TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Ridsdale denies Cardiff administration reports • Cardiff chairman calls £2.7m tax debt story 'inaccurate'• Information 'can only have come' from stolen documentsThe Cardiff City chairman, Peter Ridsdale, has condemned a newspaper report claiming the Championship club are close to administration and insists they will "continue to trade as normal".A story in the News of the World claimed Cardiff must settle a £2.7m tax bill with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs this week or risk receiving a winding-up order.But Ridsdale insists there is no danger to Dave Jones's side and has voiced concern over the source of the story. A statement from Ridsdale on the club's website said: "Cardiff City Football Club are concerned at an article in one of Sunday's national newspapers. Some of the information contained within this article can only have come from documents which have been stolen from officials at the club and are currently the subject of a police investigation."We are also taking legal advice with regard to the damaging contents of this article. This information has been used out of context, is not the latest position, nor does it contain all the current facts and is therefore inaccurate."We are happy that Cardiff's relationships with its creditors, including HMRC, are such that we will not have any financial issues that will affect the ability of the club to continue to trade as normal in all aspects of its business."City's FA Cup tie at Bristol City was postponed yesterday and their next match is at home to Ian Holloway's Blackpool on Saturday.Cardiff CityBusinessChampionshipguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ferguson attacks Sullivan and Gold • Change of ownership 'a good thing' • Sullivan says he had 'duty to keep club solvent'Sir Alex Ferguson has criticised David Gold and David Sullivan, the former Birmingham City owners and said that the new club president, Carson Yeung, and Alex McLeish will take the Blues to new heights. The Manchester United manager said Gold and Sullivan, who were in charge at St Andrew's from 1993 to 2009, had held Birmingham back."I think the change of owner has been a good thing for Birmingham," he said. "The old regime was set in its ways about financing the team. There never seemed to be any great financial support in the sense of understanding how big Birmingham could be. As a manager, Alex understands that … if you go back quite a few years, Birmingham were the bigger team in that area. But, obviously, Aston Villa have surpassed them in every way."Since a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on 17 October, Birmingham have won seven and drawn four and bids have been made for Liverpool's Ryan Babel and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones. "They are trying to buy one or two players for a considerable amount of money," Ferguson said. "It is the first time I can remember Birmingham doing that."Alex McLeish has done a brilliant job at Birmingham, absolutely wonderful. I think the change of owner has been a good thing for him … it has given them a freshness and different people to work with. He is a very progressive young manager. Alex has always been ambitious and intelligent. You will see a change in Birmingham."Sullivan said: "He's probably right. However, old-fashioned as it might seem … we felt directors of football clubs have a duty to keep the club solvent. We were a PLC with responsibility to our shareholders. That said, the team we bought and financed was seventh and eighth in the Premier League, with the highest-earning player on £25,000 a week, and the club is financially solvent."There are many football clubs with huge financial problems and a few will tumble in the next year. I bet their supporters wished they had had our stewardship. It's pretty easy for the manager of Manchester United, who are one of the wealthiest clubs in the country to make these comments. Time will tell how [good] Birmingham can be."Birmingham CityPremier LeagueSir Alex FergusonManchester UnitedTim Richguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
World Cup chief: buying tickets should be easier South Africa's World Cup organizer is urging FIFA to make it easier to buy tickets. cbc.ca |
Aston Villa 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 2: match report If Villa were concerned about inability to score in recent weeks, they can rest easy, after taking tally to nine goals in two games. telegraph.co.uk |
Gerrard: Wolves draw is proof of progress • Captain praises run of five matches unbeaten• Club denies Yossi Benayoun will move to Dynamo MoscowIn what is becoming a familiar refrain at Anfield this season, Steven Gerrard has declared Liverpool have "turned a corner" in the wake of the goalless draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rafael BenÃtez used the same phrase two months ago only for his team to subsequently regress but Gerrard believes that a fifth consecutive Premier League match without defeat represents genuine proof that Liverpool are moving in the right direction.The England international, who returned to the side at Molineux after being out for 13 days with a hamstring strain, admitted that confidence has suffered during a hugely disappointing season. Gerrard, however, highlighted the "character" and "desire" that Liverpool have demonstrated in recent weeks to avoid defeat at Stoke City and Wolves as a cause for optimism and also a reason to believe that fourth place can yet be salvaged from the wreckage of their campaign."We are really happy how we defended as a team [against Wolves]. I think it is a point gained rather than two lost," said Gerrard. "We've got a couple of home games coming up and if we take maximum points, I'm sure we'll edge into that top four. The important thing is that we are playing better. We've turned the corner and we are a much more difficult team to beat now. We would probably have lost the [Wolves] game 1-0 a couple of months back so we are defending a lot better."Confidence was certainly low a few weeks ago but we've had a couple of encouraging results. Stoke away was a tough game and the lads performed fantastically well against Tottenham. What we've shown over the last few weeks is that we can match teams physically and battle. Confidence is slowly coming back and, once that confidence is back, results will follow. We are very confident we can eventually edge into that top four."Gerrard admitted that his team-mates had found the league table difficult to look at this season but he has been impressed with their response during a spell that has yielded 11 points from a possible 15. "The most important thing for me over the last three or four games is the character and the desire the players have shown. That gives you major confidence because you know eventually that the quality of performance is just around the corner if the solid base is there."Liverpool, meanwhile, have insisted Yossi Benayoun is not leaving Anfield despite claims the Israel captain's agent has agreed a three-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. The Russian club's sporting director, Konstantin Sarsania, suggested the influential midfielder could complete a £7m move this week providing Liverpool consent to his departure."It is true that we have come to an agreement with the player's agent. In the next two days, Liverpool will make their own decision," Sarsania said. "When we completed the signing of Andriy Voronin, consent was given by BenÃtez. Now the Liverpool coach is against losing Benayoun, but the decision is not his, it is for the club's directors."Liverpool, however, have categorically denied that Benayoun is on his way. A club spokesman last night stated: "The player is not for sale and he will not be leaving." Benayoun is currently recovering from a broken rib and not expected to return until mid-February.Steven GerrardLiverpoolPremier LeagueStuart JamesAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |