Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Memo to Mr Blatter: is there no end to damaging paper trail of payments? | Owen Gibson

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:04 PM PDT

The latest allegations surrounding the successful Qatar 2022 World Cup bid are no surprise – but they heap pressure on the Fifa president Sepp Blatter who is seeking to prolong his reign

The most damning thing about the latest explosive allegations against Mohammed bin Hammam and Jack Warner, two heavyweight former members of Fifa's cartoonish cast of rogues, is that they have long since lost the power to shock.

In 2009 Bin Hammam said: "I honestly think that Fifa is a very clean organisation." Warner has consistently denied corruption. "I have no interest in joining in the foolishness that is now passing as news on Qatar and Jack Warner," he said . It might be funny if it wasn't so serious.

Warner, whose name became a byword for the anarchic gangsterism of world football's governing body over almost three decades, is said to have pocketed $1.2m (£725,000) from Bin Hammam, the Qatari former Asian Football Confedaration chief who once bankrolled Sepp Blatter's presidential campaign but was banned for life when he was caught paying bribes in a bid to unseat him.

In a familiar refrain Blatter, the great survivor who is revving up to stand for another term as president at the age of 78 despite having previously promised to stand down, will claim all this is ancient history.

Half of the 22 members of the Fifa executive committee who in December 2010 plumped for Russia and Qatar have since left the stage, some with corruption allegations trailing behind them. That will be held up as proof Blatter has cleaned the stables. Others would argue it makes their decision discredited and invalid.

Many, many questions remain. Of those that will gather around the boardroom table in Fifa's $100m lair in Zurich on Thursday, several committee members have wider links to the Qatar "project". Michel Platini's are well documented, including a meeting in which Nicolas Sarkozy lobbied him to vote for the Gulf state – which he did. Marios Lefkaritis, the Cypriot executive committee member, has yet to answer detailed allegations about a £27m oil and land deal with Qatari interests.

It is the timing of the Bin Hammam payments alleged by the Daily Telegraph, with a further $1m promised to Warner's two sons and an employee, that should worry Blatter and the Qatar 2022 bid committee. The request is said to have been sent just two weeks after the vote to award the tournaments to Russia and Qatar.

However, the payments were reportedly not transferred until July 2011. By that time, the Fifa presidential candidate Bin Hammam had been suspended over allegations that cash bribes were handed out to the Carribean Football Union, paid by the Qatari and overseen by Warner.

In short, the payment of $2.2m could have been for any number of services rendered. Incredibly, nor is that sum even considered anywhere near enough to buy a vote.

Warner plundered the Fifa cash register for longer than most during almost three decades at Fifa, as detailed down the years by Andrew Jennings and others. During the 2018/2022 bid race he is alleged to have taken money and favours from where ever they came, before apparently voting for the US in any case.

For Blatter and the Qataris battling on a number of fronts to keep the wheels on their listing World Cup bandwagon, the latest allegations are hugely damaging as much for what they signify as what they contain. They suggest that there is a paper trail of cash payments. Where these documents lead, others will follow.

Michael Garcia, the former investigator probing the bidding process for Fifa's ethics committee, and the FBI themselves retain an interest. If Blatter thinks he is out of the woods he might look to disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, brought down long after the event by federal agents able to ask questions under oath, and think again.

In truth there is not likely to be any single smoking gun. The days of cash in envelopes under doors may not be entirely gone but the truth is almost certainly more complex.

The Qatari bid vehicle was one thing – a lavish orgy of spending far beyond the parameters of anything envisaged by the ill-defined bidding rules. Overseen by savvy, engaging Qataris and international consultantsit provided an attractive wrapping for quite another – the real business of geopolitical manoeuvring and global trade deals.

The extent to which executive committee members may have benefited personally is slowly becoming clear, but not through anything as straightforward as a single payment for a vote.

Throughout, Bin Hammam had an intriguing role – as a Qatari and the third most powerful man in football, he was of the bid but not officially in it. It was his responsibility to cut deals with his fellow voters on the executive committee. Yet, perhaps by design, there remained a Chinese wall between his activities and those of the bid team.

Nor is this to absolve Qatar's rivals – there are similarly cloudy allegations surrounding several others. But the hard truth for the Qataris is that they won this flawed race, so they must deal with the fallout.

Added to the scandalous toll of migrant workers dying in their hundreds to provide the inftrastructure for Qatar's grand plans and the still to be resolved questions around when the World Cup will actually be played given the searing summer heat, the likelihood of a series of new allegations surrounding the bidding process is a reminder that their problems may be only just beginning.

For Blatter, preparing to run again for a presidency he promised to renounce, it is a reminder that the millstone of a system of patronage and backhanders that flourished under his leadership will continue to weigh heavy around his neck.

Owen Gibson

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Chelsea 2-0 Galatasaray (3-1)

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:46 PM PDT

Once again, Chelsea are threatening to be the last English club standing in Europe. Arsenal and Manchester City have already gone, Manchester United are teetering perilously on the brink and Spurs have all but been eliminated from the Europa League, but there is something remarkably durable about José Mourinho's team. They bend for nobody and, though they might not have the same panache of some of the other quarter-finalists, they will always be daunting opponents.

They won here with something to spare, scoring their goals through Samuel Eto'o and Gary Cahill in the first half, and an aggregate 3-1 lead was barely threatened after the interval. Galatasaray may have some of the more boisterous supporters in the competition but it is clear, too, why Roberto Mancini apparently wants to leave Istanbul to return to English football. He was a picture of frustration on a night when Didier Drogba was showered with love and returned the compliment by doing absolutely nothing to trouble his old friends.

Mourinho's team played with control and knowhow. They never looked back from the moment Eto'o gave them the early breakthrough and, though it was nice for Drogba to get this kind of reception, it was also true that his presence in Galatasaray's attack highlighted their limitations.

Chelsea certainly began like they meant business. They were ahead after four minutes and a pattern quickly emerged of Mancini prowling his technical area, remonstrating with his players in a series of exasperated hand signals, or letting out his grievances to his assistant, the silver-haired Tugay. The former Manchester City manager substituted one of his players after half an hour in the first leg. By the same point here, he already had three warming up.

Those were moments when it became apparent Drogba, at 36, is not the player Chelsea's crowd remember. For long spells the striker gave the impression he was not entirely focused on putting his old club out of the competition. At one point, César Azpilicueta could be seen outmuscling him by the touchline. Drogba's first chance came from a free-kick and he put it so high and wide it connected with the "Drogba Legend" banner that hangs from the middle tier of the Matthew Harding stand. From Drogba, there was a wry smile, when once there would have been a look of self-revulsion.

Wesley Sneijder was also on the edges, doing little to live up to Mourinho's billing as one of the three most accomplished No10s in the business but mostly Galatasaray's problems were in defence. Frank Lampard's set-piece deliveries frequently created problems and there was some generous goalkeeping from Fernando Muslera, a likely opponent for England in the World Cup.

The problem for Galatasaray was the speed and movement of the home team's attacking quartet. Oscar, whose recent form has been a concern, looked more like his old self. Eden Hazard was a frequent menace and Eto'o's goal was a reminder of the days when he regularly tormented defences at this level.

