TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Bordeaux hits halfway point on high note Bordeaux beat Toulouse 2-1 and increased its lead to nine points halfway through the French league on Wednesday. cbc.ca |
Why Man Utd are now the have-nots City's new-round threat has found favour with many, an oddity given the Chelsea experience under Roman AbramovichThat most elusive figure, the neutral observer, is drawn towards the underdog. Anything for an interesting time. Anything to escape the status quo. Anything to give the bully a bloody nose.This is true in life and it is true in sport. It has been especially true in Manchester football over this past week, where the confluence of two disparate events – Leeds United's 1‑0 FA Cup victory at Old Trafford, and the announcement that City's owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan has in effect gifted the club £395m – has been spun into a heart-warming tale of a world turned upside down. Where once City were the cash-strapped underdogs, destined to live in the shadow of their richer, more glamorous neighbours, it is now United's turn to be cast as the paupers (relatively speaking, of course).Throw in the respect and admiration many have for City's strong local roots and their fans' noticeable good humour in the face of some lean years, and then measure it against the ill-will many feel towards United – either because they are suspicious about the dilettante inclinations of the prawn-sandwich brigade or simply fed up with the long run of success under Sir Alex Ferguson – and no wonder there is glee in the air at this latest turn of events.Yet if it is easy to understand why many are happy at the prospect of watching the mighty take a fall, it is probably wise to offer a word or two of warning. After all, as my colleague Daniel Taylor pointed out here the other day, we have been here before with United, in 2005, when Roy Keane made his infamous appearance before the MUTV cameras to decry the efforts of his then team-mates. Two and a half years later Keane was retired and Rio Ferdinand and Co were in Moscow, picking up the European Cup.The difference this time is that two or three years hence Ferguson is unlikely to be around. Even if he was, it is hard to imagine, given his current squad and the obvious financial constraints that now apply at Old Trafford, that even he could fashion a side capable of beating the best in Europe.A more likely scenario is that the great Scot will be retired and on a golf course, while the club he built will have settled into some form of decline. Obviously, nothing is certain in football but if the recent history of the game has taught us anything it is that while talent, guile and luck matter, what matters most of all is money. The more you spend, the more you increase your chance of success.In which case we should perhaps ready ourselves for the era of City dominance. If Sheikh Mansour doesn't flinch when asked to hand over £395m in the first 18 months of his ownership of the club, it is hard to believe he will be disturbed at the notion of spending double that amount, or triple it, when it comes to assembling his own collection of sky blue galácticos.Should the sheikh succeed with his ambition to build a team that will dominate England, and Europe, it is to be hoped that the neutrals who find themselves inclined to celebrate City's current ascent will have woken to the pernicious reality of what is actually taking place at Eastlands. After all, here is a company which yesterday announced an annual loss of £93m. Next year, the losses will be even greater. After that, who knows?What we do know is that Mansour's pockets are as deep as the oil reserves of Abu Dhabi are vast and that, consequently, his stewardship of City is remarkably similar to the profligate early years of Roman Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea. How strange it is that while the Russian was the target of widespread criticism for his spending habits, the sheikh has been lauded as the man most likely to break the long monopoly held by England's big four.Call this good luck, or call it a serious oversight on the part of those who have long called for reform in football's finances. But if – or, more likely, when – City finally do establish themselves as the leading club in the land, just don't call it a change for the better. It is just more of the same, in different colours.Coyle may be misguided but he is not disloyalClarets Mad, the website for those who support Burnley FC, has a new word of the week and that word is Judas. As in Owen Coyle is a Judas. This is quite a comedown for Coyle, who not so long ago was a messiah – a