Transfer news...

Transfer news...

[h=1]Carlos Tevez move to Milan collapses to frustrate Manchester City[/h] • London talks between Milan and Manchester City break down
• Inter had earlier claimed that Milan deal for striker was likely




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Carlos Tevez's future is uncertain after talks between Milan and Manchester City broke down. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Carlos Tevez's proposed move to Milan has collapsed, leaving the on-strike Argentina forward facing an increasingly uncertain future and the Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, with even less chance of persuading the club's owners to relax the spending restrictions they have imposed during the January transfer window.
After several weeks of protracted talks Milan have pulled out of the negotiations after accepting that City were unwilling to budge when it came to wanting a permanent transfer. Milan had proposed a loan arrangement and a delegation from San Siro, led by the chief executive, Adriano Galliani, and the club's lawyer, Lorenzo Cantamessa, made one last attempt to persuade City to relax that position during a meeting in London on Thursday.
City's acting chief executive, John MacBeath, and the football administrator, Brian Marwood, made it clear that the club's owners in Abu Dhabi were not going to change their mind and the talks broke up with Galliani saying he would not return with a counter-proposal. Milan were always struggling to raise the £20m-£25m transfer fee and the decision of Alexandre Pato to stay in Italy and turn down a move to Paris St-Germain has been a significant factor.
Tevez, whose strike at City has lasted two months, is in a state of limbo after making it clear he is unwilling to return to Manchester if a new buyer cannot be found. Internazionale and Juventus have also been monitoring his position but Milan represented Tevez's best hope and the player's advisers regard the *latest development as a significant setback.
The list of clubs with enough money to entertain the idea of taking him on was never particularly long but has now receded to the point that he will have to wait until the summer market unless something dramatically changes between Milan and City.
That threatens repercussions for *Mancini after being informed that he would need to sell Tevez before he could bring in any more players. Sergio Agüero was City's only fit striker when they played Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday and, for all the vast sums of money they have spent, their squad has suddenly started to look a little vulnerable now that Vincent Kompany is serving a four-match suspension and Yaya and Kolo Touré are playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.
David Silva is nursing a long-*standing ankle injury and Mancini, mindful that his most creative player has looked as if he needs a rest, has approved a short break for the midfielder to recover in Spain. Silva missed the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Wednesday and may also be absent from Monday's game at Wigan Athletic. Mario Balotelli lasted 39 minutes against Liverpool but should be available.
 
[h=1]Friday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]
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For updated transfer news and gossip throughout the day, read our breaking news service Sportsday Live
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Chelsea are planning a £25m swoop for Lille playmaker Eden Hazard.
Full story: the Sun
But Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas insists Frank Lampard remains in his plans.
Full story: Daily Mail
Blackburn have launched a surprise bid to steal Andy Johnson from under QPR's nose, and have lodged a formal bid with Fulham.
Full story: the Metro
New Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes wants to make Manchester City's Roque Santa Cruz - currently on loan at Real Betis - his first signing.
Full story: Daily Mirror
But Hughes is also eyeing out-of-favour Fulham striker Bobby Zamora.
Full story: London Evening Standard
OTHER GOSSIP
Tottenham forward Rafael van der Vaart believes they can force Manchester City to choke in the Premier League title race.
Full story: Daily Telegraph
Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley believes the revived Black Cats have nothing to fear when they take on stuttering Chelsea this weekend.
Full story: Newcastle Chronicle
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish says he is happy with striker Andy Carroll's work-rate, amid reports that he may return to Newcastle.
Full story: Independent
AND FINALLY
Fulham boss Martin Jol says if Mark Hughes had any real ambition he would have stayed at Craven Cottage.
Full story: Daily Mail
 
[h=1]Why Sir Alex Ferguson's rejects are tickled pink to be leaving[/h] Cross the Manchester United manager and he can set a player on the road to untold riches and a much more luxuriant lifestyle



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David Beckham and Jaap Stam celebrate victory in the 1999 European Cup final, but neither was to finish his career with Manchester United after falling foul of the manager. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Allsport

Back in the 50s the Spurs manager Arthur Rowe grew frustrated with the increasingly fanciful jargon of the game. When it was put to him that a player needed peripheral vision, he scornfully responded: "Peripheral vision? You know what that means? That means seeing out of your arse."
Dimitar Berbatov is a player often credited with having great vision, though some have wondered if his ability to see out of his arse may be impaired by the fact his head is too firmly wedged up it. This is unnecessarily cruel, not least because these days the Bulgarian striker's appearance gives cause for alarm.
The man has the dark rings around his eyes of a father of colic triplets and skin the colour of institutional mashed potato. It was bad enough when he had slicked-back lustrous locks – that at least gave him the comic-villainous tinge of The Count from Sesame Street – but now he's got that six-year-old-gives-Barbie-a-haircut barnet, the fellow is positively haunting. He looks like a cast member from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Perhaps the languid striker has fallen foul of Sir Alex Ferguson, a man we are often invited to see as the Nurse Mildred Ratched of Old Trafford. (Incidentally, people who know Nurse Ratched well assure me that in private she is a charming woman with an abiding passion for esoteric French cheeses and playing jazz tuba.) If this is the case then perhaps we can expect some colour to return to the Bulgar's melancholic chops over the next little while as the Manchester United manager turns his venomous attention to Wayne Rooney instead.
News that the diminutive Croxteth Desperate Dan has been in hot water with his boss has been greeted with a trumpeting glee that is typical of that feeling the Germans might call celebenfreude if they weren't way too busy being good at stuff to bother.
Yes, everybody likes to see a rich and famous young whippersnapper getting a well-deserved shellacking, and who better to administer one than the notoriously ferocious Glaswegian? This, after all, is a bloke whose verbal assaults on players have been likened – by those who have suffered them – to coming under attack from that most terrifying of all weapons: the hairdryer. Brutal, I know. But then, I don't suppose the Scot reaches for that fearsome implement straight away. He's not a monster. The man likely attempts to get his point across first using the temper-tantrum equivalent of Carmen rollers and some sculpting mousse.
When Rooney's misdemeanours emerged, many were moved to recount the fate of other players who had fallen out with the United tyrant in the past, the listing of which inevitably concluded with the words, delivered in the tone of delighted relish reserved for summarising the actions of a successful autocrat: "We've seen it before. And now we'll see it again. This is how Sir Alex deals with those who cross him."
In truth, however, the punishment meted out to those players Sir Alex has lost patience with is – dare one say it – not actually all that bad. I'd go so far as to say that if Ferguson is one of the Premier League's fiercest disciplinarians, then frankly there is no wonder the players behave so badly (note that it is always the teacup that an angry British boss throws in the dressing room after a poor performance rather than the more sturdy and dangerous mug. Indeed the fact that the players have cups and saucers at all suggests a world that is far more genteel than Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis would have us believe).
The Israelites were said to beat their children with feathers. Sir Alex is plainly of the same mind. Take, for example, what he did with Jaap Stam. When the Dutch centre-back annoyed his manager with a whiny autobiography and inconsistent displays on the field, he received a summary punishment – sold to Lazio.
Or to put it another way, given several million pounds and sent to live in Rome. The unfortunate Paul Ince, on the other hand, was sentenced to a suitcase full of cash and two years in a Milanese palazzo (though in fairness his former boss was a wee bit rude about "Big Time Charlie" in a TV documentary a few years later), while David Beckham was banished to the living hell men call the Bernabéu with nothing more than the clothes several hundred men could stand up in and a refuse sack filled with euros. Boy, that must really smart, mustn't it?
I can't help thinking that if this is indeed how Fergie deals with those who cross him, there will soon be a queue of players outside Old Trafford confessing to crimes against United in the hope of being punished with three months' full board at the Montego Bay Intercontinetal, ownership of a small island in the Indian Ocean, or a week on a waterbed with Beyoncé. Indeed the only reason I am engaging in a bit of schoolboy sarcasm at the United manager's expense right now is in the hope of a fortnight's skiing in the Italian Tyrol.
 
