Manchester United have post-Sir Alex Ferguson plan, says David Gill

Manchester United chief executive David Gill (right) with Seattle Sounders owner Joe Roth pose before the pre-season friendly between their clubs. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive, has acknowledged he will always be unpopular with some supporters – the "anti-people", as he describes them – but he has spoken of his belief that the Glazer family have now won over the majority of the club's fans.

Gill, describing the Glazers as "genuinely long-term owners", reiterated the point by revealing that he and the American owners already have a strategy in place for when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. He said: "What we're trying to do is make sure we get the quality of team and the correct age profile so the new manager coming in, whoever that might be, has the nucleus of a world-class team."

Gill expects the Glazers to still be in control when Ferguson ends his long association with the club, but he was candid enough to accept that his comments would go down badly among the fans who were involved in the green-and-gold protest movement.

"We are never going to win [over] those people," he said. "If we won four European Cups in a row, there will be certain people who won't like the owners and what they stand for. The anti-people were here before the Glazers. But we are running the club for the vast majority of millions of fans around the world who believe the club is moving in the right direction.

"The minority – Must [Manchester United Supporters' Trust] etc – will always be against it, but the vast majority can't be dissatisfied with the seasons we've had [under the Glazers]."

The campaign against the Glazers has become less visible, in Gill's words, "once the Red Knights went away," referring to the consortium of businessmen who embarked on a failed bid to buy the club. "The green-and-gold campaign has not disappeared completely, but it has died down dramatically during the past season and we move on," he said.

Gill, speaking on the club's pre-season tour of the United States, dismissed the allegation that the Glazers, with an average net spend of ?2.5m in their first six seasons, had not backed Ferguson sufficiently in the transfer market, citing the arrival of Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones for a combined ?50m this summer. "One thing the owners have never shied away from is supporting Alex in terms of investment."

Similarly, he rejected the argument that the Florida-based businessmen had unfairly hiked ticket prices. "They are sensible prices to watch top-class entertainment and players worth millions on view. Other clubs have clearly raised their prices more than us," he said.

Gill has been singled out for particular criticism because of the way he fought against the Glazer takeover in 2005, once infamously saying that "debt was the road to ruin", before siding with the new owners and turning against the supporters' groups he had previously backed. "You say I did a volte-face, but we are going back many years now," he said. "Directors and chief executives aren't often liked, but I am trying to look after the employers and the fans, and there will always be an element among the fans who don't like you."

At times the anger has manifested itself in something more sinister, with graffiti appearing on his house and several incidents that have led to increased security. "It has calmed down now. It would be naive to say you don't want it to happen, not necessarily for yourself but because of your young children, but you just move on. I have never sought a profile; I just try to do my best for the club."

His son, Oliver, was booed when he was named as a substitute for one match, and has recently turned down the offer of a contract with the club to go to university. Gill, however, says it is unrelated. "He did take some stick, but he is quite a strong character. I don't think he ever thought like that."

Going into a season during which Ferguson will turn 70 and mark his 25th anniversary at the club, Gill talked about himself and the Glazers planning ahead to when the most successful manager in the business retires. "There won't be meltdown. It will clearly be a sea change for the club and we have to be ready."

He will be in charge of appointing the successor, although Ferguson will also be heavily involved. "I will co-ordinate the process, but, clearly, I will take great store in what he [Ferguson] says and what other key people at the club say. The owners will clearly have a view. All these things will come together. It would be a collective body, not a big body, but we would get all the input to make sure we make the appropriate choice."

There was no one in mind yet, he added, and he was unclear when Ferguson would stand down. "We never discuss it, put it that way. He delegates well and football keeps him young."

View the original article here

The Nursery End

Eric Clapton was desperate to see India's Sachin Tendulkar score his 100th international hundred at Lord's. Photograph: Brian Rasic/Rex Features

The richly entertaining fans' website Middlesex Till We Die has an amusing glossary of nicknames for their heroes, ranging from the inspired "Dial M" for Tim Murtagh, to the more run-of-the-mill "Iceman" for Gareth Berg. Dawid Malan is "AC" after Inter's neighbours, Dan Housego is "The Estage Agent", Adam London "Streets Of", Neil Dexter "Ted" (but there is a campaign The Nursery End backs to rename him "Uni" in memory of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's Tarzan audition sketch One Leg Too Few) and Paul Stirling is "Pounds". One, however, may need an update. Andrew Strauss is known as "OBE", as in "only bats for England". "Obeas" would be more fitting now, "only bats for England and Somerset", or "ZZ Top" from "Zummerzet's Ztrauzz".

