Tag Archives: scathing

QPR plan clearout in plan to cut wage bill

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Green could top QPR clearout in plan to cut wage bill after summer spending spree

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 3 September 2012

Queens Park Rangers will press ahead with plans to slash their wage bill when the emergency loan window reopens.

The Loftus Road club, who remain without a Premier League win this season, spent heavily during the summer transfer window on fresh talent.

High-profile players such as Park Ji-sung, Esteban Granero, Junior Hoilett, Jose Bosingwa and Julio Cesar have all joined Mark Hughes' revolution – but the signings have become a significant burden on a wage bill that was already inflated due to the spending sprees of the previous two transfer windows.

And owner Tony Fernandes will sanction a mini-clear out once the Football League loan window opens later this month, a task which will act as a prelude to a more extensive sale in January.

Short-lived: Rob Green looks set to leave QPR after only signing in the summer

Short-lived: Rob Green looks set to leave QPR after only signing in the summer

Among others, the likes of Luke Young, DJ Campbell and Rob Hulse will be made available, while goalkeeper Robert Green could also head out on loan after his future at the club was thrown into uncertainty thanks to the capture of Cesar from Inter Milan.

Rangers have already started the cost-cutting exercise, sending out big-earners Joey Barton and Jay Bothroyd on loan to Marseille and Sheffield Wednesday, respectively, during the closing stages of last week's transfer window.

Barton, meanwhile, has been on the receiving end of a scathing attack from former Manchester City team-mate Ousamane Dabo.

Unwanted: DJ Campbell is another who looks set to be cast out of Loftus Road

Unwanted: DJ Campbell is another who looks set to be cast out of Loftus Road

Barton was handed a four-month suspended jail sentence after assaulting Dabo during a training session.

'He is nasty, a traitor. Sometimes I get the impression we have rolled out the red carpet for him,' Dabo told French newspaper L'Equipe.

'I speak to remind people that Barton is a very violent player, far from the image he tries to portray since arriving at Marseille.

'We condemned Jeremy Menez, Samir Nasri and Yann M'Vila for little things and then the French media is very forgiving with someone who has committed horrible things, as recently as May.

'No one wanted him in England, that means there is probably a reason.

'(With our history) There was a trial, he pleaded guilty and accepted a four-month suspended sentence. When he speaks, he denies it, he said I initiated it.

'All the team members present during the assault testified in my favour. He says he is a man, a bad boy, but he is just a coward.'

Barton responded on Twitter, saying: 'I see Dabo is yet to move on, I feel for him. What happened was unfortunate.

'Next time he should think twice about throwing his weight about. If Ousmane wants to come to a Marseille game, have dinner and discuss it like adults, he's more than welcome anytime.'

Euro 2012: Slaven Bilic slams "crazy" Croatia fans for throwing banana on pitch and rejects "fix" claims

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Bilic slams 'crazy' Croatia fans for throwing banana on pitch and rejects 'fix' claims

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UPDATED:

22:11 GMT, 17 June 2012

Angry: Racist fans and 'fix' talk have vexed Slaven Bilic

Angry: Racist fans and 'fix' talk have vexed Slaven Bilic

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic launched a scathing attack on his team’s ‘crazy’ fans who threw a banana on the pitch as Mario Balotelli was subbed during Thursday’s game against Italy in Poznan.

Balotelli did not see the banana — a photograph only emerged the following day. But UEFA also received reports of monkey chanting from a group of Croat fans and charged the Croatian FA with ‘improper conduct’.

The case will be heard on Tuesday and there is a possibility that UEFA could impose the same six-point suspended sentence for the Euro 2016 qualifiers that Russia received last week for violent fan behaviour in Wroclaw.

Bilic said: ‘It (racism) is a big problem all around the world and on behalf of the entire nation, not even as a football manager, I want to say that I am really disappointed as a Croatian, a parent and a sportsman, a person who comes from a modern, open-minded and tolerant state.

