Pompey Euro dream ends

Portsmouth have had their dreams of playing in Europe shattered by the Football Association and Premier League. Read more

Bruce: We had our backsides kicked

Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has admitted he will struggle to take any positives from his side’s performance after they were outclassed by Liverpool.

Bruce was forced to concede the Black Cats’ had their “backsides kicked” by a Liverpool side who dominated the match from start to finish at Anfield.

The win moves the Reds up to fifth, four points behind Tottenham who have a game in hand, while Sunderland are eight points clear 0f the drop zone in 13th.

Liverpool took the lead in the third minute when Fernando Torres cut in from the left and curled an unstoppable shot beyond Craig Gordon.

Glen Johnson’s deflected shot made it two on the half hour before Torres scored his 20th of the season with a cool finish in the 60th minute.

Bruce said: “Sometimes in football you have to say you were well beaten and today we’ve got our backsides kicked, it’s as simple as that.

“Liverpool were far too good for us. Maybe two away games in such a short space of time took something out of us and we had injuries, but I don’t want to look for excuses.”

“We simply weren’t good enough to get anywhere near a very good Liverpool team. Gerrard and Torres gave a masterclass and we simply couldn’t contain them.

“Their first goal was a wonder goal. Sometimes you have to take a beating; Liverpool have some world-class players and we’ve seen that today.

“We’ll analyse it and ask whether they were simply that good or whether we were poor.

Bruce made two changes from the team that drew with Aston Villa on Wednesday, with Phil Bardsley and Lorik Cana coming in for the injured Alan Hutton and John Mensah.

“We had to make a couple of changes and when a chance comes along for someone else you expect them to take it,” said Bruce.

“We were all over the place in the first half and were slightly better in the second, but it was all over by then.

“There were not many positives to take, to tell you the truth.”

Keown: Players should move with times

Martin Keown believes players should learn to handle the media as it will boost their chances of getting into the England squad.

The former Arsenal defender, now a BBC pundit, says today’s footballers should “move with the times” and “get out there more” to enhance their international prospects.

The England international also criticised Sky Sports News for “manufacturing” stories to fill their 24-hour rolling news coverage.

Speaking at a World Cup event at the BBC in Manchester, he said: “If you work with the media then they will look after you.

“I don’t know why, but John Terry has signed up to do a piece for the Sun for the World Cup. Now the Sun are always the first to jump to his defence.

“Wayne Rooney is being talked about as captain material because he has learned to handle the media.

“Players should definitely get out there more and move with the times because there are instances where favouritism within the media has helped some players get into the England team.”

Although he feels the media can be manipulated, Keown warns they are a “powerful animal” capable of creating public animosity towards players.

“If a player doesn’t want to do interviews they become hard work for the media,” he said.

“If they feel they don’t need you, they will twist stories and that’s quite difficult to control.

“Sometimes journalists have to be creative and find the angle other people aren’t thinking of, but Sky Sports News have to manufacture stories and some of them are not true. This kind of media is a problem.”

While Keown advocates players using the media to their advantage, he thinks managers should be concentrating more on coaching their teams.

“It’s different for managers. If a manager says too much he is fined and hauled up in front of the FA.

“Steve Bruce said too much to the media, was fined £2,500 and dragged down to London in front of a committee.

“He should have been in Sunderland with his team who had not won in 14 games and then lost a day’s training. He shouldn’t have been in London.

“We saw Rafa Benitez criticise Sam Allardyce recently but he needs to forget the side issues. I believe that’s what lost them the league last season.

“Managers try to be interesting, but it’s a balancing act.”

Real Madrid top “rich list”

Real Madrid have topped the league table of football’s richest clubs for the sixth successive year.

The Spanish giants became also became the first club to break through the €400million (£363m) barrier in a single year, according to Deloitte’s Football Money League.

Real’s arch rivals Barcelona have taken second spot in the list, ahead of Manchester United who fall to third.

Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: “Real Madrid’s 10% increase in revenue to €401m (£342m) came despite a relatively disappointing season domestically and in Europe. Broadcast income provided Real with its largest increase in revenue and at €161m is now greater than the total revenue of all but the top 10 Money League clubs.

“Barcelona’s unprecedented on-pitch success, winning a domestic double and the Champions League, helped drive a revenue increase by €57m, the largest absolute increase of any Money League club, to €366m.”

Manchester United earned a total of €327m, marginally up from €324.8m last year.

The list, based on clubs’ revenue excluding transfer fees, also sees Arsenal overtake Chelsea with the Gunners recording a 7 per cent rise in revenue to £224m compared to their London rivals’ £206m – a 3 per cent fall in revenue.

Jones added: “Chelsea’s revenue has dropped because last season was a bit worse than usual on the pitch, they had frozen season ticket prices and there was not a lot going on in big new commercial developments.

“Arsenal have the advantage in matchday income with a new 60,000-seater stadium and they made the semi-finals of both the Champions League and the FA Cup.

