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Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

We'll listen to case for terraces, says sports minister Hugh Robertson

Fans' group launches petition to reintroduce standing
Robertson says government will examine evidence

David Conn
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 22.00 GMT <li class="history">Article history

The FSF is calling for defined areas of grounds to be made available for safe standing areas, similar to those in Germany. Photograph: Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, has said the government will consider the possibility of reintroducing standing areas at top-level football matches, 21 years after Lord Justice Taylor recommended terracing be outlawed.
At the first ever meeting to discuss the issue with the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), football authorities, police and the Football Licensing Authority, which took place on Monday, Robertson said he would examine the evidence for safe standing. In particular, he said he wanted to see whether modern terracing would be safe, technically able to be built into stadiums and capable of being policed, and whether there is demand from substantial numbers to stand.
But anxious not to raise immediate expectations, Robertson told the meeting frankly that because the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool supporters died, led to Taylor's recommendation that standing be outlawed, the stakes are extremely high to recommend a change. If he were to do so, and there was then a major accident or incident of disorder on a terrace, Robertson said: "The minister's head would be on a spike on Tower Bridge before he could draft a resignation letter."
The meeting was called by the Liberal Democrat sports spokesman, Don Foster, who has tabled a private member's bill calling for clubs to be permitted safe standing areas. "I am very pleased we brought all parties together for the first time to discuss the issue," he said. "Real fans are paying high ticket prices and losing out, and I am confident safe standing can be introduced which meets all the minister's concerns. We will be gathering the required evidence, and fans must now make their voices heard."
The FSF will launch an online petition calling for the introduction of safe standing areas at stadiums in England's top two divisions, where all-seating has been compulsory since 1994, as recommended by Taylor four years earlier.
All the authorities represented at the meeting stated their opposition to any reintroduction of standing areas, although they no longer state that this is predominantly an issue of fan safety, rather of crowd control. The Premier League, Football League and Football Association argued that all-seat stadiums had been crucial in improving the game's fortunes and image since Hillsborough, and there is no major demand for standing.
The FSF is calling for defined areas of grounds to be made available for safe standing areas, similar to those in Germany where closely spaced barriers make a crush close to impossible. The FSF points to a survey it conducted in which 90% of respondents said fans should have the choice of sitting or standing. The organisation hopes thousands will sign the online petition.
Robertson stressed he is wary of considering change, but would look at all evidence presented, and would want a consensus, including the police in particular, that standing would be safe.
Andy Holt, assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire police, representing the Association of Chief Police Officers at the meeting, said it is up to the FSF to demonstrate that standing areas could be policed effectively and would not risk increasing disorder at matches.
Malcolm Clarke, the FSF chairman, argued that such standing areas would enable fans to enjoy matches in a more traditional atmosphere. Clarke also pointed out that many supporters regularly stand at top-flight football in the all-seat stands, a practice the Football Licensing Authority considers a safety risk.
"Fans do believe they have lost something in the move to all-seating," Clarke said. "We will be doing further research to respond to the concerns of those who are not yet convinced."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Fans' terrace campaign still standing but facing an uphill battle

Reintroducin

Comments (116)

- David Conn
- The Guardian, Wednesday 23 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
Terracing still thrives at grounds such as Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion after a decision was taken to make standing safer instead of abolishing it. Photograph: Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images The tough challenge facing the fans campaigning passionately for standing to be allowed at top-flight football is that in principle the time for their argument has come, while in practice the authorities argue it has long gone. Approaching 22 years since the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster, the families of those who died remain vehemently opposed to standing.
Given that history, no government sees any political capital in a change, a point made forcefully by the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, on Monday, at the first ever round-table meeting on the issue between the Football Supporters' Federation and the football authorities, government and police.
The Football Association, Premier League and Football League's position is that all-seat stadiums have been vital furniture in the game's rehabilitation after Hillsborough, and, crucially, that grounds have been rebuilt since without the steepness and configuration required for terracing. They argued that even if some clubs might consider re-introducing standing, recognising it can be safe, that it allows lower ticket prices and produces a better atmosphere, it would be difficult and expensive.
Yet as the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) launches an online petition, calling for signatures from the thousands of fans who still yearn to stand a generation since they were required to sit, it is clear the opposition has become markedly more measured. Robertson stressed he is very unlikely to allow any change, but agreed at least to look at any strong evidence to show modern terracing can be safe, is able to be policed, and that there is a widespread demand from supporters.
Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat sports spokesman who organised the meeting and has tabled a private member's bill calling for safe standing to be permitted, was positive afterwards. "The door is ajar now," he said. "We will establish the solid evidence required. Real fans have been losing out for years, paying high ticket prices for seats. Now they need to make their voices heard."
Nobody at the meeting seriously argued that standing is unsafe, or that its reintroduction would push football back to the bad old days. The FSF has battled to get that point heard for two exhausting decades – that Hillsborough was not caused by the terracing itself. According to Lord Justice Taylor's report, the fault was South Yorkshire police's negligence managing the crowd, Sheffield Wednesday's shameful mismanagement of their ground and the safety of the terraces, and Sheffield City Council allowing matches to be played there despite not having updated Wednesday's safety certificate for a decade.
The supporters groups – and the FA – opposed the all-seat recommendation in Taylor's final report, which the judge argued would be safer, more comfortable, and "have distinct advantages in achieving crowd control". The FSF has argued with that ever since, that the response to a disaster caused by a negligent approach to fans' safety became an opportunity for "crowd control": to police potential hooliganism more keenly and gentrify the grounds.
The FA, shoulder-to-shoulder with the fans' groups then, argued that compelling clubs to have all-seat stadiums would break up the emotional, traditional culture of support, reduce capacities, and lead to higher ticket prices.
Taylor decided none of these need happen, and famously referred to seat prices at Ibrox then – £6, compared to the £4 cost of standing. "Not a prohibitive price or differential," he observed. That badly misread the top clubs' feverish impatience to raise prices; staring at the game's wreckage then, he did not conceive of today's £40 and £50 tickets which have priced a generation of young adults out of going to Premier League matches.
The FSF has never wavered from its view on Taylor. Malcolm Clarke, its chairman, argues: "Fans lost a cherished culture when standing at matches was outlawed in the top two divisions. We argue clubs should be given the choice. Many fans show every game that they still want to stand – by standing in seating areas which is itself a safety risk. Following yesterday's very good meeting, we will be gathering further evidence to respond to the concerns of those who are not yet convinced."
The FA now sides with the leagues, arguing that seating should remain compulsory. The Premier League's representative, Bill Bush, barely raised the question of safety on Monday, arguing instead that seating had encouraged more families, women and ethnic minorities to matches, and there is no demand from clubs to introduce standing. Ruth Shaw, chief executive of the Football Licensing Authority, which oversees the post-Taylor safety regime, argues: "It is generally accepted that seating is safer, more comfortable and enables better crowd management."
Yet the FLA does not press too hard the argument that seating is safer. Injury rates at football are thankfully low now at all grounds, although slightly lower at all-seater stadiums. Last season 0.004% of supporters were injured at all-seater stadiums compared to 0.009% of supporters injured at the 20 grounds that have standing areas – 19 of which are in League One and League Two, plus Scunthorpe in the Championship. After being challenged by the FSF, the FLA no longer even claims this lower rate in a generally very safe activity is because terracing remains at some grounds; the figures themselves do not prove that.
Acknowledging that: "Overall most injuries [are] minor", the FLA figures show that last season 419 injuries were sustained from trips, slips and falls, 108 were people hit with the ball, and 31 people fell off their seats or another object. Taylor would have given profound thanks for the figure of only four people sustaining a crush, from a total attendance in the season of 34,564,307 – 0.00001%.
Andy Holt, the assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire police who represented the Association of Chief Police Officers on Monday, firmly classes standing as a crowd control rather than safety issue. "I agree you can have safe standing," he says. "However, I would want to be assured that any form of standing would not make it more difficult to steward crowds, to identify somebody causing trouble, and that crowd density would mean we could intervene if we needed to."
That the police, football authorities and FLA no longer raise the spectre of a Hillsborough-type disaster whenever the subject of standing is raised is partly due to persistent FSF campaigning. It has gathered evidence from Germany, where some Bundesliga grounds have terracing with closely spaced barriers allowing just one or two rows of people in between, making crushes all but impossible.
In March 1993, considering its response to hooliganism, the German Football Federation decided against introducing all-seat stadiums, opting instead to make terracing safer.
"Abolishing standing areas would make it considerably more difficult for socially disadvantaged football supporters to attend their team's matches," the federation said then. "Football, being a people's sport, should not banish the socially disadvantaged from its stadia, and it should not place its social function in doubt."
German grounds teem with young adults, who pay as little as €14 (£12.15), to stand at, for example, the 80,552-capacity Westfalenstadion, home of the Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Here, so many years after Hillsborough, a genuine debate is finally becoming possible about the potential benefits and the genuine risk of allowing people to stand. But with all this time passed, and the spectre of disaster always hovering over the subject, any change would be an uphill struggle.
FSF online petition: www.fsf.org.uk/safestanding
Terrace times