Flashpoint: A steward holds a banana allegedly thrown at Mario Balotelli in Poznan

Flashpoint: A steward holds a banana allegedly thrown at Mario Balotelli in Poznan

‘Everyone is welcome in our country. I don’t like these kind of supporters and nor do my players. I live in Croatia and we really are a tolerant country. We are not a racist country and we are angry at these few crazy supporters. We have to put sanctions to stop these kind of supporters forever.’

Bilic was speaking ahead of the Group C clash with Spain. Both countries have four points and a 2-2 draw would leave Italy’s result against the Republic of Ireland irrelevant. But Bilic dismissed Italian fears of a fix.

‘I don’t want to waste any more words on this,’ he said. ‘This is just a phenomenal match. The whole of Italy and Europe can calm down. They do not even need to think about this. This is a part of the brain we do not have. We will play in an honest way. To Italians I say “trust in us”.’

Fervent support: Croatia fans celebrate a goal against Ireland

Fervent support: Croatia fans celebrate a goal against Ireland

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque echoed Bilic, saying: ‘Nobody can think we’d try to fix a match,’ and Fernando Torres, who is set to start again this evening, agreed. ‘It is disrespectful to Spain and Croatia. Neither team will go for the draw. We will try to win as we always do,’ he said.

The Chelsea striker also took umbrage at questions comparing his Spain, Liverpool and Chelsea form. ‘I’ve been playing with confidence in the national team and I’ve got the confidence of the coach,’ he said.

The winners of Group C play the runners-up in England’s group on Saturday night.

England"s training regime criticised by Raymond Verheijen

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Ex-Wales assistant Verheijen blasts England training regime after spate of injuries

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UPDATED:

08:51 GMT, 28 May 2012

Top fitness coach Raymond Verheijen has branded England’s training regime amateurish and prehistoric after injury concerns overshadowed the 1-0 win in Norway.

The former Wales assistant manager, who is advising Russia at Euro 2012, suggested Roy Hodgson and his staff were overworking players and putting them at risk.

Gareth Barry lasted less than half an hour as a second-half sub in Oslo after feeling pain in his groin, while goalscorer Ashley Young and his Manchester United team-mate Phil Jones were taken off with hamstring fears.

Blow: Gareth Barry looks set to miss Euro 2012 with a groin injury

Blow: Gareth Barry looks set to miss Euro 2012 with a groin injury

Hodgson admitted he feared ‘the fatigue factor’ after heavy training sessions, which brought a scathing response from Verheijen.

The Dutchman wrote on Twitter: ‘Groin injury for Gareth Barry. Roy Hodgson: “We had three tough days in training.” Which amateurs are in charge of the England periodisation

‘Roy Hodgson: “Phil Jones & Ashley Young felt hamstrings tighten so we removed them as a precaution.” Jurassic Park at international level.’

Verheijen, who has also worked with Holland and South Korea at major tournaments, as well as top English and European clubs, also criticised his home country and Germany’s approach.

‘The golden rule of football periodisation: never play games with tired players. Very high injury risk. Never compromise matches for training.

Strain: Ashley Young was also withdrawn as a precaution

Strain: Ashley Young was also withdrawn as a precaution

‘The worst thing you can do after a long/hard season is to plan intensive (double) training sessions. Just train once a day. Short & sharp.

‘At the end of a long season, fitness level of players is fine. With short/sharp sessions they regain freshness again without losing sharpness.

‘Most important reason for these injuries & overtraining is that insecure coaches want to put too much training in only 3 weeks preparation.

‘Every Euros or World Cup people are disappointed about the quality of football. That’s because most stars are either injured or exhausted.’

Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson missed the Norway game with injury concerns, while Scott Parker showed little sign of his achilles problem.

Al Fayed attacks Premier League referees, demanding wholesale reform

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Al Fayed attacks Premier League referees, demanding wholesale reform

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UPDATED:

19:59 GMT, 11 April 2012

Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed has launched a scathing attack on the bodies in control of English football, demanding a review of both refereeing practices and the decision making process.

