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[h=2]Newcastle United 3-0 Manchester United[/h] [h=1]Newcastle's Cheik Tioté leaves Wayne Rooney frustrated and forlorn[/h] The Ivorian is the sort of midfield enforcer Manchester United need, especially with their key player under strain

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• • Louise Taylor at St James' Park
    
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 23.45 GMT
  • Article history

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is blocked by Newcastle United's Cheik Tioté. Photograph: John Giles/PA

Alan Pardew says that when he telephoned Sir Alex Ferguson on Tuesday to explain that a scheduled game between their reserve sides had been postponed due to high winds, they were both in "bad tempers".
Adverse results last weekend, exacerbated by spots of bother with No10s, almost certainly explain such mutual ill humour on the part of the Newcastle United and Manchester United managers.
If Ferguson was still simmering about a players' night out, the after‑effects of which prompted him to drop Wayne Rooney for a home defeat against Blackburn Rovers, Pardew was perhaps reflecting on a certain irritation with Hatem Ben Arfa's failure to buy into his game plans.
While Rooney found himself restored to Wednesday night's starting line-up by a manager likely to be still blaming him for ruining his 70th birthday celebrations, Ben Arfa warmed the bench again.
Pardew was said to be distinctly unimpressed after the closest player Newcastle possess to Rooney came out with what grateful reporters regard as a "killer quote" in newspaper interviews on Wednesday.
"Maybe me and the gaffer don't share quite the same philosophy," said Ben Arfa, in the course of a far from accurate complaint that Newcastle's manager plays direct football. Goodness knows what he would say were he ever to find himself working for Sam Allardyce.
For different reasons Rooney and Ferguson, too, have not always been on the same wavelength in recent times. While their frosty moments have tended to centre on non-tactical matters, the team's growing dependence on Rooney has created its own separate strains.
The player, so often asked to serve as a quasi Paul Scholes while still scoring most of United's goals this season, found himself operating very much as a striker here. He was deployed as part of a fluid front three also featuring Dimitar Berbatov and Nani and was liberated from deep-lying obligations to camouflage Ferguson's midfield deficiencies.
In theory this should have allowed him to indulge in some improvisation but Rooney ended the first half simply looking hot and bothered.
If his new hair transplant's resistance to the evening's capricious wind suggested that investment in such an expensive weave may have been worthwhile after all, his increasingly vocal complaints and irritable body language indicated that his recall was definitely not as advertised in the brochure.
Quite a bit before Demba Ba gave Newcastle a fully deserved lead later extended by Yohan Cabaye and Phil Jones's own-goal three reasons for Rooney's mood loomed large. On the odd occasions he did drop deeper in search of possession he was repeatedly interrupted by Cheik Tioté.
Tioté is very much the type of Roy Keane midfield enforcer Ferguson could desperately do with and there was little the outstanding the – along with Ba the key performer in an excellent home display – outstanding Ivorian enjoyed more than dispossessing United's leading scorer. And when Rooney moved nearer Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle's captain delighted in leaving him similarly frustrated.
United's attacking fluency dictated that he was often picked up by Mike Williamson. The defender, only starting due to Steven Taylor's achilles injury, is hardly a household name; indeed Williamson tells a story of being out with his children shortly after joining Newcastle when he was asked for his autograph. "What are you doing Daddy," they inquired. "Why does that man want you to write your name?"
Rooney seemed to find being confronted by Williamson surprisingly stressful, so much so that it was deep into the second period before he saw a shot cleared off the line by Danny Simpson.
By then Danny Welbeck had replaced the extremely disappointing Berbatov, Ferguson having accepted that even Rooney – who briefly relocated far deeper before dutifully shaking his manager's hand after being replaced by Anderson – requires supportive attacking partnerships.
He also needs decent service from behind. Pardew did not exaggerate when he said that, in Tioté and Cabaye, he possessed a central midfield pairing capable of eclipsing their United equivalents.
Like many a No10, Ben Arfa included, Rooney can be high maintenance but, until United reinforce their midfield, Ferguson must expect considerably more moaning from the man he broke United's wage structure to keep. There is little point in having a jewel in the crown if the coronet itself is less than a perfect fit.

[h=2]Forward thinking[/h] Manchester United have struggled to share the goals around this year
Wayne Rooney 16 goals
League 13 goals Champions League 3 goals
Dimitar Berbatov 8 goals
League 6 Champions League 1 Carling Cup 1
Javier Hernández 6 goals
League 6
Nani 6 goals
League 6
Danny Welbeck 6 goals
League 4 Champions League 2
Ryan Giggs 3 goals
League 1 Carling Cup 1 Champions League 1
Ashley Young 3 goals
League 2 Champions League 1
Michael Owen 3 goals
Carling Cup 3
Antonio Valencia 3 goals
League 1 Carling Cup 1 Champions League 1

[h=2]Newcastle United 3-0 Manchester United[/h] [h=1]Newcastle's Cheik Tioté leaves Wayne Rooney frustrated and forlorn[/h] The Ivorian is the sort of midfield enforcer Manchester United need, especially with their key player under strain

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• • Louise Taylor at St James' Park
    
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 23.45 GMT
  • Article history

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is blocked by Newcastle United's Cheik Tioté. Photograph: John Giles/PA

Alan Pardew says that when he telephoned Sir Alex Ferguson on Tuesday to explain that a scheduled game between their reserve sides had been postponed due to high winds, they were both in "bad tempers".
Adverse results last weekend, exacerbated by spots of bother with No10s, almost certainly explain such mutual ill humour on the part of the Newcastle United and Manchester United managers.
If Ferguson was still simmering about a players' night out, the after‑effects of which prompted him to drop Wayne Rooney for a home defeat against Blackburn Rovers, Pardew was perhaps reflecting on a certain irritation with Hatem Ben Arfa's failure to buy into his game plans.
While Rooney found himself restored to Wednesday night's starting line-up by a manager likely to be still blaming him for ruining his 70th birthday celebrations, Ben Arfa warmed the bench again.
Pardew was said to be distinctly unimpressed after the closest player Newcastle possess to Rooney came out with what grateful reporters regard as a "killer quote" in newspaper interviews on Wednesday.
"Maybe me and the gaffer don't share quite the same philosophy," said Ben Arfa, in the course of a far from accurate complaint that Newcastle's manager plays direct football. Goodness knows what he would say were he ever to find himself working for Sam Allardyce.
For different reasons Rooney and Ferguson, too, have not always been on the same wavelength in recent times. While their frosty moments have tended to centre on non-tactical matters, the team's growing dependence on Rooney has created its own separate strains.
The player, so often asked to serve as a quasi Paul Scholes while still scoring most of United's goals this season, found himself operating very much as a striker here. He was deployed as part of a fluid front three also featuring Dimitar Berbatov and Nani and was liberated from deep-lying obligations to camouflage Ferguson's midfield deficiencies.
In theory this should have allowed him to indulge in some improvisation but Rooney ended the first half simply looking hot and bothered.
If his new hair transplant's resistance to the evening's capricious wind suggested that investment in such an expensive weave may have been worthwhile after all, his increasingly vocal complaints and irritable body language indicated that his recall was definitely not as advertised in the brochure.
Quite a bit before Demba Ba gave Newcastle a fully deserved lead later extended by Yohan Cabaye and Phil Jones's own-goal three reasons for Rooney's mood loomed large. On the odd occasions he did drop deeper in search of possession he was repeatedly interrupted by Cheik Tioté.
Tioté is very much the type of Roy Keane midfield enforcer Ferguson could desperately do with and there was little the outstanding the – along with Ba the key performer in an excellent home display – outstanding Ivorian enjoyed more than dispossessing United's leading scorer. And when Rooney moved nearer Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle's captain delighted in leaving him similarly frustrated.
United's attacking fluency dictated that he was often picked up by Mike Williamson. The defender, only starting due to Steven Taylor's achilles injury, is hardly a household name; indeed Williamson tells a story of being out with his children shortly after joining Newcastle when he was asked for his autograph. "What are you doing Daddy," they inquired. "Why does that man want you to write your name?"
Rooney seemed to find being confronted by Williamson surprisingly stressful, so much so that it was deep into the second period before he saw a shot cleared off the line by Danny Simpson.
By then Danny Welbeck had replaced the extremely disappointing Berbatov, Ferguson having accepted that even Rooney – who briefly relocated far deeper before dutifully shaking his manager's hand after being replaced by Anderson – requires supportive attacking partnerships.
He also needs decent service from behind. Pardew did not exaggerate when he said that, in Tioté and Cabaye, he possessed a central midfield pairing capable of eclipsing their United equivalents.
Like many a No10, Ben Arfa included, Rooney can be high maintenance but, until United reinforce their midfield, Ferguson must expect considerably more moaning from the man he broke United's wage structure to keep. There is little point in having a jewel in the crown if the coronet itself is less than a perfect fit.

[h=2]Forward thinking[/h] Manchester United have struggled to share the goals around this year
Wayne Rooney 16 goals
League 13 goals Champions League 3 goals
Dimitar Berbatov 8 goals
League 6 Champions League 1 Carling Cup 1
Javier Hernández 6 goals
League 6
Nani 6 goals
League 6
Danny Welbeck 6 goals
League 4 Champions League 2
Ryan Giggs 3 goals
League 1 Carling Cup 1 Champions League 1
Ashley Young 3 goals
League 2 Champions League 1
Michael Owen 3 goals
Carling Cup 3
Antonio Valencia 3 goals
League 1 Carling Cup 1 Champions League 1

[h=1]Luis Suárez apologises but Liverpool still face criticism in race row[/h] • 'If this word offends anyone then I want to apologise'
• Liverpool believe disciplinary system is flawed

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• The Guardian, Thursday 5 January 2012
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Luis Suárez insists he never used the word 'negro' in a derogatory way in his clash with Patrice Evra. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

Luis Suárez has issued a qualified apology for saying "negro" during his confrontation with Patrice Evra at Anfield and maintained he used the word once and not in the derogatory manner that resulted in an eight-match ban plus £40,000 fine for racist abuse.
The Liverpool striker was found to have used the word "negro" or "negros" seven times during his row with the Manchester United defender by an independent regulatory commission and missed the club's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday having decided not to appeal against his subsequent punishment.
Both Suárez and Liverpool have been widely condemned for their reaction to the commission's verdict. The Anfield club released two statements that questioned the integrity of the Football Association and Evra, while their players and manager, Kenny Dalglish, wore T‑shirts in support of Suárez at Wigan Athletic and the Uruguay international showed no contrition when reluctantly commencing his ban despite stating, on 7 November, that whoever was found to be "in the wrong" would have to apologise.
An apology finally came on Wednesday, though not directly to Evra, five days after the commission's findings were made public in a 115-page document. Suárez said: "I admitted to the commission that I said a word in Spanish once, and only once, and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on a football pitch in England. I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologise for that."
Liverpool remain fully supportive of Suárez's claim that he addressed Evra in "a conciliatory and friendly way" during the 1-1 draw with United, even though the commission described their defence that cultural differences led to a misunderstanding between the pair as "simply incredible given that the players were engaged in an acrimonious argument", and despite the threat to their reputation. The club's principal owner, John W Henry, and chairman, Tom Werner, have been in frequent contact with Dalglish and other Anfield officials throughout the controversy and are united behind their manager's stance.
While accepting Suárez's punishment, albeit reluctantly and with little prospect of overturning the length of the striker's ban, Anfield officials remain aggrieved at the procedures that led to the guilty verdict and intend to hold talks with the FA over changing the disciplinary process for future cases. There is also a possibility, albeit slim, of the club requesting an inquiry into how the commission reached its conclusions, although this would not affect Suárez's spell on the sidelines.
Liverpool believe a commission that is appointed by the FA and decides on the "flexible civil standard of the balance of probability" for a charge as serious as racist abuse to be major weaknesses that need rectifying. Dalglish, speaking in the aftermath of the defeat at the Etihad Stadium to Manchester City on Tuesday, claimed: "There's a lot of things we'd like to say and a lot we could say but we would only get ourselves in trouble." He also referred to evidence submitted at the four-day hearing in December that was "not in the report and that's important for us".
That is believed to refer to Liverpool's contention that Evra was guided through his witness statements by the FA while being allowed to watch footage of his confrontation with Suárez. The United defender did not, for example, recall being pinched by Suárez until after a review of the incident and that action formed a large part of the case against the Uruguayan.
The Liverpool striker's request to study the same footage while submitting his statement, his club alleges, was refused. Suárez was subsequently described as giving "unreliable" and "inconsistent" evidence by the commission while Evra changed his initial allegation of being labelled a "nigger" by Suárez 10 times, and was deemed a credible witness.
Liverpool also claim that many of their submissions were dismissed by the commission or not included in the 115-page document compiled by Paul Goulding QC. That prompted the allegation from the club on Tuesday "that the Football Association and the panel it selected constructed a highly subjective case against Luis Suárez".
Suárez confessed to using the word "negro" to the match officials at Anfield after the game on 15 October and before Liverpool issued their first robust defence of the striker. Liverpool's stance, that their £22.8m signing from Ajax is not guilty of racist abuse, despite his admission to using the word once and the commission's detailed findings, has continued to attract criticism, with Blackburn Rovers' Jason Roberts accusing the Anfield club of setting a bad example. The striker, who has campaigned for Kick It Out, said: "Liverpool's stance of saying he's done nothing wrong goes against the spirit of our league. When you read the report, it's quite ugly. To use those words in that tone and context is certainly not acceptable in our leagues. It's not good enough to say: 'It's OK where I come from, so we do it here.' That's not the way we judge our society or the Premier League. They were ugly scenes and I'm worried that kids would have seen this. This is something that has to be told to everyone – it's not tolerated, especially in our leagues, as diverse as they are."

Luis not sincere if you offer apologies you do not lace them with personal defences.......