Galatasaray were in trouble as soon as Hazard had controlled a throw-in on his chest, then turned and started running at their defence. Oscar was on the right and Eto'o's old instincts kicked in, running beyond the back four, latching on to the Brazilian's pass, then sizing up the frame of the goal. His first touch was not entirely convincing but it was the power of his angled, right-foot shot that exposed Muslera.

Mancini, with his undistinguished Champions League record, will not need to be reminded that a side at this level cannot defend so generously. It was the same again when John Terry flashed a volley just over the crossbar later in the half, and the marking was almost non-existent when the second goal arrived from a Lampard corner two minutes before the interval.

Terry was the player who attacked the ball with the greatest intentions, with no one following his run. Muslera kept out the header but could only parry the ball into the six-yard area where Cahill followed in to volley his shot high into the net.

After that, it was just a question of Chelsea maintaining their concentration from this position of command. They do that pretty well under Mourinho and it did not matter a great deal that they stopped troubling their opponents with such regularity.

They still, however, had the better opportunities, with Willian and Lampard firing in shots at Muslera. The England manager, Roy Hodgson, was among the crowd and the goalkeeper actually did well in the second half, also tipping a curling effort from Hazard just round his post.

Drogba was booked, a decision the crowd booed, and for the last half an hour there was the clear sense that both teams were simply going through the motions. Chelsea looked like a team who just wanted to see out the match, while their opponents appeared to have completely lost any sense that the game was still open.

It resulted in a meandering and slightly unsatisfactory period – Mancini watching with his feet up – but the home crowd could still look on contentedly, singing Drogba's name and wondering whether Mourinho could yet become the first manager to win the European Cup with three different clubs.

Daniel Taylor

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Chelsea v Galatasaray – as it happened! | Paul Doyle

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:39 PM PDT

Minute-by-minute report: Samuel Eto'o and Gary Cahill scored as Chelsea eased into the next round of the Champions League

Paul Doyle

Real Madrid 3-1 Schalke (agg 9-2)

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:35 PM PDT

Champions League: Cristiano scored twice as Real Madrid eased past Schalke and into the last eight of the competition

Jacob Steinberg

Patrice Evra not David Moyes rallies Manchester United to fight Greeks | Daniel Taylor

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:15 PM PDT

United manager urgently needs to turn tide against Olympiakos but it was his defender who sounded the call to arms

For David Moyes it was the first time he had faced questions about whether his position at Manchester United was vulnerable. Was his future on the line? Had there been any assurances from the people at the top of the club? How much longer could he expect the supporters to stomach it?

The tone has certainly changed since those wretched defeats by Olympiakos and Liverpool and there were even more seats filled inside the Europa Suite at Old Trafford for his latest press conference than that day, last July, when he walked out in front of all the flashing bulbs for the first time as United's manager.

The job, he now admits, has been harder than he had imagined. Another bad result against Olympiakos, who lead 2-0 from the first leg, and the bottom line is no one can be sure whether the club's supporters will be able to keep in all that pent-up frustration. Or, more to the point, how the Glazer family will consider the possibility of no more Champions League for at least 18 months.

There is certainly the sense that things may be coming to a head and that takes some doing bearing in mind every single piece of information out of Old Trafford since last summer has pointed to this being a club that want to operate to different principles from their rivals. Imagine, for example, if Manuel Pellegrini had taken Manchester City down to seventh in his first season at the club, and on the brink of surrendering any last chance of silverware before the clocks had turned back. A manager at Chelsea would have been escorted off the premises long ago. Spurs were seventh when André Villas-Boas was fired, eight points from the top. United are 18 behind, and on the edge of being eliminated from the Champions League by supposedly the weakest team left in the competition.

The first leg in Athens ended with headlines such as "Greek Clods", "Humiliated!", "Rocked by the Also-Rans" and "Greek Tragedy". This time around everything has been so harrowing for United lately it has largely been overlooked that their opponents have played in England 11 times and lost on each occasion, scoring only three goals in the process and conceding 34. Olympiakos may yet be obliging opponents for a team with United's needs.

On the flipside it is not since the end of October, when Norwich lost 4-0 in the Capital One Cup, that Moyes' men have won at Old Trafford by a score that would see them go through on aggregate. They have managed only 18 home goals in the league – the same as bottom-placed Fulham – and it is not always entirely convincing listening to Moyes. This was his opportunity to remove some of the pessimism with a statement of boldness and conviction but, if anything, it was the guy sitting to his right who sounded the more impressive.

"Everyone wants to fight for this club," Patrice Evra, below, said. "Everyone loves this club. We know we had a bad game in the first leg. I think even a three-year-old Man United fan has been hurting by all the problems. But in life you always have a second chance. I'm not telling you we are going to qualify but I can promise we are all going to fight and respect the shirt."

Moyes talked about the sympathetic meetings he had had with Sir Alex Ferguson. "He has been incredibly supportive. I speak to him regularly. I see him at the games, I have a few minutes with him, he told me when I came in it would be a difficult job but he's always there to help. Him, David Gill, Ed [Woodward], all of them –- they are all very supportive."

What he really needs, though, is the players' backing and the latest leaks out of the dressing room are not exactly glowing for Moyes and his staff, in particular the coach who now goes by a deeply unflattering nickname. Footballers can be brutal sometimes and, behind his back, that coach is apparently being referred to as "fuck off (name)" – on the basis that is so often the first response when they hear his instructions.

In football that kind of insult is actually quite common. A Strange Kind of Glory, Eamon's Dunphy's book about his time at Old Trafford, tells one story about a sheet of paper being passed around the team bus showing a caricature of Matt Busby, with his nose as a penis, his cheeks as two testicles, and the caption: "Bollocks Chops". Carlos Queiroz was hardly the most popular man when he was Ferguson's assistant and Eric Harrison, the coach who nurtured the Class of '92, is probably better off not knowing some of the names they used to call him.

Plainly, though, it is not ideal, at a time when the manager is desperately trying to create the impression that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Has he lost the dressing room? The way it has been described to this newspaper is that he never actually had the dressing room. That does not mean the players were against his appointment. Indeed, some were actually relieved, for selfish motives, that it was not José Mourinho, on the basis they had seen his treatment of Iker Casillas at Real Madrid and – footballers always thinking of themselves – suspected he would bring in his own players.

Yet Moyes had to win their full approval and, unfortunately for him, that process has never really happened. Nemanja Vidic's decision to cut himself free this summer is a case in point. Vidic was not even willing to discuss the possibility of a contract extension.

There have even been sporadic complaints from players behind the scenes – and this is maybe the most surprising part – about Ryan Giggs. A legend at Old Trafford, Giggs is now player-coach in a dressing room that operates in a different way from when Ferguson ruled the place. Giggs, one imagines, understands that points should come before popularity.

As always in football, the only way of shifting the mood is to start winning. "I have a great job and I know exactly the direction I want to go in," Moyes said. "It has not been the season we hoped but I have ideas of what I want to do and what I want to put in place when the time is right. But the most important thing now is to get the Olympiakos game played and hopefully get through."

Daniel Taylor

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Manchester United do not scare my players, says Olympiakos's Michel

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:43 PM PDT

• Greek side's coach sympathises with David Moyes' plight
• 'I don't like seeing any manager suffering like he is'

The Olympiakos coach, Michel, has sympathy for David Moyes but is clear his players are "not scared" of knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League, a result that which would pile more pressure on the embattled Scot.