The Egyptian businessman has written to the Football Association and Premier League seeking an immediate review, which he says is on behalf of all clubs.

Fayed has spoken out after Fulham recently suffered a 1-0 loss at Manchester United, where Danny Murphy was bundled over a minute from time but 27-year-old referee Michael Oliver waved away the penalty claims.

Fury: Al Fayed

Fury: Al Fayed

The Cottagers chairman has been frustrated by the recent inconsistencies and errors as well as the whole operation of officiating matches, which he believes are all too readily accepted by football's governing bodies.

In a statement on the club's official website, Fayed said: 'The FA's problem in addressing this pivotal situation is that it has too much power.

'Where else can decision-makers (referees) escape all responsibility to admit serious and blatant errors and have the protesters (the football clubs involved) fined on charges of misconduct.

'The losses that we incur from such careless decisions have a huge impact and can have calamitous consequences.

'Referees are all too easily influenced by the more powerful clubs and individual owners and calls into question the integrity of both them, and the governing body that they report to.'

Fayed has also urged the relevant bodies to immediately embrace video technology as he believes English football is lagging behind.

'We need brave, pioneers in the Premier League, the FA and within the Premier League shareholder group,' he said.

Fury: Martin Jol points the finger at Michael Carrick following Fulham's narrow defeat at Old Trafford

Anger: Martin Jol points the finger at Michael Carrick following Fulham's narrow defeat at Old Trafford

'In the past I wrote to highlight the need for the Premier League to lead the way with the introduction of video technology.

'After many years, it appears that the Premier League has admitted I was correct all along.

'It is time for the Premier League to wake up. They have been in a coma for a long time.

'Lots of clubs are suffering from such stupid decisions. Advanced technology is available and it is evidently being used in other sports.

'Once again I call for action to review the standard of officials, and the transparency of the processes by which referees are allocated to games.'

David Moyes blasts officials after dispute goal against Arsenal

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Moyes blasts officials over disallowed goal as Everton almost derail Arsenal

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UPDATED:

08:37 GMT, 22 March 2012

David Moyes launched a scathing attack on blundering official John Flynn after seeing a gallant Everton fightback narrowly fail to stall Arsenal's march towards a Champions League place.

Flynn caused uproar at Old Trafford earlier this season after persuading referee Mike Jones to change his mind and award Newcastle a penalty for a challenge by Rio Ferdinand on Hatem Ben Arfa that replays showed to be a clean tackle.

Fury: Everton boss David Moyes was angered after Royston Drenthe's strike was ruled out for offside

Fury: Everton boss David Moyes was angered after Royston Drenthe's strike was ruled out for offside

He was at the centre of controversy once more, at Goodison Park, after incorrectly raising his flag as Royston Drenthe fired what would have been an equaliser past Wojciech Szczesny and infuriating Everton with several other offside rulings.

Struggling to contain his anger, Everton
manager Moyes said: 'I would not sit in front of you all and say this
if I wasn't sure, but I have checked, and I can tell you that on five
occasions the flag went up for offside when it was actually onside.

Controversy: Royston Drenthe had a goal disallowed

Controversy: Royston Drenthe had a goal disallowed

'That's five decisions that were wrong, and that includes the one against Drenthe, who scored a perfectly good goal.

'We have had a raw deal of it tonight. When you have five situations where you are onside and all five are flagged offside, it is really, really poor. One maybe, but not all five.

'It was the assistant, not the referee. I don't want to say more and land in trouble, but we have had some really poor decisions in the last few games.

'The players put everything into trying to get something out of the game after going behind early on. They had a right go, but that decision aganst Drenthe has really cost us.'

Fury: David Moyes was enraged by some decisions

Fury: David Moyes was enraged by some decisions

A six-game winning run has lifted Arsenal ahead of Tottenham, after they trailed their North London rivals by 12 points just seven weeks ago.

'A Thomas Vermaelen header, from Robin Van Persie's eighth-minute corner, was enough to extend their sequence, and Arsene Wenger could not hide his pride at the defensive durability that kept Everton at bay.

'We were hanging on a bit in the second half, and credit to Everton for the way they played during that period,' said the Arsenal manager.

'But that is when we showed resilience and focus and absolute desire to keep our goal intact.

Vital: Thomas Vermaelen grabbed a crucial goal for Arsenal

Vital: Thomas Vermaelen grabbed a crucial goal for Arsenal

'I think you saw a side of us that people do not usually talk about, but it was the only way we were going to get a result tonight.

'We showed we can do that. We did not panic when the pressure was on, and we dealt with all the crosses they could throw at us, which is not usually our strong point.

'The attitude of the team has always been good, even when we had a bad spell a few months ago.

'I always felt we could bounce back if we stayed strong, and that is what happened. Now we have to stay that way until the end of the season, because we don't want all our good work to go to waste.'

David Moyes blasts officials after Arsenal game

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Moyes blasts officials over disallowed goal as Everton almost derail Arsenal

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UPDATED:

23:24 GMT, 21 March 2012

David Moyes launched a scathing attack on blundering official John Flynn after seeing a gallant Everton fightback narrowly fail to stall Arsenal's march towards a Champions League place.

Flynn caused uproar at Old Trafford earlier this season after persuading referee Mike Jones to change his mind and award Newcastle a penalty for a challenge by Rio Ferdinand on Hatem Ben Arfa that replays showed to be a clean tackle.

He was at the centre of controversy once more, at Goodison Park, after incorrectly raising his flag as Royston Drenthe fired what would have been an equaliser past Wojciech Szczesny and infuriating Everton with several other offside rulings.

Controversy: Royston Drenthe had a goal disallowed

Controversy: Royston Drenthe had a goal disallowed

Struggling to contain his anger, Everton manager Moyes said: 'I would not sit in front of you all and say this if I wasn't sure, but I have checked, and I can tell you that on five occasions the flag went up for offside when it was actually onside.

'That's five decisions that were wrong, and that includes the one against Drenthe, who scored a perfectly good goal.

'We have had a raw deal of it tonight. When you have five situations where you are onside and all five are flagged offside, it is really, really poor. One maybe, but not all five.

'It was the assistant, not the referee. I don't want to say more and land in trouble, but we have had some really poor decisions in the last few games.

'The players put everything into trying to get something out of the game after going behind early on. They had a right go, but that decision aganst Drenthe has really cost us.'

Fury: David Moyes was enraged by some decisions

Fury: David Moyes was enraged by some decisions

A six-game winning run has lifted Arsenal ahead of Tottenham, after they trailed their North London rivals by 12 points just seven weeks ago.

'A Thomas Vermaelen header, from Robin Van Persie's eighth-minute corner, was enough to extend their sequence, and Arsene Wenger could not hide his pride at the defensive durability that kept Everton at bay.

'We were hanging on a bit in the second half, and credit to Everton for the way they played during that period,' said the Arsenal manager.

'But that is when we showed resilience and focus and absolute desire to keep our goal intact.

Vital: Thomas Vermaelen grabbed a crucial goal for Arsenal

Vital: Thomas Vermaelen grabbed a crucial goal for Arsenal

'I think you saw a side of us that people do not usually talk about, but it was the only way we were going to get a result tonight.

'We showed we can do that. We did not panic when the pressure was on, and we dealt with all the crosses they could throw at us, which is not usually our strong point.

'The attitude of the team has always been good, even when we had a bad spell a few months ago.

'I always felt we could bounce back if we stayed strong, and that is what happened. Now we have to stay that way until the end of the season, because we don't want all our good work to go to waste.'

Robin van Persie furious at Arsene Wenger

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Van Persie vents fury at Arsenal boss Wenger over Oxlade-Chamberlain change

Robin van Persie showed his disgust at Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s decision to substitute Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain as Manchester United snatched a crucial victory at the Emirates.