When Charl Willoughby dismissed Worcestershire's Saeed Ajmal on Wednesday morning it registered his 339th first-class wicket for Somerset. A rather arbitrary milestone for a celebration, you would think, but not when you consider that it took him past Joel Garner's career-haul of 338 wickets for the club and Willoughby has surpassed it in fewer matches. The South African, who has not missed a match for five years, said: "I have always wanted to get past those figures and I managed them with games to spare." One thing he will never better, though, is Big Bird's wit. Once when the fast bowler was approached by an admirer, he was asked the very question that he fielded numerous times each day. "Mr Garner," she asked. "How tall are you?" "I'm 6ft 8in," he replied. "And is everything in proportion?" was the saucy followup. "Oh no," Garner said. "If it was I'd be 8ft 6in."

Eric Clapton made his annual pilgrimage to Lord's for the first Test against India and was spotted alongside his friends Sir Ian Botham and Wasim Akram. "Eric loves his cricket and he was hoping for Sachin to get that hundred," Akram revealed. "'Will Sachin get it?' he kept asking me. 'I thought you would be backing England,' I said, and he replied: 'No, no. I want to see him score that hundred'." Tendulkar is a Dire Straits man, meeting his idol Mark Knopfler in Mumbai in 2005, giving him a signed bat with the local hero receiving an autographed guitar in return. For Clapton, Tendulkar's illness and inability to score that 100th hundred became a case of money for nothing .

Matthew Hayden has announced that he is coming out of retirement to play for Brisbane Heat in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash competition. "Now is the time to start turning up the Heat," the 39-year-old opener cheesily pronounced before explaining why he has also chosen to make an investment and become a part-owner of the franchise in a welter of barking business speak. "T20 brings a new energy to the sporting landscape in a space I refer to as entertainment," Brent … er … Hayden said. "An eight-team Big Bash league has relaunched my interest as a highly viable business decision." He will line up alongside Heat imports Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, and has said he would love to have Andrew Symonds on board. The Brisbane Times points out one stumbling block to that dream team. In 2009 during a radio interview with Roy and HG, Symonds called McCullum "a lump of shit". Add "s-bomb disposal expert" to Hayden's already chunky portfolio.

One player who won't be taking part in the Big Bash is Australia's Test and 50-overs captain, Michael Clarke. Another casualty of his decision to focus on the responsibilities of leading Australia's revival is his long-standing contract with Bond's, the underwear manufacturer, which has featured Pup in his undercrackers in a series of adverts. His management team apparently feel that posing in underpants is not the right image for the man charged with upholding the honour of the Baggy Green. The emperor's new clothes he wears as part of his new job, however, are fine by them.

The Cheltenham Festival match between Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire was graced by what John Arlott memorably once called a "freaker". The mystery exhibitionist jumped out of this seat, sprinted across the pitch twice and returned to the stands unmolested by security staff. Cue Somerset fans' quip about him getting away with it at Gloucestershire because there were no witnesses.

View the original article here

Premier League must wait until March for goalline technology decision

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore believes goalline technology can be implemented for the 2012/13 season. Photograph: Tom Jenkins

The Premier League will discover in March whether Fifa are to sanction the introduction of goalline technology, with the chief executive, Richard Scudamore, confident the league will then be "at the absolute forefront" in implementing it in time for the 2012-13 season.

Scudamore has long advocated the introduction of cameras in the goalmouth to determine whether the ball has crossed the line in a bid to avoid controversies such as Frank Lampard's 'ghost goal' for England against Germany at last summer's World Cup, or Chelsea's equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur in April. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, had previously been opposed to the use of such technology, though his stance has shifted more recently and the governing body is expected to approve the scheme in the spring.

"In March, Fifa will look at the technology," Scudamore said. "I hope there will be multiple suppliers who meet Fifa's criteria, and I would hope Fifa approve the suppliers who can do the job and then we can talk to them about putting them in Premier League grounds. It won't be a test; once it's in, it's in. It has got to work before we put it in, of course – we are not going to risk our competition on stuff that doesn't work – and the signal has to be instant and accurate, but the technology people have to convince Fifa of that. Once Fifa approve those companies then we, the Premier League, will be in the absolute forefront of any move to bring it in."

The Premier League and its members have been in favour of goalline technology in principle for more than three years, with frustration having built up since at Fifa's reluctance to pursue the issue. However, should it be implemented, it seems likely that calls to widen the potential use of cameras and replays to assist match officials in calls for penalties and offside decisions will escalate.

"That debate will continue," said Scudamore, who was in Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy, a pre-season tournament that could be mirrored with similar events in the United States and Africa in future. "But a ball crossing a line is an absolute matter of fact. Anything else is a matter of opinion; whether it was a foul or not or whether it was inside or outside the box. There is so much more subjectivity. Why we are so overwhelmingly supportive of goalline technology is because the answer is yes or no."

View the original article here

Mike Selvey's verdict on the second day

England's Kevin Pietersen, left, watches India's Youvraj Singh, whom he dropped, take a run. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Of all the clever things Kevin Pietersen has done on the field of play, dropping Yuvraj Singh was not high on the list. Yuvraj, his bete noire, the pie thrower who headed what was to become a queue of left-arm slow bowlers all itching to have a crack at him. He does not much care for Yuvraj and the feeling is mutual.

After a difficult morning, England had just got themselves back into the contest with the wickets, in short order, of the Tubby Titan and an apprehensive Suresh Raina when Yuvraj strode to the crease. Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, adrenaline pumping now and their tails up, were in the mood. Yuvraj slashed at Broad and found the boundary. He tried again, made less convincing contact and steered the ball straight to Pietersen, who put down the catch.

Was he unsighted as the ball came out of a background of the sea of bodies in the New Stand? Perhaps. But it was one to be taken. Broad, ecstatic later, could scarcely contain his disappointment. That would have been 144 for five and on such moments hinge the outcome of matches.

Instead, shortly after tea, it was Rahul Dravid's deft angle to third man, with the new ball approaching, that gave India the lead and no further wicket had fallen. Their eventual partnership of 128, before Broad's remarkable intervention, was quite possibly the crucial one of what clearly will be a low-scoring match.

For two Test matches now, while all the talk has been of other things, it has been Dravid, the rock on which this Indian batting is built, who has held things together. At Lord's, he scored a beautiful century, a product not just of his skill and determination, but of the recent work he is said to have put in with Duncan Fletcher, an outstanding batting coach, when in the Caribbean.

If that had been an innings that might have defined his role within the team, then this century, scored in the Trent Bridge sunshine, was perhaps even more momentous. At Lord's he survived a catch in the slips and made England pay for it. This time, until he uppercut to third man as he tried to cash in with only the rabbits for company, he did not even give them a sniff. An innings utterly relentless, chanceless for hour upon hour, six hours and 10 minutes worth – a miracle in itself given the manner in which the ball still behaved, if not as malevolently as the first day when India bowled under cloud and it sang like a canary – then still capriciously for the seamers.

What he offered, for those who like to look beyond the mere statistical evidence of his achievement, was a masterclass in how to cope with the moving ball and certainly a different way to that which Pietersen had used during his masterful double hundred at Lord's.

There was Pietersen, an imposing figure, standing down the pitch to negate the swing of Kumar, and, placing himself on or outside offstump, in order to cover the away swing and work the leg side. India found themselves powerless such was his dominance.

And now here we had the slight figure of Dravid showing that a cat can be skinned in more ways than one. There are no extravagant movements or triggers from him, no forward press so beloved of his new tutor.

Instead he remains still as the bowler delivers, still but balanced and without being static: he is free to move as necessary. Yet somehow, he manages to play swing by staying leg side of the ball, his right foot, the anchor, rarely straying from the line of leg stump. So good is his judgement of line and length, so clever is he at reading the signs of the swing and the intentions of the bowlers, that he was able to leave the ball impeccably and play it late when not.

The structure of his innings tells its story. His first 50 runs, scored at a time when the going was at its toughest, took as many overs and came from 131 deliveries. Of these, 10 were hit to the boundary, there were two twos and half a dozen singles, which means that 113 balls were missed (content to play the line and not be drawn away from it, only once was he seduced into following the deviation in a way that brought his downfall in the second innings at Lord's), flagged through or played defensively. He waited his moment and scored in chosen areas, boundaries angled deftly, infuriatingly, to third man, that no-go area for England fielders. But more than half his runs came on the leg side, clipped away when the bowling strayed on to his pads. Scarcely anything that was not a long half-volley was played attackingly on the drive, for this, he reasoned, with the ball swinging, is not a driving pitch.

Then, with the ball soft, and the clouds banished, he changed the tempo of his game. His scoring rate increased, but his boundary count was slashed.

With Yuvraj, there were runs to be collected in ones and twos as the seamers faded and, with the new ball in mind, Strauss turned to Pietersen and Graeme Swann, treated with some disdain. The leg glance that took him to three figures, from a further 78 deliveries, was only his third boundary since his half-century.