[h=1]Kenny Dalglish's touch deserts him in case of misplaced solidarity[/h] The Luis Suárez affair has tested the judgment of a manager who is the embodiment of Liverpool FC

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• • Richard Williams
    
  • The Guardian, Thursday 5 January 2012
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Kenny Dalglish has stood by Luis Suárez even after the FA's independent commission found against the Liverpool striker. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

No wonder Liverpool people sometimes feel isolated and victimised. Only last week the release of government papers under the 30-year rule revealed that in 1981, in the wake of the Toxteth riots, the chancellor of the exchequer, Sir Geoffrey Howe, suggested to Margaret Thatcher and their cabinet colleagues that the troubled city was a hopeless case and should be allowed to fall into a state of "managed decline". Hardly surprising, then, that when a figurehead like Kenny Dalglish comes along, offering solidarity and the comfort of a certain kind of indisputable success to a section of Merseyside, they rally to his standard.
As he celebrates the first anniversary of his return to the manager's office at Liverpool Football Club this weekend, Dalglish can see himself as the living embodiment of his club to a degree perhaps achieved by no other figure in the history of the English game. The events of the last few days, and perhaps most of all his extraordinary statements after the defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday night, served only to cement his special place in the affections of Liverpool's supporters.
There have always been two ways of looking at the Luis Suárez affair: Liverpool's way, which is also to say Dalglish's way, and the rest of the world's. Never has a football club chosen to estrange itself so thoroughly from the opinion of the rest of the nation. Outsiders simply cannot understand why the club should go on piling sandbags against the doorway even as the foundations of the bunker are being undermined, defending what an official judgment has now deemed to be the indefensible. On Wednesday Suárez issued another brief statement that managed to express a form of regret without coming close to being a genuine apology.
Dalglish, a great player for the club from 1977 to 1985, its player-manager from 1985 to 1991, and its manager once again for the past 12 months, nailed his colours to the mast of Suárez's defence from the outset and showed no signs of modifying his stance either when the guilty verdict was announced three weeks ago or when the 115 pages of the findings of the FA's independent commission of inquiry were published last week. Showing the kind of unconditional support for the player that might normally be expected from a parent, a close friend or even a team-mate, he seemed to be presenting the view from the dressing room rather than adopting the more reflective approach that might have been expected from someone at the head of a large organisation with an employee whose conduct had been subjected to the sporting equivalent of a police charge.
Given what we know of the Liverpool manager's nature, it is hard to suppress the feeling that this affair may be as much about Dalglish versus Sir Alex Ferguson, and Liverpool versus Manchester United, as Suárez versus Evra and the FA. The rivalry between Anfield and Old Trafford exists at a special level of intensity, heightened last year when Manchester United finally fulfilled Ferguson's promise to eclipse Liverpool's record of 18 league titles, 12 of United's 19 having come with Sir Alex at the helm. Dalglish's readiness to stand up and defy the man at the other end of the East Lancs Road is among the factors that bind the supporters to his leadership.
His presence during virtually all the major dramas studding the club's history over the past three and a half decades – all except the miracle in Istanbul, perhaps – gives the 60-year-old Glaswegian a special place, perhaps a unique one, in the supporters' hearts, making him the only true heir to the kingdom established by Bill Shankly and consolidated by Bob Paisley. There was glory when he won three European Cups and five league championships as a player and then guided them to three more league titles as player-manager, including their last to date, in 1989-90. But he also played in the 1985 European Cup final at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, which took place while 39 Juventus supporters lay dead or dying, and was managing the side four years later when 96 of their own supporters perished in the Hillsborough disaster. The degree of pastoral care he displayed in the aftermath of the latter tragedy, attending many of the funerals with a sombre dignity that was found to be affecting far beyond the boundaries of the club and the city, set a standard for behaviour in such circumstances.
Yet he has not always been beyond reproach in his dealings with the outside world, where his surliness with strangers and a willingness to make others look foolish are not always seen as endearing, and in recent days he has struck a series of discordant notes. Indicating his support of Suárez via Twitter after the verdict was announced, his paraphrase of the words of the club's famous hymn – "Let's not let him walk alone," he tweeted – seemed to outsiders to represent a cheap exploitation of the song's noble sentiment. He was criticised for allowing his players to warm up for a match in T-shirts proclaiming a collective belief in the player's innocence. And on Tuesday night his barefaced refusal to accept the commission's report appeared to fly in the face not just of a willingness to live by the law but of sheer common sense.
Asked to comment on the findings after the match in Manchester, he chose to reopen the dispute over what Suárez had meant when he addressed Patrice Evra using the word "negro". When a reporter pointed out that the commission had noted that it was "simply incredible" to suggest that the word was not used in an offensive way when the two players were clearly arguing, Dalglish responded: "There's a lot of things we'd like to say and a lot we could say but we'd only get ourselves into trouble. But we know what has gone on. We know what's not in the report and that's important for us." Later he added: "It's unfortunate that we can't be more forthcoming." Surely if he felt that a procedural injustice had been committed, which was apparently the subtext of his words, he should have said so.
If he had read the entire report, he showed no signs of recognising the scrupulous care with which it had been put together by Paul Goulding QC, Brian Jones and Denis Smith. Producing their tour de force of forensic investigation after 40 hours of listening to and evaluating evidence, during which they paid equal attention to Evra's accusations and Liverpool's clumsily handled defence, the members of the commission went to great lengths to explain the nature of the burden of proof in a case such as this, and how it differed from that in a criminal trial; the work they had done, with the assistance of various experts in linguistics, to establish the varieties of nuance that may be contained in the use of the epithet "negro"; and the reasons why, having reached the conclusion that Suárez's testimony was unreliable, they felt able to find him guilty.
By choosing simply to take Suárez at his word, and ignoring the assembly of evidence in the case, Dalglish showed himself to be capable of an immaturity surprising in a man of such experience, making him appear a less substantial figure than the one who demonstrated such a sure touch as he placed a blanket of consolation over the victims following the tragic events of 15 April 1989.
Not that he has lost an iota of stature with his Liverpool constituency, whose outpourings of faith in Suárez and diatribes against everyone outside the club have been considerably augmented in volume and intensity by the use of social media. Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere now allow the loudest – or at least the most numerous – voices to have the biggest say in many arenas, and nowhere more so than in football. And it should not be thought that he has been acting without the knowledge and approval of the club's owners, John W Henry, Tom Werner and the Fenway Sports Group, who are said to have been kept in touch at every stage.
Dalglish's own use of Twitter to communicate his feelings about the verdict exemplifies his ability to speak directly to supporters who feel that their idol is one of them. It was no surprise when he was welcomed back with such delirious joy last January. His return, combined with the arrival of new owners, seemed to blow away the miasma created by the toxic regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, which reached its nadir with the sacking of Rafael Benítez and the short, unhappy reign of Roy Hodgson. "Dal-glish! Dal-glish!" the Kop roared, convinced that he was the only man capable of putting an end to a period of humiliation and making them champions of England once again.
And so they stand together, drawn by even tighter bonds as they rage against the world, by no means unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the experience of fighting for justice, even if on this occasion it is a justice only they can perceive.

16 Oct after Patrice Evra's allegation
"I can only say I have always respected everybody. We are all the same. I go to the field with the illusion of a little child who enjoys what he does, not to create conflicts"
8 Nov to Uruguayan media
"There is no evidence I said anything racist to him. There were two parts of the discussion, one in Spanish, one in English. I did not insult him. It was just a way of expressing myself. I called him something his team-mates at Manchester call him"
20 Dec after FA verdict
"Today is a very difficult and painful day for both me and my family. Thanks for all the support"
3 Jan after decision not to appeal
"Never have I had any racial problem with a team-mate or individual who was of a different race or colour to mine. I am very upset by all the things which have been said during the last few weeks about me, all of them being very far from the truth. I will carry out the suspension with the resignation of someone who hasn't done anything wrong"
4 Jan issuing apology
"I admitted to the Commission that I said a word in Spanish once, and only once, and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on a football pitch in England. I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologise for that"

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[TD="class: contentheading, width: 100%"]Pep Guardiola hatihati Barcelona [/TD]
[TD="class: buttonheading, width: 100%, align: right"] Send to a friend [/TD]
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[TD="class: createdate"] Wednesday, 04 January 2012 20:31 [/TD]
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BARCELONA, Hispania
KOCHA wa klabu ya Barcelona, Pep Guardiola amesema bado hafahamu kama ataongeza mkataba wa kuendelea kukinoa kikosi cha Barcelona.

"Bado sijachukua uamuzi, kama ningekuwa nimefanya hivyo raisi wa klabu angekuwa anafahamu,"alisema Guardiola.

Guardiola ametwaa mataji 13 tangu alipoanza kuinoa Barcelona 2008, yakiwapo mataji mawili ya Ligi ya Mabingwa Ulaya na mataji matatatu mfululizo ya ubingwa wa Ligi Kuu ya Hispania, La Liga.

Kocha Guardiola, 40, mkataba wake unaisha mwisho wa msimu huu hivyo kitendo chake cha kuchelewa kusaini mkataba mpya wa kuendelea kuifundisha Barcelona umezua taarifa kwamba kocha huyo anataka kuhama Barcelona wakati klabu yake ikiwa katika kiwango cha juu cha mafanikio.

Katika siku za hivi karibuni amekuwa akitajwa kocha wa Athletic Bilbao, Marcelo Bielsa ndiye atachukua nafasi ya kukinoa kikosi cha Barcelona kama Guardiola akiondoka.

Kocha Guradiola alipoulizwa kama anataka kumrithi kocha Alex Feruguson katika kukinoa kikosi cha Manchester United, Guardiola alisema anaamini bado Ferguson ana uwezo wa kuendelea kukinoa kikosi cha Manchester United.[/TD]
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• Sport
• Football
• Sir Alex Ferguson

[h=2]Newcastle United 3-0 Manchester United[/h] [h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson admits it's advantage to City but refuses to panic[/h] • United still stare at three-point gap with leaders
• Champions rocked by Newcastle's sense of adventure

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• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 23.50 GMT
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Sir Alex Ferguson's team were well-beaten at St James' Park. Photograph: Graham Stuart/AFP/Getty Images

Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that the ball is back in Manchester City's court after his Manchester United side lost 3-0 at Newcastle United on Wednesday night. With his team still three points behind City and having suffered a second successive defeat, the Scot was calmly candid when it came to assessing the title race.
"Advantage to them [City], of course," Ferguson said. "We had the opportunity – we were playing tonight, they played last night; they won theirs, we lost ours. So its advantage to them. It's not the time to panic – we have the experience to cope with that." United now go to City for an FA Cup third-round tie on Sunday.
Ferguson praised Newcastle, who took a two-goal lead courtesy of fine goals from Demba Ba – his 15th of the season – and Yohan Cabaye, before Phil Jones contributed a late own goal. "The story of the game was two fantastic strikes which put Newcastle in the driving seat," said United's manager. "We didn't make enough of our possession."
Ferguson had dropped his goalkeeper David de Gea and replaced him with Anders Lindegaard, who had previously kept clean sheets in all his five league games for United, but the manager absolved the Dane from any blame.
Alan Pardew, Newcastle's manager, kept a pre‑match promise to attack Ferguson's side and was rewarded with a victory which revives his team's hopes of Europa League qualification.
"We won because we controlled the game. They had a lot of balance in their team but we didn't let them play and we deserved to beat the champions," said Pardew. "We took a big gamble with our high line but by pressing them we broke up their play so many times. We took a physical risk in that at the back we were sometimes two versus two, but we could cope with it.
"It's interesting that when we sat off Manchester United for about four minutes they had two chances. We got a great victory because we sat on them all night and were aggressive. It's a fantastic victory and I'm so proud of the players, but my job now is to make sure we don't get carried away."
Newcastle's manager reserved special praise for Ba and Cheik Tiote. Unfortunately for Newcastle the Senegal striker and the Ivorian enforcer are now on the point of departing for the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and both will be much missed.
"Cheik and Demba were probably our two outstanding players," he said. "We're going to miss them for the next month or so. I can't hide that. But we've got some other very good players here and we want to build on tonight. We were due to turn one of the top teams over; this is a great start to the new year."

Title race is still wide open for at least six teams.........

[h=1]Thursday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]

TRANSFER GOSSIP
Aston Villa have said that striker Darren Bent is not for sale at any price, despite continued interest from Liverpool.
Full story: talkSPORT
However, Villa could make a sensational move for Chelsea forward Didier Drogba as they prepare to receive January bids for their own star striking asset Bent.
Full story: Goal.com
Striker Thierry Henry's loan deal to Arsenal has hit a problem over his proposed return date to New York Red Bulls.
Full story: Metro
Chelsea's hopes of signing Gary Cahill are under threat because the Bolton defender is upset his negotiations over personal terms have been made public.
Full story: London Evening Standard
Meanwhile, the Blues are lining up £12m move for Marseille right-back Cesar Azpilicueta.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Manchester City are believed to be planning a swoop for Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi - but only if striker Carlos Tevez exits Eastlands before the end of January.
Full story: Manchester Evening News
Blackburn midfielder Mauro Formica says he has been denied a loan move to his former club Newell's Old Boys in Argentina.
Full story: Daily Mail
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are going head-to-head in the race to sign Lille striker Moussa Sow.
Full story: talkSPORT
QPR have reportedly bid £3m for Aston Villa defender James Collins and £2.5m for Man City defender Nedum Onuoha.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Fulham's attempt to bring Calcio Catania striker Maxi Lopez to Craven Cottage may be derailed by the Argentine's desire to keep playing top-flight football in Italy.
Full story: London Evening Standard
Chelsea, Aston Villa and Malaga are reportedly keeping an eye on out-of-favour Borussia Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios.
Full story: Bild (in German)
Tottenham's pursuit of Blackburn defender Christopher Samba has been boosted by the news that Rovers boss Steve Kean must sell to finance any major January moves.
Full story: Daily Express
Liverpool have joined Paris St Germain and Marseille in the hunt for Sunderland midfielder Stephane Sessegnon, amid reports that the 27-year-old is unsettled in the North East.
Full story: Metro
Chelsea are believed to be watching £35m-rated Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, with a view to a possible transfer.
Full story: Daily Mail
Swansea are poised to tie up three new signings - and manager Brendan Rodgers is also hoping to add a fourth new face at the Liberty Stadium.
Full story: South Wales Evening Post
Liverpool may enter the race to sign FC Twente's highly rated 21-year-old striker Luuk De Jong but will face hefty competition from Tottenham and Chelsea.
Full story: Footybunker

