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| Bassong's Cameroon snub boosts Spurs • Defender not selected to play in African Cup of Nations• Harry Redknapp had been concerned about centre-back coverTottenham Hotspur's defensive concerns for January have been eased considerably after Sébastien Bassong was not included in Paul Le Guen's Cameroon squad for next month's African Cup of Nations.Bassong, an £8m signing from Newcastle last summer, had been expected to feature in the 23-man party for the tournament in Angola, which begins on 10 January, only for Le Guen to overlook the 23-year-old centre-half. His club-mate Benoît Assou-Ekotto is one of four England-based Cameroon players included though, while Spurs boast cover at left-back in the Wales international Gareth Bale, their resources had appeared rather stretched in the centre of their defence.Both Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate have endured stop-start seasons to date with injuries limiting their impact, meaning Bassong – bought arguably as cover following Newcastle's relegation to the Championship – has started 16 Premier League games to date having scored on his debut in the opening day victory over Liverpool. Indeed, Bassong and the impressive Michael Dawson have established themselves as the first-choice pairing in recent weeks.Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager, had hoped to recruit a centre-back during the midwinter window, with West Ham's Matthew Upson his principal target, though he will need to offload players – most likely David Bentley or Roman Pavlyuchenko – to generate the necessary funds.Tottenham HotspurAfrican Nations CupDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Stoke City 0 Birmingham City 1: match report Birmingham City extend impressive run of form with defeat of Stoke City at Britannia Stadium. telegraph.co.uk |
2010 World Cup question marks after Togo attack, says Hull's Phil Brown Hull manager Phil Brown said a "question mark" has been placed over World Cup finals following Togo gun attack. telegraph.co.uk |
Debt will not force Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres sales, insist Liverpool • Christian Purslow dismisses suggestion as 'preposterous'• Managing director confirms hopes over new investorsChristian Purslow, the Liverpool managing director, has said Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will not be sold simply to service debt loaded on to the club by Tom Hicks and George Gillett. He also confirmed that a complete takeover of the Americans' shareholding remains an option for potential investors at Anfield.It has been another turbulent week for the Liverpool hierarchy, with Tom Hicks Jr resigning his position as a director following an email row with a fan. But Purslow issued assurances about the stalled stadium project and his ongoing search to attract investment as part of an equity raise demanded by the banks that granted Hicks Sr and Gillett their latest refinancing deal in July.Liverpool's manager, Rafael BenÃtez, who tonight signed the winger Maxi RodrÃguez from Atlético Madrid without paying a transfer fee, has admitted an outlandish offer for Torres or Gerrard would be discussed by the Anfield board, but Purslow insisted: "The suggestion in any way that we would sell players in order to pay down debt or pay money to our owners is preposterous. Neither is true. Neither is possible. Any proceeds we generate from the sale of players can only go into our player account for the recruitment of new players."It's in the public domain that the owners have been looking to bring new investors into the club to pay down the existing debts – which are today about £237m – by way of issuing new shares which would dilute their shareholding in the club. That process is ongoing. The debt we have today is obviously serviced by the club in terms of interest and bank fees and if we reduce our debt then clearly those interest charges and bank fees will reduce."Despite claims at the time of Liverpool's successful application to be part of England's 2019 World Cup bid that work on the club's proposed new stadium could begin before April, Purslow admitted fresh investment must occur first. "The process of bringing in new investment and reducing our current debt will create a context whereby we can seriously get back on track the stadium project," he said.Hicks and Gillett intend to dilute their shareholding rather than sell up entirely and forgo any profits made once the stadium project is under way, but the managing director has conceded a complete takeover cannot be discounted in a limited market. Purslow added: "Provided all goes well, there is a serious possibility of new fresh investment. There are no guarantees – we are operating in an environment where, as everybody knows, it hasn't been the most active investment market. But largely because of the quality of Liverpool Football Club, both as a club and as a business, we haven't had problems in attracting interest."However, the devil is always in the detail and in coming months our job is to get somebody over the line that makes sense for all concerned. That could be part ownership or it could be complete ownership."LiverpoolSteven GerrardFernando TorresPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Bruce Arena, Thomas Dooley, and Preki elected to Hall of Fame Arena, who coached the U.S. men's national team to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, has been elected to the U.S. National ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |