| Toronto FC on life support after Seattle loss Blaise Nkufo and Steve Zakuani scored in the first half to lead the Seattle Sounders to a 3-2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday. cbc.ca |
Tevez furious with negative City tactics • Forward unhappy with lack of chances coming his way• Tevez blames Mancini for poor first-half aganist NewcastleCarlos Tevez's volatile relationship with Roberto Mancini has descended into open hostility after a furious row between the Manchester City manager and captain at half-time of Sunday's 2-1 defeat of Newcastle United.The argument began when Mancini overheard Tevez making a derogatory comment in Spanish and challenged him about it. The argument quick escalated while other team-mates watched in silence as the two men lost their temper. Tevez blamed Mancini for a poor first-half performance, complaining about his tactics and saying the Italian was getting it wrong by being too negative. Tevez has been playing as the lone attacker in a side featuring three holding midfielders and, despite scoring five times, the striker is believed to be increasingly frustrated about the lack of chances coming his way.Mancini, who has shown an increasingly tough edge this season, saw it as his authority being undermined and responded aggressively, reminding Tevez that he was under orders to follow team instructions and should not be questioning his manager in such a way.Mancini had installed Tevez as captain at the start of the season, taking the honour away from Kolo Touré in a demonstration of his belief in the Argentinian, but their relationship has never been close and this row ends what has been an uneasy truce between the pair.They clashed several times last season, most notably over a newspaper interview in which Tevez said Mark Hughes should not have been sacked and criticised Mancini's training methods, accusing him of over-working the players by holding occasional double training sessions. Mancini responded by summoning his player to the office to inform him that he was unhappy about the remarks.City's win moved them to second in the Premier League table but Mancini's occasionally abrasive style has caused a number of issues behind the scenes. The former Internazionale manager has already moved on Craig Bellamy because he did not like his attitude and, in the past few weeks, he has also had a row with Emmanuel Adebayor as well as berating one of the club's physiotherapists, Jamie Murphy, because of what he perceives to be the slow nature of Aleksandar Kolarov's return from injury.Manchester CityCarlos TevezRoberto ManciniDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Newcastle's Carroll charged with assault Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll was bailed after appearing in court charged with assaulting an ex-girlfriend. foxsports.com.au |
Hodgson fears United move for Torres • 'I am not naive to believe there won't be any danger'• Liverpool manager's position weakened by Purslow exitRoy Hodgson has made a frank admission that Liverpool could be vulnerable to a bid from Manchester United for Fernando Torres in January. The Liverpool manager also revealed he was caught unawares by Christian Purslow's departure as managing director only five days after overseeing the sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures.Torres, out of form and out of Liverpool's squad to face Napoli tomorrow night, has looked a disillusioned figure at Anfield this season but has been touted as a potential replacement for Wayne Rooney should United sell him in the next transfer window. Sir Alex Ferguson has often dismissed the prospect of bringing a Liverpool star to Old Trafford as "unthinkable", while the last player to move directly between the two fierce rivals was Phil Chisnall in 1964. Rafael BenÃtez, Hodgson's predecessor as manager, insisted he would resign if Torres had been sold on his watch.The present Liverpool manager, however, believes a United move for Torres cannot be discounted. "When a great player like Wayne Rooney is looking to leave his club, Manchester United will be in a position to target a lot of players around the world," Hodgson said. "I don't think Fernando Torres will be the only striker they target, and I don't think that we will be the only club that will be worried their striker can be targeted."I am not naive to believe there won't be any danger and we will never lose a player like Torres, I understand these things can happen. I don't believe we will lose him, we will do our best to ensure he stays, and I only hope I can do everything in my power to help him return to the very top level we know he has. I certainly hope he will get back very quickly, we want to get him back to form and back to the level we know he can achieve as quickly as possible."One confirmed departure from Liverpool was that of Purslow, who was instrumental in the recent takeover drama and the appointment of Hodgson as manager in the summer. Purslow will continue at Anfield as a nonexecutive director and special adviser to the new owners but his exit as managing director, and its timing, came as a surprise. With the chairman, Martin Broughton, now in a transitional role while the Americans formalise a new board, it means four of the men who ratified Hodgson's appointment – Purslow, Broughton, Tom Hicks and George Gillett – have gone."Christian Purslow leaving doesn't impact on my position as far as I know, but that is not a question for me to answer," Hodgson said. "I came to work for Liverpool Football Club not an individual. I had no idea before today that Christian was going to leave the club. I believe I have the backing of the club, and I want to continue with the rebuilding job that we have here. We knew it was a big job, and as far as I am concerned nothing has changed."Purslow, blamed by BenÃtez for Liverpool's recent woes only 24 hours before his departure, said he was looking forward "to assisting the owners in any way I can at this exciting time as they drive the club forward to a bright future".Excitement and optimism do not describe the mood around Hodgson's team, however. It said everything about the paucity of the squad the Liverpool manager selected for this tie that, on their flight to Naples this morning, the most famous person on board was the pilot. Captain Paul Bruce Dickinson, whose numerous guises include being the lead singer of Iron Maiden, lent a celebrity touch to a journey minus three first-team players through injury – Dirk Kuyt, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger – plus four more omitted by choice. Cue several shameless Maiden references from here on in.Hodgson, a man on the edge, may have every justification in sparing Steven Gerrard, Torres, Raul Meireles and Lucas from Europa League duties ahead of Sunday's Premier League visit of Blackburn Rovers. A "must-win" game, the former Rovers manager admitted following Everton's convincing victory at Goodison Park.For a manager yet to develop any continuity or understanding in his new team, whom the vast majority of supporters wish he would run to the hills and whose last gamble imploded against Northampton Town in the Carling Cup, his selection threatens to play with madness at the Stadio San Paolo."It was a very straightforward decision for me because it's a question of priority," Hodgson said. "We have four points from two games in this group. We've started well. We've got four matches left to get the six points or so we need to qualify. For me it's quite simply a priority after our very, very poor start to the season and our bad results. If you've got to make a sacrifice with the team on one game then I'd make the sacrifice in this game. I agree we need to win but we badly need to win on Sunday. If we lose tomorrow night and people say I prioritised for Sunday, I will hold my hand up and say yes I did."Probable teams: Napoli (3-4-2-1): De Sanctis; Grava, Cannavaro, Aronica; Maggio, Pazienza, Gargano, Dossena; Hamsik, Lavezzi; Cavani. Subs from Gianello, Vitale, Santacroce, Zuniga, Cribari, Yebda, Sosa, Blasi, Dumitru, Lucarelli.Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Kelly, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky; Spearing, Poulsen; RodrÃguez, Cole, Babel; Ngog. Subs from Jones, Aurélio, Skrtel, Wilson, Darby, Pacheco, Shelvey, Eccleston, Jovanovic.Referee T Kinhofer (Germany).LiverpoolRoy HodgsonFernando TorresManchester UnitedEuropa LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Barcelona 2 FC Copenhagen 0: match report Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi inspires Catalan giants to hard-earned victory over eager Danish opponents. telegraph.co.uk |