[h=1]Manchester City's Samir Nasri berated by rival fans while driving home[/h] • Fans filmed confrontation after pulling up next to him
• Nasri replied with 'top of the league' then drove away




Samir Nasri was berated by Liverpool fans while driving home after Manchester City's Carling Cup semi-final first leg defeat.
In footage filmed by the fans, which contains strong language, they pull up alongside Nasri's car and convince him to wind down his window, before goading him about their 1-0 victory, and criticising his decision to leave Arsenal.
After being told "You've got a better chance of winning the Champions League with Arsenal than you have with Man City," Nasri responds by telling them "I am top of the league," then speeding away.
City put in a laboured performance against Liverpool, whose goal came from a first-half Steven Gerrard penalty.
 

[h=1]Can Tottenham Hotspur win the title? Former players have their say[/h] Former players and Spurs legends say whether they believe this squad are made of championship-winning material




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Tottenham Hotspur's players celebrate another league win – will their form this season carry them all the way to the title? Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

[h=2]Cliff Jones[/h]Former Wales international and left‑winger for the last Tottenham Hotspur side to win the league in 1961
I think they can keep going, although Harry Redknapp will be doing his best – and rightly so – to play things down. They won't want to get carried away but sometimes you can't help but get carried away.
Everything is in place. They have a squad which has come together, which is producing terrific performances all round the pitch. The manager has done a fantastic job given where the club was a couple of years ago and with his understanding of how Tottenham teams should play. Daniel Levy handled the Luka Modric situation very well and Modric himself is due credit for getting stuck in, instead of sulking about not getting a move.
When we won the league, it was much more open. The likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United and Liverpool would be challenging. There were plenty of good sides; now, Tottenham are facing two superpowers really in the Manchester clubs.
I have been at all the home matches this season and have seen the team grow. Everyone rightly talks about Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart – and these guys have been great. But I have been delighted to see the progress of Jake Livermore, a homegrown Tottenham kid from a Tottenham‑supporting family who is rapidly becoming one of Harry's top boys.
But they are playing with a great confidence. Luck comes into it because you need the squad to stay away from injuries but you look at the bench against Everton and Jermain Defoe is there; in that respect, they are not doing too bad for depth of talent.
[h=2]Phil Beal[/h]Last season, and no disrespect to those clubs, Spurs were dropping points at home to Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers. If you want to be title contenders, you can't do that and that has been the big difference this year.
I think they have got a great chance of winning it. The table as it stands now tells you that. The signing of Scott Parker was so important, he plays with a determination that rubs off on the other players. They are playing with so much confidence, they really go out there with the belief that nobody is going to beat them. In the one game they have lost during this great run, at Stoke, they were very unlucky.
You have to look at the tough games coming up – away to Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – and think it will be a crucial period. But as a club, Spurs seem to raise their game, the better the opponents.
[h=2]Pat Nevin[/h]Former Everton and Chelsea winger. Won international caps with Scotland. Now a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live pundit
I think so, but I would still regard them as outsiders of the three simply because of depth of squad. They have been fairly lucky, and Harry Redknapp has also done a great job in keeping them together, that they have been able to cope so far with the loss of players. Particularly, that is, at centre-back with Ledley King unable to play every game.
Their hope just now is justified because City are faltering a bit and have lost players to the Africa Cup of Nations, plus, of course, Vincent Kompany to suspension.
The main players they have are good enough but I think Manchester United have the advantage of course and distance specialism, added to Sir Alex Ferguson in charge who knows it all better than anyone else. City's squad is bigger and stronger than that of Spurs, which is why I group them in with United.
But I do think there will be a title run-in from five or six games out. I hold my hands up now and admit they have done far better already than I had anticipated they could.
If they make a smart signing or two this month, as they have done in the past and particularly with Scott Parker, Spurs might just still be in there fighting at that stage.
[h=2]Gary Mabbutt[/h]I was at the Everton game on Wednesday night and, against a good side, Tottenham were able to dominate the game in terms of pace and tempo. They aren't in the position they are in just now through any stroke of luck, they deserve to be in there.
If you are going to win a league, you have to show the best levels of consistency and form; over the last couple of months, Spurs have been the most stable in that regard. On top of their game, they are a match for anybody. Another big difference now is that when they are below par, they still go out and pick up points; the Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland matches showed that.
Spurs have added extra pressure to the Manchester duo. Pressure is a funny thing, it is a matter of how they [Manchester City and Manchester United] react now. The additions of Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry maybe show that clubs see Tottenham as a bigger threat than they thought they were going to be.
I was with Spurs during pre-season in South Africa and the clear ambition at that point was to break into the top four. That hasn't changed. The blend of youth and experience, added to a great work ethic, has taken them further for now; remember they are competing with some of the best teams in the world, and doing so exceptionally well.
If the Manchester duo falter, Tottenham are nicely poised to take advantage of that. After Wolves at the weekend, five of Spurs' next six league games are against Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United. If they are in the same position after that, we can really start talking.
[h=2]Steve Perryman[/h]Made a Tottenham club record 854 appearances for Spurs and won Football Writers Player of the Year in 1982
I don't think they are ready to win the championship, that's just my opinion and what do I know, I never won one. But I think Manchester City just have too much quality.
It's nothing to do with mentality – in Harry Redknapp they have a manager who has the mentality to pull clubs out of relegation battles. Spurs are ready to go to the next step, I just don't think that step is winning a championship just yet.
What they have is a credible force to push whoever does win it. If you get more points than Tottenham, you will win the league in my opinion. They have made progress within a budget; there have been false dawns before but this has a solid base. Keeping Luka Modric away from Chelsea, for example, was a hell of a thing.
They have a very, very intelligent football manager and a good squad with depth. They also have backbone – in the past, good-looking Spurs teams would have a bad day and lose 3-0 away from home. That doesn't happen now.
[h=2]Kevin Gallacher[/h]Former Scotland winger and a part of the squad at Blackburn Rovers that won the Premier League in 1995
At the moment, yes they can win it because they are on song. But I have always tipped Manchester United to win the league; they haven't really played well at all this season but are still sitting second.
It's when it gets to Easter time that it becomes huge for Spurs. That is such an important time for football clubs, a time when managers come out with some mind games. At the moment, the mentality of the Spurs players will be no different to what we had at Blackburn; they are confident in their own ability and riding the crest of a wave.
But it is very tough for them; teams with 45 points at this stage will normally go on and win the league. Spurs have reached that and still find the Manchester teams in front of them.
 

[h=1]Manchester United reject Newcastle bid to sign Ravel Morrison[/h] • Sir Alex Ferguson says: 'We have rejected an offer'
• Manager says winger has rejected United contract




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Manchester United have turned down an offer from Newcastle for Ravel Morrison. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United have turned down a bid from Newcastle United for the young winger Ravel Morrison. The 18-year-old was a member of United's FA Youth Cup winning side last season but he has failed to make a breakthrough in the first team this season.
"We have rejected an offer from Newcastle," said Ferguson.
Morrison appeared in court last year and pleaded guilty to two charges of witness intimidation. However, United have worked tirelessly to keep the Manchester-born youngster on the right tracks, recognising the ability that has led to a widespread claim that he is the best young player to emerge from United's youth ranks since Paul Scholes.
Scholes' decision last week to come out of retirement, however, has led Morrison to question his future. Ferguson said the teenager had already rejected the contract United have offered.
"His agent has been working hard to get him another club," said Ferguson. "We have offered him terms, which he has refused. His demands are unrealistic as far as we are concerned."
 
[h=2]Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves, Premier League, 3pm Saturday[/h] [h=1]Tottenham will not sell Jermain Defoe, says Harry Redknapp[/h] • Spurs block agent's request for striker to leave
• Manager reveals Emmanuel Adebayor is on £225,000 a week




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Tottenham's Jermain Defoe is keen to leave the club in January according to Harry Redknapp, but he has been told to stay. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Jermain Defoe's agent has told Tottenham Hotspur that the striker wants to move in this transfer window because he is not in Harry Redknapp's first team. The manager revealed that Daniel Levy, the chairman, has been contacted by Defoe's representative to discuss the future of the England international, who wants to play regularly before this summer's European Championship.
"Daniel spoke to his agent who said he is not happy because he wants to play and he has got a few clubs in for him," Redknapp said. "I am sure he has got a few clubs in for him but we are not selling him. He is saying this club wants him and that club wants him – that is how they make their money. He is not moving anywhere, though. He is on contract here and is a big player for us."
Regarding Defoe's prospects of being selected for Euro 2012 by Fabio Capello if he is not in the Spurs starting XI, Redknapp said: "Jermain wants to play in the Euros but so does Rafa [van der Vaart]. He wants to play for Holland so he feels he has to play. I would not consider letting him out on loan."
Redknapp has suggested that this season could be Tottenham Hotspur's best chance of winning the title after admitting it may be difficult to retain his star players beyond the summer. He said that if Luka Modric or any other of his best performers was offered a lucrative deal they would be tempted to leave, with the manager revealing that Emmanuel Adebayor, who earns £225,000 a week on loan from Manchester City, should return north in the summer.
Redknapp said: "If someone comes along and offers players a contract that could blow their current one out of the water, it's very difficult. They are not going to say I was born in Croatia [as Modric was] but I have always wanted to play for Tottenham. If someone offers to treble a player's wages, you've got a problem, haven't you? We're not in a position to pay £40m or pay £200k a week."
Regarding Adebayor who has scored nine goals in 18 league appearances, Redknapp said: "He has done well for us. He is on amazing money. The other week, one of the lads said to him that he had not paid his £50 fine for being the worst player in training on a Friday morning. He said: 'Bloody hell, Addy, you are on 200 grand a week and you can't afford to pay a £50 fine.' He replied: 'Don't insult me – it's 225.' He certainly isn't getting that here."
Asked if the Togolese international may stay at the club once his loan expires, Redknapp said: "We have Adebayor till the end of the year, and [will] see how we go."
Speaking before Spurs rejected a bid for Steven Pienaar from Queens Park Rangers, Redknapp said he does not want to sell in the current window. "I wouldn't want to let him [Pienaar] go. There is no one here who I'd love to see the back of."
Everton's Phil Neville claimed earlier in the week that the test for Spurs's championship credentials will come in March when the season reaches its defining point. In response, Redknapp agreed that the campaign's closing part will be difficult. "It depends what the fixtures are. We've got some hard games: we've got to go away to Man City [in eight days], Liverpool [in February], Arsenal [late February], Chelsea [March]," he said, with Spurs also facing Manchester United in March.
Tottenham entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday conscious that victory would draw them level with City, who do not play until Monday. But Redknapp refused to consider that prospect, saying: "I can only look to tomorrow, knowing that it's a tough game." Redknapp added that he was "hopeful" Scott Parker would return from a knee injury.
 
[h=2]Swansea City v Arsenal, Premier League, 4pm Sunday 15 January[/h] [h=1]Arsenal's Arsène Wenger accuses rivals over TV fixture changes[/h] • Manager frustrated as Villa FA Cup tie put back to Sunday
• Knock-on effect alters Gunners' Premier League schedule




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Arsène Wenger called for 'more fairness' in the scheduling of games after hearing of the latest changes. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Arsène Wenger has claimed rival clubs exert undue influence on match scheduling as a result of their relationship with television companies and has bemoaned the Premier League's inability to impose better control of the broadcasters' demands over fixture changes.
The Arsenal manager, whose team play at Swansea live on Sky on Sunday, believes the onus is on the Premier League to ensure there is "more fairness in the schedules". Wenger had expressed frustration in the run-in last season that Manchester United, the eventual league champions, had played a series of fixtures after his own team, with his outburst on Friday apparently due to ESPN moving the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa back 24 hours to Sunday 29 January.
That has had a knock-on effect with the subsequent midweek trip to Bolton Wanderers moved back a day to Wednesday 1 February. The current top four will have played the previous night and, by the time they are next involved on the subsequent Saturday afternoon, Arsenal will have played twice with their kick-off against Blackburn Rovers at 1pm. "I believe the Premier League has to make sure there's a bit more fairness in the schedules," said Wenger. "[The fixtures] are sold to television and television is influenced by some clubs to choose the fixtures. And some clubs get advantaged by television, if it's Sky or ESPN, because they have an influence there from the clubs directly.
"The Premier League should be very much bigger than they are in front of that. I do not want to go personally on any one club but, if things are repeated, then it's not a coincidence any more. There's a real problem there. The Premier League should master the fixtures. It can't happen every year that some clubs have advantages compared in relation to the fairness of the competition. At the moment, television decides. You cannot have decisive games with one team playing Friday and Tuesday, and another on Sunday and Tuesday. I've been working for 30 years in football, and it is not right. It's not fair."
Wenger would not elaborate upon which clubs he considered were exerting influence on the fixture scheduling. Asked whether he had evidence of rivals influencing broadcasters' schedules, Wenger replied: "What do you call proof? I am in sport. If I fight with you in a 100m run and you have to run the semi-final on Sunday morning and run against me on Sunday afternoon and I have a run on Friday morning, I don't need to accuse anyone. I just say: 'Is that fair or not?' It's not. The responsibility of the Premier League is to make sure that Premier League fixtures are better distributed than they are.
"If the Premier League doesn't decide, it is the television that decides. That means that television can influence and the Premier League has nothing to say. That's what, basically, I think is not right. Because if, tomorrow, you buy a club and your best friend is the owner of Sky TV you don't think you will tell him, 'Look, you put us on Friday night. That's not fair'? Or, 'You put us on Sunday night, that's not fair'. We have sold our soul and we do not control our games, our fixtures, any more."
The Premier League, which uses an independent organisation to determine fixtures, says scheduling is determined not just by the demands of broadcasters but also by the requirements of police, other safety organisations and local transport networks, and that no favouritism is granted to any club. Indeed the clubs sign off on the proposed schedules. Sky and ESPN declined to comment.
 