1888 Football League is established. From the beginning, fans stand in grounds
1990 Following the Hillsborough Disaster on 15 April 1989, Lord Justice Taylor recommends that all professional football grounds should become all-seater
1990 Government amends the Football Spectators Act to enable this, and clubs are given £200m grants of public money to help the conversion of their grounds
1992 Following representations, clubs in the then Football League Second and Third divisions (Leagues One and Two) are allowed to retain safe standing terraces
2010 Liberal Democrat sport spokesman Don Foster introduces private member's bill calling for clubs to be allowed safe standing areas
2011 On Monday 21 March the first meeting since Hillsborough between the Football Supporters' Federation and the police and football authorities considers safe standing. Sports minister Hugh Robertson says change is very unlikely, but says he will look at the evidence
This article has been amended since first publication

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Fans' terrace campaign still standing but facing an uphill battle

Reintroducin

Comments (116)

- David Conn
- The Guardian, Wednesday 23 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
Terracing still thrives at grounds such as Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion after a decision was taken to make standing safer instead of abolishing it. Photograph: Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images The tough challenge facing the fans campaigning passionately for standing to be allowed at top-flight football is that in principle the time for their argument has come, while in practice the authorities argue it has long gone. Approaching 22 years since the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster, the families of those who died remain vehemently opposed to standing.
Given that history, no government sees any political capital in a change, a point made forcefully by the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, on Monday, at the first ever round-table meeting on the issue between the Football Supporters' Federation and the football authorities, government and police.
The Football Association, Premier League and Football League's position is that all-seat stadiums have been vital furniture in the game's rehabilitation after Hillsborough, and, crucially, that grounds have been rebuilt since without the steepness and configuration required for terracing. They argued that even if some clubs might consider re-introducing standing, recognising it can be safe, that it allows lower ticket prices and produces a better atmosphere, it would be difficult and expensive.
Yet as the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) launches an online petition, calling for signatures from the thousands of fans who still yearn to stand a generation since they were required to sit, it is clear the opposition has become markedly more measured. Robertson stressed he is very unlikely to allow any change, but agreed at least to look at any strong evidence to show modern terracing can be safe, is able to be policed, and that there is a widespread demand from supporters.
Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat sports spokesman who organised the meeting and has tabled a private member's bill calling for safe standing to be permitted, was positive afterwards. "The door is ajar now," he said. "We will establish the solid evidence required. Real fans have been losing out for years, paying high ticket prices for seats. Now they need to make their voices heard."
Nobody at the meeting seriously argued that standing is unsafe, or that its reintroduction would push football back to the bad old days. The FSF has battled to get that point heard for two exhausting decades that Hillsborough was not caused by the terracing itself. According to Lord Justice Taylor's report, the fault was South Yorkshire police's negligence managing the crowd, Sheffield Wednesday's shameful mismanagement of their ground and the safety of the terraces, and Sheffield City Council allowing matches to be played there despite not having updated Wednesday's safety certificate for a decade.
The supporters groups and the FA opposed the all-seat recommendation in Taylor's final report, which the judge argued would be safer, more comfortable, and "have distinct advantages in achieving crowd control". The FSF has argued with that ever since, that the response to a disaster caused by a negligent approach to fans' safety became an opportunity for "crowd control": to police potential hooliganism more keenly and gentrify the grounds.
The FA, shoulder-to-shoulder with the fans' groups then, argued that compelling clubs to have all-seat stadiums would break up the emotional, traditional culture of support, reduce capacities, and lead to higher ticket prices.
Taylor decided none of these need happen, and famously referred to seat prices at Ibrox then £6, compared to the £4 cost of standing. "Not a prohibitive price or differential," he observed. That badly misread the top clubs' feverish impatience to raise prices; staring at the game's wreckage then, he did not conceive of today's £40 and £50 tickets which have priced a generation of young adults out of going to Premier League matches.
The FSF has never wavered from its view on Taylor. Malcolm Clarke, its chairman, argues: "Fans lost a cherished culture when standing at matches was outlawed in the top two divisions. We argue clubs should be given the choice. Many fans show every game that they still want to stand by standing in seating areas which is itself a safety risk. Following yesterday's very good meeting, we will be gathering further evidence to respond to the concerns of those who are not yet convinced."
The FA now sides with the leagues, arguing that seating should remain compulsory. The Premier League's representative, Bill Bush, barely raised the question of safety on Monday, arguing instead that seating had encouraged more families, women and ethnic minorities to matches, and there is no demand from clubs to introduce standing. Ruth Shaw, chief executive of the Football Licensing Authority, which oversees the post-Taylor safety regime, argues: "It is generally accepted that seating is safer, more comfortable and enables better crowd management."
Yet the FLA does not press too hard the argument that seating is safer. Injury rates at football are thankfully low now at all grounds, although slightly lower at all-seater stadiums. Last season 0.004% of supporters were injured at all-seater stadiums compared to 0.009% of supporters injured at the 20 grounds that have standing areas 19 of which are in League One and League Two, plus Scunthorpe in the Championship. After being challenged by the FSF, the FLA no longer even claims this lower rate in a generally very safe activity is because terracing remains at some grounds; the figures themselves do not prove that.
Acknowledging that: "Overall most injuries [are] minor", the FLA figures show that last season 419 injuries were sustained from trips, slips and falls, 108 were people hit with the ball, and 31 people fell off their seats or another object. Taylor would have given profound thanks for the figure of only four people sustaining a crush, from a total attendance in the season of 34,564,307 0.00001%.
Andy Holt, the assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire police who represented the Association of Chief Police Officers on Monday, firmly classes standing as a crowd control rather than safety issue. "I agree you can have safe standing," he says. "However, I would want to be assured that any form of standing would not make it more difficult to steward crowds, to identify somebody causing trouble, and that crowd density would mean we could intervene if we needed to."
That the police, football authorities and FLA no longer raise the spectre of a Hillsborough-type disaster whenever the subject of standing is raised is partly due to persistent FSF campaigning. It has gathered evidence from Germany, where some Bundesliga grounds have terracing with closely spaced barriers allowing just one or two rows of people in between, making crushes all but impossible.
In March 1993, considering its response to hooliganism, the German Football Federation decided against introducing all-seat stadiums, opting instead to make terracing safer.
"Abolishing standing areas would make it considerably more difficult for socially disadvantaged football supporters to attend their team's matches," the federation said then. "Football, being a people's sport, should not banish the socially disadvantaged from its stadia, and it should not place its social function in doubt."
German grounds teem with young adults, who pay as little as 14 (£12.15), to stand at, for example, the 80,552-capacity Westfalenstadion, home of the Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Here, so many years after Hillsborough, a genuine debate is finally becoming possible about the potential benefits and the genuine risk of allowing people to stand. But with all this time passed, and the spectre of disaster always hovering over the subject, any change would be an uphill struggle.
FSF online petition: www.fsf.org.uk/safestanding
Terrace times