View the original article here

Playing the coach in front of your peers deserves a badge of courage | David James

David James, top right, trains with fellow goalkeepers Robert Green, front, and Joe Hart while on England duty. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Fifa via Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion may sound an unlikely place for a footballer to spend their summer holiday, but, along with my old Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler and around two dozen others from the football fraternity, that is exactly where I passed a happy fortnight this year. We weren't on a footballers' jolly, we were there to gain our Level B coaching badges.

I have to admit I was a bit anxious about the whole thing beforehand. On a two-week residential course, I am prone to cabin fever; I'm not the best at getting on with people over a long period of time. So on the first day, when we were told by one of the coaches: "You will make friends for life here," I remember thinking: "Yeah, right." Robbie Fowler is about as close as I get to a friend for life – having known him for so many years – and I hardly ever speak to him.

But I soon discovered a really nice bunch of lads (I mean "men", I have vowed to stop using the term "lads" when I really mean grown-ups) representing a diverse range of ages and football experiences. One thing in particular that really impressed me was how those on the course were not there to get paid and continue the "football lifestyle", they were genuinely interested in coaching.

Together we ended up learning a lot. While in the past the emphasis has been on fast-tracking players through the badges with an over-reliance on the misconception that experienced players make accomplished managers, this year, the FA have launched a new and more in-depth course to try to give would-be coaches and managers a better grounding in the job.

At first, myself and a few others were rather sceptical of this new structure; there was a fair bit of moaning on hearing that, in other parts of the British Isles, the exact same qualification would take considerably less time to complete. My former Manchester City team-mate Antoine Sibierski was one of those on the shorter course and I made sure we kept in touch via text to compare how he was getting on. But, in the end, I have to admit the new course makes a lot of sense. It wasn't rushed, so what we learned really sank in. We got to experience coaching situations, rather than just read about them in a textbook with the aim of passing an exam.

Football culture has long assumed players already have the tools to be managers. With that kind of attitude, it is easy to see how English managers of the past might have gone through the old system believing they already know everything, with the qualification itself viewed as a mere formality. I'll admit that I have spent much of the past 10-15 years in goal watching training sessions and thinking I could put on something much better myself. I must have spent hours moaning to colleagues about how things could be improved. But when it comes down to doing it yourself, it is a very different story.

For the uninitiated, putting on a 25?minute coaching session is a nerve-racking experience. I genuinely felt anxious going up in front of my peers and telling a bunch of outfield players what to do. Some may argue this is exactly the sort of thing new managers learn on the job, but if you walk into a dressing room and lose their respect on the first day, I know – as a player – that it is very difficult to turn that situation around.

Of course, economics has to come into it. If you're a current player doing your badges you can afford the course fees, you can afford to take your time over things, but the situation is less straightforward for someone out of work, who just needs a wage to pay the bills. With the economic climate as it is, and English managers seemingly unfashionable to employ, competition for managerial places is ridiculously high. We were told that for a recently advertised lower league position there were more than 50 applicants. That in itself makes you realise why some might be in a rush to get straight on the career ladder. But if former England managers such as Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson are plying their trade outside the Premier League, what realistic hope is there for the rest of us – unless we really up our game?

In addition, rumours abound that the employment process in football continues to operate far too informally – jobs for the boys and all that. Hopefully, the FA's new emphasis on quality will greatly improve the standard of managerial candidates coming through in English football, but I can't help thinking these qualifications should come with a grading. As it stands, you can either pass or fail your badges. But if candidates were graded on the strength of their performances, managerial appointments might be based on quality, rather than who you are mates with.

David James has donated his fee for this column to charity

View the original article here

Third place leaves Christine Ohuruogu needing discretionary selection

Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu (right) finishes third as Perri Shakes-Drayton wins the 400 metres at the UK trials. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Christine Ohuruogu, the 400 metres Olympic champion, has been left needing a discretionary selection to make it on to the plane to Daegu and the world championships next month after finishing outside of the top two automatic qualifying spots at the UK Trials in Birmingham.

The 27-year-old finished in third place with a time of 51.91sec, but is refusing to panic. "I'll just wing it. I went to Osaka [2007 world championships where she won the gold medal] running 53 seconds so ... nothing's a crisis," said Ohuruogu, who has struggled with injury problems since 2009. "I'll honestly go home and be happy with that. I would have liked to have won it, but it's a lack of training I think."