description he acquired after guiding the Turf Moor club into the Premier League and making a more than respectable effort at sustaining a place there.We will never know if Coyle would have kept Burnley in the top division for more than a single season. The minutiae of contract negotiations notwithstanding, the Scotland-born manager is off to Bolton – a career switch that has led to the comparisons with the aforementioned Mr Iscariot.The frustration of the Burnley fans at losing their talented young manager, especially to a club who are arguably smaller in stature, is understandable. Accusations of disloyalty, however, are not. They never are when it comes to football managers, who are asked to display the kind of loyalty to clubs that clubs would not show to them were circumstances different. For proof of this, we need look no further than Alan Irvine, who led Preston to the play-offs last season, was forced to get rid of his two best players at the start of this season and was then sacked last week after a run of mediocre results.Coyle has made a very odd career choice but the fact is he has every right to make it.Vanity Fairway exposes golf's elitist pretensionsIf nothing else, the sight of a semi-naked Tiger Woods on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine offered final proof that the world of professional golf will never be the same again.The elitists' game is mainstream now; fodder for the scandal sheets, both highbrow and lowbrow. No doubt some will find this notion abhorrent but, by and large, these are the same people who perpetrate the far more pernicious "scandal" of race and sex discrimination at golf clubs.Frankly, golf is perceived to be boring because many of those who run it, play it and write about it make a real effort to keep it as boring as possible, believing controversy of any kind is anathema to the spirit of the game.This ludicrous notion is based on the idea that golf is somehow morally superior to other sports, like football and cricket. It is nothing of the sort, which is why, like these other sports, it should embrace controversy, scandal and debate. Whatever it takes to capture the public's imagination.Briatore about-turn hardly a formula for fair playThose who travel through life with the assumption that the law is an ass will have taken comfort from the French court ruling that overturned Flavio Briatore's lifetime ban from Formula One.Dignity has been restored, said Briatore. But not to those Formula One fans who were duped by the efforts to fix the 2008 Singapore grand prix, during which Nelson Piquet Jr was told to crash in order to improve the chances of his team-mate Fernando Alonso.Premier LeagueManchester CityManchester UnitedSir Alex FergusonLawrence Doneganguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Today in Sport - have your say on all the football news Discuss the day's big stories in the world of sport and send us your favourite links. You can also access our brilliant new interactive sports calendar by clicking here4.51pm: It's Ivory Coast 0-0 Burkina Faso at half-time in the second Africa Cup of Nations match of the day. Lots of possession for Didier Drogba's side, but not many clearcut chances. Before the match, Drogba spoke about the attack on the Togo team bus, saying:"We are ready, but the events of Friday have left us shattered. I have spoken with [Togo and Manchester City striker] Emmanuel Adebayor and it was a difficult situation for them. We have to show solidarity with them, though, and support the decision they have taken. We are all sad to see them leave the biggest competition for African players, but that is life." PW4.18pm: Today's Football Weekly has landed. Enjoy. Plus here's the match report for Malawi v Algeria. PW3.39pm: Well that's a bit of a shock: Malawi have beaten Algeria 3-0. We'll have a match report for you soon. PW3.22pm: Tom Hicks Jnr has said sorry for his rude email to a Liverpool fan. He said: "I have great respect for Liverpool Football Club, especially the club's supporters. I do not want my actions to take away from the club's future, therefore I am resigning from the board. To the fans and to the club, please accept my sincerest apologies." PW2.48pm: Here's a round-up of the best of the pre-Australian Open tennis action, with the news that despite being knocked out in straight sets in the first round of the Hobart International, Elena Baltacha believes she has had a 'great week'. Andy Murray has dropped out of the world's top four, perhaps inevitable given his lack of tournament action at the end of last season. But, as he tells Observer Sport Monthly, he won't be happy with anything less than being the world's