Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal
Atlético Madrid 4-1 Milan
Champions League: Bayern Munich v Arsenal – in pictures
Kompany: we can defeat Barcelona
Tottenham's Younès Kaboul can face Arsenal after red card rescinded
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: what we know – and what we don't
Barcelona's Javier Mascherano warns critics: 'Don't kill us just yet'
Riga replaces sacked Powell
Pardew banned for seven games
Barcelona's Javier Mascherano to critics: 'Don't kill us yet' – video
The Fiver | Reptilian space travellers in disguise | Paul Doyle
European best XIs plus are Tottenham Hotspur better under Tim Sherwood?
So how does Alan Pardew intend to get his job done on matchdays? | Louise Taylor
MP urges 'FA racism' investigation
Wigan to face Arsenal in first FA Cup semi-final on Saturday 12 April
US investment firm increases United stake to £90m
The Spin | When cricketers could double up as footballers | Andy Bull
Breaking the law: take injury-time out of football referees' hands | Toby Moses
Sanfrecce Hiroshima strike a chord with Japan tsunami goal celebration
Milan's Clarence Seedof on Mario Balotelli and Atlético Madrid – video
David Beckham in Peckham – stylewatch
Trabzonspor v Fenerbahçe off after crowd trouble
The best goals of the week: Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie and Fernandinho
Luciano Spalletti sacked as Zenit St Petersburg manager
Norwegian referee for Arsenal game accused of being pro-English in 2010

Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 02:40 PM PDT

Champions League: Bayern qualified for the quarter-finals 3-1 on aggregate after a draw in Munich

Paul Doyle

Atlético Madrid 4-1 Milan

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 02:37 PM PDT

Champions League: Diego Costa scored twice as Atlético crushed the Italians to go through 5-1 on aggregate

Ian McCourt

Champions League: Bayern Munich v Arsenal – in pictures

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 01:04 PM PDT

The best images from the Allianz Arena in Munich where Arsenal are looking to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League

Jonny Weeks

Kompany: we can defeat Barcelona

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:45 PM PDT

• Captain wants players to summon title-winning spirit
• 'It is all about that first goal' says Belgian defender

Vincent Kompany will take inspiration from the dramatic title success of 2012 as Manchester City look to turn the tables on Barcelona. City face a mountainous task as they attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit against the Spanish champions in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

City, having reached this stage of the competition for the first time, have little European experience or precedent to draw inspiration from ahead of the clash.But no one connected with the club will have forgotten the way they struck twice in the closing minutes of the final game of the season two years ago to snatch the Premier League title.

Those memories, Kompany believes, should give the team all the motivation they need.

The captain said: "Football is made out of nights like this – it is why you play football. It is a tough ask but emotionally you won't really beat what we experienced on the day we beat QPR. If anything should give you belief about chasing lost causes it should be that day. I am really excited about this one and the whole team is the same. We will try to make the best of it. The motivation and the belief are still there."

Kompany would not be drawn on suggestions that Barcelona could be vulnerable after some indifferent recent results domestically. Gerardo Martino's side slipped to third in La Liga last weekend as they were beaten 1-0 by the relegation-threatened Real Valladolid.

City appear to have lost rhythm of late, despite this month's Capital One Cup triumph, and on Sunday they slumped to a shock defeat by Wigan in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Kompany said:

"It goes quickly in football. Last week we won the first trophy of the season then we got beaten at home by Wigan. I guess whichever team wins tomorrow will be on a high again but we will focus on our own game.

"I am looking to the strikers we have – [Sergio] Agüero, [Álvaro] Negredo, [Edin]Dzeko – that is what I want to focus on. We have firepower up front. If everything goes well we are capable of hurting Barcelona. I would say we have a chance to come here and we don't have anything to lose.

"It is all about that first goal. If we get the lead then I believe the dynamics of the game will change. I am convinced of that, but obviously it is one of the toughest places in the world to come and try to achieve something like this."

Manuel Pellegrini begins a two-match touchline ban for his comments about the referee after the first-leg defeat and will be in the stands and forbidden from making contact with players or his coaching staff after they arrive at the stadium.

Kompany said: "Ultimately it is the kind of game where you don't need too much extra motivation. I will presume the message will be clear for everyone before we get to the stadium."

Andy Hampson

Tottenham's Younès Kaboul can face Arsenal after red card rescinded

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 10:57 AM PDT

• FA overturns decision from 4-0 defeat at Chelsea
• Kaboul was sent off for foul on Samuel Eto'o

Tottenham Hotspur will have Younès Kaboul available for Sunday's north London derby against Arsenal after an independent regulatory commission, appointed by the Football Association, upheld the club's claim of wrongful dismissal for the Frenchman's sending off against Chelsea on Sunday.

The referee, Michael Oliver, had shown the centre-half a red card for his role in an apparent tangle with Samuel Eto'o in the penalty area just before the hour. The Cameroonian, who had just put the hosts ahead, was in front of goal and appeared likely to convert Eden Hazard's cross at the time, with Kaboul, despite contact appearing minimal, deemed by the officials to have denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Spurs, who lost Dawson to a hamstring injury later in the game and are already without the Romania centre-half Vlad Chiriches and even the back-up Étienne Capoue, were infuriated by the decision and appealed against the dismissal with their options in the middle of their defence severely depleted before the north London derby. They also take on Benfica in the first leg of their last 16 Europa League tie at White Hart Lane on Thursday.

A regulatory commission scrutinised the incident and determined that Dawson was close enough to Eto'o as the striker reached Hazard's pass to cast doubt over whether the goalscoring opportunity was actually "obvious". Indeed Eto'o's touch, under pressure from Kaboul, took the ball back towards Dawson, with that enough to persuade them to rescind the red card. The decision to award the penalty in the first place was not under consideration.

The let-off will allow Kaboul, whose campaign has been limited to 11 appearances due to ankle and knee injuries, to partner Jan Vertonghen at the heart of Spurs' defence against Arsenal at White Hart Lane as Spurs attempt to eat into the gap between them and the Champions League qualification places.

Stoke, meanwhile, have lost an appeal against Jonathan Walters' red card in the 1-1 draw at Norwich on Saturday. The striker was dismissed for a foul on Alexander Tettey and must serve a three-match suspension.

Dominic Fifield

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: what we know – and what we don't

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 10:37 AM PDT

Confusion surrounds details of missing plane, with discrepancies over time and last position, and odd reference to Mario Balotelli

Finding missing aircraft can take days or months; unravelling what went wrong can take years. But accounts from Malaysian authorities and others involved in the search operation and investigation into flight MH370 have been particularly confusing and, in some cases, contradictory.

Has any trace of the plane been found?

Several sightings of debris and oil slicks have been reported but they have so far proved to be unrelated to MH370. Crews are searching a vast area of sea and are bound to spot flotsam and slicks from vessels; establishing that they are connected to the missing flight is another matter.

Where and when was the plane last detected?

This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of all. Malaysia Airlines repeatedly said that Subang air traffic control – which covers Kuala Lumpur airport – lost contact with the aircraft at 2.40am, almost two hours after takeoff, but later revised its last known contact to 1.30am.

That appeared to make more sense, since its last recorded position was 120 nautical miles off Kota Bharu on the east coast and online flight data showed it at that spot about 40 minutes into the flight, at roughly 1.20am, heading towards Vietnam across the South China Sea. The pilot of another aeroplane closer to Vietnam said that just after 1.30am he relayed a call to MH370 at the request of Vietnamese air traffic control and heard mumbling at the other end but then lost the connection.

There are also two unconfirmed sightings of a low-flying plane off the east coast at about 1.30am, though Les Westbrooks, associate professor of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, warns: "Eyewitness accounts are notoriously bad."

Officials said the plane might have turned back and there is a report that Singaporean authorities detected a rapid descent - which could have affected whether it was picked up on radar screens. Flightradar24.com said its coverage was limited to 30,000 feet (9,100 metres) in that area.

But it was still unclear why search teams were combing the Malacca Strait, on the western side of the peninsula, until the air force chief told local media on Tuesday that military radar had picked up a signal showing the plane near the tiny island of Pulau Perak off the west coast – hundreds of kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur – at 2.40am; the time initially indicated by Malaysia Airlines.

It is possible that officials were, and remain, uncertain as to whether they really detected MH370.

Westbrooks noted that if the aeroplane was experiencing problems, its instruments might not have been able to respond to the radar. He said that given the size of a 777, the radar would be able to identify the presence of an object even without a response.

Who were the four passengers with suspect identities?

Only two are known to have been travelling on stolen passports. Both are thought to be Iranian, probably seeking asylum in Europe, Interpol's secretary general has said.

There was confusion earlier because the Malaysian home minister had described them as appearing to be Asian but was then contradicted by the civil aviation chief, who appeared to suggest that one of the men looked like the black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli. Most journalists present took that to mean that he was black, although the Ministry of Transportation later clarified that the civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, had been trying to emphasise that ethnicity did not indicate nationality.

The Malaysian transport and defence minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said this week that authorities were looking at two more possible cases of suspicious identities, telling reporters: "All the four names are with me."

Malaysian authorities have not given any further information since then. Chinese state media said one of the passport numbers on the manifest belonged to a man from Fujian, eastern China, who was safe and well – but a different name, also Chinese, was listed alongside the number. The man told police that his passport had not been lost or stolen.

What about people who checked in but did not board the flight?

On Monday, the civil aviation chief said five people checked in but did not board and their baggage was removed accordingly. On Tuesday, the inspector general of police said that everyone who was booked on to the flight had boarded - though he then contradicted himself by saying one person had missed the flight because they got the wrong day. Malaysia Airlines says that four people were booked but never checked in.

Tania Branigan

Jonathan Kaiman

Barcelona's Javier Mascherano warns critics: 'Don't kill us just yet'

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 10:23 AM PDT

Defender goes on the attack as under-fire Barcelona prepare to face Manchester City in the Champions League last 16

Javier Mascherano faced Barcelona's executioners and said: "Don't kill us yet." As the pressure builds and talk of crisis engulfs the Catalan club, the man they call the Little Chief stepped forward once again. The Argentinian carries a gravitas and leadership that has been apparent at key moments before – he spoke before the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2011, three days after a wounded Barça had lost the cup final to their bitter rivals, and he was called on again as they prepared for the second leg against Manchester City.

Mascherano insisted that Barcelona have a "lovely opportunity" to reach the quarter-finals after their 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium. He also noted: "We're not so bad." So far, so standard but if this appears a redundant message, it was not. It needed to be delivered and few do so like him. The mood in Catalonia is far from optimistic. That first-leg victory was three weeks ago but feels like a world away and the criticism has been vicious. The 2-0 lead appears vulnerable.

Barcelona fell to their third defeat in six league games against Valladolid on Saturday, slipping four points behind Real Madrid and releasing months of simmering debate and doubt. Johan Cruyff famously called it the entorno – that deafening swirl of pressure, politics and pessimism. If Barcelona thought unprecedented success had silenced that forever, it has returned.

For much of the last 18 months, the team have sustained the institution amid a catalogue of off-field problems, including the resignation of the president, Sandro Rosell, after state prosecutors opened an investigation for alleged "simulated contracts" and tax avoidance. With poor results and performances, the pressure has built. Against Valladolid, Barcelona were dreadful and the press has been pitiless. Supporters have grown concerned, even if the coach, Tata Martino, did insist that they, unlike the press, would back the team tomorrow night.

Mascherano appeared at Sant Joan Despí and was engulfed by cameras. When they parted, it was as if he faced a firing squad but he did not back down. A similar experience awaited Martino afterwards. Why are you playing so badly? Has the team become satiated by success? Are you weak? Will you continue? Are the team training hard enough? Are the players on the manager's side? One after the other, the questions came. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat. Few asked about City, except to question what happened. How could a team who played so well in Manchester be so different now?

Mascherano talked of "dramatisation" and insisted that this was neither "Disney nor a horror film". His message was a measured and positive one. At one point it was passionate too, leaning forward, voice rising, swift and direct. This was a defence of Barcelona and of the manager. "We're not tocados," he said. Tocados roughly means wounded or damaged, hurt, mentally as well as physically. "It's March. Wait for us to be dying before you kill us off! We're still alive."

"We have a 2-0 lead, in our favour," Mascherano said, stressing "in our favour". "We're not so bad. This is a nice opportunity to reach the quarter-finals. The idea is to win trophies but the obligation is to be competing for them at this stage. If all goes well I think we have 18 games left. Let's weigh things up at the end. Wait until we're dying before you kill us. Don't kill us yet; it's only March!

"We analyse things differently to you, with criteria," he added. "We know we're in the last 16 with a positive first-leg result, we're in the Copa del Rey final and although a gap's opened, there's a long way to go in the league. In pre-season you dream of being in a situation like this. It's time to step on the accelerator."

"There will be time to think about the [mistakes of the] last few weeks but tomorrow's another story. We have to respond the way we have always responded in these situations. You can take everything as a criticism or a challenge: we take it as a challenge, to prove who we are. Our intention is not to shut people's mouths; it is to return to playing the way we have done. We want to get back to our best, to allow us to fight for all competitions."

Mascherano also responded to accusations of lax training and an incapable manager. "I read and listen less and less [to the media]," he said, "but if there is one thing we've always done it is dignify this profession. We can look people in the eyes and tell them we do things the right way.