Page last updated at 00:18 GMT, Thursday, 5 January 2012
Newcastle heap pressure on Man Utd

Manchester United's title challenge suffers another blow after they are beaten 3-0 by Newcastle at the Sports Direct Arena.
Pardew hails 'good night'

Ferguson credits 'fantastic goals'

Man Utd will not panic - Ferguson
The action as it happened


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Would a winter break make a difference?

Do Germany's players have an advantage over England?

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Premier League table
Wednesday, 4 January 2012 21:56 UK
[TABLE="class: indextable"]
[TR="class: header"]
[TD="class: c1"] [/TD]
[TD="class: c2"] [/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]P[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]GD[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]PTS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Man City[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]40[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]48[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Man Utd[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]29[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]45[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Tottenham[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]19[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]16[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]42[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Chelsea[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]14[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]37[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 15"]

---

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Arsenal[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]8[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]36[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 15"]

---

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]6[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Liverpool[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]6[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]34[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]7[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Newcastle[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]8[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Stoke[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-9[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]9[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Norwich[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-5[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]25[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]10[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Sunderland[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]24[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]11[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Everton[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]19[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-2[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]24[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]12[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Swansea[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-3[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]13[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Aston Villa[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-4[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]14[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Fulham[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-4[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]15[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]West Brom[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-9[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]22[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]16[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Wolves[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-14[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]17[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]QPR[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-16[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 15"]

---

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]18[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Bolton[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-18[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r2"]
[TD="class: c1"]19[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Wigan[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-23[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]15[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: r1"]
[TD="class: c1"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c2"]Blackburn[/TD]
[TD="class: c3"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: c4"]-14[/TD]
[TD="class: c5"]14[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[h=2]Manchester City v Manchester United, 1pm Sunday 8 January[/h] [h=1]Roberto Mancini laments Manchester City's refusal to buy new players[/h] • Manager has one fit striker and two central midfielders
• City could struggle to fill bench for FA Cup tie with United

• • reddit this

• Daniel Taylor
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 23.00 GMT
• Article history

Roberto Mancini wants to sign at least one and ideally three new players. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/EPA

Roberto Mancini has raised his first concerns about the new spending restrictions placed on him by Manchester City, after revealing that he could have only one striker and two fully fit central midfielders available for the FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester United on Sunday.
Mancini's plans have been disrupted after Ivory Coast reneged on an agreement and informed City that they want Yaya and Kolo Touré to report for the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.
Mario Balotelli has been ruled out with an ankle injury and with Gareth Barry suspended and Edin Dzeko receiving treatment for a knee problem, the richest club on the planet are in the incongruous position of struggling to fill their substitutes' bench for a Cup tie that will bring together the Premier League's first- and second-placed teams.
Mancini wants to bring in at least one new signing this month – and ideally three – but the Italian manager has discovered over the past few weeks that City are unwilling to provide the necessary money, because their last financial figures revealed an annual loss of nearly £200m. At first, Mancini was led to believe the club could buy as long as they sold first but that position has altered and the Italian is starting to fear that he may be denied funding even if the club manage to sell the Argentina striker Carlos Tevez for more than £20m.
"For Sunday, we have 17 players and I don't think we will fill the bench," he said. "In January – and I said this two months ago – we could have a big problem. We play four important league games, big games, without Yaya. If we have strikers injured then we need to buy another and at the moment I have only one striker [Sergio Agüero]. So I have one striker and only two [central] midfielders [James Milner and Nigel de Jong]. We are losing two players for a month and if we lose another we are going to need more players."
Mancini clearly intended to send a message to City's acting chief executive, John MacBeath, at a time when his team have moved three points clear of United at the top of the league. Mancini wants to sign Daniele De Rossi from Roma, knowing that the Italy international may be available for as little as £5m because he will be out of contract in the summer. However, De Rossi's salary requirements have been described as "Tevez-level" and Uefa's incoming financial fair play regulations have put immense pressure on City to reduce their costs.
Mancini, who also said that the midfielder Samir Nasri is doubtful for the United match, because of the illness that ruled him out of Tuesday's win over Liverpool, was asked if it had been made clear to him that he had no money to spend.
"Yes, yes, this is the problem," he said. "But if we don't have the players, it's tough for us. We are not United. United and Chelsea have won trophies for many years. This could be our first championship for many years and we need to do everything we can to win it. We could take in one player. We have been at the top since the start of the season and deserve it, until now. But the season is long and it will be hard.
"We have a problem because Yaya is an important player for us. Kolo is different because we have eight defenders and if we are lucky and don't have injuries I don't think we will have a big problem. But in midfield we have a big problem and, for Sunday, we have only two players there."
This indicates that Mancini still does not have enough faith in the fitness of Owen Hargreaves to use him as anything more than a substitute and it is beginning to look as if the former United midfielder will not be offered a new deal at the end of the season.
Mancini's complaints about depleted resources are unlikely to find any sympathy at United, where Sir Alex Ferguson was missing 15 players through injury or illness at one stage in the Christmas period. Mancini, however, believes that the long list of absentees at Old Trafford reinforces his case that City need more players, arguing that his team would not be able to cope if they were to experience similar problems.

[h=1]Liverpool seek talks with Manchester United over Luis Suárez affair[/h] • Liverpool keen on talks before 11 February fixture
• Uruguayan could return after ban at Old Trafford

• • reddit this

• Andy Hunter
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 22.30 GMT
• Article history

The executive director of European football's anti-discrimination body, Fare, has criticised Kenny Dalglish for his support of Luis Suárez. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