1888 Football League is established. From the beginning, fans stand in grounds
1990 Following the Hillsborough Disaster on 15 April 1989, Lord Justice Taylor recommends that all professional football grounds should become all-seater
1990 Government amends the Football Spectators Act to enable this, and clubs are given £200m grants of public money to help the conversion of their grounds
1992 Following representations, clubs in the then Football League Second and Third divisions (Leagues One and Two) are allowed to retain safe standing terraces
2010 Liberal Democrat sport spokesman Don Foster introduces private member's bill calling for clubs to be allowed safe standing areas
2011 On Monday 21 March the first meeting since Hillsborough between the Football Supporters' Federation and the police and football authorities considers safe standing. Sports minister Hugh Robertson says change is very unlikely, but says he will look at the evidence
This article has been amended since first publication

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Government should step in and reform FA, says former chief executive

• FA incapable of change, warns Ian Watmore
• Vested interests lead to decision paralysis

Owen Gibson
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 22.04 GMT <li class="history">Article history

Ian Watmore, pictured with Fabio Capello, quit as FA chief executive after deciding he was 'wasting his time'. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images Ian Watmore, the Football Association chief executive who quit in frustration after 12 months in the job, has appealed for government intervention to overhaul the FA's structure for the game's wider good. Watmore, who left claiming there "was nothing chief nor executive" about the role, said government should rip up the existing structure. He told a parliamentary inquiry into football that the FA is "not in a good place at a strategic level".
Watmore said the game is not capable of reforming itself and called on the government to reconstitute the FA with a board split between executives – including those with football experience such as Sir Trevor Brooking and Hope Powell – and non-executive directors.
"I don't think it will come about through natural forces. It will come about only through external stimulus, whether that is through your committee or the government. I don't think it will happen naturally," said Watmore, who after walking out of the FA 12 months ago has been employed by the Cabinet Office to lead an efficiency drive across Whitehall.
"It took something like the Taylor Report to change the game once before. Perhaps now is the time to do something as significant as that for the game in the long run."
Watmore echoed his former chairman Lord Triesman in saying that the vested interests on the FA board contribute towards a paralysis of decision making.
He quit after becoming frustrated over his inability to make progress on a wide range of issues, including that of the FA's role in overseeing financial regulation. "It was one of many things on which I was butting up against the governance ceiling and I thought it was time to stop wasting my time and go and do something else."
A discussion paper prepared for a sub-committee on the subject of financial regulation was one issue on which he failed to make headway. "The leagues felt they should do it themselves and we should just butt out," he said.
Watmore praised the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, and said they had a relationship of "mutual respect" but the structure encourages board members representing both sides of the game to put their individual interests ahead of that of the FA.
"You might get an issue like the financial and debt position. It's very hard to have a sensible discussion around the boardroom table when the chief executive of Manchester United [David Gill] is one of those around the table and back home his house is being daubed with green and gold by the Glazer protesters," he said. "He's a great guy but on an issue like that he's conflicted."
Watmore said he "begrudged" giving half of the FA's income to the professional game "because they didn't need it and the national game did".
After the FA's overheads, half of its income is distributed via the professional game and half via the national, or grassroots, game.
The board of 12 is equally divided between representatives of both, with an independent chairman and chief executive.
He refused an invitation to attack the Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards but would not contradict the account of Triesman, who said he was a domineering and bullying presence.
"I love the Premier League as a spectator. It has transformed football in this country. It is well run and has its issues but right now it's in a good place," he said.
"The FA is not in a good place at a strategic level. I would like to have a strong FA and a strong Premier League, not a strong FA or a strong Premier League."
That could only be brought about, he argued, by government intervention to force the FA to restructure and strengthen its position as the game's overarching governing body.
"In the end, you have to look at restructuring. If you need to do it, it has to be forced or at least threatened."
Martin O'Neill, the former Aston Villa manager, said that English football needed a "reality check" to stop an inflationary spiral of spending.
"The top clubs in the Premiership have been on massive spending sprees, so other clubs to attempt to catch up have to spend some money," he said.
O'Neill refused to discuss his departure from Villa due to an impending tribunal but said clubs should aim for a 65% ratio of wages to turnover.
"I agree in principle that you are only able to deal with what you are able to bring in. You need to get a reality check but that doesn't exist in the Premier League."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Government should step in and reform FA, says former chief executive

FA incapable of change, warns Ian Watmore
Vested interests lead to decision paralysis

Owen Gibson
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 22.04 GMT <li class="history">Article history

Ian Watmore, pictured with Fabio Capello, quit as FA chief executive after deciding he was 'wasting his time'. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images Ian Watmore, the Football Association chief executive who quit in frustration after 12 months in the job, has appealed for government intervention to overhaul the FA's structure for the game's wider good. Watmore, who left claiming there "was nothing chief nor executive" about the role, said government should rip up the existing structure. He told a parliamentary inquiry into football that the FA is "not in a good place at a strategic level".
Watmore said the game is not capable of reforming itself and called on the government to reconstitute the FA with a board split between executives including those with football experience such as Sir Trevor Brooking and Hope Powell and non-executive directors.
"I don't think it will come about through natural forces. It will come about only through external stimulus, whether that is through your committee or the government. I don't think it will happen naturally," said Watmore, who after walking out of the FA 12 months ago has been employed by the Cabinet Office to lead an efficiency drive across Whitehall.
"It took something like the Taylor Report to change the game once before. Perhaps now is the time to do something as significant as that for the game in the long run."
Watmore echoed his former chairman Lord Triesman in saying that the vested interests on the FA board contribute towards a paralysis of decision making.
He quit after becoming frustrated over his inability to make progress on a wide range of issues, including that of the FA's role in overseeing financial regulation. "It was one of many things on which I was butting up against the governance ceiling and I thought it was time to stop wasting my time and go and do something else."
A discussion paper prepared for a sub-committee on the subject of financial regulation was one issue on which he failed to make headway. "The leagues felt they should do it themselves and we should just butt out," he said.
Watmore praised the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, and said they had a relationship of "mutual respect" but the structure encourages board members representing both sides of the game to put their individual interests ahead of that of the FA.
"You might get an issue like the financial and debt position. It's very hard to have a sensible discussion around the boardroom table when the chief executive of Manchester United [David Gill] is one of those around the table and back home his house is being daubed with green and gold by the Glazer protesters," he said. "He's a great guy but on an issue like that he's conflicted."
Watmore said he "begrudged" giving half of the FA's income to the professional game "because they didn't need it and the national game did".
After the FA's overheads, half of its income is distributed via the professional game and half via the national, or grassroots, game.
The board of 12 is equally divided between representatives of both, with an independent chairman and chief executive.
He refused an invitation to attack the Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards but would not contradict the account of Triesman, who said he was a domineering and bullying presence.
"I love the Premier League as a spectator. It has transformed football in this country. It is well run and has its issues but right now it's in a good place," he said.
"The FA is not in a good place at a strategic level. I would like to have a strong FA and a strong Premier League, not a strong FA or a strong Premier League."
That could only be brought about, he argued, by government intervention to force the FA to restructure and strengthen its position as the game's overarching governing body.
"In the end, you have to look at restructuring. If you need to do it, it has to be forced or at least threatened."
Martin O'Neill, the former Aston Villa manager, said that English football needed a "reality check" to stop an inflationary spiral of spending.
"The top clubs in the Premiership have been on massive spending sprees, so other clubs to attempt to catch up have to spend some money," he said.
O'Neill refused to discuss his departure from Villa due to an impending tribunal but said clubs should aim for a 65% ratio of wages to turnover.
"I agree in principle that you are only able to deal with what you are able to bring in. You need to get a reality check but that doesn't exist in the Premier League."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Michel Platini keeps his cards concealed in Fifa's presidential race

• Uefa president welcomes Mohamed bin Hammam's challenge
• Sepp Blatter tells Uefa he will retire in 2015 if he wins

Owen Gibson in Paris
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 21.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history

The Uefa president, Michel Platini, shares a joke with Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, right, at the congress in Paris. Photograph: François Mori/AP Michel Platini has welcomed Mohamed bin Hammam's challenge to Sepp Blatter as "good for democracy", as the Uefa president emerged as a potential kingmaker in the battle to lead Fifa.
After Uefa's 53 member associations re-elected Platini for another four-year term as president he welcomed the fact that there would be a competitive election at Fifa. "Given there are two candidates for the Fifa election there will be different pledges, pledges for change. It's good to have two candidates," said Platini. "It's good for democracy. There will be different things proposed and it may be a good thing."
The Uefa president, an energetic and sometimes controversial presence in Nyon during a period that has seen the introduction of the financial fair play concept and continued growth of the Champions League, would not be drawn on his own Fifa ambitions. It is thought that Platini harbours ambitions to launch his own bid for the top job at Fifa in 2015.
Bin Hammam has floated the idea of cutting a deal with the Frenchman, while Blatter promised that, should he win, the next four-year term would be his last.
In a speech to the Uefa Congress, in which he attempted to appeal to voters in both Europe and Africa, the 75-year-old Blatter said he would not stand again if he prevailed. "You know very well that I am a candidate for the next four years as Fifa president but these will be the last four years for which I stand as a candidate," he said. "Together we have the task of bringing together the adventure we have started. We want to ensure a better future for our youth."
Platini refused to be drawn on which candidate would win his support but it is thought likely he will back Blatter, given the aligned interests of the pair. He does not have a vote himself but his decision is likely to be a big influence on many of the member associations that do.
"We've just found out that two candidates will run. In 1998 I was only Michel Platini, only thinking of myself and now I'm president of Uefa," he said. "It's something new that there are two candidates. I will have to consult with my colleagues and vice-presidents. I can't speak on my own personal behalf any more."
The two Fifa candidates will spend the next eight weeks wooing the member associations that will decide their fate at Fifa's Congress in Zurich on 1 June. Bin Hammam has deep pockets and would not have run if he did not feel he had a chance of unseating the president while Blatter has been positioning himself for a potential battle for the past 18 months and has a long record of seeing off challengers.
Platini's immediate focus will be on potentially radical talks over the fixture calendar and the introduction of the financial fair play rules that start to bite from next season. "I'm trying to help football not go bankrupt. Look at the banks. If they don't stop, they'll kill themselves. It's a matter of solidarity," said Platini.
Uefa also confirmed it would press ahead with a project to centralise the sale of the TV rights to World Cup and European Championship qualifiers as part of a drive to boost the profile of the international game. The Football Association was the last of Uefa's members to sign up to the scheme after securing important minimum guarantees but now faces a huge challenge to reconcile it with its own FA Cup deals.
The FA had been concerned that it would be left disadvantaged by the plan to centralise sales from 2014 but has succeeded in securing minimum guarantees that will bring in about £25m a year. "We thought it through long and hard and we have got a good deal for ourselves out of it. It is higher than the current valuation of our rights," said the FA general secretary, Alex Horne.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Michel Platini keeps his cards concealed in Fifa's presidential race

Uefa president welcomes Mohamed bin Hammam's challenge
Sepp Blatter tells Uefa he will retire in 2015 if he wins

Owen Gibson in Paris
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 21.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history

The Uefa president, Michel Platini, shares a joke with Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, right, at the congress in Paris. Photograph: François Mori/AP Michel Platini has welcomed Mohamed bin Hammam's challenge to Sepp Blatter as "good for democracy", as the Uefa president emerged as a potential kingmaker in the battle to lead Fifa.
After Uefa's 53 member associations re-elected Platini for another four-year term as president he welcomed the fact that there would be a competitive election at Fifa. "Given there are two candidates for the Fifa election there will be different pledges, pledges for change. It's good to have two candidates," said Platini. "It's good for democracy. There will be different things proposed and it may be a good thing."
The Uefa president, an energetic and sometimes controversial presence in Nyon during a period that has seen the introduction of the financial fair play concept and continued growth of the Champions League, would not be drawn on his own Fifa ambitions. It is thought that Platini harbours ambitions to launch his own bid for the top job at Fifa in 2015.
Bin Hammam has floated the idea of cutting a deal with the Frenchman, while Blatter promised that, should he win, the next four-year term would be his last.
In a speech to the Uefa Congress, in which he attempted to appeal to voters in both Europe and Africa, the 75-year-old Blatter said he would not stand again if he prevailed. "You know very well that I am a candidate for the next four years as Fifa president but these will be the last four years for which I stand as a candidate," he said. "Together we have the task of bringing together the adventure we have started. We want to ensure a better future for our youth."
Platini refused to be drawn on which candidate would win his support but it is thought likely he will back Blatter, given the aligned interests of the pair. He does not have a vote himself but his decision is likely to be a big influence on many of the member associations that do.
"We've just found out that two candidates will run. In 1998 I was only Michel Platini, only thinking of myself and now I'm president of Uefa," he said. "It's something new that there are two candidates. I will have to consult with my colleagues and vice-presidents. I can't speak on my own personal behalf any more."
The two Fifa candidates will spend the next eight weeks wooing the member associations that will decide their fate at Fifa's Congress in Zurich on 1 June. Bin Hammam has deep pockets and would not have run if he did not feel he had a chance of unseating the president while Blatter has been positioning himself for a potential battle for the past 18 months and has a long record of seeing off challengers.
Platini's immediate focus will be on potentially radical talks over the fixture calendar and the introduction of the financial fair play rules that start to bite from next season. "I'm trying to help football not go bankrupt. Look at the banks. If they don't stop, they'll kill themselves. It's a matter of solidarity," said Platini.
Uefa also confirmed it would press ahead with a project to centralise the sale of the TV rights to World Cup and European Championship qualifiers as part of a drive to boost the profile of the international game. The Football Association was the last of Uefa's members to sign up to the scheme after securing important minimum guarantees but now faces a huge challenge to reconcile it with its own FA Cup deals.
The FA had been concerned that it would be left disadvantaged by the plan to centralise sales from 2014 but has succeeded in securing minimum guarantees that will bring in about £25m a year. "We thought it through long and hard and we have got a good deal for ourselves out of it. It is higher than the current valuation of our rights," said the FA general secretary, Alex Horne.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Impregnable self-belief restores John Terry to England captaincy

Reinstated captain does not crave unpopularity but his resilience is such that he thrives on it

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Kevin McCarra
The Guardian, Wednesday 23 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history

John Terry, left, joins Ashley Cole, centre, and Frank Lampard as England prepare to face Wales. Photograph: Mike Egerton/Empics Fabio Capello gathered the squad before training to confirm John Terry had been reappointed as captain but no one said a word to the England manager or asked any questions. The players were either satisfied unanimously with the centre-half's return to the post or, more likely, the occasional malcontent had no appetite for disputing Capello's decision. For that matter, who would hurry to put himself at odds with the defender himself?
Where Terry is concerned, the supposedly dogmatic manager has had second thoughts. Circumstances have their part in that. Capello, for instance, may have begun to wonder whether Rio Ferdinand, often absent this season, can regain the sustained fitness that would make the manager assume the Manchester United defender will be available regularly in the future.
At the moment Terry exudes resilience in more than one respect. It is taken for granted that he has not begged pardon from Capello for being such a distraction. The 30-year-old's reaction at times of crisis is one of defiance. His private life must have been deeply uncomfortable for a while but Terry gives the impression that his self-confidence is impregnable.
If there have been apologies to anyone, he will have issued them sparingly. It could not occur to him that he should be penitent towards a manager when Terry is clear that Capello made a misjudgment in the matter. The outlook is breathtaking, particularly since most people would be ready to agree that they have acted badly on occasion.
Terry does not give an inch and such reflex defiance serves people well in sport, even if the consequences are more troublesome in life. While he does not crave unpopularity, the centre-half thrives on it. Terry loves to feel there is a cause for which he can fight. It must be his innate combativeness that has led him to prominence and achievement in football.
He may be unique in that having criticised Capello he has not only survived the episode but gone on to be promoted by the Italian.
Terry was bold enough at last year's World Cup finals to hint at unrest in the camp. "Everyone needs to get off their chest exactly how they're feeling," he said then. "If it upsets him [Capello], or if it upsets any player, then so be it."
The manager is pictured as a dictator but everyone in his line of work must resort to compromise now and again.
The issue of leadership is not necessarily a British fixation and Carlo Ancelotti, when still fairly new to his post at Chelsea, took little prompting to compare Terry to Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini.
Capello would not have overturned his own verdict on the Englishman unless he had deemed it essential to restore the armband to him.
Terry divides people but there should be agreement that he is a somewhat unlikely success. Full fitness can be only a vanishing memory but when there was a fear last November that thigh trouble would rule him out for months he was absent for little more than three weeks.
He has never counted on speed and it has been essential for him to hone an anticipation that saves him from being drawn into a sprint with fleet-footed attackers.
It is the disadvantages that drive him on, as if he could not flourish unless he thought that the odds were against him. Antagonism, at least, is certain this week. When the defender spoke about Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Cardiff, he was asked about Craig Bellamy and his comment last year that "everyone knows what [Terry] is like". However, the Wales forward also said: "That's off the pitch. On it he's an outstanding player and a great captain."
Even if he was unaware of those compliments, Terry has been on the scene long enough to appreciate that there was no benefit in allowing so much as a hint of a feud.
"I've played against him and he's proved to be a very tough opponent over the years," said the England captain. "I love his passion on the pitch. He wants to win and gets the players around him going. He doesn't let anyone train half-heartedly, either. I love that about him."
Their true attitude to one another will be established only when they share a pitch on Saturday but Terry had been exercising some degree of tact. It is, as he appreciates, a knack expected in a captain. He was also displaying another aspect of his resolve. He sounded intent on being statesmanlike, as if determined to use this second chance and hold on tight to the captaincy.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

England's survival instincts puts World Cup peak in reach

Andrew Strauss's team have shown an indomitable spirit forged by their ruthless and resourceful coach

Comments (80)

- Mike Selvey
- The Guardian, Wednesday 23 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
Andrew Strauss has led his England team skilfully in this World Cup and has them performing when it matters most. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP There is something about survivors and their instinct for survival that has appealed to me more than many other aspects of human nature. Usain Bolt may be a blink-of-an-eye phenomenon, but it is to the endurance athletes that I tip my hat.
I read about and marvelled at Shackleton's exploits in the Antarctic (Endurance again); followed avidly Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud on their unsupported trek across that same continent and, via her website, every day of Ellen MacArthur's round-the-world solo epic; read too of Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, out of oxygen, bivouacking and surviving on Everest above 28,750 feet, higher than anyone has managed before or since, and Scott's eight-day descent, on hands and knees, of the vicious Ogre, in the Karakoram, two years later, having broken both legs while near the summit. There is Touching the Void and now 127 Hours.
These are remarkable people and exploits and I wallow now in the nostalgia of it to the extent that I have just had to break off and watch Scott, 70 this year, on YouTube, talking in such a matter-of-fact way about it all. Was ever there a tougher man?
In no way can the survival instinct of the England cricket team in this World Cup be compared to these deeds, but in relative terms they too have been remarkable, qualifying for the quarter-finals by the skin of their collective teeth, and providing for their supporters more palpitations than can be healthy.
Judged by the quality they achieved earlier in the winter, some of their play this past month has been alarming. But when push really came to shove, still without playing anywhere approaching full capacity, they managed to prevail.
England may have made a rod for their backs by losing to both Ireland and Bangladesh but not one of the other seven quarter-finalists can say they remain undefeated by any of the others. As such, "winning ugly" , as the tennis player Brad Gilbert has it, when it mattered makes them a dangerous prospect if they can raise their game even a few percentage points. These have been cornered lions.
This capacity for survival did not just happen by accident, though. It begins first of all with the selection of players who are recognised to have a bit of mongrel in them. A good few years ago, I suggested to Hugh Morris, the ECB's managing director of England cricket, that it was imperative that England found out all about character and temperament before rather than after selection and wondered whether psychometric testing might help in this. Subsequently, the team psychologist, Steve Bull, produced a 100,000-word thesis on the subject. Whether this has been used I know not, but I do not recall a questionable temperament being chosen in recent years.
Next comes the coach. Even without his other notable achievements, no one would doubt the temperament of Andy Flower as a player, a man who became the world's leading batsman while playing for the worst team, and who kept wicket with broken fingers because he had to. In his way he has been cricket's Doug Scott. This he has carried into his current role where he is demanding and quietly ruthless as witness, say, the dispassionate subtext to his press conference when Kevin Pietersen opted to return to England for his hernia operation rather than "bite the bullet" as Flower put it.
If it is indeed the collective impact of the small improvements rather than one substantial difference, then it may well be that the root of the current mentality lies beyond what was already entrenched in individual characters – and was enhanced in the post-season trip to Bavaria straight after a strenuous and testing summer. In the few days they were there, the players and support staff were subjected to a mental and physical examination in trying conditions of a kind beyond anything hitherto experienced by them. From it came the realisation that the individual comes second to the team; that everyone has a different capacity but where individually they might falter, collectively they can overcome adversity. Together in Germany they achieved things they never thought possible. It is proper team spirit rather than the famously cliched definition of Steve Archibald. Digging in during a cricket match becomes small beer in comparison.
And then there is the captain. When Andrew Flintoff was appointed to lead the 2006-07 Ashes campaign my young daughter remarked that "the man who isn't Fred" – Andrew Strauss in other words – must be very sad. He may well have been but Duncan Fletcher's alleged remark that "he will thank me one day" holds true, for had Strauss taken that tour there is a good chance that he would have disappeared without trace. Instead, he is already a leader of great achievement and, now mentally fatigued as he is, one who still drives his team on.
He cuts a hugely impressive authoritative figure, one who has made the most of limitations as a one-day opener and who has eked out his bowling resources to perform when it mattered most. With the exception of Kumar Sangakkara, he alone of the remaining captains has truly raised his game to lead from the front.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

England's survival instincts puts World Cup peak in reach

Andrew Strauss's team have shown an indomitable spirit forged by their ruthless and resourceful coach

Comments (80)

- Mike Selvey
- The Guardian, Wednesday 23 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
Andrew Strauss has led his England team skilfully in this World Cup and has them performing when it matters most. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP There is something about survivors and their instinct for survival that has appealed to me more than many other aspects of human nature. Usain Bolt may be a blink-of-an-eye phenomenon, but it is to the endurance athletes that I tip my hat.
I read about and marvelled at Shackleton's exploits in the Antarctic (Endurance again); followed avidly Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud on their unsupported trek across that same continent and, via her website, every day of Ellen MacArthur's round-the-world solo epic; read too of Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, out of oxygen, bivouacking and surviving on Everest above 28,750 feet, higher than anyone has managed before or since, and Scott's eight-day descent, on hands and knees, of the vicious Ogre, in the Karakoram, two years later, having broken both legs while near the summit. There is Touching the Void and now 127 Hours.
These are remarkable people and exploits and I wallow now in the nostalgia of it to the extent that I have just had to break off and watch Scott, 70 this year, on YouTube, talking in such a matter-of-fact way about it all. Was ever there a tougher man?
In no way can the survival instinct of the England cricket team in this World Cup be compared to these deeds, but in relative terms they too have been remarkable, qualifying for the quarter-finals by the skin of their collective teeth, and providing for their supporters more palpitations than can be healthy.
Judged by the quality they achieved earlier in the winter, some of their play this past month has been alarming. But when push really came to shove, still without playing anywhere approaching full capacity, they managed to prevail.
England may have made a rod for their backs by losing to both Ireland and Bangladesh but not one of the other seven quarter-finalists can say they remain undefeated by any of the others. As such, "winning ugly" , as the tennis player Brad Gilbert has it, when it mattered makes them a dangerous prospect if they can raise their game even a few percentage points. These have been cornered lions.
This capacity for survival did not just happen by accident, though. It begins first of all with the selection of players who are recognised to have a bit of mongrel in them. A good few years ago, I suggested to Hugh Morris, the ECB's managing director of England cricket, that it was imperative that England found out all about character and temperament before rather than after selection and wondered whether psychometric testing might help in this. Subsequently, the team psychologist, Steve Bull, produced a 100,000-word thesis on the subject. Whether this has been used I know not, but I do not recall a questionable temperament being chosen in recent years.
Next comes the coach. Even without his other notable achievements, no one would doubt the temperament of Andy Flower as a player, a man who became the world's leading batsman while playing for the worst team, and who kept wicket with broken fingers because he had to. In his way he has been cricket's Doug Scott. This he has carried into his current role where he is demanding and quietly ruthless as witness, say, the dispassionate subtext to his press conference when Kevin Pietersen opted to return to England for his hernia operation rather than "bite the bullet" as Flower put it.
If it is indeed the collective impact of the small improvements rather than one substantial difference, then it may well be that the root of the current mentality lies beyond what was already entrenched in individual characters and was enhanced in the post-season trip to Bavaria straight after a strenuous and testing summer. In the few days they were there, the players and support staff were subjected to a mental and physical examination in trying conditions of a kind beyond anything hitherto experienced by them. From it came the realisation that the individual comes second to the team; that everyone has a different capacity but where individually they might falter, collectively they can overcome adversity. Together in Germany they achieved things they never thought possible. It is proper team spirit rather than the famously cliched definition of Steve Archibald. Digging in during a cricket match becomes small beer in comparison.
And then there is the captain. When Andrew Flintoff was appointed to lead the 2006-07 Ashes campaign my young daughter remarked that "the man who isn't Fred" Andrew Strauss in other words must be very sad. He may well have been but Duncan Fletcher's alleged remark that "he will thank me one day" holds true, for had Strauss taken that tour there is a good chance that he would have disappeared without trace. Instead, he is already a leader of great achievement and, now mentally fatigued as he is, one who still drives his team on.
He cuts a hugely impressive authoritative figure, one who has made the most of limitations as a one-day opener and who has eked out his bowling resources to perform when it mattered most. With the exception of Kumar Sangakkara, he alone of the remaining captains has truly raised his game to lead from the front.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

FA: Ferguson undermines campaign against ref abuse

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Updated Mar 23, 2011 11:18 AM ET
England's Football Association says Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's criticism of referees hurts the integrity of the sport.

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After United lost at Chelsea this month, Ferguson blasted Martin Atkinson's performance, complaining that the Premier League leaders didn't get a "fair or strong referee."
The full findings of the FA's Independent Regulatory Commission that banned the United manager for five matches and fined him $48,000 were released on Wednesday.
Commission chairman Craig Moore says Ferguson "undermined the (campaign) ... to encourage higher standards of behavior within the game, including respect for officials."
Moore says respecting them "is essential for the integrity of the game."

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Report Abuse anti-madridista
- 3/23/2011 11:03:32 AM
So a referee can have a terrible game and should be exempt from all criticism just because he's a ref?

Blaming the ref is just an excuse, but these guys consistently **** up on a weekly basis in all of the top 3 leagues in Europe.
You want people to show them respect, get better ones.
Report Abuse ManCanada
- 3/23/2011 10:59:55 AM
Bad calls cost matches, money, and jobs. Did SAF go overboard? Maybe. But Refs need to know that they are not the show
Report Abuse epl2nba
- 3/23/2011 10:52:11 AM
If Ref gets PK or RC wrong then he should commit Hari Kari FOR THE GOOD OF THE GAME.
Report Abuse RealLakeHiawatha
- 3/23/2011 10:33:43 AM
This is a joke. These incompetent ref's have way too much power and simply not allowing anyone to ever say anything under any circumstances is NOT going to improve their performance. So sick of reading about brilliant coaches and players who are racking up game-changing penalties for pointing out the obvious incapabilities and deficiencies of the officiating bodies. THAT undermines the game...
Report Abuse honeywelldeevon
- 3/23/2011 10:31:30 AM
referees are not beyond criticism, just like players and coaches they too can be criticized. However i understand what the FA is saying about integrity and all but how are they held accountable for blatant mistakes and at time match winning\losing calls.
Report Abuse BF7_CFC
- 3/23/2011 10:29:04 AM
The fact of the matter is that being a ref is not the easiest, or most thankful job in the world... It's not for everybody thats for sure. The human factor has to be taken into consideration here. If you ever saw a prem league game live, it is bloody fast! One man can't see everything... What they should do is let the linesmen know that they shouldn't be shy to call a foul if they see it clearly... It seems like some of the linesmen & the worthless 4th official are hesitant to blow point out a foul... ONLY if its truly blatant. It's all about getting the calls right...

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Gunners hopeful over crocked duo

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Updated Mar 23, 2011 11:24 AM ET
Arsenal could see both Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny back in action for the climax of their Premier League title bid.
It had been feared Swiss defender Djourou would not play again this season after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Manchester United.

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However, the prognosis is now much more positive, with the Gunners now hopeful the 24-year-old could be back training within a month after an exploratory procedure revealed there was no need for reconstructive surgery.
Szczesny, meanwhile, is set for another scan on his injured hand at the start of April, which if all goes well could see the young Pole in contention for what is set to be a crunch showdown with Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on May 1.
The 20-year-old has had his finger placed in a protective splint since suffering the freak injury when saving a free-kick against Barcelona in their Champions League clash at the Nou Camp earlier this month.
"There is not a lot of joint damage, the tendon is ruptured, so basically I have to keep my finger in a splint for four weeks and let the tendon heal," Szczesny told Arsenal TV Online.
"From then it will be a couple of weeks before I can be back in the squad.
"It is very hard, especially at a time when it was going well for me, but there is nothing you can do when it happens - you have to move on, work hard on your fitness and make sure you come back stronger than ever."
Szczesny's injury led to veteran Jens Lehmann making a shock return to his old club and it remains to be seen whether the German will be chosen ahead of Manuel Almunia for the Gunners' next game following the Spaniard's blunder against West Brom.
Although Saturday's 2-2 draw with the relegation-battlers meant they lost more ground on the leaders, mathematically Arsene Wenger's men are still very much in the driving seat.
However, while nine straight victories from here on in - including their game in hand at arch-rivals Tottenham and then United - would secure a first championship since 2004, there is now also no more margin for error to keep things firmly in their own hands.