"Maybe for you [Martino] is not a big name but he's been in this profession for 15 years. He left his country and earned recognition; he went home and earned recognition too. He took a team to the World Cup and almost knocked out the world champions [Chile v Spain in 2010] and he reached the Copa America final, beating Brazil. He's earned it all. When people lack respect, or underestimate him, they should check his CV. He was not gifted any of that.

As for tomorrow night, Mascherano highlights Sergio Agüero as City's greatest threat and admits Barça cannot afford to offer his fellow Argentinian any space. "I think we'll see City really attack. They play that way normally and with the result against them more so. Agüero is one of the five best forwards in the world, a fantastic player, and with space he can ruin your night.

"We'll try to give him as little space as possible and make sure he is not comfortable, that he doesn't feel like he's in his natural habit. We will try to do the same [as in the first leg]: keep possession, not let them counterattack, don't give them space. The way to do that is to have the ball for the majority of the game. We're the ones who have the lead.

"We're conscious that we cannot play like we did against Valladolid. We have to get back to our best version. Tomorrow is a great night for that."

Sid Lowe

Riga replaces sacked Powell

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:56 AM PDT

• Addicks owner says departure was 'unavoidable'
• Former Standard Liège No2 faces Huddersfield on Wednesday

Charlton Athletic have confirmed the appointment of José Riga as their head coach as a replacement for Chris Powell, whose three-year tenure at the Championship club was ended once it was clear his relationship with the new owner, Roland Duchâtelet, had fractured beyond repair.

Powell was sacked on Monday evening after talks on a contract extension broke down, with owner and manager unable to reach agreement over their long-term vision. Charlton prop up the division and will be overseen by Riga, who has spent two spells as a coach at Standard Liège, for the first time in Wednesday's home game against Huddersfield Town. The Belgian will be assisted by Karel Fraeye, who has departed his position as head coach of Eendracht Zele.

Both have close links to Duchâtelet, 67, who had completed his £14m takeover in January to incorporate Charlton into a network of six clubs in which he has a financial interest at various levels across Europe. He revealed last week that he effectively sees the English addition to his portfolio as a feeder club for Liège, whom he purchased in 2011 and who currently lead the Belgian Pro League with aspirations to compete in next season's Champions League.

Youngsters would move to The Valley from the Belgian club's Formation Centre to gain first-team experience, while the most talented players at Charlton's own academy could move in the opposite direction, an arrangement with which Powell was apparently uncomfortable.

Riga, accompanied by Fraeye, was at Charlton's Sparrows Lane training ground on Tuesday and watched on as Powell's existing coaching staff oversaw the first-team squad. The 56-year-old introduced himself to the players after training, by which time Duchâtelet had issued a statement confirming Powell had been relieved of his duties. "Given the club's position in the league and the number of important fixtures upcoming, I felt this difficult decision was unavoidable at this time," said the Belgian, who has amassed a personal fortune of £615m in the electronics industry and other business interests. "I can assure supporters this was not an easy decision but it has been made with the club's future in mind. Time will tell if it is the right decision."

Apart from his stints at Liège, Charlton's first foreign manager has also worked as a scout and analyst for the Belgium national team. He has advised Milan's youth set-up since last October, spent time with the Aspire Academy in Qatar, and was invited by José Mourinho to spend a week at Real Madrid in November 2011 training the squad. He has spoken of forever "looking for innovation and progress" in his approach to coaching, and has worked with Michel Bruyninckx to design the CogiTraining and Senseball methods of coaching, aimed at heightening players' speed of vision and decision-making on the pitch.

He faces a challenge in retaining Charlton's Championship status with the team bottom of the second tier despite boasting four games in hand on those immediately above the cut-off, a legacy of an FA Cup run which ended in quarter-final defeat to Sheffield United on Sunday and a series of postponements due to waterlogging at The Valley over the winter. Charlton have won only once since Boxing Day, with Powell's relationship with Duchâtelet having steadily deteriorated.

The manager had first considered his future towards the end of January after initial disagreements with the new owner, though the pair had since opened negotiations over a new deal. A financial package had actually been agreed in principle, though Powell and Duchatelet were at odds over transfer strategy. Players such as Dale Stephens and Yann Kermorgant had been sold in January, with five of Charlton's six signings in the midwinter window boasting links with other clubs in the owner's network of teams – he controls Liège, the Hungarian side Ujpest, FC Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany and the Spanish team AD Alcorcon, and has interests in the Belgian team Sint-Truiden – and not handpicked by the manager.

None of the new additions were included in the starting lineup for Sunday's defeat at Bramall Lane, with the 2-0 defeat bringing matters to a head.

"We have been working with Chris Powell and his representatives for a couple of weeks to try and agree a contract extension which would have seen us continue to work together," said Duchâtelet. "There was good progress, but we could not reach an agreement over the club's football strategy going forward. The situation put a strain on the working relationship between Chris and the board. Therefore I think it is best for all parties that we part ways at this stage."

Powell, who said his farewells at the club's training ground on Tuesday morning, had steered Charlton to the League One title in 2012 before finishing an impressive ninth last term. However, this campaign has proved more problematic with restrictions on recruitment and the mid-season takeover, and Charlton have won only six of their 30 league games to date.

Dominic Fifield

Pardew banned for seven games

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:52 AM PDT

• The first three matches imposed are a stadium ban
• Newcastle manager admitted misconduct charge
• Picture gallery of the incident at the KC Stadium
• How Pardew will work on matchday

Alan Pardew received the toughest managerial punishment in Premier League history on Tuesday but still emerged from a Football Association disciplinary hearing at Wembley a relieved man.

The Newcastle United manager knows the three-game stadium ban followed by a four-match touchline suspension imposed in the wake of his head-butting of Hull City's David Meyler could have been significantly more severe.

Although FA sources suggested that the verdict of its three-man independent regulatory commission – who also fined Pardew £60,000 and warned him as to his future conduct – issued a "strong message" it seems the Newcastle manager's legal advisers, headed by a QC, did an excellent job in exploiting helpful precedents.

Even so, it still represents the longest period a league manager has been banned from a technical area since February 1989 when Nottingham Forest's Brian Clough was barred from the touchline until the end of that season after hitting fans.

Newcastle, who fined Pardew £100,000 but never considered sacking him, were quick to issue a statement saying they had "accepted" the decision and wished to "draw a line under the matter".

Nonetheless the incident is bound to top the agenda on Thursday when the 52-year-old is scheduled to address the media before Saturday's trip to Fulham.

After the hearing, Pardew, who is prepared to undergo anger management counselling, restricted himself to a brief comment. "As I have made clear, I deeply regret the incident and again wholeheartedly apologise to all parties for my conduct, which I understand was not acceptable," he said. "I will accept the punishment handed down by the FA. My focus now turns to preparing the team for this weekend's game against Fulham and finishing the season as strongly as possible."