[h=2]Chelsea v Sunderland, Premier League, 3pm Saturday[/h] [h=1]André Villas-Boas seeks quick cure for Chelsea's homesick blues[/h] Poor form at Stamford Bridge and inconsistency have damaged the west London side's title challenge, probably beyond repair




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André Villas-Boas calls Chelsea's erratic run of results his side's 'cancer' this season, ahead of the visit of Sunderland. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

André Villas-Boas's diagnosis was brutally honest. Chelsea have not written off a title challenge just yet, their faith fuelled by the stumbles being endured by some of those above them, but there is an acceptance that, up to now, they have hindered themselves. They have not been what they once were. "What other teams see in our run of results is inconsistency," said the Portuguese. "That has been our cancer this season. We are up and down, perhaps not in terms of performances but definitely in terms of results."
This campaign has been littered with false dawns. Whenever Chelsea have threatened to inject real momentum and conviction into their challenge, they have stuttered. Their toils last month summed up the season to date: a victory over Manchester City that should have inspired was followed by a wasteful draw at Wigan; an encouraging performance at Tottenham Hotspur was undermined when Fulham and Aston Villa of lower mid-table were not subsequently beaten. Too many opportunities have been passed up. That the leaders are only 11 points clear of Chelsea feels surprising.
A visit of Sunderland, even a side whose confidence is bolstered by the Martin O'Neill effect, might normally represent a chance for the London club to reimpose themselves, but it now has the propensity to induce trepidation. It is the vulnerability at Stamford Bridge, an arena that used to feel impregnable, that has been most striking over the last 13 months and the Wearsiders, then under Steve Bruce, were the first to expose that fragility. Back in November 2010 they had arrived with memories of shipping seven in south-west London the previous season still fresh, only to deflate the locals with a 3-0 success that sent Chelsea hurtling head-first into Carlo Ancelotti's often quoted "bad moment".
That proved the first of five home defeats suffered in 23 matches, the last of which was endured against Aston Villa on New Year's Eve. It is a sloppy record made all the more damning by the fact that only three league games had been surrendered in the previous 120, dating back to José Mourinho's arrival in 2004. Dominance at home is so often used as a springboard, yet Chelsea have imploded too often where once they only thrived. That has hurt Villas-Boas most of all. Had Fulham and Villa been beaten, as the manager had convinced himself they would be in the wake of a series of away draws, Chelsea would be only six points from the top today.
There is a theme that runs through each of the three losses suffered at home this term; the hosts have ended up chasing victories in matches they believed had swung their way only to suffer on the break in the closing stages. Against Liverpool and Arsenal, Chelsea had clawed back deficits and sensed their opponents were wounded.
Villa might have been content to settle for the point they held, only to bite twice on the counter. Certainly, each of the visitors benefited from the home side's willingness to over-commit, leaving a defence which is not as watertight as it was exposed and eventually exploited.
The ongoing pursuit of Gary Cahill, who should provide more resilience at the back, is a reflection of uncharacteristic weaknesses this season, though the manager's defence of David Luiz and José Bosingwa, two perceived as the most error-prone, is unflinching.
"David is going to be one of the greatest central defenders in the world," said Villas-Boas. "Why? Because of his characteristics: technical ability, anticipation and speed. I think he's played fantastically well here, but sometimes people have misconceptions and a player has to carry that stamp for the rest of his life." The observations of television pundits continue to infuriate the Portuguese.
"If everybody had perfect games, media pundits would have no jobs as there'd be no one to criticise. They'd have to find jobs in professional football, which is a little bit harder."
Yet it is not only in defence that Chelsea have been found wanting. For long periods against Fulham and Villa, the home side had appeared aimless and devoid of zest and imagination, anxiety spreading from the stands to the players on the pitch. Even Portsmouth of the Championship held them until the interval on Sunday. It is on occasions such as these that the failure to secure a Luka Modric-type playmaker who can infiltrate mass defence and illuminate an occasion is felt so keenly. Games need not be chased if opponents are unpicked early and overrun.
Instead, Chelsea have been left all the more reliant upon Ramires's energy through the middle and Daniel Sturridge's eagerness on the flank, while forever trying to bring the intelligent Juan Mata into play. Those are fine weapons to have, but too often all three need to click for the team to prosper.
The manager will hope the late win at Wolves can at least inject confidence into the ranks to help kickstart a run of victories that will thrust the west London club closer to contention.
"We have a job to do to prove people are wrong to write us off," said Villas-Boas. "We have to do that with actions on the pitch, not with words." Starting against Sunderland he must pluck consistency from the ether if Chelsea are to trouble the leaders.
 
[h=2]Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers, Premier League, 3pm Saturday[/h] [h=1]Manchester City's first half of season was fantastic, says Ferguson[/h] • 'City have more points than Arsenal or Chelsea usually have'
• United to name strong side to face Bolton Wanderers




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Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, intends to field a strong side for Saturday's visit of Wolves. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Manchester City's phenomenal start to the league campaign, describing their results in the first half of the season as one of the best performances in a long, long time.
Manchester United could go level on points with their neighbours by winning Saturday's home game against Bolton Wanderers, as could Tottenham Hotspur by beating Wolves at White Hart Lane, and Ferguson said it is good for football to see two new teams challenging for the title ahead of the usual threat from Chelsea and Arsenal. "I think that makes it more exciting, and more interesting for the fans, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier," he said.
"The main difference I can see this season is that City have amassed a bigger points total than Chelsea or Arsenal would normally have managed by this stage. Their first half of the season was fantastic, and the way it's going we could be looking at something approaching 90 points to win this league. It could certainly be a number in the high 80s, and that is surprising really, because in recent seasons more teams have been taking points off each other."
Ferguson does not expect City to replicate their first-half performance and double their points total in the second half of the season – based on 45 points from 19 games that would take them to 90 at the end – because fatigue, pressure and other commitments often take their toll as the run-in gets under way. "Points will be dropped along the way, I always say that," he said. "I am sure we will be dropping a few too, because we have got a hard programme of games away from home. We have still got to go to Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and City, and those are all games that could see points shared or dropped. There's a long way to go yet."
Acutely aware of what happened the last time a team from the bottom three visited Old Trafford – Blackburn Rovers temporarily lifting themselves off the foot of the table with an unlikely 3-2 win – Ferguson wishes to name as strong a side as possible against Bolton.
"Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have slight knocks that we'll have to assess before the game but we should have a reasonable squad," he said. "You have to respect any team that's down at the bottom because they will be fighting for their lives. We are expecting a tough game but we will make sure we address it properly. I'd prefer not to talk about going joint top or what might happen after that; we have an opportunity to try and win a game at home and we will see where that takes us."
Ferguson would not confirm whether Paul Scholes will be involved, but suggested that he may be. "I wouldn't be against playing him," he said. "As his stats from the last game showed, he's still one of the best passers in the game, and he'll probably still be able to do that when he's 50. Bringing him back was a very easy decision to make; all the players idolise him anyway so there was never going to be a problem fitting in."
Scholes has signed a contract until the end of the season, at which point his situation will be reviewed again. One player who may not last that long at United is Ravel Morrison, an 18-year-old winger with a couple of substitute appearances who is interesting Newcastle and seems to have exhausted the patience of his present manager.
"His agent has been working hard to get him another club," Ferguson said. "We have offered him terms, which he has refused. His demands are unrealistic as far as we are concerned. We have rejected an offer from Newcastle."
Ferguson also said he would have no concerns about selecting Patrice Evra for the FA Cup tie at Liverpool this month. Evra would be playing at Anfield for the first time since he made allegations of racism against Liverpool's Luis Suárez. "I haven't decided on that [whether Evra will play] but it wouldn't be a problem for me," the manager said.
 