Michel's side take a 2-0 lead to Old Trafford for Wednesday evening's Champions League last-16 second leg and the Spaniard is conscious that defeating the three-times European Cup winners would make for a famous night in his club's history.

Asked if the team was fearful at the prospect of such an opportunity, Michel said: "My players are not scared of anything. Maybe the manager is a bit more scared than the players.

"I have sympathy for all managers because I am one of them. We know he [David Moyes] works very hard. Sometimes results don't mirror this. It is nothing personal. It's already a big achievement to be given the opportunity to knock Manchester United out.

"David Moyes is not an enemy. We have opposite objectives. Excluding that, I don't like seeing any manager suffering what David Moyes is suffering as Manchester United manager but Manchester United is a big club and I know results will come good soon."

Michel refused to be drawn on the opposition's dismal season. "We know the situation at Manchester United but this has nothing to do with us," he said. "All we have to do is play our game. We cannot rely on their difficulties. We must play to our advantages.

"We would like the game to go the same way as the first leg but we know it will be a different United – more determination and urgency on their behalf. All we want is good performance. We definitely need one goal. We cannot just sit back protecting our 2-0 lead."

United were particularly disappointing in the first leg loss in Athens, with Michel suggesting he was not surprised at this. "The work of football team shows on the pitch there are no secrets and no surprises – we played well and we deserved to win," he said. "We will need a good performance to win."

Jamie Jackson

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Champions League: Chelsea v Galatasaray – in pictures

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:15 PM PDT

The best images from Stamford Bridge where Didier Drogba is making his return with Galatasary

Jonny Weeks

Chelsea's José Mourinho waits on fate over dismissal at Aston Villa

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:12 PM PDT

• FA may announce further sanction on Wednesday
• Mourinho sent to stands for second time this season

José Mourinho is expected to learn on Wednesday whether he is to face further sanction from the Football Association after being sent to the stands in stoppage time of Saturday's Premier League defeat at Aston Villa.

The governing body is still scrutinising the referee's report and footage of the incident, sparked by Ramires's ugly challenge on Karim El Ahmadi and subsequent sending off. The challenge had prompted a mini pitch invasion from both dugouts, with Mourinho sent to the stands after returning to the pitch seeking to speak to the referee, Chris Foy.

That was the second occasion he has been sent from the technical area this season having suffered a similar fate in the victory over Cardiff City at Stamford Bridge in October.

The Chelsea manager, whose team take on Galatasaray in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Tuesday evening, will not face sanction from the FA for his post-match comments about Foy's performance. The official had earlier dismissed Willian for two bookable offences and Mourinho suggest afterwards that it would be "helpful" if Foy did not take charge of the club's games in future.

That notion was quickly dismissed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited, who make appointments for Premier League matches, and the FA ruled that Mourinho had not questioned the integrity of the referee and had, therefore, not left himself open to a misconduct charge. The Chelsea manager had suggested on Monday that, while Ramires's lunge had merited a red card, it had been prompted by frustration that had built up at the official's performance over the course of the game at Villa Park.

The FA is studying Foy's report of the 92nd-minute incident and will look at video evidence before deciding whether the Portuguese should face further punishment for his dismissal. He had been fined £8,000, the standard penalty for breaching FA rule E3, for the misdemeanour back in October and accepted the charge.

Dominic Fifield

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Marlon King facing two-year sentence after admitting dangerous driving

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:13 AM PDT

• 33-year-old striker pleaded guilty to incident last year
• King currently without a club after leaving Sheffield United

A former Premier League footballer, Marlon King, is facing a prison sentence of up to two years after admitting dangerous driving in a incident last year that left a motorist with a broken arm.

The former Watford, Wigan and Sheffield United striker pleaded guilty at Nottingham crown court to the charge. King committed the offence on his 33rd birthday while driving a Porsche Panamera on the A46 in Nottinghamshire on 26 April last year.

The 35-year-old victim was airlifted to hospital after the collision in Winthorpe, near Newark. King, of Torksey, Lincolnshire, was due to go on trial after pleading not guilty to the charge of dangerous driving at an earlier hearing. However, King changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday morning.

King is currently without a club after he was released by the League One side Sheffield United in December. The Jamaica international's previous clubs include Gillingham, Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Birmingham.

The incident last year came after King lost a court of appeal challenge in 2010 against a conviction for groping a young woman and then breaking her nose after she spurned his advances.

The player, who was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in October 2009, had his application for permission to appeal rejected by three judges in London in December 2010. They said the prosecution had a "strong" case against King and ruled: "We have no doubt that this conviction is safe."

During that trial, London's Southwark crown court heard that the striker, who had been celebrating his wife's pregnancy, launched an "unprovoked" attack after repeatedly being "cold-shouldered" by women in the Soho Revue Bar in December 2008.

King claimed he was the victim of "mistaken identity". But a jury convicted him by a 10-2 majority of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old university student, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and causing her actual bodily harm.

He also served five months in prison in 2002 after being caught at the wheel of a stolen £30,000 BMW.

At Nottingham crown court on Tuesday, Judge Nigel Godsmark QC told King he would adjourn sentencing for a pre-sentence report.

Defending King, Charles Langley asked that "alternatives" be looked at to an immediate custodial sentence. Dangerous driving carries a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment. Ordering an interim driving ban, the judge told King he would make "no promises".

King, who was granted unconditional bail, will be sentenced at Nottingham crown court on 2 May.


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Warner dismisses 2022 allegations

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:43 AM PDT

• FBI investigating payment to Warner, according to reports
• Former Fifa vice-president has no interest in joining 'witch hunt'

The former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has dismissed the latest allegations against him as "foolishness" and insists there is a "witch hunt" against the forthcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The FBI is investigating payments from a company owned by the Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam to Warner and his family, according to the Daily Telegraph. Both men left Fifa in disgrace following a 2011 corruption scandal. 2022 World Cup chiefs have reacted to the latest claims by insisting they adhered to all Fifa's rules.

Warner himself, currently a politician in Trinidad, said: "I have no interest in joining in the foolishness that is now passing as news on Qatar and Jack Warner.

"Nor do I intend to join those who are on a witch hunt against the World Cup 2022 venue. And do consider this as my final comment on this matter."

Warner and Bin Hammam's Fifa careers ended in disgrace after they were caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding Bin Hammam's campaign for the presidency of the world governing body in 2011.

Qatar's 2022 World Cup organising committee said in a statement: "The 2022 bid committee strictly adhered to Fifa's bidding regulations in compliance with their code of ethics.

"The supreme committee for delivery and legacy and the individuals involved in the 2022 bid committee are unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals."

But a Conservative MP who is campaigning for reform of the world governing body said Fifa should rerun the bid for the 2022 World Cup if an FBI investigation proves corrupt payments were made in connection with the vote.

Damian Collins, who used parliamentary privilege in 2011 to state allegations that two Fifa members had been paid to vote for Qatar 2022, said: "If the FBI investigation can prove that corrupt payments were made to Fifa executives in connection to the decision to award that country the World Cup, they should lose the right to host the tournament and the competition to stage World Cup 2022 should be rerun.

"These reports will only fuel concerns that the decision to award Qatar the World Cup was made for money reasons, not sporting ones, and that's wrong.