The precedent of Mark Yates proved immensely helpful to his case. In 2007 the then Kidderminster manager merely received a four-game touchline ban and a £350 fine for head-butting an Exeter player.

Moreover, last October Blackpool's former manager Paul Ince served a five-game stadium ban for "violently shoving" the fourth official during an expletive-laden post-match rant. Pardew is understood to have argued that his offence was less serious than both Ince's and Nicolas Anelka's, the West Brom striker who was suspended for five matches after his anti-semitic "quenelle" goal celebration.

Yet Newcastle's manager hardly boasts an unblemished record having been "reminded of his responsibilities" by the FA earlier this season after swearing at Manchester City's Manuel Pellegrini. Back in 2012 he served a two match touchline ban for pushing an assistant referee.

During the games at Fulham and at home to Crystal Palace and Everton which will see him barred from the stadiums, Pardew intends to watch games from hotel rooms, with club video analysts helping him interpret live match feed, while John Carver, his assistant, takes temporary charge of the team.

Louise Taylor

Barcelona's Javier Mascherano to critics: 'Don't kill us yet' – video

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:42 AM PDT

Barcelona's Javier Mascherano says his team have not lost their golden touch ahead of the Champions League clash with Manchester City

The Fiver | Reptilian space travellers in disguise | Paul Doyle

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:34 AM PDT

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

THE CORRIDOR OF UNCERTAINTY

Stuart Pearce in Euro '96. Lando Calrissian in Return of the Jedi. Weird Uncle Fiver in any district court you care to name. Tonight, Arsenal will be seeking to achieve what two of the aforementioned trio famously attained and the third never will: redemption. While venturing into Bayern Munich's den in an attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit may seem like the most outrageous act of optimism since Weird Uncle Fiver pleaded for leniency on the grounds of good behaviour, Arsenal may just be embiggened by the fact that tonight's tie is about more than merely progressing in Big Cup. It is about atoning for the first leg. At least, that's what it's about for Mesut Özil – but for the club as a whole, and Arsène Wenger in particular, it is about atoning for the last eight years.

The truth – like Eamonn Holmes in a narrow corridor – that is impossible to avoid is that when push comes to shove, Arsenal fall down. That is how it has been since 2005. Sometimes there have been perfectly acceptable justifications for that, sometimes it has been a result of a strangely flawed policy, and sometimes Wenger's team has just bottled it. Tonight is a chance for Arsenal to prove they have grown up and, in the process, rub all that talk about specialising in failure right in the smug face of the Special One – and if that's not a powerful motivator, then the Fiver's a funny tea-timely newsletter.

In recognition of the high stakes, Wenger has launched into full paranoid mode. "We played now a few times with 10 men in Europe and under always very special circumstances," muttered the Frenchman as he scrutinised the assembled hacks to see if any of them might be reptilian space travellers in disguise. "What you want is a good referee and I think the closer they are to the tough leagues, the more chances they have to detect the tricks that can decide a game," continued Wenger. "Sometimes when you come from a league that is less pacey …" he added before trailing off, perhaps realising that the inevitable ending to his sentence would be something such as: you clunk into a smarter opponent and get yourself sent off just like Wojciech Szczesny did in the first leg against Bayern.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE TONIGHT

Join Paul Doyle from 7.30pm GMT for MBM coverage of Bayern Munich 2-1 Arsenal (4-1 agg), and Ian McCourt for Atlético Madrid 1-1 Milan (2-1 agg).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"While profiling players and studying cognitive neurology and neuropsychology we understood that the organisation of a training session needs to be reconsidered. Most of all, the finding that sensoring – more precisely sensorial restrictions – perception and processing of information is influenced by the unique neurological organisation of a human being and that the environmental and brain influence on learning processes is seriously underestimated during sporting activities urged us to look for innovative training structures anticipating more the holistic nature of a player's learning activity" – Chris Powell's successor in-waiting at Charlton, José Riga, took training today, and if his session was anything like those at CogiTraining, the company he helped to found that teaches footballers to "internalise, emotionalise and see with their brains, not their eyes", the Fiver can't wait to see its effect on a filthy Championship relegation battle.

FIVER LETTERS

"I'm sure 1,056 other political pedants will jump at the chance to write in correcting the fact that it wasn't David Cameron who coined the term 'hug a hoodie' (yesterday's Fiver) but it was in fact the opposing party, Labour, in response to his speech to the Centre of Social Justice in 2006" – Paul Jordan (and no other political pedants).

"I can't decide if Manuel Pellegrini looks more like a French deputy headmaster on a school ski trip, or an American president relaxing at Camp David (yesterday's Fiver). Either way, exceptional use of the oversized hoodie" – Ryan Slattery.

• 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: Rollover. So raise your game. Because we've got Fiver letters prizes back tomorrow …

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BITS AND BOBS

Joe McGinniss, author of the magnificent The Miracle of Castel di Sangro and many other books, has died at the age of 71.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has been handed a seven-game ban for head-butting Hull's David Meyler.

Luciano Spalletti has been sacked as head coach of Zenit St Petersburg. "We will always be glad to see him in St Petersburg. Grazie, Mister," cheered a club statement.

Labour MP Keith Vaz has urged the government to look into Sol Campbell's claims that he would have captained England for longer had he been white. "If there is even a suspicion of racism this must be fully investigated immediately," said Vaz.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima players paid tribute to the victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami with their goal celebration in the 2-1 Asian Big Cup defeat at Central Coast Mariners.

And Bnei Yehuda midfielder Rafi Dahan has been forced to postpone his upcoming wedding after suffering leg-snap in an horrific tackle from Maccabi Haifa's Rubén Rayos. "Rayos tried to end my career. I will never forgive what he did to me. It was a crime," fumed Dahan.

STILL WANT MORE?

In the second of our new series on rule changes, Breaking the Law, radical idea-man Toby Moses takes a reasonable-sized hammer to conventional thinking and says refs shouldn't have to deal with injury-time. Thud!

Phwoar! was the general reaction to these goals of the week.

Ian McCourt recalls when Zinedine Zidane chose the setting of the 2006 World Cup final to introduce his forehead to Marco Materazzi's chest in No5 of our stunning World Cup moments.

"I'm quite shy. I'm an introvert. That's the way I am, how I feel." Sid Lowe talks to $exually Repressed Morris Dancing F … hang on. Sorry. Sid Lowe talks to Victor Valdés.

The Fiver's roll-up smoking, real ale-drinking, willow-wielding cousin The Spin remembers a time when la-di-da cricketers weren't bullied off the park by scowling footballers, chiefly because loads of footballers used to play cricket too.

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

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Paul Doyle

European best XIs plus are Tottenham Hotspur better under Tim Sherwood?

