leading scorer Campbell 5


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Our favourite things this week: from Kevin Pietersen to the Polaroid Prince

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:26 AM PST

Featuring Brian O'Driscoll's best passes, snowboarding, Norwegian curlers and Muhammad Ali doing magic tricks

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

1) The Polaroid Prince

Louisa Thomas has written a brilliant profile about the most eccentric figure at the Sochi Winter Olympics – Vladimir Putin aside. You might recognise Hubertus von Hohenlohe from his tremendous mariachi ski suit, an even more eye-catching sartorial choice than the trousers of Norway's curling team. Von Hohenlohe is a 55-year-old prince and Sochi 2014 was his sixth Olympic Games. In his spare time, the Polaroid Prince (a nickname which pays homage to his love of Andy Warhol) sings in a pop band and specialises in nude photography. We could go on. But for a full and fascinating insight into his spectacular life, Thomas's piece for Grantland is well worth a read.

2) The man who fell to earth

Writing in the New Statesman, former England cricketer Ed Smith gives an engrossing insight into the psychology of Kevin Pietersen. Smith recalls how Pietersen listened to loud house music when travelling with the team; he dissects his relationship with Piers Morgan ("almost Pietersen's public relations expert"); and explains why he thinks Pietersen "never loved cricket in the way that Roger Federer loves tennis". This exquisite exploration of one of sport's most interesting figures gets right to the heart of Pietersen's character and goes some way to explaining how his glittering England career ended in such public acrimony.

3) Thirteen memorable Brian O'Driscoll passes

Brian O'Driscoll is playing his final Six Nations tournament and, to celebrate the luminous career of Ireland's most-capped player, Paul O'Hara of Balls.ie has compiled a collection of his best passes. Who wouldn't want to watch a sublime BOD kettlebell through-the-legs pass over and over again?

4) The life and death of Justin Fashanu

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Roads and Kingdoms keep publishing elegant and handsomely presented articles. Here they have done it again with an extensive profile of Justin Fashanu, the first professional footballer to come out as gay in England. Fashanu's story is a tragic tale, ending in his suicide aged just 37. Davy Lane has given a sound and thoughtful reflection on his life and helped push forward the debate about homophobia in sport.

5) An interview with chess grandmaster Judit Polgar

Judit Polgar became the youngest ever chess grandmaster aged only 15. In this Q&A with Merike Taal she discusses her daily routine (chess players go to the gym first thing in the morning), her tips for chess success and how she copes with losing – which must be quite easy, given that is she is rarely defeated.

6) José Germano de Sales, Milan's trailblazer

Italy has not always proved a welcoming home for black footballers. Long before Mario Balotelli struggled with racial chants in Milan, José Germano de Sales experienced the wrath of Italian crowds. Newspapers debated whether Germano should play in Serie A and he was mysteriously moved on from Milan to Genoa. Paul Greech tells the story of his football career – and his great, forbidden romantic love – in this piece for Pickles magazine.

7) Footgolf is a bonafide sport

Apparently footgolf is now a thing. In a Ronseal approach to sport, footgolf pretty much does what it says on the tin. Players kick footballs around a golf course into holes that are football-sized instead of golf ball-sized. There are 22 footgolf courses in the UK. And there is even an appetite for it in America, where there is an actual American Footgolf League and 60 courses. No, really.

8) Ali and me: struck dumb by the presence of genius

Boxing fan and writer Paul Howard met his hero Muhammad Ali back in 1992, and here he documents his exchange with the Champ for the Irish Times. Howard had always idolised Ali: "I have a clear memory of sitting at the kitchen table one day in 1984 and reading in the Daily Mirror that Ali was suffering from a degenerative condition called Parkinson's which had robbed him of his greatest gift: his ability to articulate. To me, it was a twist worthy of Aesop – the man who talked so much, he used up all his words – and my 13-year-old heart broke." When the pair met Howard realised that the great communicator had lost his voice, but still retained his ability to speak to people.

9) Hamilton Accies do the header challenge – with their kitman

Cunning by name, cunning by nature. Sort of. Hamilton Accies kitman Daniel Cunning helped the Under-20s team complete the header challenge in their dressing room. Quick, somebody get him in the first team.

10) The ultimate reward comes after the storm

Snowboarder Jeremy Jones has spent the last six years collaborating on a series of three short films with Teton Gravity Research. The films document his efforts to ride some of the world's most remote mountains. In this film in New York Times Jones teams up with veteran riders Tom Burt, Johan Oloffson, Travis Rice and Jonaven Moore to take on the Fairweather Range of Alaska. The team get caught in a 12-day storm and, literally, have to ride it out. Exhilarating stuff.

