| Newcastle's Ben Arfa Sustains Suspected Broken Leg LONDON (Reuters) - Newcastle United's French forward Hatem Ben Arfa was taken to hospital with a suspected fracture of his left leg after only four minutes of his team's Premier League match at Manchester City on Sunday. feeds.nytimes.com |
Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong dropped by Holland for tackle on Ben Arfa Man City midfielder dropped from Dutch squad as punishment for tackle which broke Hatem Ben Arfa's leg. telegraph.co.uk |
Boro will take their time over Strachan's replacement • Chairman Steve Gibson in no rush to make appointment• 'We have got to get it right. We are going to look at it carefully'The Middlesbrough chairman, Steve Gibson, has vowed to take his time to get the right man for the vacant manager's job at the Riverside Stadium.Gibson was today starting the process of talking to potential candidates having accepted Gordon Strachan's resignation yesterday following a dreadful run of results for the pre-season promotion favourites. The chairman is due to attend this evening's Championship clash with Nottingham Forest as Boro attempt to kick-start their season after a run of four games which has yielded just a single point.However, having placed coaches Steve Agnew and Mark Proctor in charge in the short term, he is determined that his next appointment will be one which will take the club forward following an alarming decline during the four years since their Uefa Cup final appearance."That will take as much time as is necessary," Gibson told the club's website. "We have got to get it right. We are not going to rush into a management appointment, we are going to look at it carefully. We are going to have a lot of debate and a lot of discussion with potential managers and we will make a decision when it is appropriate to do so."Old boy Tony Mowbray, who is still being paid by Celtic under his severance package, is favourite with both the fans and the bookmakers, with Paul Ince, Alan Pardew and Phil Brown also in the frame.Gibson has no problem with supporters speculating over the new manager, but he is keeping his cards close to his chest. He said: "We want the interest, we want the gossip, we need them to talk about the club. My big worry is the day that they don't."I understand the rumours will be flying around and I will be spotted everywhere from the Park End pub to José Mourinho. But we will take our time. I don't respond to rumours. We will do what is right for the football club and hopefully, we will get it right."While some fans never warmed to Strachan's idiosyncratic approach to his job, Gibson retains a great affection for the Scot, and refuses to blame him for everything that went wrong during his year at the helm. He said: "Gordon signed a three-and-a-half-year-contract and when he signed it, we expected that to run its full course at the very least."I have had long-staying managers here, really – Bryan Robson for seven years, Steve McClaren for five years. Even Gareth [Southgate] was with us almost three years. We have got a history of trying to support our managers, but we are not frightened to make the important decisions if they need to be made."You need time to develop your team, to develop your club and when it doesn't work, it's never down just to one person. It's very rarely just down to one person. It can happen, but it is usually a series of events. All the luck we have had this season has been bad luck, we have been unlucky with injuries."Other teams can say that's what happens during a season, but we have got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, we have got to pick ourselves up, take it on the chin and get working, get busy."That process begins tonight at Forest, and Gibson knows exactly what is required. He said: "We need change at the football club, and the biggest change we could get is to win football games. We haven't done that consistently for a long time. We have got to start winning games of football."MiddlesbroughGordon Strachanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson urged to hand Tony Mowbray coach's role Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson has been urged to give Tony Mowbray the chance to revive fortunes. telegraph.co.uk |
Rooney furor hits fever pitch Manchester United's insistence that Wayne Rooney will not be sold in January has failed to quell widespread speculation by British media that the England striker is on his way out of Old Trafford following a bust up with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. cbc.ca |