Liverpool officials are to request top-level talks with their Manchester United counterparts, in an attempt to defuse tensions before the two clubs meet at Old Trafford on 11 February. That match is likely to be Luis Suárez's first away from Anfield after his eight-match ban for racially abusing the United defender Patrice Evra.
Kenny Dalglish has no reservations about picking Suárez to start against United, despite his concern over the treatment the Uruguay international may receive from opposition supporters once his suspension has been served. Beyond matters on the pitch, however, there is a realisation at Anfield that the potential for trouble will be greater than usual when the north-west rivals meet, given the fallout from the Suárez affair and therefore a need to respond.
Relations between the clubs, like those between Liverpool and the Football Association, have suffered badly since the 1-1 draw at Anfield on 15 October. Liverpool's staunch defence of a player who has admitted using the Spanish word negro once during his row with Evra, but was found guilty of using it or negros seven times by an independent regulatory commission, has been viewed by many as the root cause. Liverpool have cast doubt on Evra's integrity and are adamant that Suárez has been punished for a cultural misunderstanding and his honesty in admitting to using the word when first presented with Evra's accusation, immediately after the match in October.
Nevertheless, and having accepted Suárez's ban, Liverpool accept a responsibility to reduce potential flashpoints at Old Trafford next month and intend to contact United on the issue. Liverpool officials are exploring what actions can be taken before the game and there has been no approach to United yet. Talks may even take place at ownership level, where Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, and chairman, Tom Werner, have been closely involved in the club's stance throughout the affair. The Premier League is prepared to mediate, if called upon. United are open to the prospect of working with Liverpool and will assess any proposals that are made.
Liverpool will also use Suárez's suspension period to discuss with the FA not only the procedures that led to the striker's eight-match ban, which the Anfield club believe to be deeply flawed, but measures that can be taken to aid the 24-year-old's return to the game. The independent regulatory commission and Evra both accepted that Suarez is not a racist and Liverpool believe sanctions should be brought against clubs whose supporters brand him as such.
Their priority with the FA, however, the integrity of which Liverpool have also questioned, is to instigate changes to a system that currently sees the commission members appointed by the FA and given the power to find a player guilty of racist abuse on the balance of probability.
Liverpool's handling of the entire episode has continued to attract fierce criticism and Piara Powar, the executive director of European football's anti-discrimination body, Fare, believes the FA should charge the club with bringing the game into disrepute. He said Dalglish had been "undignified" in his vehement support of Suárez and that Liverpool's reaction had damaged their image across the world.
"This is a lack of respect for the governing body by Liverpool and the FA should charge Liverpool FC and Kenny Dalglish," Powar said. "I think the FA should come back now and be very clear that Liverpool could be construed to have brought the game into disrepute by the way in which they have consistently undermined the judgment and by Kenny Dalglish's comments. Liverpool have been too keen to support their man and in doing so have whipped up a sense of paranoia amongst their fans. This is not the Liverpool FC that we have applauded in the past for their support for a whole range of issues. The responses from Kenny Dalglish have been undignified; the way in which they have dealt with the whole matter has been unprofessional. For the club to so aggressively militate against what looks to most people a considered judgment from the FA leads to a potential for anarchy."
The FA is not expected to charge Liverpool but Powar said the club had suffered for its hardline stance on Suárez. He added: "They have damaged their brand, no question. There is no question that Liverpool do have a global appeal, but I have emails from colleagues in Africa asking me what the hell is going on. I think people will be watching this and I believe there is no question that their plans for global expansion will have been damaged by this. That's not to say they cannot come back from this but it has done them a lot of damage and they have not conducted themselves in a very palatable way."
Dalglish, who with Manchester City is interested in Birmingham City's 17-year-old midfielder Nathan Redmond, said Friday's FA Cup third-round tie at home to Oldham Athletic offers welcome respite after a troubled week for the club. The Liverpool manager said: "To get back on the pitch after the week we've had on and off it is the best thing we can do. It'll be a great time too for our people to show support for one another – for the players to show their gratitude towards the fans for the support they've given us recently, and also vice versa."

[h=1]Liverpool seek talks with Manchester United over Luis Suárez affair[/h] • Liverpool keen on talks before 11 February fixture
• Uruguayan could return after ban at Old Trafford

• • reddit this

• Andy Hunter
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 22.30 GMT
• Article history

The executive director of European football's anti-discrimination body, Fare, has criticised Kenny Dalglish for his support of Luis Suárez. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

Liverpool officials are to request top-level talks with their Manchester United counterparts, in an attempt to defuse tensions before the two clubs meet at Old Trafford on 11 February. That match is likely to be Luis Suárez's first away from Anfield after his eight-match ban for racially abusing the United defender Patrice Evra.
Kenny Dalglish has no reservations about picking Suárez to start against United, despite his concern over the treatment the Uruguay international may receive from opposition supporters once his suspension has been served. Beyond matters on the pitch, however, there is a realisation at Anfield that the potential for trouble will be greater than usual when the north-west rivals meet, given the fallout from the Suárez affair and therefore a need to respond.
Relations between the clubs, like those between Liverpool and the Football Association, have suffered badly since the 1-1 draw at Anfield on 15 October. Liverpool's staunch defence of a player who has admitted using the Spanish word negro once during his row with Evra, but was found guilty of using it or negros seven times by an independent regulatory commission, has been viewed by many as the root cause. Liverpool have cast doubt on Evra's integrity and are adamant that Suárez has been punished for a cultural misunderstanding and his honesty in admitting to using the word when first presented with Evra's accusation, immediately after the match in October.
Nevertheless, and having accepted Suárez's ban, Liverpool accept a responsibility to reduce potential flashpoints at Old Trafford next month and intend to contact United on the issue. Liverpool officials are exploring what actions can be taken before the game and there has been no approach to United yet. Talks may even take place at ownership level, where Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, and chairman, Tom Werner, have been closely involved in the club's stance throughout the affair. The Premier League is prepared to mediate, if called upon. United are open to the prospect of working with Liverpool and will assess any proposals that are made.
Liverpool will also use Suárez's suspension period to discuss with the FA not only the procedures that led to the striker's eight-match ban, which the Anfield club believe to be deeply flawed, but measures that can be taken to aid the 24-year-old's return to the game. The independent regulatory commission and Evra both accepted that Suarez is not a racist and Liverpool believe sanctions should be brought against clubs whose supporters brand him as such.
Their priority with the FA, however, the integrity of which Liverpool have also questioned, is to instigate changes to a system that currently sees the commission members appointed by the FA and given the power to find a player guilty of racist abuse on the balance of probability.
Liverpool's handling of the entire episode has continued to attract fierce criticism and Piara Powar, the executive director of European football's anti-discrimination body, Fare, believes the FA should charge the club with bringing the game into disrepute. He said Dalglish had been "undignified" in his vehement support of Suárez and that Liverpool's reaction had damaged their image across the world.
"This is a lack of respect for the governing body by Liverpool and the FA should charge Liverpool FC and Kenny Dalglish," Powar said. "I think the FA should come back now and be very clear that Liverpool could be construed to have brought the game into disrepute by the way in which they have consistently undermined the judgment and by Kenny Dalglish's comments. Liverpool have been too keen to support their man and in doing so have whipped up a sense of paranoia amongst their fans. This is not the Liverpool FC that we have applauded in the past for their support for a whole range of issues. The responses from Kenny Dalglish have been undignified; the way in which they have dealt with the whole matter has been unprofessional. For the club to so aggressively militate against what looks to most people a considered judgment from the FA leads to a potential for anarchy."
The FA is not expected to charge Liverpool but Powar said the club had suffered for its hardline stance on Suárez. He added: "They have damaged their brand, no question. There is no question that Liverpool do have a global appeal, but I have emails from colleagues in Africa asking me what the hell is going on. I think people will be watching this and I believe there is no question that their plans for global expansion will have been damaged by this. That's not to say they cannot come back from this but it has done them a lot of damage and they have not conducted themselves in a very palatable way."
Dalglish, who with Manchester City is interested in Birmingham City's 17-year-old midfielder Nathan Redmond, said Friday's FA Cup third-round tie at home to Oldham Athletic offers welcome respite after a troubled week for the club. The Liverpool manager said: "To get back on the pitch after the week we've had on and off it is the best thing we can do. It'll be a great time too for our people to show support for one another – for the players to show their gratitude towards the fans for the support they've given us recently, and also vice versa."