“All the English clubs were impacted by the continuing depreciation of the pound against the euro and the scale of this is shown by the fact that if exchange rates remained at their June 2007 level, United would be top of the money league table.”

The top 20 was again dominated by Europe’s “big five” leagues, with five clubs coming from Germany, four from Italy and two each from France and Spain.

There are seven English sides in the list – Liverpool are seventh, Tottenham are 15th, Manchester City 19th and Newcastle 20th.

The Top 20

1 Real Madrid (Spain)

2 Barcelona (Spain)

3 Manchester United (England)

4 Bayern Munich (Germany)

5 Arsenal (England)

6 Chelsea (England)

7 Liverpool (England)

8 Juventus (Italy)

9 Internazionale (Italy)

10 AC Milan (Italy)

11 Hamburg (Germany)

12 AS Roma (Italy)

13 Lyon (France)

14 Marseille (France)

15 Tottenham Hotspur (England)

16 Schalke (Germany)

17 Werder Bremen (German)

18 Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

19 Manchester City (England)

20 Newcastle United (England)

Steve Bruce sets target for next two games

Sunderland Manager Steve Bruce has set his side a target of winning the next two games if they are to turn around this seasons terrible run of form. Read more

Premier League debt over £3 billion

Premier League clubs’ debt totals more than the rest of Europe’s clubs combined.

 A new Uefa report into the state of football’s finances shows the total debt of the Premier League clubs is £3.4 billion  - 56 per cent of the total across Europe.

What will worry Premier League clubs is that the total value of the debt is close to the value of the assets of £3.8 billion – 48 per cent among all European clubs.

Spain has the second-highest debt, £858 million, but their assets are worth £2.5 billion – three times the value of the debts.

In Italy, the debt is £442 million while their assets are worth £1.3 billion.

The report, the European Club Footballing Landscape, has looked at the 2007-8 accounts from 732 clubs licensed by Europe’s governing body.

The 80-page document states that many clubs have used their stadiums and grounds as collateral to borrow money.

The report accepts much of the debt is linked to the leveraged takeovers by the Glazer’s at Manchester United and the Gillett/Hicks buy-out of Liverpool.

 ”Some of the long-term debt is linked to new stadia such as Arsenal’s, and in other cases already-built assets provide security for commercial lenders,” says the report, adding that the leveraged buy-outs have been “so far acting principally as a burden rather than to support investment or spending.”

The debts of Portsmouth or West Ham United have not been included in the report because they had not been granted Uefa licences in 2007-08 due to their financial problems.

City clash vital for Reds

Liverpool need to turn up the heat at Eastlands if they are to beat Manchester City to fourth place.

City are the favourites to beat Rafael Benitez’s side to the last Champions League spot, and they are currently sitting above Liverpool in that all important fourth place.

The blue half of Manchester are a point clear of the Anfield outfit with a game in hand and Sunday’s clash will be hugely important for both sides to push the gap between fourth and fifth.

Gaining qualification for next years Champions League is crucial for both managers as both their futures are hanging in the balance, and will be under scrutiny if they fail to guide their team to join Europe’s elite next season.

Injuries

Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, will be without in-form Striker Carlos Tevez after he returned home to Argentina for family reasons, while Craig Bellamy may also not be available after a recent absence due to a knee injury.

Patrick Vieira will not feature as he has been handed a three match ban by the FA following his clash with Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan midweek, Vincent Kompany is also unavailable while he undergoes a test on a groin problem.

Rafael Benitez also has problems with selection, the Liverpool boss is still without Fernando Torres who is still struggling with a knee injury. Glen Johnson is also out of action as the right back is still sidelined due to a problem with his knee.

Benitez will be happy that Yossi Bennayoun could be fit after he has been out for several weeks with a broken rib.

Bennayoun has been sorely missed since his injury in mid-January, it was clear to see in Liverpool’s Europa League tie against Unirea Urziceni, as the Reds lacked any attacking play from the wings.

Last night’s game saw the Reds struggle to beat an average side in Europe. A 1-0 win kept the Anfield faithful quietly content after a performance that was lacking in creativity. Rafael Benitez told the BBC:

“It is not the best result but it is good – a clean sheet was important.

“Sometimes when the other team is defending well you have to be patient and keep more of the ball.

“We were waiting for the goal and were really pleased when we did at the end.”

Liverpool are lacking consistency and they need to perform in every game from now until May, the pressure is mounting as City have the psychological edge of holding fourth spot, Benitez needs his players to battle for fourth place and earn the right to play amongst the best in Europe next season.

Possible line-ups:

Manchester City: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Garrido, De Jong, Ireland, Barry, A Johnson, Santa Cruz, Adebayor.

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard, Maxi, Ngog.

Reading Vs West Bromwich Albion FA Cup Fifth Round Preview

Brian McDermott will be looking for his Reading side to continue their good run of form as they play West Brom in their fifth round FA Cup tie.

