TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| James wants reunion with Redknapp at Tottenham • Tottenham interested in David James with Cudicini sidelined• England keeper keen to improve position ahead of World CupDavid James has said he welcome a move next month from Portsmouth to Tottenham Hotspur, where he would be reunited with Harry Redknapp.The goalkeeper is a target for the Spurs manager, under whom he had a successful spell at Portsmouth, and believes the transfer would strengthen his hopes of going to next summer's World Cup as England's No1. Redknapp has renewed his interest in James after Carlo Cudicini suffered wrist and pelvis injuries in a motorcycle accident."You could say that I'm flattered by a team of Tottenham's stature and that it would be good for my England chances to join an upwardly mobile club," James told the Sunday Telegraph. "It doesn't surprise me that Harry has been such a success at Tottenham."The Portsmouth manager, Avram Grant, would like to hold on to the 39-year-old but the club could choose to sell high earners such as James because of financial problems. James has been disaffected by the decline at Fratton Park since Redknapp's departure for Tottenham."You have to focus on where you are, and I want to help Portsmouth to climb the table. The departure of so many players from the club last summer was a great pity, especially when those players are your proven goalscorers," said James. "When half of the team disperse, you feel a bit cheated."Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar, Glen Johnson and Sylvain Distin were among the players to leave.Premier LeagueTransfer windowTottenham HotspurPortsmouthBill Neenanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Rangers lose appeal over Kenny Miller's red card • Striker sent off during victory over Dundee United• Lee McCulloch picks up suspensionRangers have lost their appeal against Kenny Miller's red card, which will rule the player out of Sunday's Old Firm derby. Miller was sent off in Wednesday night's 7-1 SPL thrashing of Dundee United for kicking out at Darren Dods after the pair tangled on the floor.Rangers hoped video replays would show Miller was innocent and asked referee Willie Collum to look at the incident again.Meanwhile, the yellow card shown to Lee McCulloch in the same game means he is suspended for the 16 January trip to Hamilton. It was the midfielder's sixth booking of the season and earns him a one-match ban.RangersScottish Premier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
South Africa hit by poor ticket sales South Africans have purchased more tickets to watch England than Bafana Bafana, mirroring disappointing sales in AfricaAfrica's first World Cup has met with apathy on the continent with fewer than one in 10 tickets sold so far going to African fans, the organisers admittedtoday. More South Africans have bought seats to watch England than their own national team who, extraordinarily for hosts, do not even figure in the top 10 best supported sides. The figures raise the spectre of Africa's historic opportunity to present a different face to the world turning into a more conventionally western affair."We want this World Cup to be an African World Cup and yet so far none of the African teams involved are coming to the party," said Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the local World Cup organising committee.Jordaan said that fewer than 100,000 tickets have been sold to fans of the six African countries competing in the finals in June and July. More than 1m have been sold or requested worldwide but sales for the South Africa team, Bafana Bafana, have been sluggish and lag far behind previous World Cup hosts.Jordaan said: "This will be the first time in World Cup history that the host nation are not topping the ticket sales list. Bafana are not even in the top 10. South Africa has more supporters of England than Bafana – the sales for England matches here are higher. It will be tragic if this trend continues and I appeal to local fans to come out and support their country."South African football's cause has not been helped by disarray both on and off the field. The national team have won one – against lowly Madagascar – drawn two and lost eight of their past 11 matches, and failed to qualify for the current Africa Cup of Nations.Bafana Bafana, who in 1996 won the Cup of Nations and were ranked in the top 20 in the world, have slipped to 85th in the rankings – making them easily the poorest team on paper in the World Cup. That miserable run of form led to the sacking of the coach Joel Santana last October and the return of his fellow Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira in an attempt to turn things around before the opening game against Mexico on 11 June.The South African Football Association endured a power struggle between Jordaan and Irvin Khoza for the presidency, which eventually went to a compromise candidate, Kirsten Nematandani. Last week the association parted company with its chief executive, Raymond Hack.Football fans in South Africa are not in the habit of buying tickets in advance, more usually paying at the gate on the day of the match. Despite 2010 seats being cheaper than in previous World Cup finals, they are still beyond the means of many poor people. There is also disappointment with sales across Africa, where the expense of travel is likely to be a factor for fans of Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria."The ticket sales on the continent are not what we expected," said Jordaan. "I am going back to Angola to have a meeting with the six qualified countries from Africa to begin to work with them to see if there are any issues that restrict them. As it stands now, we are less than satisfied with the number of tickets sold."At a press conference at Safa headquarters, Jordaan bristled at questions about security following the attack on the Togo team in Angola. "The events in Angola have absolutely nothing to do with the World Cup in South Africa and the reason for that is very clear: Angola is, by flight, three and a half hours from Johannesburg. We surely must be judged on the reality, not just on flights of fantasy and imagination."World Cup 2010South AfricaDavid Smithguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Toronto FC drafts defender with top pick After sitting on his hands for a round and a half during Thursday's Major League Soccer SuperDraft , Toronto FC general manager Mo Johnston decided to strengthen his team's back line by selecting defender Zachary Herold. cbc.ca |