[h=1]Andy Carroll's misery at Liverpool has left him the king of pain[/h] A year on from the striker's £35m transfer from Newcastle it seems a very public death has been played out



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In his time at Liverpool Andy Carroll has looked so lonely. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar

One of the most terrifying things about the internet is the way in which it draws you inexorably towards what you really, secretly, actually want, offering somewhere in its great boiling unfenced farrago an absolute match for whatever half-realised desire might flicker across your networked lobes. You cannot escape. The allure of endless choice will find you out, whether it is the simple urge to argue about cricket or a powerful carnal attraction to certain breeds of Pacific starfish. For me the internet has recently provided some troubling revelations in its capacity as a universal jukebox that offers access to any musical genre unfettered by conventions of taste or fashion. It has been a bit of a shock. But in quiet moments at home I have found myself increasingly drawn to the music of Sting.
Naturally, this is embarrassing. Sting is not cool. He isn't even anti-cool, remaining fixed in the public consciousness as a kind of humourless celebrity sex-grandad, the kind of man who strides about his mansion in tailored robes and makes a big deal of baking his own bread from fair trade Zambian spelt flour and who probably has an air-conditioned anteroom full of ancient first edition calfskin texts of grand literary classics that he occasionally peruses late at night sitting cross-legged and naked except for an Elizabethan pince-nez.
I know all this. But the unfettered pull of the internet tells me that he is also a lyrical master – really, some of those words are very good – plus perhaps the finest cod reggae Geordie-Jamaican voice of the last century (note that I am keeping this decent by sticking to the grudgingly tolerated Police). There is also something to be said for the yuppie saxophone pop of early solo Sting, just prior to the lost years of early onset rainforest Jesus syndrome.
The reason for mentioning this is that I was reminded of Sting while watching Andy Carroll play for Liverpool against Manchester City. Or rather, not so much reminded of Sting as the sad-faced Amazonian tribesman Sting used to bring with him to awards ceremonies and TV talk shows. This is who Carroll reminds me of these days: a gnarled, dignified, quietly obsolete figure, carrying with him above all an air of terrible sadness. The world that might have nourished this towering, peat-smelling specimen from English football's withered folk past has now vanished, but still we parade him about under the main stage lights, his face a haunting mask of ancient confusion.
It is safe to say now that Carroll's move to Liverpool is one of the great transfer disasters, Newcastle's accounts department aside. And yet the sadness of Carroll feels terribly unfair, firstly because he is a very talented player. Carroll is brilliant at heading the ball. Unfortunately, this is pretty much an obsolete skill among those who aspire to the top level of modern football. It seems poignant that Carroll will play on Saturday against Stoke City, the Premier League team who pass the ball longest and highest and who might still have the greatest use for his potency. As it is, hurling Carroll in among Liverpool's Suárez-geared short-passing attack is a bit like a classical orchestra deciding to recruit a heavy metal guitarist who proceeds to lurk at the front, mooching and smoking and producing the odd crashingly inappropriate power solo.
Because he is a good team man Carroll will continue to run willingly, lumbering sideways like a drunken horse, still doing his "passing", addressing the ball with the finesse of a man booting an old hubcap along a motorway verge. But what he really wants to do is fly free, wrenching his neck muscles majestically, toppling like a collapsed telephone mast, seeking the kind of perfect swinging cross Joey Barton would often launch in search of that club-like forehead.
This is Carroll's signature at Liverpool: he seems constantly in need of something that just won't come, waving his arms, pointing at his own head, semaphoring his own irrelevance. "It was a lonely role for And Carroll," Gary Lineker mused on Wednesday night, after a game in which Carroll could occasionally be seen flopping zanily about the City penalty area, as though someone had thrown a mattress on to the pitch from a helicopter . But it is always a lonely role for this oddly poignant figure, perhaps English football's last ever attempt at a big money all-conquering targetman.
This is not a rant against the tidal urgencies of English football, the vision of the game as a primarily athletic pursuit where the power to leap and wrestle is just as important as the ability to tread daintily. It is instead a lament for Carroll, and for the lost grandeur of the lineage of Carrolls, English football's rootsy history of big men and targetmen, clunking assault towers of the penalty area. The Carroll signing looks above all like a moment of nostalgic optimism, a dream of a world where this kind of thing is still relevant, where we have finally come up with the perfect £35m medieval battering ram.
But the sadness of Carroll is rooted in his own obvious discomfort and unhappiness. It is now almost a year since his move and the image of Carroll striding off a plane in ragged designer jeans is still fresh. In the meantime he has played out in public a kind of species death. This will surely be the last time anyone in English football pays that much money for that kind of player. Perhaps with some returning confidence he might yet employ his thunderous left foot to good effect, or offer glimpses of that ball butting potency. But it is a battle against the tide. For Carroll it is, as his fellow Geordie might have pointed out, so lonely out there
 