[h=1]Neil Warnock could face charge for criticism of FA commission verdict[/h] • FA rejected QPR's appeal against Joey Barton's dismissal
• Warnock said FA's disciplinary process is 'farcical'

• • reddit this

• Jamie Jackson
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 13.23 GMT
• Article history

Neil Warnock attacked the FA's decision to uphold the red card shown to Joey Barton in QPR's match against Norwich. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

The Football Association will decide on Friday if Neil Warnock should face a charge for his attack on its disciplinary commission, after the Queens Park Rangers manager described the decision to uphold Joey Barton's red card "farcical" and "scandalous".
The FA will examine video footage and consider the context of Warnock's comments, which relate to Barton being dismissed in the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Norwich City at Loftus Road on Monday, when he was adjudged by the referee, Neil Swarbrick, to have butted Bradley Johnson. Warnock said of the decision to turn down his captain's appeal: "I am not surprised, but it is difficult to accept when you see what [Clint] Dempsey did in comparison with Joey Barton. It is farcical, isn't it?"
Replays showed that Barton had moved his head towards Johnson but he appeared to make little contact. On Twitter, Barton complained that the officials had been "conned", and posted a video link to an incident involving Fulham's Dempsey and Liverpool's Craig Bellamy, in which the American made a similar movement but was only booked.
QPR appealed but the FA ruled on Wednesday that the red card should stand, meaning Barton must now serve a three-match suspension.
Warnock continued his attack by saying: "Whenever you see something happen on the field of play that warrants a red card, if the linesman sees that offence they flag and flag until the referee goes towards him, tells him what he has seen and then the lad is sent off. Now this linesman carried on and on and on and would not have stopped if Joey Barton had got the ball, gone past a few players and whacked it in the far post. If he did see it, why did he not flag immediately and keep his flag up?
"When you get people like [the former referees] Graham Poll, who is not my biggest fan, and Dermot Gallagher, supporting what I am saying then the three people on the commission go against that, I just think it is scandalous but I am not surprised.
"Am I surprised Frank Lampard commits a horrendous challenge [against Wolves] and Peter Walton gives him a yellow card? If that had been Joey, [Karl] Henry or any Tom, Dick and Harry, would that have been a red card or a yellow card? There would have been a lynching of them."
Warnock also queried the choice of referee. "The games we have now we have a referee like Phil Dowd as fourth official and a young lad refereeing. For me, if Dowd [who was fourth official] is available he should be refereeing our game. I don't see how they decide these things.
"Last year I thought Neil [Swarbrick] had a particularly poor game so I gave him 100 marks. On my report I wrote: 'I hope these marks get him promoted to the Premier League.' I didn't realise it actually would. Unfortunately he told Phil Dowd about that before the game so he must have had it on his mind. I find that very bemusing, if I am honest."

[h=1]Neil Warnock could face charge for criticism of FA commission verdict[/h] • FA rejected QPR's appeal against Joey Barton's dismissal
• Warnock said FA's disciplinary process is 'farcical'

• • reddit this

• Jamie Jackson
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 13.23 GMT
• Article history

Neil Warnock attacked the FA's decision to uphold the red card shown to Joey Barton in QPR's match against Norwich. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

The Football Association will decide on Friday if Neil Warnock should face a charge for his attack on its disciplinary commission, after the Queens Park Rangers manager described the decision to uphold Joey Barton's red card "farcical" and "scandalous".
The FA will examine video footage and consider the context of Warnock's comments, which relate to Barton being dismissed in the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Norwich City at Loftus Road on Monday, when he was adjudged by the referee, Neil Swarbrick, to have butted Bradley Johnson. Warnock said of the decision to turn down his captain's appeal: "I am not surprised, but it is difficult to accept when you see what [Clint] Dempsey did in comparison with Joey Barton. It is farcical, isn't it?"
Replays showed that Barton had moved his head towards Johnson but he appeared to make little contact. On Twitter, Barton complained that the officials had been "conned", and posted a video link to an incident involving Fulham's Dempsey and Liverpool's Craig Bellamy, in which the American made a similar movement but was only booked.
QPR appealed but the FA ruled on Wednesday that the red card should stand, meaning Barton must now serve a three-match suspension.
Warnock continued his attack by saying: "Whenever you see something happen on the field of play that warrants a red card, if the linesman sees that offence they flag and flag until the referee goes towards him, tells him what he has seen and then the lad is sent off. Now this linesman carried on and on and on and would not have stopped if Joey Barton had got the ball, gone past a few players and whacked it in the far post. If he did see it, why did he not flag immediately and keep his flag up?
"When you get people like [the former referees] Graham Poll, who is not my biggest fan, and Dermot Gallagher, supporting what I am saying then the three people on the commission go against that, I just think it is scandalous but I am not surprised.
"Am I surprised Frank Lampard commits a horrendous challenge [against Wolves] and Peter Walton gives him a yellow card? If that had been Joey, [Karl] Henry or any Tom, Dick and Harry, would that have been a red card or a yellow card? There would have been a lynching of them."
Warnock also queried the choice of referee. "The games we have now we have a referee like Phil Dowd as fourth official and a young lad refereeing. For me, if Dowd [who was fourth official] is available he should be refereeing our game. I don't see how they decide these things.
"Last year I thought Neil [Swarbrick] had a particularly poor game so I gave him 100 marks. On my report I wrote: 'I hope these marks get him promoted to the Premier League.' I didn't realise it actually would. Unfortunately he told Phil Dowd about that before the game so he must have had it on his mind. I find that very bemusing, if I am honest."