top player. PW2.34pm: Update from the Masters at Wembley Arena: Mark Williams has beaten Rory McLeod 6-2. No great shock there. Williams will play Ali Carter tomorrow. PW1.54pm: Paolo Bandini's Serie A blog is now on the site. Up for debate this week: can Ciro Ferrara survive at Juventus after last night's 3-0 thumping by Milan? KM1.41pm: The first of the day's Africa Cup of Nations matches is just getting under way. John Ashdown's on minute-by-minute duty for Malawi v Algeria, which you can follow here. KM1.13pm: If it's Lewis Hamilton looking slightly bemused as a truck driver in an advert you want, you're in luck. He's appearing in the latest ad for Spanish bank Santader and you can watch the (admittedly rather limited) action here. PW12.42pm: As Alexrules has pointed out below the line, Celtic have indeed signed Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld. Meanwhile Fulham are trying to take Roma striker Stefano Okaka on loan as cover for the injured Bobby Zamora. The player is discussing terms with the club. PW12.35pm: Fancy winning a snooker masterclass with Ronnie O'Sullivan plus a free night's stay in a Premier Inn? Then enter our great competition. PW12.01pm: Manchester United today announced pre-tax profits of £48.2m – but they would have announced a loss had it not been for the summer sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Does this explain Sir Alex Ferguson's reluctance to enter the transfer market? PW11.52am: Here's confirmation of Tom Hicks Jnr's resignation. A pleasing day for Liverpool fans? PW 11.51am: Sad footage of the Togo team leaving Angola after the attack on their team bus. PW11.39am: The African confederation has turned down Togo's request to return to the Africa Cup of Nations after the team yesterday left Angola. Here's the story. PW11.28am: Tom Hicks Jnr has resigned as a director of the club following the furore over the abusive email he sent to a fan. The club said: "Liverpool Football Club today announce that Thomas Hicks Jr has resigned as a director of both the club and its parent company Kop Holdings. Three new directors have been elected to the boards of both companies. These are Philip Nash, LFC Chief Financial Officer; Ian Ayre, LFC Commercial Director; and Casey Coffman, Executive Vice President of Hicks Holdings."We'll have a story for you soon. PW10.30am: Here's what is coming up today:* We should find out whether Togo will return to the Africa Cup of Nations* Denilson will have a scan after hobbling off against Everton* Owen Coyle has been unveiled as Bolton manager* Algeria v Malawi (which we'll cover in a live mbm on the site from 1.30pm) and Ivory Coast v Burkino Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations* England cricket press conference with Matt Prior. * And a South Africa press conference with Mickey Arthur. SI10.11am: Good news for racing rans - Kempton meeting is on. But if nothing there takes your fancy, there's always virtual racing. PW9.43am: Togo's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations is still unclear this morning. The team have arrived home for a three-day period of mourning, forcing the postponement of tonight's match against Ghana, but the Togo sports minister has suggested they could yet return to Angola. Do you think a solution can be reached for Togo to rejoin the tournament? And who saw the crazy match between Angola and Mali, with Mali coming back from 4-0 down with 11 minutes left to claim a 4-4 draw? KM9.40am: For anyone who missed it, here are highlight's of Wolfie's win at the Lakeside, courtesy of the BBC. You may want to turn the sound down a little ... PW9.31am: Today's Rumour Mill has landed, today with news of Tony Pulis's ever-hopeful move for a fading Real Madrid star, and Tom Hick Jnr's angry email. PW9.05am: Good morning and welcome to our daily sports news blog. You probably know the drill by now, but if not, the idea is this: throughout the day we will update this page with news, links, and what's expected to happen in the hours ahead. Time permitting, we'll also try to wade in below the line, answering your questions and comments. However we'd like your input as much as possible – please send us your favourite links to stories/clips on YouTube etc and we'll flag up the best above the line.Sean IngleKaty MurrellsPenny Woodsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Toronto FC signs midfielder Peterson Toronto FC signed midfielder Jacob Peterson from the Colorado Rapids on Thursday, the team announced in a release. cbc.ca |
Hamilton 0 Kilmarnock 0: match report Tomas Cerny's fine save from Mark Burchill was the only highlight of a dreadful game. telegraph.co.uk |