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Jose planning for Prem return

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Updated Mar 23, 2011 10:09 AM ET
Jose Mourinho has reiterated his desire to return to the Premier League to tackle "unfinished business" after admitting he "misses England".
The Portuguese coach left Chelsea in 2007 after a hugely successful spell at Stamford Bridge before winning the Serie A title and Champions League with Inter Milan last season.

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He is currently at Real Madrid in Spain - where he is contracted for another three years - but maintains he is planning to return to England sooner rather than later.
"I miss England and my next job will be in England," he told The Sun. "There is unfinished business.
"And I think England wants me back, no? It was the most enjoyable time of my career."
"My Chelsea time was amazing as a football manager and family man. My family and I enjoyed it so much. We made so many friends here. We still keep in touch, we still come back.
"In football there are a few victories here I would like to repeat. I will talk to my agent and get a project for my career.
"I still have three years at Real Madrid. It is the biggest club in the world but it is also the most difficult club in the world.
"They came to me for the third time and I could not say no to them for the third time - I had to go.
"And I had to go to Italy, that was important for me because I wanted to try there. Everyone said it was the home of tactics so I said let me try there.
"But it is not England, England is special. People in Italy, Spain and Portugal ask me why I love England so much and I can't explain - I just do.
"I want to be happy in my work. I want to be happy with my football."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Kuyt ready to sign Reds deal

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Updated Mar 23, 2011 8:05 AM ET
Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt hopes to pen a new contract "very soon" as he is convinced the Reds will be challenging for silverware next season.
Kuyt still has two years to run on his current contract, but he is poised to sign an extension.

The Holland international believes the future is bright for Liverpool and he wants to be a part of it.
"Liverpool is a club that should be playing for trophies and I guarantee that will happen soon," said Kuyt.
"With Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll arriving, we have become stronger and I have a strong suspicion that the club will reinforce again in the summer.
"This helps my belief that we will be playing for trophies again next season.
"I want to stay because the club is showing ambition, the team is getting stronger and my family and I absolutely love it here. I hope I will sign my contract very soon."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Ramires reveals Lucas inspiration

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Updated Mar 23, 2011 9:27 AM ET
Ramires was never worried about his early-season struggles at Chelsea - because he knew he would win over the fans like Lucas at Liverpool.
Ramires joined the Blues last summer but initially struggled to produce his best form, leading some to doubt whether he could succeed in the Premier League.

However, Ramires has seen his hard work rewarded over the past few weeks with a series of impressive performances, and he insists he was never too worried.
The 23-year-old says he took inspiration from his fellow Brazilian Lucas, who was much-maligned during his early days at Liverpool but has started to gain respect this season.
"We knew it would take time to adapt when I arrived," Ramires said in the Daily Mail.
"That was no surprise. No Brazilian escapes it when he comes to England.
"Lucas has also lived through what I am experiencing and now his work is being recognised.
"I think this period went even quicker for me."
One Brazilian to have adapted quickly to English football is David Luiz, who Ramires played with at Benfica.
"We shared great moments in Portugal and I am sure there will be several more here in England," said Ramires.
"And who knows if we will be together for a long time with the national team too."

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Completed Games

Today's Games Week 1: 01/07/11 - 01/09/11 Week 2: 01/14/11 - 01/16/11 Week 3: 01/21/11 - 01/23/11 Week 4: 01/28/11 - 01/30/11 Week 14: 02/02/11 - 04/13/11 Week 5: 02/04/11 - 02/06/11 Week 6: 02/11/11 - 02/13/11 Week 7: 02/18/11 - 02/20/11 Week 8: 02/25/11 - 02/27/11 Week 9: 03/04/11 - 03/06/11 Week 10: 03/11/11 - 03/13/11 Week 11: 03/18/11 - 03/20/11 Week 12: 04/01/11 - 04/03/11 Week 13: 04/08/11 - 04/10/11 Week 15: 04/16/11 - 04/17/11 Week 16: 04/22/11 - 04/24/11 Week 17: 04/29/11 - 05/01/11

Friday, March 18, 2011

Week 11

Estadio 3 de Marzo

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UAG Tecos

0 : 0
Final

UANL Tigres

Match Stats | Match Trax
Goals

(47') Marcelo Alatorre
Cards Anselmo Juninho (61')

Israel Jiménez (81')

(46') Ramón Morales

Juan Carlos García Alvarez

(57') Eduardo Lillingston

José Alfredo Castillo

(90') César Moreno

Rubens Sambueza

Substitutions Francisco Acuña (68')

Damián Alvarez

Jesús Molina (73')

Manuel Viniegra

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Week 11

Estadio Azul

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Cruz Azul

1 : 0
Final

Toluca

Match Stats | Match Trax

(68') Emanuel Villa
Goals

(45') Horacio Cervantes

(45') Christian Giménez

(65') Waldo Ponce
Cards Osvaldo González (33')

Osvaldo González (45')

Alfredo Talavera (45')

(46') Emanuel Villa

Rogelio Chávez

(46') Alejandro Castro

Gonzalo Pineda

(58') César Villaluz

Isaac Romo

Substitutions Miguel Ángel Centeno (45')

Javier Ayoví

Antonio Ríos (64')

Antonio Naelson Sihna

Isaac Brizuela (74')

Néstor Calderón

Estadio Tecnológico

Expand

Monterrey

2 : 1
Final

America

Match Stats | Match Trax

(48') Walter Ayoví

(70') Darío Carreño
Goals Angel Reyna (88')

(32') José María Basanta

(50') Ricardo Osorio

(58') Walter Ayoví

(85') Darío Carreño
Cards Andrés Olivera (19')

(67') Darío Carreño

Humberto Suazo

(69') Duilio Davino

Hiram Mier

(76') Jesús Zavala

Luis Pérez

Substitutions Patricio Trevino (29')

Matías Vuoso

Pável Pardo (41')

Aquivaldo Mosquera

Enrique Esqueda (52')

Daniel Montenegro

Estadio Jalisco

Expand

Guadalajara

2 : 0
Final

Queretaro

Match Stats | Match Trax

Rutashubanyuma · Mar 23, 2011

Pumas UNAM

0 : 0
Final

Pachuca

Match Stats | Match Trax

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