Roberto Mancini has stated that Liverpool have made mistakes over their handling of the Luis Suarez racial abuse incident, but feels the Reds’ striker is not a racist.
The Uruguay international has been given an eight-match ban from the FA after he was found guilty of insulting Manchester United defender Patrice Evra due to his ethnicity.
The Anfield club have been widely criticised due to their unrelenting support of Suarez, and an incident of racism against Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi by a club fan.
The Manchester City boss has stated that things can happen in the heat of the moment, but must be apologised for in the aftermath.
“I think that sometimes it can happen on the pitch, a situation like this. It is important to apologise for what you did,” he told The Telegraph.
“Sometimes on the pitch you can do something you don’t want to do, because you are nervous, you don’t think on the pitch. I don’t think Suarez is a racist. I think he made a mistake, probably, yes.
“Everyone can make a mistake sometimes, everyone. It is impossible that we are always perfect. It is important to say ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake, I apologise for this’ and accept the charge.
“Everything was said to me during my 20 years as a player, but I understand. I didn’t cry for this on the pitch because, I repeat, I have my opinion that on the pitch everything can happen because you don’t think, because you are tired, because you are stupid, you are young, for many reasons,” he concluded.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy says that there was no fallout with wing-back Jelle Van Damme before he opted to return to Belgium to join Standard Liege.
The 27-year-old spent just a few months at Molineux, but McCarthy had no problems with the Belgium international during that time.
He told the club's official website:"There was no point in keeping him. When someone moves, why does it always have to be the case that someone has 'fallen out'.
"He is a good player and sometimes it just doesn't work out. This was one of those occasions.
"He came, he started in the team, he got injured in his first game and things haven't worked out for him personally.
"He had his family life and sometimes all those little things add up to the fact that it just doesn't work out and that's what happened.
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"I like Jelle and, when he played, he gave his all.
"But, if he wants to go back, then even if there is one per cent not totally committed to it, then why would I continue to play him when I've got lads who are totally committed?"Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sunderland are hopeful that England striker Darren Bent will be fit for Monday's Premier League fixture against Blackburn Rovers.
Bent missed England's Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro on Wednesday after picking up a groin problem while on international duty.
The seven-goal striker was immediately made a doubt for the trip to Ewood Park.
However, following scans on Bent's return to the north east, Black Cats boss Steve Bruce is upbeat about his chances of being passed fit.
"Darren's had a scan and his injury is not too serious," he told the club's official website.
"You're always concerned if a player picks up a groin injury.
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"If the game against Blackburn was this Saturday I'd say he had no chance of playing, but given that it's Monday he's got half a chance of being fit for it.
"We'll keep monitoring the situation and we'll see how he is come Monday."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Since Kenny Dalglish returned to the Anfield hotseat he appears to have made a conscious effort to battle every journalist that enters his path. The Scot has battled with anybody brave enough to question him about a negative issue and sometimes those who don’t.
It is now becoming a regular occurrence as he takes exception to people doing their job because they are not doing as he wants. While all managers hope for an easy press conference and attempt to use a straight bat to fend off any problems, the 60-year-old brings all eyes on himself by lambasting those in front of him.
The latest episode of this ongoing saga came last week at the mandatory press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea when a reporter asked for his thoughts on Luis Suarez’s racism charge by the FA. The club had sent out a press release the day before outlining their stance on the decision but with the cameras on he was pushed to give a response of his own.
Like any good manager that has consulted the club’s press officer he said: “I think the statement says everything and our position has not changed in any way, shape or form. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
But when pressed again he appeared more agitated, saying: “I just said that’s all I’ve got to say.”
And when asked for a third time he couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the interviewer, adding: “I don’t know if you’ve got wax in your ears but I just said the statement says what we’ve got to say and we have not changed our position in any way, shape or form.”
It’s hardly of Joe Kinnear proportions but it is becoming a habit that is not being missed.
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In September he was asked about Andy Carroll’s lifestyle in response to Fabio Capello’s comments on his drinking and he used the opportunity to take a huge swipe at the press. He said: “How long you gonna milk it for? You don’t know his lifestyle. Who knows his lifestyle? Andy. I think Andy’s wiser than a lot of you boys and a lot of the people that right about it and I don’t think his lifestyle is anything like what you’d like it to be.”
