Uefa set to approve financial fair play rules

Just six of the current Premier League clubs would be eligible to qualify for future European competitions after Uefa’s “financial fair play” rules are introduced on Thursday. Read more

Pompey Euro dream ends

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

PFA announce nominees

The Professional Footballers’ Association has announced the nominees for the 2009-10 Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. 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.”

Pompey allowed to sell players

Portsmouth have been granted special permission to sell players before the end of the season to ease their financial crisis.

The cash-strapped club appealed to the Premier League last month to be allowed to sell players outside the transfer window to raise funds but that was rejected.

However, following a board meeting last week where Portsmouth’s nine-point penalty for going into administration was confirmed, the Premier League have decided to allow them to make sales in certain circumstances.

A Premier League statement said: “The Premier League board meeting that convened last week to consider the administration of Portsmouth FC dealt with a number of matters beyond just the application of the sporting sanction (deduction of nine points).

“In accordance with Premier League rules, postponement of the suspension of Portsmouth FC as a member club was conditional on a number of undertakings being given by the administrators.

“These have now been received to the satisfaction of the board and therefore it has decided to allow Portsmouth FC to make player sales under the following circumstances:

1. Players may be sold to other Premier League Clubs but may not play first team football for the new club before the end of the season.

2. Players may be sold to a Football League or foreign club, subject to Fifa’s approval.

3. Portsmouth FC may enter into an agreement with another Premier League, Football League or foreign club that a player will be transferred to that other club in the summer.”

Pompey have debts of about £60m and have already laid off 81 staff to cut their costs.

“This has given us an option, but we’re not necessarily going to sell players,” said administrator Andrew Andronikou. 

“At the moment we don’t necessarily need (the money from sales). I’ve always said, we’ve had means within the club. So it’s a window that’s open to us.”

However, supporters groups have slammed the decision as the worst outcome that could have happened.

Brendan Bone, a member of SOS Pompey, said: “It all points to asset stripping of the highest order by the administrators who are lining our club up to be brought out of administration by the present owners.

“The Premier League should have taken the hardline but all they have done now is allow our club to be sold down the river.”

Bruce blasts complacent Cats

Sunderland 3 Birmingham City 1

Bruce was delighted with Sunderland’s quick start but blasted his side’s second-half display. 

Darren Bent sent a World Cup reminder to England manager Fabio Capello by scoring two goals inside the first 11 minutes to take his tally for the season to 21.

Birmingham rallied in the second half and Cameron Jerome’s strike on the hour made it a nervy final 30 minutes for the home side.

The Black Cats were forced to rely on a series of  saves from Craig Gordon to keep the visitors at bay before Fraizer Campbell put the game beyond doubt two minutes from time.

The result leaves Bruce’s side 10 points clear of the relegation zone with eight games remaining.

Bruce said: “Yes, we got a goal in the last minute – but anyone who was at the game witnessed the two sides of us.

“We were very good in the first half but in the second we showed complacency, took our foot off the gas and all those other clichés.

“We have our goalkeeper to thank because he was absolutely sensational. Craig was brilliant against Manchester City and was great again today. He’s proved just what a good goalkeeper he is.

“It was nice to get off to a good start but I’m disappointed with the second half. I will look at it tomorrow – probably hungover! The first half was terrific but there were warning signs just before the break.

“I wanted us to get going again straight from the restart but we simply didn’t get out of the blocks.

“We must erase that second-half performance. Some people have the ‘it could only happen to us’ mentality [about late goals] and I won’t keep accepting it. We must change that if we possibly can.”

Quinn: Bruce will be manager next season

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has insisted Steve Bruce will not be sacked even if the club are relegated.

The Black Cats ended a 14-game win-less run with a 4-0 victory at home to Bolton on Tuesday night but Bruce’s position remains a source of debate amongst supporters.

Quinn remains convinced that Bruce is the man to take the club forward - a view shared by American owner Ellis Short, who visited Wearside last week to offer his support to the manager and his players.