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[TD="colspan: 2"] [h=1]Saturday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]
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TRANSFER GOSSIP
Tottenham are battling to keep Jermain Defoe after the striker complained about a lack of playing opportunities.
Full story: Times (subscription needed)
Harry Redknapp has offered David Beckham the opportunity to return to the Premier League with Tottenham on a two-month loan.
Full story: Metro
Queens Park Rangers are to submit an improved bid of £3.5m for the transfer-listed Chelsea defender Alex.
Full story: the Guardian
QPR are also lining up a loan move for former Portsmouth and Sunderland midfielder Sulley Muntari. The Ghana midfielder's contract with Inter Milan expires at the end of the season.
Full story: Daily Star
And Brazil Under-20 star Henrique is set to join QPR on an 18-month loan deal.
Full story: Lancenet (in Portuguese)
But, although QPR chairman Tony Fernandes has confirmed the club's interest in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, he concedes that pulling off the deal remains "highly unlikely".
Full story: Metro
Chelsea and Manchester United have been given a major boost in their pursuit of Lille's Belgian star Eden Hazard after he let it be known he would be interested in a move to the Premier League.
Full story: Daily Mail
Aston Villa are considering a loan move for Slovenia midfielder Armin Bacinovic, who plays for Italian club Palermo.
Full story: Daily Mail
Manchester City's Serbian full-back Aleksandar Kolarov is a target for Juventus.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Sunderland are eyeing Fulham striker Bobby Zamora as the Cottagers negotiate with Catania over Argentina forward Maxi Lopez.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Norwich City boss Paul Lambert has admitted his frustration at being unable to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.
Full story: Eastern Daily Press
Fulham have entered the race for Watford striker Marvin Sordell, and now look to be the favourites to land the England Under-21 star.
Full story: talkSPORT
OTHER GOSSIP
Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Manchester City's phenomenal start to the league campaign, describing their results in the first half of the season as one of the best performances in a long time.
Full story: the Guardian
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that, although he's loving life at White Hart Lane, he would have to consider any offer he received to become England manager.
Full story: talkSPORT
New Everton signing Darron Gibson has revealed he was convinced to move to Goodison Park by former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney.
Full story: Liverpool Echo
New QPR manager Mark Hughes is furious with Fulham manager Martin Jol after he accused him of lacking staying power.
Full story: Daily Mail
Bolton midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says players no longer know how they are allowed to tackle.
Full story: Daily Mail
AND FINALLY
Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo is set to join Angolan first division club Kabuscorp.
Full story: Angola Press
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[h=1]New Everton FC midfielder Darron Gibson moved to EFC after Wayne Rooney advice[/h]
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NEW Everton FC midfielder Darron Gibson was convinced to move to Goodison Park after some advice from former Blue Wayne Rooney.
Frustration at not getting first-team chances at Old Trafford played a significant part but the 24-year-old said after speaking to the England international - and then Everton FC duo Phil Neville and Tim Cahill - his mind was made up.
"I was speaking to Wayne about it a bit and after that and coming to see the facilities it was an easy decision," Gibson, who is in the squad to face Aston Villa tomorrow, told local radio reporters.
"He told me it was a great club and he really enjoyed his time and the people here. Having a word with him and people like Tim Cahill and Phil Neville convinced me to come."

Gibson has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for a reported fee of £1million, rising to £2million on appearances.
He made 60 appearances in six years at United but knew he had little future at Old Trafford when Sir Alex Ferguson decided to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement.
The 37-year-old, who quit the game last season, was brought back on a short-term deal to provide cover for an injury-stricken midfield and came off the bench in last weekend's 3-2 FA Cup third round victory at Manchester City.
"I was very frustrated. It was hard for me at times," the Republic of Ireland international added.
"I think when I did get a chance I did well and obviously I was getting left out afterwards and I was playing one or two games here and there.
"When Scholesy came back the manager told me I was free to go.
"Everton had shown some interest a month before hand and the gaffer (David Moyes) wanted me in so it went from there.
"It was very frustrating but I think it was the right time for me to move on and I'm looking forward to my time here.




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Page last updated at 00:00 GMT, Sunday, 15 January 2012
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[TD="colspan: 2"] [h=1]Sunday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]
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TRANSFER GOSSIP
Tottenham are targeting moves for £20m-rated Marseille striker Loic Remy and Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.
Full story: Mail on Sunday
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted an interest in signing 18-year-old Manchester United midfielder Ravel Morrison.
Full story: Sunday Mirror
However, European champions Barcelona are also considering a move for Morrison.
Full story: Daily Star Sunday
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini wants the resources to bring in a forward and defender as well as the Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.
Full story: Sunday Mirror
QPR manager Mark Hughes wants to sign 20-year-old Brazilian striker Henrique, who won the golden shoe at last summer's under-20 World Cup, on an initial loan from Sao Paulo before a £5m transfer in the summer.
Full story: the Guardian
Salomon Kalou has emerged as a transfer target for Everton after Arsenal decided against making a bid for the Chelsea striker.
Full story: Metro
Anderlecht striker Matias Suarez has snubbed a move to Arsenal, instead deciding to finish the season with the Belgian club.
Full story: the Sun
Tottenham have renewed their interest in signing goalkeeper Javi Jimenez on loan from Spanish club Real Murcia. The 24-year-old was also a target last season while at Real Valladolid but he opted to stay in his homeland.
Full story: the Sun
OTHER GOSSIP
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is refusing to step into the mid-season transfer market to solve Arsenal's injury crisis because, he says, players signed in January are self-serving and not committed to the cause.
Full story: Mail on Sunday
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will take the title fight to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, says City assistant manager David Platt.
Full story: Mail on Sunday
Midfielder Rory Delap, 35, looks set to be offered another 12-month contract extension by Stoke to take him to nearly 38 years of age.
Full story: Stoke Sentinel
Colin Hendry, a Premier League title winner with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, believes manager Steve Kean must get help from the club's owners Venky's if he is to save them from relegation.
Full story: talkSPORT
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has written to the club's 20,000 season-ticket holders to give a forthright assessment of his time at Villa Park so far. He says the team's progress has been "satisfactory - can do better" and wants Villa to play "dynamic, exciting football".
Full story: Birmingham Mail
Newcastle defender Mike Williamson feels the team have defied critics who predicted their decline following the departures of "big names" such as Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll.
Full story: Newcastle Chronicle
Liverpool legend John Barnes believes midfielder Steven Gerrard is second only to Kenny Dalglish as the club's greatest player of all time.
Full story: talkSPORT
AND FINALLY
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has set his eyes on becoming a skilled DJ following a meeting with Tim Westwood.
Full story: Metro
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[TD="class: contentheading, width: 100%"]Chuji kubadilisha namba [/TD]
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[TD="class: createdate"] Friday, 13 January 2012 19:30 [/TD]
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[TD] 0digg

Sweetbert Lukonge
KOCHA wa Yanga, Kostadini Papic, anatarajia kumbadilisha namba Athumani Idd 'Chuji' kwa kumchezesha nafasi ya beki wa kati ili kuimarisha safu ya ulinzi ya timu hiyo.
Akizungumza hivi karibuni, Papic alisema sehemu ya ulinzi ya timu ina mapungufu hivyo ana mpango wa kumrudisha Chuji katika nafasi hiyo ambayo ni muhimu zaidi katika timu.
Tayari ameshaanza kumfanyia majaribio nyota huyo ili kuona kama anafiti, ambapo katikati ya wiki hii alimchezesha kama mlinzi wa kati katika mchezo wa kirafiki dhidi ya Villa Squad kwenye Uwanja wa Chamazi.
Katika mchezo huo chuji alicheza vizuria ni pamoja na kuchangia kwenye upatikanaji wa bao la kwanza la Yanga lilofungwa na Davis Mwape.
"Nimepanga chuji katika nafasi hiyo ili niweze kumuona kama anaweza kuimudu kwa sababu katika siku za hivi karibuni safu yangu ya ulinzi imekuwa ikifanya vibaya.
"Nimemwona katika mechi hii ya leo na kama akiendelea kufanya vizuri na kuimudu zaidi sina budi kumhamishia katika nafasi hiyo," alisema Papic.
Wachezaji wa Yanga wanaocheza nafasi ya beki wa kati ni pamoja na Chacha Malwa, Bakari Mbegu, Nadir Haroub 'Cannavaro', Zuberi Ubwa pamoja na Ibrahimu Job.
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Scholes scores as Man Utd defeat Bolton


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Paul Scholes scores on his return to the starting line-up as Manchester United move level on points with leaders Manchester City after beating Bolton 3-0.
Scholes praised by Ferguson

Result harsh on Bolton - Coyle

Commentary of Scholes goal

Scholes still has it - Ferguson
Saturday's football photos
Saturday football as it happened

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KEY INFO: Transfers | Club news on mobile
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Only ourselves to blame - Hodgson
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Moyes praises Donovan influence
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[TD="width: 226"] Aston Villa 1-1 Everton Blackburn 3-1 Fulham Chelsea 1-0 Sunderland Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City Tottenham 1-1 Wolves West Brom 1-2 Norwich City Newcastle v QPR (Sun) Swansea v Arsenal (Sun) Wigan v Man City (Mon)

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[TD="width: 226"] Redknapp cools Spurs title talk Absent Samba set for tests - Kean Alex talks continue - Villas-Boas Cahill passes medical at Chelsea Everton defend transfer dealings Larsson praises O'Neill approach Everton sign Gibson from Man Utd Dawson excited by Tottenham form Ferguson defends Scholes signing Pienaar is staying put - Redknapp Inter to reopen talks over Tevez

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[TD="class: text"] FOOTBALL Saturday's football photos
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Top 50 January transfer targets

BBC Sport profiles the top 50 January transfer targets
Transfer list

A definitive list of all the January transfer window moves


[TD="width: 126"] Lawro's Premier League predictions

Mark Lawrenson goes head-to-head with Bobby George

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How Tottenham have become genuine title contenders

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Liverpool skipper stamps his authority on Manchester City

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CLUB NEWS


[TD="width: 226"] ARSENAL ASTON VILLA BLACKBURN ROVERS BOLTON WANDERERS CHELSEA EVERTON FULHAM LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER CITY MANCHESTER UNITED

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[h=1]Alex Ferguson full of praise for golden oldie goalscorer Paul Scholes[/h] Veteran midfielder hailed after Manchester United's 3-0 win over Bolton, but manager criticises referees for inconsistent decisions




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Manchester United's Danny Welbeck, left, goes down under a challenge from Bolton's Zat Knight to win a penalty in the Premier League game. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the return of Paul Scholes as the 37-year-old midfielder marked his comeback with his first Old Trafford goal for two years to send Manchester United level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. After the 3–0 win over Bolton, Ferguson also had a blast at referees' supremo Mike Riley for allowing inconsistent decision-making, which he claims is ruining the game.
There was faint praise from the United manager for Wayne Rooney – "He had his moments but he can do better" – which may refuel rumours of a rift between the two, but there was no mistaking Ferguson's affection for Scholes, whose opening goal vindicated the decision to resurrect his career.
"He's back," Ferguson said. "He popped up to score when he should have been controlling things in the centre of midfield, but he's always had that instinct for goal, he's had it since he was a kid. There have been a lot of negative comments in the media about bringing him back but he's delivered for us again. He gave us an hour of real quality, scored an important goal, and when you see that level of performance, that quality, you don't lose that. He has been one of our greatest players."
Ferguson was considerably less enthusiastic about the referee Peter Walton's decision to award United a penalty in the 21st minute – Rooney saw his shot saved – without sending off Zat Knight for illegally denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. "Mike Riley needs to give his referees some direction on these matters," the United manager said. "The present situation is unacceptable, inconsistency from referees is confusing everyone."
The Bolton defender was shown a yellow card by Walton, though after acknowledging the foul and awarding a penalty, the situation demanded a red one, even if the contact itself was slight. "I think it was a sending-off," Ferguson said. "Mike Riley should be coming out and saying: 'This is not allowed.'
"He should be making it clear to referees that it is not acceptable if they change their minds or don't follow the same set of rules. We've had enough debate on two-footed tackles and the like recently, now something needs to happen."
 
[h=1]Mark Hughes is back on track after big-desk hubris at Craven Cottage[/h] The former Fulham manager adjusts his ambitions as he takes charge of Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers



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Mark Hughes poses for the cameras at Loftus Road after becoming Queens Park Rangers manager. Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters

The first thing Mark Hughes did when he became manager of Fulham was to ask for a bigger desk. Hughes wasn't happy with his new surroundings. The office, he said, was too small. A new computer was ordered and a big leather chair. Then builders were brought in to knock down the adjoining wall and extend an office that had done just fine for Roy Hodgson, Lawrie Sanchez, Chris Coleman and everyone before.
This is what can happen when a man spends time among the conifers and greenery of Manchester City's training ground then downgrades to a club where the paint might be peeling in a few corners and they drink their tea from a flask rather than fine china. Hughes never really felt Fulham were distinguished enough for him and it always seemed a temporary measure given that he has an adviser, Kia Joorabchian, with an A to Z of chief executives on speed-dial.
Except they stopped returning his calls. Joorabchian said his client wanted to manage a club more in keeping with his playing career at Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. "He really wants to be right up there, competing for titles and the Champions League positions." Instead, Hughes has spent six months out of the game before rolling up at Queens Park Rangers, third from bottom of the Premier League, with a stadium that holds fewer than Notts County's, Port Vale's or Bradford City's.
QPR matter these days. This is an ambitious time at Loftus Road and they deserve better than to be patronised, but there are still 49 larger club grounds in England and, however much it is dressed up, it is going to be difficult to see Hughes on the touchline for his first match and not believe this is a man whose ambitions have been undermined by his own mistakes. Hughes was talked about as a credible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United at one stage, but his name has been rubbed off the betting-shop chalkboards now, probably for good.
This is not to denigrate a man who took Fulham to eighth place in the Premier League, brought calm and pride where there is now fear and loathing at Blackburn Rovers and was doing a steady job at Manchester City before his very public sacking. Garry Cook, the former Nike man and now deposed City chief executive, had described Hughes as football's equivalent of Michael Jordan, but had been making clandestine approaches to other managers for six months. So Hughes is probably entitled to his grievance. Yet what has happened since then would make it difficult for anybody to argue the decision-makers in Abu Dhabi got it wrong, even if there were better ways of going about it.
At Fulham, Hughes was so obsessed with presentation and order that the kit men had to line up the ice buckets with perfect symmetry and make sure all of the drinks bottles had their labels showing at the correct angle. At City, he made the security guy take down the Ricky Hatton posters in his cabin because he thought it gave the wrong impression.
Yet this level of detail has not always been so apparent. Hughes turned a blind eye when Robinho turned up for trips abroad in jeans and trainers when he should have been wearing a club suit. Not the most important thing, perhaps, but sometimes it is the little details that demonstrate the differences between a manager who is good, and sometimes very good, but still a notch or two below what is needed for the highest level. Over lunch a few weeks back, Roberto Mancini, Hughes's replacement, smiled knowingly as he recalled the day he brought on Robinho as a substitute, then substituted him. The Italian never indulged Robinho in the way Hughes did, and was better for it.
The alliance with Joorabchian is another puzzling factor given that you would not automatically put the two men together. Hughes clearly believes the good outweighs the bad, but, put bluntly, Aston Villa did not want to do business with them when everyone assumed that was the next logical move last summer – and, in terms of perception and image, Joorabchian has become so synonymous with Carlos Tevez and controversy it does affect the Hughes brand.
Joorabchian is clearly a man with connections, but Tevez is now into his third month of striking at City, where they make no secret of the fact they think the player's adviser is partly to blame. Mancini's opinion of the Tevez-Joorabchian double act is not so much low as subterranean and recalls that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm when Richard, stricken in hospital, discovers Larry and Jeff have been flipping a coin and playing eenie-meenie-miney-mo to try to get out of being his kidney donor.
The difference, of course, is that Larry admitted it was wrong. Tevez has never said sorry for anything and, so far, the only person in football who has been willing to defend him is the man, funnily enough, who shares Joorabchian as their go-to guy. Which is a shame because, when you get past all the fluff and politics, Hughes has earned the right to another go.
[h=2]Depressing trend that cannot be kicked out[/h]Herman Ouseley, the chairman of Kick It Out, wrote a columnfor theGuardiannine days ago in which he questioned how Liverpool could have got the Luis Suárez affair so badly wrong. A perfectly normal reaction, you might think, given the scale of feeling about the T-shirts, the denials and the warped sense of injustice that, unless Tom Adeyemi's hearing was wrong, can be linked directly to what happened in the FA Cup tie against Oldham Athletic the following night.
This week, Kick It Out showed me a cross-section of the hundreds of racist and abusive emails and letters they have subsequently received in between the steady flow of anonymous phone calls and death threats. It is depressing beyond belief.
Ouseley, 65, goes to watch Millwall most weeks, but is on the board of the Manchester United Foundation and, in the eye of his accusers, that makes his opinion biased and worthless. Could it not be that the man who set up football's anti-racism organisation simply wants what is best for the sport, or must there always be some half-baked conspiracy theory?
 