And after the 2-1 Carling Cup victory over Stoke another reporter asked a much more positive question about the £35 million man, simply enquiring: “We know Luis Suarez will take the headlines on for Wednesday, but Andy had a really good game. I know there have been one or two questions about his form, but do you feel vindicated every time he puts in a performance like that?”
But even then Dalglish reacted angrily retorting: “I don’t know why he had to ride it. There’s always one or two questions. He was fantastic the other night, just leave it at that, and just leave your question at that as well, and don’t keep looking for negatives. We’ve been through it before with the big fella.”
The manager may think he is just defending his players and attacking journalists he feels aren’t worthy of his presence but it is creating a storm around him that is likely to end badly. Dalglish’s plan of action in press conferences and interviews may work well for him but it is going to make him a target for criticism when things go wrong.
Journalists are asking the questions that the public want answers to and getting an aggressive response so they have decided to take a more positive line of questioning with him, only for the mundane and repetitive style of interviewing to be criticised by the Scot in another rage. Doing this will only alienate him from the press and when things start to go wrong he will not be able to get away from the criticism. The media will not go out and target the Liverpool manager but if he is going to argue with them on a weekly basis why would they want to sweep any problems at Anfield under the rug?
Andy Carroll’s form is not fantastic but it is being concentrated on more and more because of the strained relationship that is being created between the club and the press. Stories are there to be found and the journalists mocked by Dalglish will not turn a blind eye to any sight of a problem.
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Kenny Dalglish picked a fight with the media that he can only win while his team is winning like they did on Sunday. But if he doesn’t guide them to the top four and begins to struggle, the press will be ready to put the pressure on.
Comment below or follow me on Twitter @jrobbins1991.
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AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has signed a one-year contract extension with the Serie A champions, the club announced on Wednesday.There had been speculation over the 35-year-old’s future with his contract set to expire in June.
But rumours of his impending departure have been put to rest as the Dutch international signed a deal to stay with the club he joined in 2002.
“There was almost no need to negotiate. Last week, we settled on an agreement on the main points of the contract and today we have finalised it,” he said.
“Everything is fine. There weren’t any problems. AC Milan has made me an offer, which I’ve accepted. As I’ve said, we didn’t negotiate that much. Everything has been very quiet and serene.”
Seedorf said there were no problems between him and the club in reaching the agreement.
“The willingness of the club and of the president (Silvio Berlusconi) has been very clear and I’ve been clear as well. In this way, we can restart next year with important objectives, like all years,” he said.
“We have won the championship and now we should get closer to Europe. This represents a great incentive for me and I’d like to repeat the same performance next year as well.”
Seedorf joins fellow veterans Alessandro Nesta, Massimo Ambrosini and Filippo Inzaghi in signing new deals to remain at the San Siro.
The winter weather has taken a huge bite in the Premier League programme this weekend, with only the clashes at the Stadium of Light and Ewood Park given the go ahead. Hopefully tonight’s clash at Eastlands will make up for the loss of action as both sides are desperate for the win.
In the papers today there has been a mixed bag of stories which includes Cesc Fabregas airs title fear; Mancini calls on City fans to back Carlos Tevez, while Roy Hodgson eyes new faces at Anfield.
*
Fabregas airs title fear – Sky Sports
Nelsen lambasts Blackburn owners – Guardian
Now Houllier orders his Aston Villa commuters to get moving – Daily Mail
Hammers chase Ade on loan – Sun
Mancini expects City fans to back Tevez against Everton – Guardian
Hodgson eyes fresh faces – Sky Sports
Everton fans can be forgiven an envious glance tonight – Independent
Tottenham offer contract to Juventus striker Vincenzo Iaquinta – IM Scouting
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Arsenal ready to sanction £2m sale of Nordtveit to Moenchengladbach – Daily Mail
McCarthy has board backing – Sky Sports
Bayern join race for Glen Johnson – IM Scouting
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Lokomotiv Moscow continued their dominance of Group A in the Beach Soccer Club World Cup with a 5-4 win over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.An early header from Egor Shaykov and a brace to Brazilian Daniel Lima put Lokomotiv ahead 3-0 and in sight of a big victory, but a penalty to Boguslaw Saganowski sparked a revival for Sporting.
A superb effort from Alan tied the scores at 4-4, but Shaykov returned to win the game off his own boot with a brilliant individual goal.
The Russian side stay top of Group A with eight points, while Sporting remain anchored to the bottom of the table without a single point.
Barcelona continued to impress in Group B with a 6-3 thumping of AC Milan.
The Catalan side took the lead when Fred converted in audacious fashion, and they continued to give the Italians problems in the early stages.
When Dimitri Shishin finished off a direct move with a neat goal Barca were up 4-0, before Stephan Meier netted a first-time volley to temporarily put Milan back in the contest.
Shishin finished with four goals for the match as Barca kept in the lead in Group B with eight points.
With the FA Cup final coming up between Manchester City and Stoke I thought it would be a good time to look at some other games over the years that have featured a highly fancied team against one that wasn’t given a chance before the game. Here is a top ten list of some memorable games that big underdogs have taken part in.
10 2009-10 Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0
I feel this is worth a place on the top ten because of the immense problems Portsmouth went through that season that included heavy debts and ended with relegation. However, despite those problems the club still managed to reach the FA Cup final at a packed Wembley. Chelsea won the match thanks to a 59th winner from Didier Drogba.
[youtube CWOGmcCbZJM]
9 2007-08 Cardiff 0 Portsmouth 1
This game makes the list for two main reasons. Firstly, it was a fantastic achievement for a Championship club to reach the FA Cup final and playing in Europe for either club would be a fantastic achievement. Portsmouth won this encounter thanks to a winner goal from Kanu in the 37th minute. The result ensured Portsmouth had qualified for Europe for the first time in their history.
[youtube jPro_ktWYVs]
8 2003-04 Manchester United 3 Millwall 0
Manchester United won this game comfortably with a goal from Ronaldo and a superb brace from Dutch forward Ruud Van Nistelrooy. But it should be noted that Millwall did fantastically well just the reach the final considering it was the first time the club had reached a final in the League or FA Cup.
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Continued on Page TWO
7 2002-03 Arsenal 1 Southampton 0
Arsenal went into this game as big favourites after finishing second in the Premier League and having won the double the previous season. Even though Southampton were a solid side also but in this situation they were underdogs. As expected Arsenal won the game 1-0 with Pires getting the winner goal.
[youtube oRGiMoRforg]
6 1991-92 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0
This was another great final between a massive club from the top flight and massive underdog from outside the top division. But the game went the expected way and Liverpool won through goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush.
[youtube KFDxP2gDCxA]
5 1987-88 Wimbledon 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool were always billed as the likely winners of this game having just won the title for the top flight that season but it was plucky Wimbledon who upset the bookies with an unlikely win. Lawrie Sanchez struck the unlikely winner in the first half and Wimbledon recorded a famous victory.
[youtube iBNJLK9_fhg]
4 1986-7 Coventry 3 Tottenham 2
This was a classic of a game that again needed extra time to find a winner. The two sides were close throughout the game – but it was eventually Coventry that won thanks to a Gary Mabbutt own goal.
[youtube TBT4-jjiMyg]
Continued on Page THREE
3 1989-90 Manchester United 3 Crystal Palace 3
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What a classic game of football this was and even after extra time there was still no winner. In fact there was even time for two goals to be scored in the extra time period. Manchester United won the reply 1-0.
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2 1982-3 Manchester United 2 Brighton 2
Manchester United were big favourites going into this game and Brighton had been relegated from the top flight that season and never reached the final before. However, they gave United quite a game and the match finished in a 2-2 draw thanks to 87th minute equaliser from Gary Stevens.
[youtube AD2SQyzMTho]
1 1982-3 Manchester United 4 Brighton 0
After such a strong performance in the original game they would have had high hopes for the replay but it proved to be a very one-side affair with United winning 4-0. United did well to record such a convincing win in what must have been such a tricky game.
Juventus boss Luigi Delneri was left fuming after his side threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home against Catania on Saturday.Two first-half goals from Alessandro Del Piero put Juventus comfortably ahead at the break, but Catania fought back with strikes from Alejandro Gomez and Lodi – from a free kick on the stroke of full-time – to secure a crucial point in their battle to avoid the drop.
Delneri, whose side are in seventh place and three points short of a Europa League berth with four games to play, was furious by the performance of his men and referee Mauro Bergonzi, who allowed five minutes of stoppage time.
“I am angry with everything, not just with Juventus’ performance, but also with the serious mistakes we made in the second half and the mistakes in the game’s finale due to high tension and due to errors from the referee,” Delneri said.
“At the end he did so many things he (Bergonzi) shouldn’t have done.”
“There was a series of quite complicated factors – the injury time, their free kick from (Felipe) Melo’s foul that wasn’t a foul, because it would have been impossible not to use that arm.”
“A more serious foul by (Pablo Martin) Ledesma was not seen from a Del Piero free kick, so to tell the truth I think he made quite strange decisions.”
“I’m not saying he did that on purpose, but if you are a referee you should behave as a referee otherwise it would be better to change profession. You should have a logic in what you see.”
Premier League leaders Manchester United host newly promoted Norwich City at Old Trafford on Saturday intent on getting back to winning ways after dropping their first points of the season last week.
The Red Devil’s storming start to the season came to an abrupt halt as they failed make it six consecutive wins at Stoke City last week with Peter Crouch’s second half header securing a 1-1 draw for the Potters. As invincible as United looked in the opening weeks of the campaign they now look decidedly vulnerable after stuttering to a 3-3 draw in the Champions League against Basle with Ashley Young saving their blushes with a late header. They have been hindered by the absence of Wayne Rooney who missed both games although Sir Alex Ferguson will hate to rely solely on the England man to inspire his side. Defensively they were poor on Tuesday with Phil Jones and Rio Ferdinand struggling to operate in tandem although it’s likely they’ll be paired together again on Saturday with Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling injured along with Tom Cleverley. Danny Welbeck could be given another chance up front after he scored twice against the Swiss side keeping out Javier Hernandez who was forced off at Stoke last week after a class with Asmir Begovic. Jonny Evans should also return to the side and provide backup to Ferdinand and Jones from the bench.
A few weeks ago many people will have written off the Canaries but after two wins on the bounce they go into the game against Ferguson’s side booming with confidence. It’s been a promising few weeks with back-to-back victories over Bolton and Norwich seeing some self belief start to creep into the players at Carrow Road. Paul Lambert has moulded his side into one capable of coping with Premier League life and their performance on Monday against the Black Cats was an accomplished one. The former Colchester boss has proved himself to be a shrewd operator in the transfer market with lower league signings Elliott Bennet, Marc Tierney and Anthony Pilkington excelling in the top flight so far this season. Taking maximum points at Old Trafford could be a task too far for Lamberts’ side with United unbeaten in 36 games at home. He suffered a blow in mid-week with the news James Vaughan will be out for four months joining Zak Whitbread, Elliott Ward and Dani Ayala on the sidelines. Lambert will also have to do without Ritchie De Laet who is unable to play against his parent club.
Key Players
Ashley Young – After scoring his first Champions League goal against Basel on Tuesday the winger will be hungry to inflict some pain on Norwich this weekend. He’ll be tasked by Ferguson with providing Rooney with the bullets and also getting in some shots of his own.
Bradley Johnson – Since signing from Leeds in the summer Johnson has been a real presence in the Canaries midfield with his energy making him a fans favourite already. Scored his first goal for the club at Bolton two weeks ago and will relish the opportunity to play at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Verdict: 3-0
Ashley Young is currently third in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, behind only his teammate Wayne Rooney and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero Young has also completed the most dribbles (30) of all players in the Barclays Premier League this season, one completed dribble ahead of his teammate Nani. Bradley Johnson had an average speed while the ball was in play against Sunderland of 6.64MPH. This was over 1MPH more than any other Norwich City player during the game. The Norwich City players covered a total of 125,306m (77.86miles) in Monday night’s 2-1 win against Sunderland
Fancy winning a million pounds??
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