Hannah Jane Parkinson
Paul Campbell

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Stoke City v Arsenal: match preview

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:19 AM PST

Arsenal's ambitions remain in the balance as they head for a stadium that has not been kind to them in the past – the scene of some bad-tempered defeats and, of course, Aaron Ramsey's broken leg. This will be a first visit post-Tony Pulis, but Mark Hughes and Arsène Wenger have not always seen eye to eye and Hughes's side sit nervously just three points above the relegation places. Paul Chronnell

Kick-off Saturday 3pm

Venue Britannia Stadium

Last season Stoke 0 Arsenal 0

Referee M Jones

This season G15, Y45, R2, 3.3 cards per game

Odds H 5-1 A 4-6 D 14-5

Stoke City

Subs from Sorensen, Muniesa, Shotton, Palacios, Ireland, Nzonzi, Wilkinson, Etherington, Guidetti

Doubtful Odemwingie (calf), Huth (back)

Injured Assaidie (knee, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LDDWLL

Discipline Y58 R3

Leading scorers Adam, Crouch 6

Arsenal

Subs from Fabianski, Viviano, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Flamini, Zelalem, Gnabry, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Miyaichi, Podolski, Bendtner, Sanogo

Doubtful Gibbs (hamstring), Monreal (foot)

Injured Ramsey (thigh, 15 March), Kallstrom (back 15 March), Diaby (knee, unknown), Walcott (knee, Aug)

Suspended None

Form WDLWDW

Discipline Y37 R3

Leading scorer Giroud 12


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Aston Villa v Norwich City: match preview

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST

Not a lot of love lost between these two clubs. Relations have been strained ever since Paul Lambert left Norwich for Villa in 2012 and time has not been much of a healer. A game full of subplots – Wes Hoolahan wanted to join Villa from Norwich in January while Grant Holt, who scored prolifically during his time at Carrow Road, is likely to be among the Villa substitutes – carries extra significance because both clubs are desperate for points to climb clear of the relegation scrap. Stuart James

Kick-off Sunday 4.30pm

Venue Villa Park

Last season Aston Villa 1 Norwich 1

Live Sky Sports 3

Referee A Taylor

This season G14, Y40, R1, 3.9 cards per game

Odds H 15-13 A 3-1 D 5-2

Aston Villa

Subs from Steer, Bennett, Clark, Albrighton, Sylla, Lowton, Tonev, Luna, Helenius, Holt

Doubtful None

Injured Okore (knee, unknown), Kozak (broken leg, unknown), N'Zogbia

(achilles, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LDLLWD

Discipline Y55 R0

Leading scorer Benteke 7

Norwich City

Subs from Bunn, Johnson, Garrido, Pilkington, R Bennett, Elmander, Whittaker, Hoolahan, Josh Murphy

Doubtful R Bennett (back), Howson (back).

Injured Fer (hamstring, unknown), Gutiérrez (calf, 16 Mar), E Bennett (knee, 16 Mar), Turner (hamstring, 16 Mar)

Suspended None Form WLDLDW

Discipline Y41 R2

Leading scorer Hooper 5


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Manchester City believed to be among 76 clubs in financial fair play inquiry

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:27 AM PST

• Paris Saint-Germain also thought to be involved
• Uefa requests further information for 2013

Manchester City are believed to be among 76 clubs in European competition this season – about one third of the total – being investigated for possible breaches of Uefa's financial fair play rules. Paris Saint-Germain are also thought to be involved.

The 76 clubs all failed Uefa's break-even calculations for 2012 and have been asked to provide financial information for 2013.

They will all now have their finances assessed by the club financial control body to see if the breaches have continued and whether sanctions should apply.

The Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino said: "This figure of 76 clubs is a high figure but it has to be looked at in the perspective of what the end figure will be."

Clubs face a range of sanctions ranging from a warning or a fine up to being forced to play in Europe with a salary cap on the squad, or even being barred from competing and having trophies stripped.

The sanctions will apply from the start of next season but in April Uefa will name the clubs who are facing possible action.

Among English clubs, Manchester City would have the most to fear having returned losses of £97.9m in 2012 and £51.6m last year.

Chelsea made a £49.4m loss last year but actually made a £1.4m profit in 2012 so may escape any action.


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