The Royals, unbeaten in three games, have had a very successful cup run this season and will fancy their chances at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Beating Burnley at home in the last round and Liverpool in the one before that, McDermott will believe his side will be able to make it to the sixth round for the first time since the semi final cup run of 1927.

Speaking to Readingfc.co.uk, McDermott said: “We’re really looking forward to it. We should have a good crowd, a special atmosphere and a special day.

“The FA Cup is a great competition and everyone has memories of it. We were talking about Bob Stokoe, Alan Sunderland, fantastic memories. Now we have our own memories, beating Liverpool at Anfield with Shane Long scoring, then beating Burnley and we want more of it.

“It’s a good game for us because it’s at home. We’re pleased to have our fans behind us. I don’t like to talk about giant killings because we are Reading, we are a big club.”

West Brom will not be easy to walk over however, as they are currently top of the Coca-Cola Championship, unbeaten in seven and have won four games on the trot in all competitions.

The Baggies will be seeking a 12th away game without defeat, having not lost on the road since their league trip to Barnsley on 29 September.

Having beaten Newcastle in the previous round will help Roberto Di Matteo’s men gain confidence for the task ahead:

In an interview with wba.co.uk Di Matteo, who twice won the competition with Chelsea, said: “It’s a great competition the FA Cup in England

“We’ve tried our best in previous games and that’s what we’ll do on Saturday – we’ll try to get through to the next round.

Both sides will be looking for a win and a chance of playing one of the bigger teams left in the competition at the Quarterfinal stage.

Team News

Matt Mills is available for Reading after serving a suspension and should replace cup-tied Zurab Khizanishvili. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Marek Matejovsky are close to a return but Royals’ boss Brian McDermott must do without Noel Hunt, Chris Armstrong and Julian Kelly.

West Brom will have to make changes from the side that went top of the table after beating Scunthorpe – with Mark Nouble cup-tied. Jerome Thomas is suspended while Marek Cech and Ishmael Miller are injured.

Form Guide (All competitions)

Reading: WWWLW

Last Match: vs Plymouth Argyle (h) 2-1

Last Win: vs Plymouth Argyle (h) 2-1

West Brom: WWWWD

Last Match: vs Scunthorpe United (h) 2-0

Last Win: vs Scunthorpe United (h) 2-0

FA Cup History:

Reading: Semi Finalists in 1927

Lost the most FA Cup ties out of any other team currently in the Football League.

West Brom: Winners in 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954 and 1968

Runners-up in 1886, 1887, 1895, 1912 and 1935

Head-to-Head

These clubs have already met in the league at the Hawthorns this season, when the home side won 3-1.

Reading have won their last three home league and cup meetings with the Baggies, and have not lost in six on their own patch since Albion’s 2-0 second level league victory in January 1995.

This is the third time they have been paired together in the FA Cup, and honours are even at one win a piece. The most recent was Reading’s success, after extra time, in a third round replay at the Madejski in 2006

Reina focused on derby clash

Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina insists the players are not looking beyond tomorrow’s 213th Merseyside derby despite an improved run of form.

Reina, who has been one of Liverpool’s star perfromers this season said: “It is a big match and we know that but we play at home once again and we know the supporters will be right behind us.”

Despite all of the usual build-up to the derby game and the media attention that it brings, the Liverpool stopper thinks the Reds just need to focus on winning like any other game: “It doesn’t matter about how you play, it is all about winning.”

Both teams have been enjoying unbeaten league runs of late with Liverpool undefeated in their last six league outings and Everton’s stretching to nine, having won four of their last five in the top flight.

A win for Liverpool will see them go in fourth place and occupy the final Champions League spot, albeit for only a few hours depending on the Spurs game later on in the day. Everton, currently in ninth position in the league will be looking to carry on their recent good run as they strive to break in to the top four having had a poor start to their campaign.

Team News

Liverpool will be without Yossi Benayoun (broken rib), Glen Johnson and leading goalscorer Fernando Torres (both knee). Fabio Aurelio is also doubtful as he continues to recover from a calf strain. Everton will be without David Hibbert (groin) and Phil Jagielka (knee) and Mikkel Arteta (groin) and Dan Gosling (hamstring) are both doubts. However, Everton will be boosted by the return of Joseph Yobo and Yakubu after African Cup of Nations duty.

Key Battle

Gerrard vs Cahill

The midfield battle between the two teams is likely to be where the game is won and lost. With Phil Neville likely to revert to right-back, the Toffee’s are without a midfield anchor so Cahill will have to ensure he keeps tabs on the marauding England midfielder. With three goals in 2010, Cahill is starting to ease the goalscoring burden on top scorer Louis Saha.

Liverpool vs. Lyon preview: Benitez in need of a boost

After their disappointing start to the season, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez knows he is under pressure to get results quickly, with the next two games likely to determine whether or not he will still be in his job.

In the Champions League tonight, the Reds take on in form French team Lyon, who have impressed in recent weeks, with striker Lisandro Lopez particulary in great form.

A defeat tonight would leave them struggling to qualify, with two tough away games to follow. Read more

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