Instead it was Perri Shakes-Drayton who took the national title, beating a field of 400m specialists in a surprise victory for the hurdler. "I thought, 'I want to win this', my beastly personality came out and I got the gold medal," said the 21-year-old with a grin. But the East Ender will not compete over the one lap in Daegu, while the runner-up – Shana Cox – only qualifies for a British passport from November of this year and so all three British places are up for grabs as the selectors meet to decide who will travel to South Korea this summer.

The world champion heptathlete, Jessica Ennis, performed well in all three individual events, winning the high jump title, finishing second in the 100m hurdles and equalling her personal best in the shot put. "It's been a busy day and I'm quite tired, but it's been good," said the 25-year-old. "I've had some good performances and it's good to run against Tiffany [Ofili-Porter] so I'm pleased with today. Now I need to go home, rest, get some food and get prepared for tomorrow. I'm feeling good about Daegu, my training's been going well and I'm feeling fresh and on top of my game, I just need to sharpen up a bit more before I get there."

Despite being the shortest athlete in the field, Ennis won the high jump competition with a clearance of 1.89m, after throwing 14.25m in the shot put, to finish in seventh place overall, and running 12.96secs in the hurdles.

Fresh from breaking the British record last week, to make her fifth fastest in the world this season, Ofili-Porter looked in fine form, taking first place in the 100m hurdles in 12.76.

Dwain Chambers won his fifth national 100m title at the age of 33, running a season's best of 10.07secs after his partner had given birth to a baby daughter less than 48 hours previously. The Londoner, who finished sixth at the last world championships in 2009, will hope to go one better in South Korea his year. "The main thing is I have to keep myself healthy and that's going to be difficult because we had a baby girl two nights ago. My duties are going to be double, but hopefully I can repeat my sixth [place finish] from two years ago." Mark Lewis -Francis, the Commonwealth silver medallist, was disqualified after false-starting in the final.

Meanwhile, Charles van Commenee and the UK selectors will have more thinking to do in the men's 400m hurdles after 18-year-old Nathan Woodward won the British title to book his place at the world championships. With Richard Davenport taking second place – an athlete who has not yet run the A-qualifying standard – Van Commenee can select two further athletes to travel to Daegu. European and Commonwealth champion Dai Greene, who did not run in the final after suffering with a virus all week, is guaranteed a discretionary place.

View the original article here

Don Goodman: My predictions for the 2011-12 Championship season

Chris Hughton has experience of getting out of the Championship, and could lead Birmingham back to the Premier League. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images

Birmingham have lost key players such as Roger Johnson, Ben Foster and Barry Ferguson, but in Chris Hughton have a manager who knows how to get out of this division … Blackpool lost Charlie Adam, David Vaughan and, most likely, the goals of DJ Campbell – a massive setback, but Ian Holloway will still have his team playing the right way … Brighton have the talent to do as Norwich did last season: come up from League One and make a huge impact … Cardiff should have done better last season. Jay Bothroyd has gone but Malky Mackay still has a very good squad … Hull finished strongly last season and, with Nigel Pearson making some decent purchases, they should push on … Ipswich always look like a side capable of challenging for a top-six place and have a hugely experienced manager in Paul Jewell … Leeds were top scorers in the Championship last season but struggled badly defensively. If they fix that they should be challengers … Leicester have spent hugely – but Cardiff had the best players last season and look what happened to them … Middlesbrough recovered well under Tony Mowbray last season and should push on … Nottingham Forest brought in Steve McClaren, which should provide unity between boardroom and dugout … Portsmouth are dark horses, with stability off the pitch and a talented, experienced manager in Steve Cotterill … Southampton can use promotion from League One as a springboard for even more success … And West Ham have a manager in Sam Allardyce who will restore the team's passion and fighting spirit.

Bristol City finished 15th last season and it's hard to see them doing much better this time around … Burnley have a talented manager in Eddie Howe but have lost Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears … Crystal Palace were steadied by Dougie Freedman last season and can really push on this year … Derby County started brilliantly last season but their struggle with consistency means they cannot expect to finish too high up … Millwall's loss of Steve Morison is a huge blow to their chances – it's hard to see how Kenny Jackett will replace his goals ... Reading have already lost Matt Mills and are likely to lose Shane Long, too.

Barnsley's lack of resources means it's hard to see how Keith Hill will be able to improve on last season's 17th … Coventry have lost Marlon King who was crucial last season ... Doncaster simply do not have the wherewithal to compete strongly in this division. They finished one place above relegation last season and will do well to improve on that … Peterborough have lost Craig Mackail-Smith, robbing them of any momentum from winning the play-offs last season … Watford, like Peterborough, have lost their top scorer – but even with Danny Graham, manager Sean Dyche would have struggled this season.

View the original article here