"The report on the FBI investigation suggests a web of lies and corruption at the highest levels of Fifa. This is something Fifa has never fully investigated and if these allegations are proven, there has to be a top-to-bottom review of the roles and workings of members of Fifa's executive committee."


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Paul Gascoigne paid damages by the Daily Express and Daily Star

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:34 AM PDT

Paul Gascoigne has accepted damages from the Daily Express and Daily Star in settlement of his legal action for defamation and intrusion into his privacy.

He made the claim against the newspapers after they published video footage on their websites showing him in an allegedly drunken and incoherent state.

They also ran stories making allegations about his private life and discussing his finances. At the time, Gascoigne, an alcoholic, had suffered a relapse.

The footage was shot without Gascoigne's knowledge by a man called Shane Abbott in the former England footballer's flat near Hastings in February last year.

The two newspapers agreed to pay damages and Gascoigne's legal costs, thus avoiding a trial planned for July.

In papers filed with the court, Gascoigne's lawyers said he had suffered a relapse in the months prior to February 2013 and needed extra treatment for alcoholism.

During this time "his life became chaotic and he mixed with drug addicts and alcoholics who would on occasion exploit him for asking him for money," it was said.

"They would often use his home. He was also prey to people with neither affliction but who simply wanted to exploit him. One such person was Shane Abbott."

Source: PA Media Lawyer Hat tip: Press Gazette

Roy Greenslade

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Manchester United's David Moyes denies his job is at stake – video

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:59 AM PDT

Manchester United manager David Moyes dismisses claims he is at risk of being fired after a poor start to the season and a string of defeats

Paolo Maldini: 'All Milan's good work is being destroyed'

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:56 AM PDT

• Former Milan captain hits out at club hierarchy
• Believes manager Clarence Seedorf is not to blame

The former Milan great Paolo Maldini believes the struggling Serie A giants are destroying the progress made by the club over the last decade following an indifferent season at home and in Europe.

Clarence Seedorf's side are currently 11th in the standings after losing 4-2 at home to Parma on Sunday, leaving them 12 points off fifth spot and qualification for next season's Europa League with just 10 matches to play. Milan were also thrashed 5-1 on aggregate by Atlético Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Yet despite rumours that the former Holland international Seedorf could be sacked despite moving to San Siro in January, Maldini – who spent 24 years at the club, winning six Scudetti and five European Cups – believes it is those who are running the club who should take the blame.

"Inside of me there's a mixture of anger and disappointment," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Not so much because of the results, but because I get the impression they're throwing away what was built with hard work over the last 10 years. That makes me feel awful. I know how much work there was behind all those glories, what it took to build such a beatufiul story. It makes me crazy to see everything destroyed.

"They cannot compete with Juventus or the top 10 teams in Europe. There isn't a project."

He added: "It's obvious that he's not an expert, but he has a lot of courage and personality, but not even Pep Guardiola could do anything. This isn't Clarence's fault. [Pippo] Inzaghi spent two years with the youth team and this is important."

Now 45, Maldini recently held talks with the owner Silvio Berlusconi's daughter Barbara – who is now sharing chief executive duties with Adriano Galliani – about a return to the club in an official capacity. However, the 126-cap former defender revealed he has yet to hear back.

"I had two interviews with Barbara. After the division of responsibilities, I have been touted as the successor to Galliani's sporting duties, but I have not heard from anyone," he said.

"I was ready for a role in sports. Milan have many employees but are missing someone from a sporting perspective. Galliani is a great leader, but can't understand players. He does everything himself and this is not possible. If you only sign the players of one Fifa agent, sometimes you can make the deal, sometimes you can't.

"At the bottom of it, there must be knowledge. [The former director Ariedo] Braida played a marginal role in recent years, before there was Leonardo, who helped Galliani understand whether a player was suitable to Milan or not.

"I remember when Leo wanted me at all costs to become sports director, Galliani said: 'We don't need him.'"


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Arsenal trio agree new contracts

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:38 AM PDT

• Both midfielders agree new deals to stay at the Emirates
• Teenager Gedion Zelalem signs first professional contract

As exclusively revealed by the Guardian, midfielder Aaron Ramsey has agreed a new contract extension at Arsenal, and is in no doubt his best form is yet to come.

The Wales international is currently recovering from a thigh injury and hopes to soon be back in action to boost the Gunners' Barclays Premier League title bid and push to win the FA Cup.

The 23-year-old scored 13 goals this season before his latest fitness setback and following the announcement he had joined Santi Cazorla and promising teenager Gedion Zelalem in penning a new deal, Ramsey was relishing the challenges ahead under manager Arsene Wenger.

"I feel like there's plenty more to come. This season I've proven a lot of people wrong," Ramsey told Arsenal Player.

"There was a tough time in the period after my injury, but I've got through that and I feel really confident and feel like I'm improving with every game. Hopefully now I can get back out onto that pitch as quickly as possible and show what I'm capable of doing and hopefully finish off the season in some style as well."


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The Fiver | Hypocritical jibber-jabber

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:35 AM PDT

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

GALA? BINGO!

The Fiver Lawyers would like to begin by stressing that the Fiver is not saying that the Special One is the devil. Notwithstanding that, the Fiver is pretty sure that if you play a Cradle of Filth record backwards you get a José Mourinho press conference. Because there is a diabolical contradiction about the Chelsea manager – and we're not just talking about all the hypocritical jibber-jabber he hisses into microphones. The contradiction is central to his managerial being.

The Special One has, you see, an infernal ability to forge powerful bonds of affection while simultaneously being fiendishly callous. Many of his players speak of him as if he is a great romantic, but all the rest of us see in his professional dealings is a self-serving bounder who is prepared to trample on anything anyone else holds dear so long as it gets him closer to the one thing he values above all else: victory. Oh, and a level of personal glorification that would not be out of place in a post-revolutionary dictatorship. No one has been more enchanted by the serpentine charm of the Special One than Didier Drogba, who once described his manager as "a second father". And that is why tonight's Big Cup meeting between Chelsea and Galatasaray at Stamford Bridge holds the same sort of dark fascination as certain special interest websites that your firewall objects to. The quality of the play is unlikely to be exceptional, but the way some of the main protagonists cope with the occasion will be intriguing.

First, what sort of welcome will Chelsea's fans give Drogba? OK, we know the answer to that: the mob who abused Rafael Benítez when he was leading their team to triumph will acclaim a striker who is trying to knock them out. But how will Drogba cope with the adoration? He is a big-game player who has always been able to produce his best performances when it matters most, but he is also one who has sometimes been overwhelmed by his emotions and lost the run of himself, which, of course, is why the Special One has been showering him with metaphorical confetti in the build-up to the game and even suggested that the Ivorian will return to play or work for Chelsea one day, which may not be such a bad idea in view of the blunt strikers currently at the club. "He is still top quality, top quality, I played against him last season with Real Madrid," blathered Mourinho, who presumably also thinks that he himself scored Chelsea's goal in the first leg, which ended 1-1.