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

Best XIs from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1, and the debate on whether to sack failing managers

Premier League team of the week

La Liga team of the week

Bundesliga team of the week

Serie A team of the week

Ligue 1 team of the week

Tactical talking point: should struggling managers be given time?

The dismissal of Chris Powell as manager of Charlton epitomises the difficulties managers face these days. After three years with the club, he was the eighth-longest serving manager in the Football League, with Arsène Wenger and Exeter City's Paul Tisdale the only bosses from the 92 teams in England's top four tiers to have held their current posts for longer than five seasons. That the managerial merry-go-round has been in full swing once again this season comes as little surprise.

We still feel a pang of sorrow for the removed manager, but do teams fare any better after a change? Seven clubs in the Premier League have changed managers this season: Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur, Cardiff City and Swansea City. They have employed a total of 19 managers, but would they have been better off sticking with what they had?

André Villas-Boas' dismissal at Tottenham was one of the more bemusing sackings given that he had led the club to their highest ever Premier League points tally in his only full season at the club. The Spurs hierarchy gave him a second term (for the first time in his short career), but the circumstances were hardly perfect, with Gareth Bale departing and no fewer than seven new players attempting to settle simultaneously.

With Spurs seventh in the table and having conceded 11 goals in two fixtures against Manchester City and Liverpool, the board ran out of patience and appointed Tim Sherwood to replace Villas-Boas – who boasted the highest win percentage of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era.

It was a reversion of sorts to the ways of old for chairman Daniel Levy, whose club had had their greatest recent success under Harry Redknapp. Redknapp, like Sherwood, is English, and put more emphasis on personnel than formations, in stark contrast to the tactical musings of Villas-Boas.

Sherwood has quickly enjoyed some success. He has won 26 points from 13 Premier League games, while Villas-Boas managed 27 in 16. Spurs have moved up to fifth in the table, but they are still four points off that elusive Champions League spot, and have played three games more than Manchester City and one more Liverpool and Arsenal.

Sherwood has overseen a period of improvement at White Hart Lane, with Spurs undoubtedly looking a more cohesive attacking unit and scoring more freely as a result. However, after their weak performances in the two domestic cups, there is certainly an argument to say Villas-Boas could have been given more time to adapt to the many changes being made at the club that were beyond his control. Sherwood has been in charge for equally embarrassing big losses to City and Chelsea, but has a fantastic chance to redeem himself with the visit of Arsenal on Sunday.

Across London, Fulham have been the most inconsistent Premier League club this season – both on and off the pitch. They are bottom of the league and have employed three different permanent managers, none of whom have been able to solve the problems that persist at Craven Cottage.

Martin Jol took the club to safety last season despite widespread doubts about the quality of the squad. He was only given 13 games this season before being sacked when the club were in 18th. With René Meulensteen already lined up, the change, at the very least, seemed planned. Thirteen games later – and with Meulensteen recording the exact same record in the league as Jol (three wins, one draw and nine defeates) – he was out the door.

Current manager Felix Magath has one point from three matches. After the defeat to Cardiff at the weekend, he claimed that Cardiff won because they were more used to relegation battles. Cardiff have not been involved in a relegation battle for nearly a decade. It seems that Magath does not know enough about the English game to guide Fulham off the bottom of the league and to safety.

Cardiff have seen little change under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose 0.77 points per game does not compare well to the 0.94 points per game they won under Malky Mackay this season. Mackay's sacking seemed more related to Vincent Tan's personal opinion than any footballing reasons, and, while Solskjaer could still enjoy the kind of success he did at Molde, and take Cardiff up a notch, Mackay was the safe – or at least safer – bet they needed in their inaugural season in the top flight.

West Brom and Swansea have had similar fortunes since changing managers. Neither had a replacement ready to come in and they have suffered as a result. Michael Laudrup had won Swansea's their first ever major trophy and Garry Monk has just one win from four league games so far. West Brom had developed into a more dynamic outfit under Steve Clarke and, although results left something to be desired, things have only got worse since Pepe Mel took over, with a frankly abysmal four points from eight matches.

The only genuine success stories looks like they could be Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace and Gus Poyet at Sunderland. Both could still go down, but they have had improved their teams' fortunes. The clubs were at the bottom of the table when they joined – with Crystal Palace 19th with three points, and Sunderland 20th with one point – but, as we approach the final 10 game of the season, both have their destinies in their own hands.

Four of the seven teams to have changed managers are lower in the table now than they were when the changes were made. Six of the clubs are still entrenched in the relegation battle, while Spurs look no more likely to achieve the Champions League qualification they so crave. The honeymoon period that comes with switching managers can be beneficial, but patience can often be a more effective remedy.

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

So how does Alan Pardew intend to get his job done on matchdays? | Louise Taylor

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 08:46 AM PDT

A three-game stadium ban will cramp Newcastle's style but the manager's well-regarded assistant John Carver will step into the breach and be continually briefed

Alan Pardew is the type of man who prides himself on spotting solutions to situations others see as insurmountable problems.

Inconvenient as a three-game stadium ban is, with four from the touchline to follow, the Newcastle United's manager desire to remain in control of matchday events on the pitch has involved the club briefing a team of video analysts who will sit alongside Pardew in a hotel suite during games.

Quite apart from watching a live feed, the 52-year-old will be provided with a stream of Prozone-type statistical information of the sort he usually receives in post-match debriefs.

In theory no direct contact with his staff on the bench is allowed but armed with such knowledge there would be nothing to prevent him using intermediaries to contact John Carver, his assistant, and issue those instructions via mobile phone.

Despite the existence of such elaborate contingency plans, Pardew trusts Carver implicitly. After hiring him as his No2 on an initial four-month contract in January 2011, Newcastle's manager took only a few weeks to extend that term to five-and-a-half years.

Pardew had seen the coaching talent which, back in 1998, persuaded Ruud Gullit, then Newcastle's manager, to prompt astonishment by promoting Carver from a lowly youth-coaching role to first-team coach.

If he owes his career to Gullit, the 49-year-old Geordie soon came to regard the Dutchman's successor, Sir Bobby Robson, as a key mentor before leaving St James' Park for coaching stints at Plymouth, Sheffield United and Leeds as well as a spell in charge of Toronto in the MLS.

"We get on very well," says Carver of Pardew, a man he had not met before his job interview at Slaley Hall hotel in Northumberland three years ago. At the time, Newcastle's manager had been rebuffed by a series of people including Peter Taylor and Phil Parkinson and seemed to turn to Carver almost in desperation.

It was to prove the start of a highly productive relationship, facilitated partly by Pardew's new-found ability to share the workload. "The reason we've got such a good working relationship is because one of Alan's qualities is delegation," says Carver. "We all know he's the boss because he has the final say but he likes you to have an opinion."

Even so the coming weeks are likely to provide Pardew with quite a test of the control-freak aspect of his character that he concedes can be "a bit OCD". Newcastle's manager freely acknowledges learning to delegate has not come easily to him.

"Football management is the kind of job where perhaps you interfere too much and don't delegate enough," says Pardew. "But as you get more experienced you realise you need to delegate. You don't have to be a perfectionist. Early on in my managerial career I was worrying about things like the [club] wallpaper as well as everything else. I'm still a bit like that, I've got that kind of OCD going on but now I know I have to reel myself back."

No stranger to the need to rein himself in, Carver can be almost as combustible as Pardew but a man who famously once wrestled with Craig Bellamy in a lounge at Newcastle airport after a row over parking will be on his best behaviour during the coming weeks.

Described as "one of my best signings" by Pardew, he is part of a close-knit backroom quartet completed by their fellow Geordie first-team coach Steve Stone and the manager's former Crystal Palace team-mate turned goalkeeping coach, Andy Woodman. Uber loyal to each other, all four share a strong sense of humour which has frequently helped them cope with the idiosyncrasies of Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner.

Stone and Woodman will be alongside Carver in the technical area on matchdays and are unlikely to underestimate the sense of frustration brewing in Pardew's hotel.

"In training Alan constantly runs through every scenario of where players should be when the ball is in certain positions," says Stone, the former Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa winger. "Tactically he's as good as anyone; Alan really understands the game. During matches some managers dither on the sidelines, which can cost you, but Alan will change things because he believes in his decision-making ability."

It is said that come matchdays, Pardew likes to see himself as "the king" and the technical area as his "castle". It perhaps explains why David Meyler's incursion into this sacred territory met with such an extreme, inexcusable reaction.

As he paces his London hotel room on Saturday when his team visit Fulham, Newcastle's manager will have ample time to reflect on how much better things would be if only he had taken himself less seriously. If only he had seen the funny side and laughed at the Hull midfielder's impudence. If only …

Louise Taylor

MP urges 'FA racism' investigation

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:21 AM PDT

• MP Keith Vaz puts down motion in commons
• 'Even a suspicion of racism must be fully investigated'

The government has been urged to "eradicate any racism in the FA" by investigating Sol Campbell's claims that he would have captained England for longer had he been white.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has been asked to examine the former England defender's view that the colour of his skin stopped him captaining England for more than 10 years.

The Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, made the request to DCMS in a motion, which also notes the House of Commons is "deeply worried" by the claims of racism in the Football Association.

Campbell, who played 73 times for his country, has claimed the FA and the majority of fans do not want a black England captain.

The 39-year-old captained England three times in friendly matches and he labelled the appointment of Michael Owen as skipper ahead of him "embarrassing".

Former international team-mates of Campbell, who played for Tottenham and Arsenal among other clubs, have rejected the claims, along with the former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Vaz's early-day motion, tabled in the Commons, states: "That this house is deeply worried about the claims made by former England footballer Sol Campbell about racism in the Football Association and the impact of this on his career; notes that Mr Campbell suggests that if he was white he would have been captain of the England side 'for more than 10 years'; further notes that Mr Campbell was capped 73 times for England and captained the side on only three occasions; and calls on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to investigate these claims to eradicate any racism in the FA."

Campbell, in a new authorised biography serialised in the Sunday Times, had said: "I believe if I was white, I would have been England captain for more than 10 years – it's as simple as that.

"I think the FA wished I was white. I had the credibility, performance-wise to be captain."

In a statement, Vaz said: "I was shocked by Sol Campbell's allegation that the Football Association is institutionally racist.

"However, despite these claims, no one at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport nor the Football Association seems inclined to investigate.

"If there is even a suspicion of racism this must be fully investigated immediately. Otherwise we risk undoing the good work of campaigns such as Let's Kick Racism Out Of Football and undermining confidence in the sport's governing body."

Wigan to face Arsenal in first FA Cup semi-final on Saturday 12 April

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:57 AM PDT

• Championship side return to Wembley after beating City
• Sheffield United meet Hull City in second semi-final

Holders Wigan will take on Arsenal in the first of the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday 12 April, the Football Association has announced.

Uwe Rösler's Latics beat Manchester City in last year's final before overcoming the odds to once again beat City at the quarter-final stage on Sunday.

They return to Wembley to face Arsenal, who are looking for their first trophy since lifting the FA Cup nine years ago with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium.

Arsenal saw off the challenge of Everton, managed by ex-Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, in the quarter-final and will be looking to ease past Wigan in their 5pm kick-off to book their place in the Wembley final on 17 May.

In the second semi-final, Sky Bet League One's Sheffield United face fellow Yorkshire side Hull City at 4pm on Sunday 13 April, a tie that brings Tigers' manager Steve Bruce up against his former club.

Sheffield United beat Charlton in the sixth round on Saturday and Bruce's Hull were victorious against Barclays Premier League rivals and beaten Capital One Cup finalists Sunderland.

US investment firm increases United stake to £90m

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:17 AM PDT

• Baron Capital buys stock and now has 24% of shares available
• Glazer family only released 10% of club on to the stock market

An American investment firm has acquired a quarter of all Manchester United shares available on the New York Stock Exchange, it has been confirmed. Baron Capital has been buying up stock and now owns 24% of all the United shares that were sold by the Glazer family in 2012, though that still only represents 2.5% of the club.

Analysts believe the accumulation of shares reflects the firm viewing United as a good long-term investment, rather than Baron Capital making any bid to secure a controlling interest in the club. The Glazer family only released 10% of the club on to the stock market – they still retain 90% and control the vast majority of votes.

Nevertheless, Baron Capital's actions explain why the share price has been slowly rising despite the club's struggles on the pitch. This has also been fuelled by expectation of an announcement of a new Nike kit deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Baron Capital's United shareholding was confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on the Manchester United investor relations website. It says Baron Capital now owns 9,581,636 shares, which were worth US$151m (£90m) at the close of the market on Monday.

Baron Capital says on its website the company remains positive about United's future. It said: "Shares of Manchester United dropped ... due to a delay in the signing of a new global merchandise deal with Nike and the team's poor performance on the field. The Nike deal is still expected to be signed, but has been pushed out from this fiscal year. We remain positive on the company's prospects going forward."

London-based financial analyst Andy Green, who writes a blog on football finance and advises the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, said the move by Baron Capital appeared to be purely an investment strategy and was not the start of a takeover bid.

Green said: "This is absolutely not the start of any takeover. You could buy all the shares available on the stock market and you would still only have 10% of the club and about 1.3% of the votes. I am sure they are looking at the investment opportunities and rumours of the new Nike deal. They have a reputation as a long-term investment company."

The United share price closed at US$15.84 on Monday – the highest level since November.