Deflated Reds need Gerrard and Torres Rafael BenÃtez's team are not unlike Fabio Capello's England in that they are too over-reliant on one or two individualsSteven Gerrard was the Footballer of the Year last season, not because he was particularly outstanding but because Liverpool were generally impressive and over the course of his career their captain had been generally excellent.In a season without an obvious, stand-out candidate, in other words, the award went to someone who deserved to win something. It would have been somewhat anomalous, it was felt, for one of the best English players of his generation to be overlooked when the opportunity presented itself to acknowledge his overall contribution.All of which goes to show that football writers (who vote for the Footballer of the Year) at least have foresight. Gerrard, and indeed Liverpool, have disappeared from the reckoning this season in a manner quite unimaginable when they finished second last time after losing only two games and inflicting two significant defeats on Manchester United. It may be some time before Gerrard is back to bestriding the game like a colossus, to judge from his anaemic display on returning from injury at Wolves, and if he does ever return to the heights of old it may be under a new manager and without Liverpool's other bona fide superstar, Fernando Torres.That may be an unduly pessimistic view. Gerrard is entitled to come back gingerly after injury and anyone who expected to see him instantly back in the captain fantastic routine at Molineux was probably expecting too much, something that his occasionally superhuman performances have encouraged over the years. Rafa BenÃtez might not go to Juventus, though it seems idle to pretend that such a semi-honourable way out would not provide the neatest solution for all concerned in what has become a messy in-house argument at Anfield. And Torres, who knows, might even stay on Merseyside, though unless he makes a rapid recovery from his dreadful succession of injuries even he may not make much difference.This time last year the Gerrard-Torres attacking partnership was being talked up as one of the most lethal in the land. This season it has simply not happened. It was being said last season that Liverpool could have won the title had they only managed to play their two best players in harness more often. Little did people realise that their joint appearances were about to become even more infrequent. Liverpool's decline this season is easily explained. They are a collection of ordinary players (with respect to the consistently above average performances of Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher) with two world class matchwinners. If the two WCMs play to their full potential the rest of the team comes up to match them. If they do not reach that level, or if they do not play at all, the rest of the team deflates like a balloon with a leak and eventually ends up flat.Considering Torres is widely regarded to be the most complete centre forward in Europe at the moment, certainly one of the top three, his frustrating absence for much of the season has been a severe loss to English football, as well as to Liverpool. You just watch, though. He'll be full of goals and running in the World Cup with Spain. Whether England will be able to say the same about Gerrard is a cause for concern for Fabio Capello. Even when fit the midfielder has not been at his best this season, and Gerrard is no fresh-faced teenager any more, able to bounce back from injury as soon as he is allowed. Gerrard turns 30 just before the World Cup, and while it is possible to argue his time on the sidelines will allow him to reach South Africa well-rested, the disruption to his season has seen the player's form suffer and possibly his confidence too.Capello himself is recuperating from a knee operation, though he is expected to make a full recovery in time for the World Cup and even if the worst comes to the worst, a coach with a limp or a walking stick is not a major handicap. What looks more of a problem for England at this demanding stage of the season is the number of core players who are either not playing or playing below their best.Go through the side. David James/Ben Foster: enough said. Glen Johnson: not played this year. Rio Ferdinand: major fitness doubt. John Terry and Ashley Cole appear to be going well but Joe Cole is struggling to hold down a regular place in the Chelsea starting line-up and Frank Lampard, like Gerrard, has not been at his most impressive this season. The most eye-catching midfielder, by a distance, has been James Milner, and thankfully Capello's eye has been caught.Gareth Barry has been consistently good, if not outstanding, for Manchester City, but though Sir Alex Ferguson has said he will consider naming Owen Hargreaves in his Champions League squad this week, an absence of more than a year while recovering from surgery for tendinitis does not bode well for his tournament chances. On the plus side, England can only be encouraged by the form of Wayne Rooney, even if his support cast is struggling to match his high standards. While Aaron Lennon is still improving, Theo Walcott and Emile Heskey have not yet returned to the level they set 15 months ago. There is plenty of time yet, and perhaps no cause for alarm at this stage, but it could be said England look a little like Liverpool at the moment. Over-reliant on one or two players. Likely to lack inspiration should injury happen to intervene.Premier LeagueLiverpoolSteven GerrardFernando TorresEnglandPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |