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| Craig Levein needs Plan B for Scots' Euro 2012 qualifier against Spain The Scotland head coach must focus on his attacking options after the failure of his six-man midfieldThe good news for those who control the purse strings at the Scottish Football Association is that Hampden Park had sold out for Tuesday's visit of Spain long before a ball was kicked in Prague on Friday night. Only the rare opportunity to watch the world champions in Glasgow will prevent a refund rush over the next 48 hours. Even the footsoldiers of the Tartan Army, permanently fuelled by the dangerous concoction of optimism and alcohol, arrived home from their latest foreign sojourn in tetchy mood.If sufficient damage was done to Scotland's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign – and it was – by the 1-0 loss to the Czech Republic, even further harm was bestowed on the country's fading football reputation. Bluntly, the outside world will wonder what on earth things have come to when Craig Levein feels compelled to send out a team for a vital game that included not a single player deployed as a striker."That is easy to say in hindsight," says the Scotland captain Darren Fletcher. "Games are always easier in hindsight, when you haven't won."We arrived with a gameplan to frustrate them. If we had come away with a 0-0 or nicked a goal it would have been different but we lost a goal from a set-piece and everyone is critical. That's football, you expect that. When you don't win games you get criticised, when you win games it doesn't matter how you play."That much may be true but in his quiet moments Fletcher is entitled to wonder what on earth he is part of. On Friday evening, the Manchester United player found a wall of five fellow midfielders alongside him, with nobody in a more advanced position to collect a pass. Even though there is no Wayne Rooney equivalent at Levein's disposal, the lack of an "out" ball for Scotland's midfielders left them embarrassingly bereft of attacking impetus."Obviously you want a better performance and a better result but the players followed the instructions," says Fletcher. "We have got to pick ourselves up and prepare properly for Spain now."Levein has never reacted particularly well to criticism – as if anybody does – but he will take solace that Spain arrive so quickly after the Czech affair. The statistics currently do not look clever; Scotland have shipped five points in their three opening Group I matches, with the only victory arriving courtesy of a 97th-minute goal against Liechtenstein.The build-up to Friday's game was overshadowed by Levein's anger with the media, after details of his starting XI had appeared on Wednesday, with the manager unable to stick two fingers up at those who questioned the dropping of Kenny Miller thereafter. Miller could have been forgiven an impudent response when the Scotland manager asked him to rescue the game with 14 minutes left to play.The Rangers striker is almost certain to be handed a more prominent role against Spain. The World Cup winners' ability to pass the ball at ease in defence means it would be outright folly to persist with the 4-2-4-0 strategy so controversially used by Levein in an attempt to combat the Czech Republic.Miller aside, Scotland's Miller aside, Scotland's other hope comes from the – slightly overplayed – notion that the national team raises its game when facing high-ranking teams. There were back-to-back wins over France but key qualifying matches elsewhere in the Euro 2008 campaign resulted in defeats. The Scots' attempts to reach the World Cup in South Africa were undermined by two losses to Holland.Yet Fletcher bats away the suggestion that Tuesday should be treated simply as a bonus game. "It isn't at all, no," he says. "I think everyone always thinks that but we have proved things in the past, look at the results we had against France."Don't get me wrong, we are playing against, arguably the best team in the world and one of the best teams we will have played in a long time but no game is a given. We will go out there trying to get a result from this match and approach it in a positive way. Nobody expects us to get anything but we will be going into the game looking to get something."Spain are going to come and have a lot of possession but hopefully there is an opportunity to take the game to them, with the crowd behind us."Fletcher's words hint at a desire to take on a more adventurous approach.You are left to wonder if he has passed such sentiment on to his international manager.ScotlandCraig LeveinEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Charlie Davies says he covered for teammate on 125 mph ticket American forward Charlie Davies said he was not the driver of a car stopped for going 125 mph last weekend, but told French police he was to ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Liverpool were not at risk of going under, says Premier League chief • Debt level was not threatening club, says Richard Scudamore• League admits there is nothing to stop leveraged buyoutsThe Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, has said that Liverpool were never at risk of going out of business amidst the financial uncertainty surrounding the recent takeover of the club.Liverpool, whose fans feared they could go into administration and incur a nine-point penalty, were taken over by New England Sports Ventures, which guaranteed to pay off the £237m acquisition loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland which had been taken out by the former owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.Scudamore said: "The club was never at risk. There were bidders for it and the outcome was always what was likely to happen. There is nothing in place per se to stop another Hicks and Gillett happening. When they came along they passed all our tests and they would pass our current tests in terms of them as individuals."Scudamore, however, believes the sort of debt-funded buyout put together by Hicks and Gillett could not take place in the current financial circumstances.He said: "What is different now is the extensive meetings we have with any prospective new owners and the future financial information which is required. The world has moved on. That sort of borrowing against that sort of asset is just not available in the market place anymore."Those were different times. There is no way that sort of borrowing could be obtained now to put that sort of deal together.""They are allowed," Scudamore told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. "But if we deem the level of leverage to be too high and the business to be unsustainable, then we have much more power as a board to either prevent that from happening or to apply some pretty stringent controls on the club."I am not sure that [the level of debt] was going to threaten the existence of Liverpool Football Club."I would prefer everything to be done in cash. I would prefer everybody to pay their bills on time, but we have to live in the real world and football has always attracted investment."Leveraged debt per se is not bad. It is the level of it, the terms of it, the short-term nature of it. Anybody who borrows that amount of money (£237m) and has to repay or refinance in 12 months is certainly at the risky end of the business."Scudamore said that if he was in charge of a Premier League club he would run it cautiously. He said: "I would not be paying out for the big world super stars. I wouldn't be taking the risks. I am risk-averse."The Premier League is run on a risk-averse basis. We have solid contracts and a very tight budget. We don't spend more than we need to spend. We don't owe a penny, we pay our debts on time."But we don't have to compete in dog-eat-dog across our clubs and across Europe. We're not in the business of putting on a show that is a Premier League match. You can't run a club like I run the Premier League."We generate the money at the Premier League. We distribute it to the clubs, they then put on the fantastic show they put on. But they have to take huge risks."Even if our 20 clubs got it all right, half the clubs would end up in a league position less than they expected to, some would get relegated even if they were all run as perfect businesses."There is an element of football which is irrational. It is the sporting element."LiverpoolPremier LeagueBusinessguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
DeRosario carries Toronto FC to rare road win Dwayne De Rosario scored twice after halftime to spoil Jaime Moreno's farewell and propel Toronto FC to a 3-2 victory over D.C. United on Saturday in both teams' season finale. cbc.ca |
The latest Football Weekly has landed James Richardson returns with another dose of Football Weekly, and this week he's joined by a slightly green-around-the-gills Barry Glendenning, as well as France Football's Phillipe Auclair, and pub quiz MC John Ashdown.We begin by looking at victories for Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League, wonder whether Liverpool have really turned the corner, and ponder poor Mrs Nolan's living arangement now that Newcastle United's Andy Carroll has come to stay.Also in the podcast, we round up the news from across Europe, including Rangers' victory over Celtic; another scrape from Adrian Mutu in Serie A; more twists and turns in France's Ligue 1; and a goal-fest for PSV Eindhoven. Sid Lowe finishes things off from Madrid - see if you think he sounds any different when he talks about La Liga.Post you feedback on the blog below, find us on Twitter, and keep up to date with us through the Fiver. And if you want to get yourself a free audiobook, head here.James RichardsonBen GreenBarry GlendenningJohn AshdownSid Lowe guardian.co.uk |