The Spin | When cricketers could double up as footballers | Andy Bull

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:06 AM PDT

Time was when the sports co-existed happily enough, each within the boundaries of their respective seasons. Not any more

Distressing news in the dispatches this week. Word from the wilds of north London reaches the Spin that Sunday cricket at Wray Crescent, the only pitch in the entirety of Islington, has been cancelled for the foreseeable future because of an ongoing conflict between the cricketers and a group of casual footballers. The muddied oafs have been refusing to cede ground to the flannelled fools. They want the outfield for their kickabouts, though the cricketers have booked the pitch many months in advance. Requests, polite and otherwise, for the footballers to give ground have led, it's said, to "some extremely heated confrontations" between the two groups.

Islington council has proved, somewhat predictably, too feckless to find a sensible solution. "As you know," they said in a statement, "this is a difficult group of people to manage. Even Park Patrol were struggling to deal with this situation." Even Park Patrol! So – depressing business this – the cricketers have been told that use of the pitch "will to a certain extent depend on availability of the police", who will be pressed into service as peacekeepers.

That it should have come to such a sorry pass. Time was when the two sports co-existed happily enough, each within the boundaries of their respective seasons and only a little overlap between the two. In fact Arthur Milton, the last of the 12 men to play for England at both cricket and football was born 86 years ago this Monday. A winger and a top-order bat, his was a Boy's Own life. He made his debut for Arsenal in a friendly in 1945, and signed for them the following season. The year after that, he made his debut for Gloucestershire. His career at Arsenal just overlapped with that of Denis Compton, the most famous man to turn his hand to both games. Compton never played for England in a full football international, but did appear in 12 friendly games during the war.

Milton won his only England football cap in 1951, though he had only played 12 games in the first division at the time. Tom Finney was out injured, Stanley Matthews out of favour. It was against Austria. He started well, putting in a couple of crosses to Ivor Broadis, who was also making his debut. But Broadis didn't finish either of them. Milton, stranded on the wing, drifted out of the game, which England drew 2-2. He didn't win another cap, but was instrumental when Arsenal won the championship in 1952-53, when he scored seven goals in 25 games. His first Test match came seven years later, when he made 107 on debut against New Zealand. He played five more Tests, two of them in the 1958-59 Ashes, but never made another fifty. There'll never be another like Arthur.

Back then, it was common enough for players to double up. There was, as Mike Vockins writes in his biography of Milton, "barely a county without at least one footballer on their books". Kent had a quartet of Charlton players, Derek Ufton, Stuart Leary, Sid O'Linn and Freddie Lucas. Another, Mickey Stewart, was at Surrey, along with Chelsea's Ron Tindall. Ken Higgs, Mike Barnard, Henry Horton, Barrie Meyer, Ken Suttle, Ray Swallow, Jack Flavell. "Is it just my generation?" asked Frank Keating in the foreward to Vockins' book. "There was a lasting and valorous chivalry in the craft-versed cigarette card heroes of our youth. They taught us urchins pride."

None more than Willie Watson, the best of the bunch. An elegant bat and whippet-quick wing-half, he made Walter Winterbottom's England squad for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, though he didn't play a match during the tournament. He won four caps at football, and 23 at cricket, the most famous of them against Australia at Lord's, when he and Trevor Bailey shared a slow stand of 163 for the fifth wicket and saved the Test.

Another Yorkshireman, Brian Close, was on the books at Arsenal alongside Milton, until Yorkshire's secretary John Nash refused to release him at tea on the first day of their fixture against the MCC so he could play for Arsenal's reserve team in the Combination Cup final. He arrived at half-time, and was told he was being "given a free transfer" the next day. This was the first hint of what lay ahead. It became harder for players to balance the two sports.

Still, some tried. In 1975 Leicestershire won the County Championship while playing against Derbyshire at Chesterfield. Chris Balderstone got to 51 not out at stumps, jumped in a taxi, travelled to Doncaster, and played in Rovers' league match against Brentford. He came back the next morning in time for the start of play and completed his century. But even he couldn't keep the plates spinning. A couple of years beforehand he was suspended and stripped of the captaincy by Carlisle United when he missed pre-season training so he could finish the season with Leicestershire. It was easier in Milton's day, when Arsenal's pre-season training, he admitted, mostly involved "going for long walks in heavy boots".

There were others too, but they grew few and far between. Jim Cumbes and Phil Neale were able to balance both careers. Ian Botham dabbled, Steve Ogrizovic played minor counties cricket when he could. And Andy Goram played a couple of first-class matches for Scotland. Even he was fined by Hibernian when he turned out against Allan Border's Australians in 1989.

Now no one plays both. Though plenty could. Phil Neville is one of English cricket's great lost talents. He played for Lancashire's second XI when he was 15, and led England's side in that same age group. "One year I played both sports for England," Neville remembered. "In the football I played at Wembley in front of 50,000. I made my England cricket debut in front of 50 people at a village cricket club." After that, the choice was easy.

Graham Thorpe went the other way. He won three caps for England Schools, and turned down an offer of a contract from Brentford. He never regretted it, largely because he thinks he wasn't a good enough footballer to make it. Warwickshire's Keith Barker, who came up through the academy at Blackburn, has a similar story. The highlight of his career was a 12-game loan spell at Rochdale. "People ask do I regret playing football rather than going straight into cricket," Barker told the Daily Telegraph. "I don't regret the football experience at all," he said. "Not many people have the chance to play professionally in two different sports." Not any more, anyway, more is the pity.

This is an extract taken from The Spin, the Guardian's weekly cricket email. Sign up here

Andy Bull

Breaking the law: take injury-time out of football referees' hands | Toby Moses

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:00 AM PDT

In the latest of our new series suggesting rules to improve the sport, we look at the thorny issue of football's added time

Every football fan knows the frustration. A goal down, time ticking away on the clock, the opposition make a substitution, the player involved is at the farthest part of the pitch from the dugout. He turns, applauds the visiting fans for longer than their meagre urgings really deserve.

Then he starts to move, slowly of course, possibly walking backwards. This might raise the ire of an opposing player – the referee may notice, point at his watch, gesture for him to hurry up, so he breaks into a trot – but it is not really a trot; the pace has not increased. If he is feeling particularly bold, he will try for a handshake with the official. He may be booked but that only wastes more time in arguments and posturing. By the time he is off the pitch and the replacement has come on, a minute or more has evaporated – and everyone knows it is highly unlikely the full amount will be added on at the end.

Why do we put up with it? If the watch was stopped the moment the ball was out of play this type of behaviour would soon die out.

Of course, goalkeepers are the prime exponents of this dark art (it does not get much better/worse than this effort from Jens Lehmann) but why is it allowed to be an issue? Referees get enough stick. Do they really need the abuse for adding on too little/too much time at the end of a match?