Of course, Chelsea should have already guaranteed their passage to the next round but there is still an unMourinho-esque lack of a killer instinct in this Chelsea team and that surfaced in the second half in Istanbul, when Galatasaray were allowed to play their way back into the game for the draw. So there is still a chance that we will be spared having to listen to the Special One boast about being the only English team left in Big Cup.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE TONIGHT

Join Paul Doyle from 7.30pm for MBM coverage of Chelsea 2-1 Galatasaray (agg: 3-2), and Jacob Steinberg for Real Madrid 4-1 Schalke (agg: 10-2).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Nine out of 10 players would have given up. People who say Diaby is fragile are wrong. He is Highlander" – there can be only one Abou Diaby.

FIVER LETTERS

"You looking to rename Bernard Cribbins (yesterday's Fiver letters)? How about 'Rumpole of the KC'? It seems that the cornerstone of his defence of George Boyd is that, because he 'played non-league six years ago', that somehow him makes him exempt from the nefarious. I'd like to offer exhibits A, B and C as evidence to the contrary, m'lud" – Marc Sinfield.

"In relation to Tim Sherwood's remarks as reported in the Fiver on 14 March ('I'm not an actor, I work on impulse'), I have been waiting on the edge of my metaphorical seat (or should that be the metaphorical edge of my real seat?) to read a letter from any male readers who, having never met Mr Sherwood, have suddenly received flowers from the man himself. As a child of the 80s, I believe that to be the marker of someone who is genuinely acting on impulse: 43 seconds into this is the closest I could find to corroborate my failing memory" – Vinnie Nambisan.

• 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: Marc Sinfield.

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

We keep trying to point out the utter futility of advertising an online dating service "for interesting people" in the Fiver to the naive folk who run Guardian Soulmates, but they still aren't having any of it. So here you go – sign up here to view profiles of the kind of erudite, sociable and friendly romantics who would never dream of going out with you.

BITS AND BOBS

David Moyes has channelled his inner Comical Ali and insisted his Manchester United job is not under threat. "This is not a club that works on a short-term vision, it is a long-term one," he honked, before neatly folding and pocketing a blank piece of paper marked 'long-term vision'.

Former Fifa executive committee member Jack Warner, who resigned over corruption allegations in 2011, has refused to comment on claims that he was paid $1.2m by a company owned by Qatari former Fifa member Mohamed Bin Hammam a fortnight after Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup.

Prospective Nasty Leeds owner Massimo Cellino has been fined €600,000 for dodging tax due on a fancy yacht in Italy. "This verdict is absolutely unjust and we will appeal," sniffed Cellino's lawyer, Giovanni Cocco.

Sulky teenager AVB has been given a poster of Robert Smith and a two-year deal as Zenit St Petersburg manager.

Marlon King faces a prison sentence of up to two years after pleading guilty at Nottingham crown court to a charge of dangerous driving.

And Hull City's George Boyd has been charged by the FA with expectorating in Joe Hart's face on Saturday, while the Manchester City keeper has escaped censure for his role in the subsequent handbaggery.

STILL WANT MORE?

Scott Murray recalls Scotland's rollercoaster ride at Argentina 1978, in No6 of our 25 stunning World Cup moments.

What does Massimo Cellino's conviction mean for Nasty Leeds? The Fiver hasn't the foggiest but thankfully Proper Journalism's David Conn is on hand to tell us.

There's a 77% chance that if you turn your television on now, the 1994-95 season will be there waiting for you, just you, beckoning you into its warm embrace. Jacob Steinberg struggles with his Sky Sports Premier League Years addiction.

And Manchester City's calamity on legs, Martín Demichelis, stars as Mr Bump, Steven Seagal and Stan Laurel in this week's Gallery.

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

SIGN UP TO THE FIVER (AND O FIVERÃO)

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

THE FIVER LIKES THE DEFENDER WHO'S UNHAPPY WITH THE FAIR PLAY

Paul Doyle

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

European best XIs plus analysis of the Premier League title contenders

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:11 AM PDT

Best XIs from the five top leagues in Europe and a close look at Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool's title chances

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: the Premier League title contenders

Chelsea

Chelsea's defeat at Villa Park on Saturday may have dented their prospects of winning the league but they remain in a very strong position. City will leapfrog them if they win their three games in hand, but Chelsea have the more favourable run-in.

They have to play both Liverpool and Arsenal, but do not have any other fixtures against teams in the top half of the table. The clubs engulfed in the relegation battle can pull off the odd upset – and José Mourinho's men still have to play three of the bottom five – but they do not have to face many teams vying for European places.

The defeat at Villa was Chelsea's first league loss since the start of December. They have picked up 2.36 points per game in 2014 and have boasted a strong defence, with Fabian Delph's flick only the fourth goal they have conceded in the league this calendar year.

Liverpool

Liverpool are the form team in the league and they are benefiting from having played fewer games than the teams around them. With nine matches still to play, Brendan Rodgers will believe his side have what it takes. They still have to face Manchester City and Chelsea but, with both matches at Anfield, they have the chance to hurt their rivals. They also have to play Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, who are in the top 10, but they have been struggling lately.

Since the turn of the year, Liverpool have averaged 2.6 points per game in an unbeaten run that includes comprehensive victories over Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United. Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge have contributed 3.2 goals per game in 2014 and have helped Liverpool become the leading scorers in the league with 75 goals.

Arsenal

Arsenal's win over Tottenham on Sunday gave them a timely boost but also served as a reminder that they are are not at the peak of their powers. Injuries have cost them recently, not to mention exhausting European away days, and they will need to improve if they are to come out on top at the end of the season.

Their true title credentials may well be known by the end of the month. They face both Chelsea and Manchester City before travelling to Everton in the first week of April. They could be out of the running very quickly, but three wins in those matches may well see them become favourites.

Arsenal have the same number of points and games to play as Liverpool, but their form will be a concern. An average of two points per game in 2014 is decent but they've dropped points in four of their last seven matches. Their defence has been solid this season but, with half as many goals scored per game in this calendar year as Liverpool (1.6), they are playing catch-up.

Manchester City

Manuel Pellegrini's men are the only side that know they will win the league if they win all of their remaining games. Such a feat is unlikely but, having been dumped out of the Champions League and FA Cup, they, like Liverpool, have one sole focus.

That said, with 11 games remaining, they still face a busy schedule, with a crucial game in hand against Aston Villa sandwiched between the last two games of the season. City, despite being favourites, could also see their chances alleviate or diminish sooner rather than later, with successive matches against Manchester United, Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool to come in the next few weeks.

Again, like Arsenal they are not exactly in title-winning form. They've scored just four goals in their last game, with the absence of Sergio Agüero taking its toll. His fitness is likely to be a telling factor in the title race, with City averaging 3.33 goals per game in the 15 league matches he has started compared to 1.75 in the games he hasn't. It's now City's title to lose, but the form of Liverpool in particular will be a real worry to all those around them.

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

• Follow WhoScored on Twitter
• Follow Guardian Football on Facebook

Martin Laurence

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jimmy Greaves on chasing a dog during 1962 World Cup quarter-final – video

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:54 AM PDT

Former England player Jimmy Greaves recounts how he chased a dog that had run on to the pitch during England's 1962 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil

Moyes under boardroom pressure

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:23 AM PDT

• Under-fire Scot denies he could be sacked this season
• Admits beating Olympiakos 'would be a massive lift'

David Moyes is coming under increasing scrutiny from the Manchester United hierarchy, though the manager insists that his situation remains the same.

When asked about his job security, before Wednesday's Champions League second leg against Olympiakos, Moyes said: "My future has not changed one bit. I have got a great job, I know exactly the direction I want it to go in. It's not been the season we hoped we would have but I have ideas of what I want to do and put in place when the time is right.

"The most important thing now is to get the Olympiakos game played and hopefully get through. If we can it would be a massive lift but we know we have got ourselves in a poor position being 2-0 down. We have got a lot of belief and we have got to try to make it show in the game."

Over the coming week Moyes faces the return leg with the Greek champions at Old Trafford on Wednesday and Saturday's trip to West Ham United before the derby at home to Manchester City the following Tuesday, three games which could prove critical to his hopes of holding on to the job.

The position of the owners, the Glazers, is that Moyes retains their support but a discernible shift in the mood within the higher echelons reflects a desire to see noticeable signs of improvement.

Despite the Glazers having no wish to remove him as manager, Moyes conceded he has not been given any guarantees. "The biggest assurance is that they let me get on with the job. We never discuss it, we talk about the future. We are making big plans for years going forward, this is why it's a six-year contract, this is not a club that works on a short-term vision, it works on a long-term vision."

In a dismal title defence United are 18 points behind Chelsea, and 12 from Manchester City in fourth place, with the 20-times champions seventh. The 3-0 humiliation by Liverpool at Old Trafford was viewed as particularly disappointing due to the manner of the defeat and the concession by Patrice Evra that United are not used to being in such a lowly position will have been noted. "It's been a difficult season for everyone because we are not used to losing games, we always win," the defender said. "It's a difficult moment. It's a new challenge because we have never been in this situation, we are always playing to win the league, to win games, to win the Champions League, it's tough moment and you have to show your character and personality."

Moyes has taken strength from the support of fans at Old Trafford. United have lost five times at home in the league this season – the last time they lost six home games was 36 years ago in the 1977-78 campaign.

Losing the backing of the United hardcore would cause further debate at board level regarding his position but when it was put to Moyes that supporters might not be able to stomach another abysmal display against Olympiakos he was again defiant. "I actually think they have seen some defeats they would not have expected and have stuck with the team throughout. I think they understand the period we're all in together."

Moyes admits that displays like the one against Liverpool cannot be repeated. "When you lose in the fashion we did and obviously to one of our biggest rivals there is always a lot of disappointment," he said.

"We knew it was a big week with Liverpool and Olympiakos but as soon as it was over we were concentrating on this game. We told the players that on Monday morning when we got them back in that the only thing that matters now is this game and our focus now is now on that."

Despite the sense that some players have not bought into his ideas and are not completely committed, Moyes is determined to back them, publicly at least. "I see the players every day, I have the chance to work with them every day, the qualities they show me," he said.

"I think they know they can play better, I don't think any of them are questioning that. I've got a belief in the players. I can see what they can do and hopefully they can show it. I agree they have not showed it as often as we'd like but we will try to make that happen on Wednesday night."

Jamie Jackson

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

How Manchester United can beat Olympiakos 3-0, by a coach who has

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:22 AM PDT

Panathinaikos defeated Olympiakos 3-0 just days after their Athens rivals' first leg victory over United. Their coach Yannis Anastasiou gives David Moyes some tips

If David Moyes needs some inspiration in masterminding a 3-0 win over Olympiakos, he could do worse than give Yannis Anastasiou a quick call.

Five days after Manchester United's tepid first-leg capitulation at the Karaiskakis Stadium, the Panathinaikos manager watched his young side scattered with a few seasoned pros inflict a first league defeat of the season on the perennial Greek champions in their own backyard. Not that Anastasiou, a former Ajax striker who spent last season working as one of Brian McDermott's assistants at Reading, can remember much about Mehdi Abeid's third goal after being hit by a by plastic cup filled with ice thrown from the crowd.

"For a moment I lost my sight completely and I couldn't open my eye," he told the Guardian. "I was still trying to watch the match with only one eye but I couldn't see clearly. For the last 10 minutes I didn't know what was happening as I sat on the bench and it wasn't until the next day that I saw the third goal on the television. It was a real shame that something like that could almost ruin a great day for the club."

It was the first time in seven years that Panathinaikos had tasted victory in the "derby of the eternal enemies" having almost gone out of existence in 2011 due to financial difficulties, and ensured their coach now enjoys cult status in the green and white areas of Athens. But while United go into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on the back of Sunday's disastrous home defeat to Liverpool, Anastasiou had the benefit of two extra days to ready his troops for battle against the team coached by the former Spain international Michel.

"The most important thing is we were really prepared," he said. "It was a fantastic performance because we absolutely dominated and scored three goals to win the game. We started our preparations four days before and worked as a group concentrating a lot on technical details – how Olympiakos play, what are their strengths and weaknesses.

"We tried to adjust our game accordingly by pressing high when they were in possession and taking a direct route when we had the ball. The team executed the plan very well on the day but our physical fitness was very important in this approach. We said beforehand that the players will need to run and run and that is what they did."

After losing again to second-placed PAOK the following week, Olympiakos wrapped up their fourth successive title on Saturday. They will go to Old Trafford as underdogs given the tendency of Greek sides not to travel well, although Anastasiou believes the onus will be on Moyes's men to prevent them from reaching the quarter-finals for only the second time in their history, having been narrowly beaten by Juventus at that stage in 1998-99.

He added: "It will be a completely different game in Manchester because they are trailing by two goals. United definitely need to start very quickly because Greek teams can find the big difference in tempo when they play against Premier League teams very difficult to cope with. I would expect them to struggle with that. But United didn't perform at all in the first leg so of course they have a very good chance to go through. It would be great for Greek football to have a team in the quarter-finals, even if they're our big rivals."

The Nigerian striker Michael Olaitan collapsed on the pitch during the Panathinaikos game and is now recovering in hospital. Anastasiou remains hopeful the 21-year-old could return to action but admitted they will take every precaution before declaring him fit to play.

"He's doing better. They have been trying to do some tests to find out what happened but the most important thing is Michael is alive," he said. "The doctors said he had been under a lot of stress and that can be part of football. People think it's really nice all the time but this is what can happen sometimes. It will take a long time because we have to be very careful with a player's health."

Anastasiou spent three years as a youth team coach at Ajax before meeting met McDermott while completing his Uefa Pro Licence in 2012. His stay in Berkshire was shortlived after the current Leeds manager was sacked by Reading's owner, Anton Zingarevich, and he Panathinaikos last summer.

Now majority-owned by supporters, they are attempting to force their way into a Champions League qualification spot this season. "Expectations were not so high but because the team is performing well people are getting behind us," said Anastasiou. "I like to work with young players because they are willing to learn, but you also need some experience in the team and we have a good mix.

"I love English football. My experience with Reading was very interesting for me because I saw how things work from the inside. In life there are always possibilities and it would be great to come back one day. I have a three-year contract with Panathinaikos that I want to see through and there is a good project here. It's like a baby that is starting to grow, walk and talk so it would be fantastic to see how it turns out."

Ed Aarons

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hull City accuse FA of 'prejudice' over bid to change name to Tigers

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:59 AM PDT

• Club will ballot season ticket holders to make decision
• Owner Assem Allam willing to walk away if unsuccessful

Hull have accused the Football Association of being prejudiced in its handling of the club's bid to change their name to Hull Tigers.

