| Inter Milan v Werder Bremen: live Follow live commentary of the Champions League Group A match between Inter Milan and Werder Bremen at the San Siro Stadium on Wednesday Sept 29 2010. telegraph.co.uk |
I was out of order, admits Holloway • Holloway apologises for outburst at the referee Mike Dean• 'I used the word "useless" and put a horrible one in front of it'Blackpool's manager, Ian Holloway, has apologised for using abusive language towards the referee Mike Dean at Bloomfield Road last Saturday.Holloway has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association after he confronted Dean in the tunnel following the 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League.The manager, who could face a touchline ban, had until today to respond to the charge and Holloway admits he was wrong to speak to the official in the way he did. "I apologise for the abusive language I used," Holloway said. "I should have gone in and calmly said: 'I felt this, why did you do that,' because he is trying to do his job."My lads need me on the side, so if I am going to be punished up in the stand where I can't help them, what good is that to me and my team? So I have got to learn."Asked how big a disadvantage he felt a touchline ban would be, Holloway said: "It will be huge, but you are asking me to talk about something I don't know. I might be pre-empting things. But I'll be up front and honest with you – I shouted at the referee coming off."I used the word 'useless' because I didn't think he had a very good game, and I put a horrible one in front of it. That was out of frustration and I shouldn't have done it."I'm still learning and I have got to learn quickly. I should have learned last week that whatever I shout out at someone because I am frustrated isn't acceptable, not from my position. That is not a good example to show to anyone in that tunnel and it is not what I want to say to that referee, because he did his best."I couldn't understand it, but that is not his fault – it's my fault, so I want to get some help." Holloway hopes the refereeing authorities can clarify for him what does and does not constitute an infringement on the pitch. "I'd like them to explain to me why that is a foul," Holloway said. "Then I can show my defenders 'that is a foul and you can't do that at this level'. Then I can move on and I'll stop arguing."I've asked for [a meeting]. It makes sense doesn't it – if I don't understand something and I am going to fight for my lads, I'd better shut up if I am wrong."I was told I was wrong last week, so I would like them to explain why I was wrong – apart from the swearing. You shouldn't abuse anyone and I did, and I am bang out of order."Blackpoolguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool spent their own way into trouble, says Everton's Tim Cahill The Reds have endured a torrid week in the courtrooms but injury-hit Everton have not been immune to problems off the fieldThere is no sympathy for Liverpool's plight at Everton but their Merseyside rivals are hardly in a position to gloat, as Tim Cahill will testify. Two teams in the city languish on six points from seven games, lest we forget, and one has not had the rich and powerful squabbling for control or any prospect of a new stadium in the foreseeable future. That will be the team carrying greater expectation at Goodison Park tomorrow.David Moyes's men have their own problems ahead of the 214th chapter of English football's most-played derby. This week they lost 16-year-old Ross Barkley, a midfielder of immense promise who starred in England's Under-17 European Championship victory in May, to a triple leg fracture. His personal torment alone should place Liverpool's recent trials into perspective. Marouane Fellaini, Everton's authority in midfield, will be out for six weeks with a hamstring strain, Phil Jagielka is a serious doubt, the influential Steven Pienaar and the rising Jack Rodwell are injured, and a season that opened with Champions League expectations has suffered yet another false start. Pressure to deliver is not only upon Roy Hodgson."It's definitely a game neither team can afford to lose," admits Cahill, who sealed Everton's first league victory of the season, at Birmingham City, before the international break. "We are both in a false position but there is a greater emphasis on this game because of our positions and because of that it is one of the most vital games we will have all season."The Australia international describes the prospect of defeat tomorrow as "unthinkable". Everton's performances have not been as poor as the league table indicates, unlike Liverpool's, with their main weakness being the one Moyes identified in the summer – a lack of penetration in front of goal. A lightweight midfield is now an added burden. The subsequent toil has not altered Cahill's preseason predication that this squad is on "the verge of something big" for Everton.The 30-year-old insists: "I believe in this squad, it's probably the best we have ever had. It's just been the mistakes we have made in the seven games that have cost us. Five points on top of what we have now and we'd be right up there, and that has put added pressure on ourselves. If we don't do it this season then it will definitely be next [season], because I know this team has so much potential."It's so frustrating for us because we demand so much from each other. There are only four or five left behind when there's an international break and that's people like Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta, who should be internationals."I'm not too worried, but hopefully we can kick on now. There is so much spirit in this team. We might not get the result but we will fight for it."Merseyside derbies are notoriously splenetic. They also bring out the best and worst in Cahill. Ten red cards have been issued in the past 11 meetings alone, the Australian receiving one of them, but, immersed in all things Everton and with four career goals against Liverpool, it is a fixture that evidently means as much to the man from Sydney as any scouser."What it means to us and to the fans makes this the most exciting part of my career," he says. "It's a chance to make yourself something special, to look back when you're older and say: 'I remember that derby because I helped make a change.' The feeling of beating Liverpool is up there with the best of my career. The reason is how passionate we both are. I've become wrapped up in the competition of the derby."You expect [Jamie] Carragher and Steven Gerrard to go in hard in the first three minutes. Whoever sets the tone and puts their stamp on things can have a big effect on the game. I expect to be hit early. I expect someone to try to rough me up. It's a compliment in football and it's about how you react, and I will be fine. I always have a smirk when one of them goes in hard on us or vice-versa. As long as it's done in the right manner, I am all for it."The danger is that Liverpool's off-field distractions and the desperate league positions of both Merseyside clubs will spill over. Cahill claims to have paid no attention to his rivals' courtroom dramas but he believes that, when compared to what Moyes has built on more modest resources, Liverpool cannot pin all the blame for their demise on Tom Hicks and George Gillett.Cahill explains: "They have high expectations because they've spent a lot of money. In terms of what they have spent, what we have, what they've had and now don't have, it's not rocket science to say it's affected them. For us, there is no comparison. Our manager has worked within a good budget and brought in players who love playing for the club. We don't have the chance to go and spend £40m a season, we have to be cuter and bring through great young talent. The pressure's been brought on by themselves, by what they've spent. Their fans expect results and when they don't get them, there will always be pressure." None more so than tomorrow.Tim CahillEvertonAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Europe to host 2018 World Cup as USA shifts focus to 2022 The World Cup bidding contests became a lot clearer Friday after the United States withdrew from the 2018 race to focus on earning hosting rights ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
FIFA to Investigate Report Of World Cup Vote - Selling BERNE (Reuters) - World soccer's governing body FIFA said on Sunday it would investigate a newspaper report that two members of its executive committee had offered to sell their votes in the contest to host the 2018 World Cup. feeds.nytimes.com |