How can they reasonably be expected to keep their eyes on 22 players, run approximately seven miles a match and accurately measure how much time has been wasted? Assistants offer a helping hand – with fourth officials now noting down stoppages of play – but it is clearly a broken system. How often is there more than two minutes added on in the first half, regardless of what may have occurred?

Over the last three Premier League seasons the ball has been in play on average for 55 minutes 52 seconds, 56 minutes 22 seconds and 56 minutes 34 seconds respectively. That means over a third of the running time is lost in one way or another.

This season in the Premier League the most the ball was in play was in Swansea 1-3 Tottenham and that was for 67 minutes 37 seconds. At the other end Stoke fans may have enjoyed beating Aston Villa 2-1 but they saw only 40 minutes and 50 seconds of actual football in what our reporter called "a dreadful game" that was "pockmarked by errors" – not exactly value for money.

As the rules stand, time is not supposed to be added when the ball is out of play for throws, corners, goal-kicks etc, unless players are wasting time. But it should be. It would encourage teams to keep the ball in play, encourage quicker restarts and discourage time-wasting.

At the top level players wages are skyrocketing, paid for through increased ticket prices and massive TV deals. If only 55 minutes of football is being played a third of the ticket price is being paid to watch players dilly-dallying. If a season ticket is costing you £500, nearly £200 of that is spent to watch players fetch the ball, argue with the referee or simply stand around.

So why not put someone in the crowd with a button which stops and starts the clock – high-tech stuff – visible to all in the stadium, thus removing any doubt about how much time is left. When the clock has reached 90 minutes the game will end at the next natural stoppage in play (an exception would have to be made for a penalty conceded). That way there will be no more of this, or this.

Introducing a stop-the-clock system would increase the value to spectators but also remove the lingering sense of injustice caused by the current opaque method by which additional time is calculated.

A timely change or are you a big fan of a spot of 'Fergie time'? Let us know below the line.

Toby Moses

Sanfrecce Hiroshima strike a chord with Japan tsunami goal celebration

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:13 AM PDT

• Champions League tribute on third anniversary
• Hiroshima players spell out fatal date – 11/3

The Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima had an unusual and touching way of paying tribute to the victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

Tuesday is the third anniversary of the disaster when almost 16,000 people lost their lives, and after Tsukasa Shiotani put them into the lead in their match against Central Coast Mariners in Australia, Sanfrecce's players lay down on the turf to spell out the date of the tragedy – 3/11.

Unfortunately for Sanfrecce, Central Coast Mariners won the AFC Champions League match against the past two J-League winners 2–1.

Milan's Clarence Seedof on Mario Balotelli and Atlético Madrid – video

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:13 AM PDT

Milan manager Clarence Seedof says he values the importance of Mario Balotelli to his team, but is not going to underestimate the strength of his rivals

David Beckham in Peckham – stylewatch

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:56 AM PDT

The new pictures of David Beckham for his Only Fools and Horses appearance are a fashion treat

Trabzonspor v Fenerbahçe off after crowd trouble

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:30 AM PDT

• Trabzonspor fans pelted Fenerbahce players with objects
• Referee halted match at half-time with Fenerbahce 1-0 up

Turkey's league leaders Fenerbahce's match at Trabzonspor was abandoned on Monday after the Istanbul side's players were pelted with objects by the home supporters.

The referee had already stopped the game twice before deciding to end it 10 minutes into added time at the end of the first half, with Fenerbahce ahead 1-0 after a goal from Emmanuel Emenike.

Fans continued to clash with police in the streets of Trabzon after the match.

Fenerbahce top the league on 51 points, with their Istanbul rivals Galatasaray second on 48.

The best goals of the week: Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie and Fernandinho

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:16 AM PDT

Featuring a looping volley from Japan, some quick thinking from the US, a halfway-line blaster from Jordan and a casual nutmeg from Holland's training camp

Paul Campbell

Luciano Spalletti sacked as Zenit St Petersburg manager

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:01 AM PDT

• Spalletti's last game was 0-0 draw with Tom Tomsk
• Sergei Semak takes charge temporarily

Luciano Spalletti has been sacked as head coach of Zenit St Petersburg only a week before the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund.

The 55-year-old Italian was dismissed after the 0-0 draw at home to Tom Tomsk on Sunday allowed Lokomotiv Moscow to replace them at the top of the Premier League. His contract ran until 2015, and there are 10 league matches remaining this season.

Sergei Semak, a former Russia captain, has been placed in temporary charge. "We would like to thank Luciano Spalletti for everything that he has done to develop football and we will always be glad to see him in St Petersburg. Grazie, Mister," the club said in a statement.

The former Roma and Udinese manager took charge in December 2009 and led Zenit to two Premier League titles and one Russian Cup. He was named Russia's coach of the season in the 2010 and 2012 seasons.

Zenit saw their hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time all but disappear with a 4-2 first-leg home loss to Dortmund. The return in Germany takes place on 19 March.

Semak has been handed his first head coach position and the 38-year-old's first game will be against CSKA Moscow on Saturday, before they fly to Germany. He spent a decade playing with CSKA Moscow before joining Paris St Germain in 2004. He later had spells with FC Moscow and Rubin Kazan before finishing his career with Zenit in May and then joining Spalletti's coaching staff.

Norwegian referee for Arsenal game accused of being pro-English in 2010

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 03:27 AM PDT

• Svein Oddvar Moen incurred wrath of Mircea Lucescu
• 'Scandinavian referees are part of the Anglo-Saxon culture'

Arsène Wenger on Monday pleaded with the Norwegian referee, Svein Oddvar Moen, in charge of the game against Bayern Munich to give his side "a fair chance to play with 11 against 11 until the end". The Arsenal manager also indicated that Scandinavian referees may not be ideally suited for big Champions League games, saying: "What you want is a good referee and I think the closer they are to the tough leagues, the more chances they have to detect the tricks that can decide a game."

However, it turns out that Bayern may have more to fear when it comes to the officials on Tuesday night at the Allianz Arena, certainly if the Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu is to be believed. In 2010, the Romanian hit out at Moen after Shakhtar lost 5-1 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. "If English teams are refereed by Scandinavian officials it is natural, as part of the same Anglo-Saxon culture, for them to side with the Brits. Some of them have even studied in England.

"We will never get the same help from referees in Europe as the big clubs. If we take the game [at the Emirates], it is not surprising that so few noticed the gifts given to Arsenal by the referee. First he allowed a goal to stand from a clear offside position and then he gave a penalty even though the two players collided," he said.

Moen, when confronted by the criticism, said: "He [Lucescu] will have to stand for that, more than that I cannot say. I can categorically deny that [there is a weakness towards English teams]. We don't have anything more in relation to English culture than Ukrainian or German culture for that matter. We are there to do a job."

Moen also gave Arsenal a dubious corner, from which the Gunners scored, in the 3-1 defeat at home to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie last season.

Marcus Christenson