The club released a statement on Tuesday afternoon in which they confirmed season pass holders will be balloted on the matter, responding to the FA's membership committee recommendation that the application to alter the club's existing name of Hull City be rejected.

The statement said: "The club are disappointed with the timing of Monday's announcement made by the FA.

"We feel we have been prejudiced right from the outset. The FA introduced a new policy to handle our application on the back of consultations with the City Til We Die group, and we therefore feel that our application was already pre-judged.

"This feeling has been reinforced with Monday's announcement, as the club feel this will further prejudice the forthcoming ballot of season pass holders.

"However, this is now the time for the silent majority to come forward and support the club's aspirations. Details of the ballot will be released to season pass holders within the next 48 hours."

The membership committee recommendation will be discussed and voted upon at a full FA Council meeting on 9 April.

Hull owner Assem Allam reiterated his intention to walk away from the club if his proposed name change is unsuccessful in the wake of Monday's announcement.

Allam's decision to apply to re-brand the club, which he insists is necessary in order to make it more marketable on the world stage, has been greeted angrily by fans, who have mobilised under the City Til We Die banner to fight the proposal.

However, their stance has been met in uncompromising fashion by the owner.

Speaking in January amid a furious backlash, he said: "No-one on earth is allowed to question my business decisions. I won't allow it.

"I can give you my CV to give you comfort, for what I do in business, what I have achieved, but for someone to come and question me is not allowed.

"I'm here to save the club and manage the club for the benefit of the community. It will never, never be the other way round - that the community manage it for me.

"But if the community say go away, I promise to go away within 24 hours."

Allam had earlier told fans singing "City Til We Die" during the Barclays Premier League clash with Crystal Palace in November they could "die as soon as they want" and labelled protesters "hooligans" and a "militant minority".

The Egyptian businessman took over the club in 2010 and oversaw their rise to the Premier League.

Steve Bruce's men are currently fighting to ensure their top-flight status but have an FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United to look forward to.


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Fersina and Dro show that fair play is alive and well at the bottom of Serie D

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:03 AM PDT

• Team allowed to score equaliser after keeper's mistake
• Relegation rivals still look certain to go down this season

Relegation six-pointers can become heated affairs at this crucial stage of the season. So hats off to the players from Italian Serie D side Fersina Perginese for their sense of fair play in the showdown with Dro in northern Italy last weekend.

Locked together at the bottom of Group C in Italy's fourth tier, the home side were gifted the lead when the Dro goalkeeper allowed a harmless backpass to slip through his fingers.

Despite the clear opposition of a couple of Fersina's players, the visitors were allowed to walk the ball into the net and eventually came away with a 3-3 draw. The result will probably have no bearing on their fate at the end of the season, with both sides cut adrift in the current standings, but their integrity still remains very much intact.


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Leeds United: five key questions answered | David Conn

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:34 AM PDT

What does the conviction of prospective owner Massimo Cellino mean for the takeover of Leeds United?

Is Massimo Cellino now likely to be barred from taking over?

Yes. The agriculture magnate and owner of Serie A club Cagliari has a signed contract to buy 75% of Leeds United from the club's current owners, Gulf Finance House, a bank in Bahrain. He has now been convicted by a judge in Cagliari of criminally evading €400,000 of import tax due in Italy on his yacht, Nelie. The Football League's "owners and directors" test, formerly the "fit and proper persons" test, bars people from becoming directors or 30% owners of a club if they have "unspent convictions for offences of dishonesty". It therefore looks very likely the Football League will bar Cellino from taking over.

Will he appeal if he is barred by the Football League?

His lawyer in Sardinia, Giovanni Cocco, said he considers the verdict "unjust" and they will appeal. Cellino is also very likely to appeal against the Football League if it bars him and his company, Eleonora Sports, from taking over. Sources close to Cellino cite three grounds: that the conviction itself is being appealed, that anyway this tax conviction in Italy should not be classed as "an offence of dishonesty," and that Cellino himself is a minority shareholder in Eleonora Sports, which is owned by his family trust. The chances of such an appeal succeeding do not look convincing.

What happens to Leeds now, as Cellino has already put money in?

Cellino has paid more than £2m into Leeds to pay the club's ongoing losses, principally on players' wages, since he agreed an exclusive period of negotiation. GFH did the same when they negotiated with Ken Bates to buy Leeds in 2012 and David Haigh, still the club's managing director, formerly a GFH executive, paid in around £2m before his takeover bid with a businessman, Andrew Flower, collapsed. If Cellino and the Eleonora Sports takeover is blocked, GFH will have to fund the club again, and look for another buyer.

Could Leeds United now go into administration again?

GFH and Haigh say this will not happen. GFH have spent around £40m buying Leeds from Bates and funding its £1m monthly losses since, and they would lose all that if the club went into administration. Although they are reluctant to fund the club any more, as a bank they say they do have access to money, and will keep Leeds going until another buyer can be found.

Why do such episodes always seem to happen to Leeds?

Still considered one of English football's truly big clubs in fanbase, history and potential – and Champions League semi-finalists as recently as 2001 – Leeds United have never recovered since their financial collapse the following year. The club's then chairman, Peter Ridsdale, famously lamented "We lived the dream," and the club's fate since has been a fans' nightmare. Bates took the club into insolvent administration in 2007, thus leaving £35m creditors substantially unpaid, yet after that the club made losses again and fell into financial difficulties. GFH took over, decided they do not want to keep funding losses, and say they had no firm offers from anybody with the money to buy the club until Cellino arrived. Now, that deal looks to be scuppered, for unpaid tax in Italy over a yacht called Nelie.

David Conn

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Premier League Years: Sky Sports' evil, glorious, parasitic work of art | Jacob Steinberg

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:56 AM PDT

The only negative in this hypnotic football highlights show – apart from footage of Richard Keys – is that it's on all the time

You could be forgiven for thinking that there are only so many times a person can be shown that clip of Phil Babb sliding into the goalpost before they're begging for the sweet release of a My Family omnibus and you would be right in most cases.

But there are some exceptions to the rule. Some of us can watch that clip, allow ourselves a quick wince and then react as gleefully as a baby being introduced to the delights of peekaboo for the first time, because there's nothing quite like revelling in another man's pain if it arrives in farcical circumstances. "Look! He's sliding! He's still sliding! Here it comes! Wait for it … wait for it! Ohhhh! And there it is! That's gotta hurt! Gets me every time." To my shame, I am one of those people. Sorry, Phil.

Poor guy. The former Liverpool defender was just trying to prevent a shot from Pierluigi Casiraghi going in during a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October 1998. Little did he know that something so inconsequential would still be so hilarious 16 years later.

If we are looking to apportion blame, though, then look no further than Premier League Years. It's all the fault of that evil, glorious, parasitic, wonderful, time-wasting work of art that is found lurking on Sky Sports in the afternoon or late at night, its siren call waiting to suck you in and ruin your day. If you have never watched it, it's highlights from a Premier League season. The voice of Premier League Years is Georgie Thompson, there is an era-specific backing track and there is always an emotional montage at the end, featuring the season's highs and lows. It also serves as an educational tool, with Thompson reminding us about what was going on in the real world at the start of each month. What better way to spend two hours?