He said: “I can assure you now that even if we don’t win another game between now and the end of the season, Steve will be manager here next year. If we go down, he’ll still be the manager.

“Ellis is a big admirer of Steve and that continued despite the disappointing run we’ve had.

“Thankfully, he’s a realist and knows that this game can be tough.

“He knows that things rarely go smoothly in football and that there were a lot of factors such as injuries and suspensions and sometimes just the drop of the ball, that hampered us during that time.

“Ellis lets us run the business and he’s not affected by the message boards or the media speculation. He has faith in me and my chief executive Steve Walton and he has faith in the manager we thought was the perfect person to take the club forward.

“Despite the results the owner never once questioned whether we had the right manager.”

While Quinn is confident that Sunderland will retain their Premier League status, he revealed the club has taken steps to protect itself should the worst happen.

“We have got ourselves structurally very sound to deal with all eventualities,” he said. “Obviously the preferred eventuality is spending to improve the squad and move up the table.

“We do have an aim of being an established top-ten club over time, but we don’t want to find ourselves desperately losing sleep in April over whether we are going to be in this league every year.

“Nothing will hurt this club in the way it might have in the past. Anybody who comes to this club has to agree to a 40 per cent deduction in the event of us getting relegated and it’s the same for senior staff and players already here who sign a new contract.”

Stronger

The Black Cats are about to release their latest financial figures, with Quinn expecting them to reveal a £26million loss for 2008-09 - but that figure represents the most recent investment in the squad.

He said: “The accounts will show the word loss, but that should really be interpreted as extra signings. We could easily shown a profit, but we wouldn’t have [Michael] Turner, [Darren] Bent, [Lee] Cattermole or [Lorik] Cana.

Chief executive Steve Walton says the club remain on a solid financial footing with Texan tycoon Short converting a £48m loan into shares last summer.

He said: “What it means is that the money is effectively there forever and can’t be withdrawn. It has made us stronger.

“Not only did we cover investments but Ellis Short gave us money to reduce our external bank debts as well. It’s a very powerful picture going forward.”

But Quinn insists the American’s interest is more than just financial.

“He is Sunderland through and through, his family are. His son goes to school every day in a Sunderland shirt, which isn’t an easy thing to do in London. But that’s the difference in our owner,” he said.

“He doesn’t want publicity, he is not doing it to be patted on the back by fans. He is doing it because he is in there now, he is one of us.

“He is hoping there is a very big future here.”

Woodgate undergoes groin opertaion

Tottenham Hotspur and England defender Jonathon Woodgate is to undergo further groin surgery in Australia, in a desperate bid to cure his ongoing groin problem.

The former Leeds, Newcastle, Middlesborough and Real Madrid man has only made 3 appearances this season for the Spurs, in an important season that could inevitably see them enter the Champions League qualification stages.

The 30 year old defender had two operations during the summer, but none of them were very successful as he has not featured in many games this campaign. However if all goes well in Austrailia, Woodgate is expected to be back training in pre-season.

“Jonathon Woodgate has had an operation out in Australia today, so we will keep our fingers crossed.” explained Harry Redknapp.

“It was a groin problem he has had. Eventually he went to America and has ended up in Australia to see a specialist out there and they have operated on him.

“There were a couple of options but they confident they have got the right answer so we will have to wait and see. Will he play again this season? There is no real chance.” said the Tottenham chief.

Further problems

Harry Redknapp has been hit with a load of injuries to vital members of his squad, including Aaron Lennon (groin), Jermaine Jenas (groin), Tom Huddlestone (ankle), David Bentley (groin), Carlo Cudicini (wrist, pelvis) and club captain Ledley King (thigh).

Ledley King was expected to be out for only a few weeks, but he has not responded well to treatment ever since he was forced to come off in Tottenhams 3-0 win over Wigan last month and is due to be out for a further two more weeks, which is a huge setback for Redknapp and his men.

Tottenham face Blackburn Rovers in tomorrows Premier League lunchtime kick off at White Hart Lane, in a must win game for Spurs if the want to strengthen their claim for that all important fourth place and final Champions League spot.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers live on Sky Sports from 12.30pm.

Bruce: I’m still the right man

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is convinced his side will not be involved in a relegation fight despite extending their winless run to 14 games.

Following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Fulham at the Stadium of Light, Bruce’s Black Cats have now taken only seven points from 42 available – a run of form that has left them three points clear of the bottom three.

At the final whistle, the 40,192 crows left Bruce and his players in no doubt of their opinion after another abject performance.

Bruce said: “We have got to handle it. The one thing here – which I know after living here – Fulham haven’t got and Wigan and Birmingham and Bolton, there isn’t the huge expectation that you have here. That goes with the territory of playing here and being able to handle it here.

“Let’s be fair, over the years, we haven’t been quite up to it. That’s the challenge and I am convinced we will get there. The concern at the moment is one thing: we have to get out of the run we are in.

“Who knows, the point we got, if we win next week – we keep saying it, if we win next week – it might be the point that takes us a couple of places up the table, who knows?

Pressure

Bruce took responsibility for his side’s awful display, but admitted there were “no excuses” for his players for “not handling the ball well enough” and resorting to “lumping the ball up the pitch”.

He added: “We need something to take the pressure off and we need to handle the huge expectation of a 40,000 crowd.

“We were nervous and edgy. We’re working hard enough but too many people are not playing well.

“If I ever resort to playing [longballs] it’s time for me to call it a day because I want my team to get the ball down and play, and we found that difficult.

“Listen, the buck stops with me. I’ve bought five or six of today’s team and it’s a difficult time but I’m confident I’m still the right man – and that we’ll be okay.”

Sunderland now have three back-to-back home games coming up and Bruce believes the fans can help their team bounce back.

He said: “They are absolutely fantastic and it cannot have been good for them at times as the team are short of confidence.

“I think the supporters recognise the nervousness and edginess of the team and I think they can play their part and help the team.

“If we are honest we have to be playing better than that and play better than we have done today and match the expectations of this football club.

“We have just got to keep together and turn it round.”

Pavlyuchenko inspires Spurs win

Roman Pavlyuchenko netted his fifth goal in three games for Spurs to put them back in 4th place in the Premier League, after they beat Everton 2-1.

This afternoons win for Harry Redknapps men means that they go back above fellow fourth place rivals Manchester City after their shock win at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

Pavlyuchenko’s rich reign of form continued as he opened the scoring in the 11th minute after converting a low cross from strike partner Jermain Defoe. Luka Modric then doubled their lead in the 28th minute with a lovely chip from the edge of the penalty area, after some nice interplay with fellow Croatians Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar.

However in the second half Everton came out a revitalised team and with some well worked play and pressure, got their just reward.

Yakubu got a goal back in the 55th minute and soon after his side should have got another as Landon Donovan failed to finished Jack Rodwells shot come cross, which left David Moyes and the travelling fans with their heads in his hands.

Spurs had to defend desperately at times, as Everton really piled on the pressure towards the end of the game. But the men in white held onto their first half lead in what can only be describe as a valuable win, which sees them strengthen their case for that final Champions League spot.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp had this to say about the game:

“Overall I thought we played well and we were terrific at times in the first half.

“When you play Everton you know they are not going to give up.

“David (Moyes) obviously got into Everton at half time and they raised their game. At 2-1 we got edgy and we were defending for our lives at times.

David Moyes also commented on the game:

“It was a game of two halves. Tottenham were better in the first and we were much better in the second.

“At half time we were dead and buried but I have to give the players credit for making a game of it.

“It (Donovan’s miss) was a crucial moment for us and probably a crucial moment for Tottenham as well.”

Next Page »