• Sport
• Football
• Manchester City

[h=2]Transfer window[/h] [h=1]Roberto Mancini admits City bid for Daniele De Rossi depends on sales[/h] • Manager keen on January deal for Roma midfielder
• But Manchester City must sell 'three or four' players first

• • reddit this

• Press Association
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 10.25 GMT
• Article history

Roma's Daniele De Rossi is a target for Manchester City, but Roberto Mancini says he must sell players before they can buy. Photograph: Paolo Bruno/Getty Images

The Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, may consider making new signings in this month's transfer window, but only if there are significant departures first.
City are still seeking to offload their absent striker Carlos Tevez, while the defenders Nedum Onuoha and Wayne Bridge, both surplus to requirements, are also available.
Mancini said: "We could maybe bring someone in, but we need to sell three or four players. With Carlos we could close [a deal] in the next three or four days, and also possibly Wayne. Then maybe we can do something. With Carlos there are two or three teams in Italy, a team in France, and another team involved – I hope for him he can start to play football."
City have been linked with Roma's Daniele De Rossi to help cope with the loss of Yaya Touré, who is heading for the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, but Mancini admitted it could be tough to convince him to leave Italy.
He said: "De Rossi is a top player, like Yaya, but he plays for Roma, a top team, and he was born there. I don't know if he will leave."
Mancini has also spoken of his concerns over City's mental strength, despite their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
"We have done well this season, but we could do more," he told the Daily Mail. "Even the best teams, there are times during the year when you cannot win, and you don't know why. Maybe you are unlucky, you make chances and you cannot score. Then there are other games, like at Chelsea, like at Sunderland, where if you are a top team you cannot win, but you must not lose.
"We need to understand this. A clever team would understand it. 'OK,' they would think, 'the win will not happen, but, just as important, we must concede nothing'.
"One month ago, all the journalists were saying we could go the season unbeaten, like Arsenal. But I knew then that we would not. We are not Arsenal, we are not strong up here like that team."

[h=1]Manchester City's Owen Hargreaves on standby to face old-club United[/h] • Gareth Barry's suspension creates vacancy on bench
• Internazionale make inquiry about Carlos Tevez

• • reddit this

• Daniel Taylor
  
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 23.01 GMT
• Article history

Manchester City's Owen Hargreaves celebrates scoring against Birmingham City in September's Carling Cup tie. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

Owen Hargreaves has been placed on standby to face Manchester United for the first time since leaving the club in acrimonious circumstances last summer and joining Manchester City.
Gareth Barry's suspension from the FA Cup third-round tie between the two sides on Sunday, having been sent off in City's 3-0 defeat of Liverpool on Tuesday, means Hargreaves will be promoted to the squad as a replacement defensive midfielder.
That raises the possibility of him being involved in a role that will inflame the already high feelings surrounding the match. The former England international, still troubled by the long-standing knee issues that he believes were exacerbated by the treatment he received at United, has made only two starts and one substitute appearance since joining City as a free agent.
In the meantime he has been critical of the United medical staff, accusing them of putting his career on the line with a series of mistakes and "guinea pig" treatment that left him barely able to walk and with a knee that felt "like I was made out of glass".
Roberto Mancini, the City manager, said: "If he can continue to train well he can be on the bench for the weekend. He has been training for the last few weeks with no problem and it was always the plan that he was ready for January."
With Yaya Touré preparing for his final game before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, City need Hargreaves to show a greater ability to overcome his injury issues than has been evident in the first five months of his year-long contract.
Internazionale, meanwhile, have joined Milan and Juventus in expressing interest in acquiring City's Carlos Tevez.
"Yaya has won his award for being the best player in Africa and it was well deserved because he has been fantastic for us," James Milner said. "You can see the power he has going forward and he will be a massive loss for us."
The midfielder believes United will be intent on gaining some form of revenge after City not only beat them in last season's semi-final but won 6-1 at Old Trafford in the league. "After the last time we played them, we know they are going to fly out the traps. They will want to get one over us because that will have hurt them badly. Everyone over there, from the players to the management, will be up for it because for as much enjoyment as we got from it, they probably felt three times as much pain."
Greater Manchester police, staging one of their biggest operations for a football match in recent years, have confirmed that the pubs near the Etihad Stadium will be closed. The police also hope many city-centre pubs will close voluntarily to reduce the potential for trouble.

[h=1]Manchester City's Owen Hargreaves on standby to face old-club United[/h] • Gareth Barry's suspension creates vacancy on bench
• Internazionale make inquiry about Carlos Tevez

• • reddit this

• Daniel Taylor
  
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 23.01 GMT
• Article history

Manchester City's Owen Hargreaves celebrates scoring against Birmingham City in September's Carling Cup tie. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

Owen Hargreaves has been placed on standby to face Manchester United for the first time since leaving the club in acrimonious circumstances last summer and joining Manchester City.
Gareth Barry's suspension from the FA Cup third-round tie between the two sides on Sunday, having been sent off in City's 3-0 defeat of Liverpool on Tuesday, means Hargreaves will be promoted to the squad as a replacement defensive midfielder.
That raises the possibility of him being involved in a role that will inflame the already high feelings surrounding the match. The former England international, still troubled by the long-standing knee issues that he believes were exacerbated by the treatment he received at United, has made only two starts and one substitute appearance since joining City as a free agent.
In the meantime he has been critical of the United medical staff, accusing them of putting his career on the line with a series of mistakes and "guinea pig" treatment that left him barely able to walk and with a knee that felt "like I was made out of glass".
Roberto Mancini, the City manager, said: "If he can continue to train well he can be on the bench for the weekend. He has been training for the last few weeks with no problem and it was always the plan that he was ready for January."
With Yaya Touré preparing for his final game before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, City need Hargreaves to show a greater ability to overcome his injury issues than has been evident in the first five months of his year-long contract.
Internazionale, meanwhile, have joined Milan and Juventus in expressing interest in acquiring City's Carlos Tevez.
"Yaya has won his award for being the best player in Africa and it was well deserved because he has been fantastic for us," James Milner said. "You can see the power he has going forward and he will be a massive loss for us."
The midfielder believes United will be intent on gaining some form of revenge after City not only beat them in last season's semi-final but won 6-1 at Old Trafford in the league. "After the last time we played them, we know they are going to fly out the traps. They will want to get one over us because that will have hurt them badly. Everyone over there, from the players to the management, will be up for it because for as much enjoyment as we got from it, they probably felt three times as much pain."
Greater Manchester police, staging one of their biggest operations for a football match in recent years, have confirmed that the pubs near the Etihad Stadium will be closed. The police also hope many city-centre pubs will close voluntarily to reduce the potential for trouble.

[h=1]Sunderland's Nicklas Bendtner arrested over 'hotel incident' in September[/h] • Striker was released without charge after alleged fight
• Bendtner currently on bail relating to separate incident

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• Press Association
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 12.38 GMT
• Article history

Nicklas Bendtner was arrested following an alleged early morning fight at a hotel in September. He was released without charge. Photograph: PA

The Sunderland striker Nicklas Bendtner was arrested following an early morning incident at a hotel in September, it has emerged.
The Danish 23-year-old was one of two men detained by police, then released without charge, after the incident at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "At 2.18am on Tuesday 13 September, police received a report of a fight at the Hilton hotel in Gateshead. Officers attended and two men aged 23 were arrested to prevent a continued breach of the peace. After investigation, both men were released without a charge."
Bendtner, who is on loan from Arsenal, is currently on bail having been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage in a separate incident last month.
The Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole was also arrested in the December incident after police were called to investigate damage caused to cars parked in Newcastle city centre. Both men were bailed pending further inquiries.
Sunderland said it would not be commenting on his September arrest.