The problem is that it's on all the time. There's a 77% chance that if you turn your television on now, the 1994-95 season will be there, waiting for you, just you, beckoning you into its warm embrace, and a 100% certainty that you won't change the channel. Shearer and Sutton. Kung-fu with Eric Cantona. Jürgen Klinsmann's belly flop. Four relegation places! Memories.

I am one of its victims. It has a hypnotic quality. I have seen each episode at least three … fine, 10 times and I'm probably into triple figures when it comes to the late-90s, if you'll allow me to boast for a moment. Yet for reasons that remain stubbornly unclear, it never gets old, even though they've started to mess around with the camera angles and introduce needless close-ups. Just like an episode of The Wire, there's always something you missed the first time round, a player you forgot to reminisce about – such as Alan Thompson or Matt Jansen – or a Steve Guppy goal that is somehow even better after 27 viewings. Eventually it is all locked into my thoroughly useless mind palace.

Recently my flatmate insisted on watching the 2003-04 edition with me and was soon horrified to discover that I knew it off by heart. I was describing goals before they happened – Lilian Nalis's screamer in a 4-0 win for Leicester over Leeds, say – and reciting the dates of matches, even letting him know what I had done on certain days. The common mistake made by the football nerd (essentially the football hipster's weird uncle) is to assume that other people find this impressive. They don't. They find it terrifying, block your number and move out.

I had some free time before work the other day. I could have started that book, gone for a run or even had a shower. But instead, after a brief channel-hop, I struck gold: 1997-98, a vintage year. At first, I had no intention of staying with it. You never do. Only five minutes, you think to yourself, five minutes can't hurt, no one will know, it will be my little secret.

But 45 minutes later I was on a nostalgia-ridden trip down memory lane, somehow getting excited at hearing Martin Tyler scream: "Would you believe it?" as Tony Adams scored Arsenal's final goal in the 4-0 win over Everton that clinched the title. Arsenal, led by some French chancer from Japan, had swept past Manchester United to win the league, the defining moment coming when Marc Overmars earned them a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in March. That match was made unforgettable by the camera locating a particularly jubilant Arsenal fan – the one who Sky must have thought was Alan Davies – and soon I was trying to find out what had happened to him in the subsequent years. It turns out he still goes to Arsenal and can sometimes be spotted in the pub before matches. Incredible.

Elsewhere Kenny Dalglish carefully dismantled Newcastle with some typically astute signings; Gerry Francis looked exactly as he does now; Tottenham's Christian Gross worked out how to use the tube; West Ham signed Samassi Abou; Paulo Wanchope and Francesco Baiano wreaked havoc for Derby County and Everton stayed up by the skin of their teeth on a manic final day thanks to their superior goal difference over luckless Bolton Wanderers.

If there is one negative, it is that sometimes you have to tolerate archive footage of Richard Keys presenting and I find it impossible not to hear a sexual innuendo in his every utterance. "Arsenal need one more push," Keysie winks. "How much do they want it … Tony Adams." But it's a small price to pay.

The appeal of Premier League Years is simple: nostalgia. This isn't a lament for the good old days. But supporters love to talk about the good old days and you get to see matches that were played at Highbury and Highfield Road, and muse that Darren Huckerby never did quite realise his potential. Nottingham Forest feature a couple of times; Swindon Town too. The kits and hairstyles are ridiculous, the pundits' blazers are even worse and you always know the ending.

Sometimes you might find yourself hoping for a different outcome for your side, praying that they might avoid relegation this time, and yet the story never changes. It makes no sense that it should be so gripping. But anyone who claims otherwise is a liar. We are the Premier League Years generation. They played The Time of My Life over one montage once and I don't need any more convincing than that.

Jacob Steinberg

theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

No Hart punishment, but Boyd charged by FA

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:32 AM PDT

• Scotland winger was caught on video during 2-0 defeat
• No decision yet on length of Vincent Kompany's ban

Hull City's George Boyd has been charged by the Football Association following his side's game against Manchester City on 15 March.

The charge is in relation to an alleged breach of FA Rule E1[a] in that in or around the 68th minute of the game Boyd spat at Manchester City's Joe Hart. The incident was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.

Boyd has until 6pm on 19 March 2014 to respond to the charge.

England goalkeeper Hart will face no further action for his part in the clash after he was booked by the referee Lee Mason, with the FA confirming that – in line with its rules – it considers he has been dealt with.

Under a new pilot project in Premier League matches this season, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees will be asked by the FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.

For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the panel were of the unanimous decision that it was an act of misconduct.

The flashpoint occurred when Boyd was denied a penalty after claiming to have been fouled by Hart.

City's captain, Vincent Kompany, will not face any disciplinary action for his reaction to his sending-off in the fiery contest.

Kompany was dismissed just 10 minutes into the game for a professional foul on Hull forward Nikica Jelavic.

That offence carries a mandatory one-match ban but Kompanyangrily kicked a wall as he headed down the tunnel and made what could be seen as an offensive gesture towards the fourth official , but the FA has decided no action will be taken.

.


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

'Highlander' Abou Diaby targets place in France's World Cup squad

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 04:49 AM PDT

• Arsenal midfielder closing in on return from serious knee injury
• Fitness trainer: 'Nine out of 10 players would have given up'

The Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has revealed he is close to making a return from a serious knee injury and has not given up hope of forcing his way into France's World Cup squad.

The 27-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Arsenal this season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training last year and is reported to be in the Alps this week for intensive training sessions. Diaby has not featured for Arsène Wenger's side since the 2-0 victory over Swansea on 16 March, 2013 but in an interview with France Football, he admitted he is hopeful of returning to full training in the next few weeks.

"I will take stock with Arsenal medical staff early in April, but I hope to resume collective training sessions very soon," he said.

"I never had such a long break. I never had a knee injury and it is really weird. You can feel physically there is something different. But I learnt a lot from my injuries. I can keep things in perspective.

"Even now I am very close to the end of my specific work, I keep things in perspective. I can master my impatience. I want to be back being strong, very strong and perfectly at ease in my body.

"I work hard without asking questions. I work hard because I know in the end I will play again. I am still a high level footballer in my mind, otherwise I would have given up. But I never think to give it up.

Diaby added: "It doesn't mean I never had difficult moments, but I have always bounced back. Some people experience much more difficult things in their lives. I know my reward will be to have fun playing again.

"My priorities? Feeling fine and play again before the end of the season. I don't think I will be scared to play. I trust my body. Nowadays I feel strong, but I know coming back to London I will also have some changes. I am watching closely my diet and recovering periods."

With Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi now established as the first-choice midfield pairing in Didier Deschamps' France squad, Diaby could face a struggle to earn a recall for Les Bleus. However he remains hopeful that he can force his way into their plans for Brazil.

"I've never given up hope of going to the World Cup," he said.

"Thinking of that has kept me going. Once I'm back on pitch, everything's possible."

Diaby – who still has a year of his current contract at the Emirates still to run – has suffered a series of setbacks in his recovery having been sidelined by numerous injuries since joining from Auxerre in 2006. He has been working with a fitness trainer in a bid to return to action and he paid tribute to the midfielder's persistence.

"Nine out of 10 players would have given up," he said. "People who say Diaby is fragile are wrong. He is Highlander."


theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
at

No comments:

Post a Comment