[h=2]2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea[/h] [h=1]Ba and Senegal get their Cup of Nations chance as Africa's giants go awol[/h] Newcastle striker could embellish an Africa Cup of Nations that risks being defined by potential frustrated or power faded



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Senegal's Demba Ba, right, tangles with Guinea's Kamil Zayatte. Photograph: Alexander Klein/AFP/Getty Images

Demba Ba is needed in Africa even more than in Newcastle. The late-blooming striker could embellish an Africa Cup of Nations that otherwise risks being defined by the amount of potential frustrated or power faded.
Only one of the last nine victors have qualified and although that could be taken as evidence that the standard of football is rising across the continent – and the qualifications of Libya and Botswana were especially commendable – the absence of Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and the winners of the last three editions, Egypt, has generated a certain pessimism.
There is a sense that the countries who have reached the tournament that is being cohosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are not good enough to compensate for the non-appearance of those who have failed to make the most of their resources. In recent years Senegal have been one of the most exasperating offenders in terms of squandering talent, but now, with Ba's help, they could illustrate the opposite: a country that has successfully reorganised to maximise its abundant ability.
Senegal's last golden generation may have produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when they toppled France in 2002 but El Hadji Diouf and co are also remembered as a squad who lost their way after a spectacular introduction. They reached the Africa Cup of Nations final a few months before beating Les Bleus but never returned to it and hit rock bottom when their attempt to qualify for the 2010 tournament ended in them finishing below Gambia, the tiny nation wedged in Senegal's bulk like a geographic splinter.
Indiscipline in the squad was accompanied by corruption off the field that prompted 12 of the country's top clubs to boycott the domestic league and demand reform. That eventually came: a purge of crooked officials in the national federation and the emergence of a team who have high hopes of achieving what their vaunted predecessors could not, largely thanks to a formidable strikeforce spearheaded by Ba. Although he made his debut in 2007 – marking the occasion with a goal – his international career has largely been hampered by injuries and his country's decision to persist with Diouf, Diomansy Kamara, Henri Camara and others whom they hoped would fulfil the hopes invested in them.
Even as that generation faded Ba was not considered the best of the country's new crop of strikers – Senegal were top scorers in qualifying even though Ba barely played. His only goal of the campaign, however, was perhaps the most important, a stoppage-time winner after he came off the bench against Cameroon.
Ba's performances in the Premier League since then and in this week's friendly win against Sudan, when he again scored the only goal, mean he has become a certain starter. With Samuel Eto'o absent and Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba on the wane (and the Chelsea striker has never truly shined at the tournament anyway) the stage is set for Ba to confirm his status as the new African superstar.
Senegal's strength is shown by the forwards competing to play alongside him: Moussa Sow, who was top scorer in Ligue 1 last season; Papiss Demba Cissé, prolific in the Bundesliga over the past two seasons despite playing for lowly Freiburg; Dame N'Doye, the player of the year in Denmark and a regular Champions League scorer; Souleymane Camara, the 29-year-old who is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career at Montpellier, who are second in Ligue 1; and the 32-year-old Mamadou Niang, who may now be playing his club football in Qatar but retains the qualities that brought him success at Marseille.
Amara Traoré, the manager, who has navigated through a transitional period during which, at one stage, he went 10 months without being paid, tries to squeeze as many of those players as possible into his lineup, often by deploying Cissé or Sow in midfield.
The question to which Traoré is still seeking an answer is how best to get the ball to his fearsome forwards. Senegal are solid in the middle, thanks to Wigan's Mohamed Diamé and Birmingham City's Guirane N'Daw, and also at the back despite the lack of a top-class goalkeeper (as well as being top scorers in qualification, they conceded fewer goals than any other country) but they do not have a midfield creator of the calibre of, say, Ghana's André Ayew and Kwadwo Asamoah, Ivory Coast's Yaya Touré or the Moroccan trio of Adel Taarabt, Mbark Boussoufa and Houcine Kharja.
Those countries are the most likely to thwart Senegal's ambitions. But while they may not create as many chances as others, this Senegalese side are experts at taking them and the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations represents a big one.
 
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: Wenger admits interest in Man United rebel[/h] Published 22:24 14/01/12 By Soriebah Kajue

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ter-United-Ravel-Morrison-article853766.html#
Ravel+Morrison-Manchester+United+cropped


Arsene Wenger could enter the race for Ravel Morrison after it became clear his future lies away from Manchester United.
The Arsenal manager is an admirer of the *18-year-old midfielder touted as the outstanding player of his generation.
News of Wenger's interest has been welcomed by the England Under-19 star, who would consider a switch to the Emirates.
Morrison is frustrated that he has been unable to break into United's senior squad, *despite their *midfield *injury woes.

Newcastle had a £1m bid rejected last week after United revealed contract talks between the two *parties had broken down.
Barcelona and PSG are monitoring the situation.
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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ter-United-Ravel-Morrison-article853766.html# Print Send Share

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