Wenger was also on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse from his own fans after deciding to introduce Andrey Arshavin in place of the England Under 21 international.

Sky cameras captured Van Persie apparently mouthing the word ‘No’ and swearing at his manager’s 74th-minute substitution.

Protest: Robin van Persie appears to shout 'No' at Arsene Wenger

Protest: Robin van Persie appears to shout 'No' at Arsene Wenger

Russia forward Arshavin was roundly booed and Wenger was the target of chants from irate supporters also furious with his decision.

Wenger’s move then backfired as Arshavin was partly at fault for Danny Welbeck’s late winner, which pulled United back to within three points of Manchester City at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Antonio Valencia gave United a first-half lead but Van Persie had equalised just three minutes before Arshavin came on. Wenger refused to be drawn on Van Persie’s reaction — but defended his decision.

Sub: Oxade-Chamberlain is replaced

Sub: Oxade-Chamberlain is replaced

'I can understand that the fans are upset about the substitution, especially when it doesn't work, but he (Oxlade-Chamberlain) had started to fatigue,' Wenger said.

'He was sick in the week. Arshavin is captain of the Russia national team.

'You have an 18-year-old kid making his first Premier League start and a player who's captain of his country and they are querying the substitution Let's be serious.

'I've been a manager for 30 years and have made 50,000 subs. I do not have to justify every decision I make. I stand up for it.'

Sky pundit Gary Neville launched a scathing attack on Arshavin, saying: ‘He doesn’t like our weather. He doesn’t like our women. I think he wants to go back to Russia. Well, go back.’

The defeat puts Arsenal five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea. ‘It leaves us in a very difficult position,’ said Wenger, whose side face a battle to qualify for the Champions League. ‘It’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose.’

United’s win was soured by a ankle ligament injury to defender Phil Jones which could keep him out for four weeks.

Wolves hit out at Nenad Milijas ban

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Wolves hit out as FA reject Milijas appeal but Wigan”s Sammon wins challenge

Wolves have launched a scathing attack on the FA after losing their appeal against Nenad Milijas’s red card for a foul on Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta.

While relegation rivals Wigan heaved a sigh of relief at successfully challenging striker Conor Sammon’s sending-off against Manchester United, Wolves bosses reacted angrily to the panel’s verdict on Milijas and accused referee Stuart Attwell of inconsistency during the 1-1 draw at The Emirates.

Manager Mick McCarthy will have his say at a press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game at Bolton, but club secretary Richard Skirrow underlined the sense of dismay within Molineux at confirmation that their Serbia midfielder must serve a three-match ban.

Impact: Nenad Milijas is shown a straight red card for his tackle on Mikel Arteta

Impact: Nenad Milijas is shown a straight red card for his tackle on Mikel Arteta

‘We are hugely disappointed,’ he said. ‘From the video evidence, we strongly believed we had very good grounds for appeal, and this was an opinion that seemed to be shared by a lot of people. Our view that the dismissal and three-match ban would be hugely disproportionate to the alleged offence was reinforced by other incidents in the game.

‘However, despite highlighting the inconsistency and harshness of Nenad’s dismissal, we have been told it was not deemed to be an obvious and serious error and, therefore, the decision and resulting punishment stands.

‘In our view, it was not serious foul play. Prior to Tuesday, Nenad had only six cautions in English football and no suspensions. As a club, we are not serial appealers of red cards. On further reflection, “disappointed” doesn’t seem to do justice to the feelings of everyone at the club.’

You

You”re off: Attwell flashes the red card to Milijas as Wolves dispute the decision

Sammon is available for Wigan’s game at Stoke on Friday, after it was deemed referee Phil Dowd had been wrongto dismiss him for an aerial challenge that left United midfielder Michael Carrick holding his face.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez welcomed his 24-year old Irish striker’s reprieve. ‘We thank the panel for their decision, which is the correct one,’ he said.

‘It would have been really unfair forConor to have that frustrating feeling he had on Monday for another three games after doing nothing wrong.’