Hodgson contradicts himself over John Terry

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Roy Hodgson, the manager of England’s national football team, seemed to contradict himself recently in his views that football fans and players should be more Olympian in their outlook, then following that by saying that John Terry should be let off lightly after his abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Hodgson was impressed with the way in which the Team GB athletes conducted themselves and said that the atmosphere they performed in gave mainstream sports, including football, food for thought. He saw London 2012 as a wake-up call that the hatred and abuse suffered by footballers is not necessary.

There was little abuse suffered by the Olympic athletes. It was reported that Hodgson believes the Olympic athletes set a new benchmark which should be adopted in football and other major team sports which expect to be under the spotlight.

He went on to reflect on the tribalism which is often on show during football matches and said that the public who watched the Community Day were very different to that which were in Olympic Stadium. Following his statements about how players and fans should be more Olympian he said that he hoped John Terry would be cleared of his racial abuse charge by the FA so that he would be able to play for England, thus trampling over his noble sentiments.

During July’s court case Terry was found not guilty of the charge that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand from QPR. He now faces a charge from the Football Association after he was caught on camera launching expletives and insults at Ferdinand during the game. This is something that the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have never been accused of

Norton United get to try out their new changing rooms

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Whilst debuting in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League Norton United were able to use for the first time their new changing facilities. The new rooms have been donated by Stoke City after  the completion of their Trent Vale Michelin complex. The training ground cost £6m.

Terry Robinson, director of youth at the club, cut the ribbon at Community Drive. Steve Beaumont, Norton chairman was pleased with the way the day went. A development team from Stoke played Norton’s under-14s before the opening ceremony was performed.

The Community Drive headquarters used by the club are receiving a major revamp of which the changing rooms are a part. The club has also installed new floodlights with the help of a grant. In all the club received £88,622, including, from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, £23,000; £51,000 from the Football Foundation and £14,622 was granted by the Football Stadium Improvement Fund.

Peter McNestry of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust and MP for Stoke-on-Trent, Joan Walley were among the guests at the celebration. The Chairman revealed that the club now has a three-year sponsorship deal in place with Autonet Insurance from Stoke. The ground is to be renamed Autonet Insurance Community Sports Ground.

Their Premier Division debut, however, started badly when they were beaten by AFC Blackpool. AFC Blackpool’s Marco Cobb scored in the 67th-minute to take the lead, leaving Norton unable to respond. Elsewhere Alsager Town and Stone Dominoes both drew, while Congleton, Eccleshall and Leek CSOB all lost.

 

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Gareth Bale brands Charlie Adam a coward

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Not for the first time, Gareth Bale has been at the receiving end of a Charlie Adam tackle which has left him injured. The latest took place in match between Spurs and Liverpool which resulted in a goal less draw. Welsh international ended up on crutches after the latest tangle between the two, with their previous clash in May 2001 resulting in Bale suffering an injury to his ankle that saw him side lined for 3 months.

Following this latest incident, Bale branded Adam a coward, a remark that was quickly refuted by Adam’s agent, Kenny Moyes, who says his comments were both outrageous and schoolboyish. Moyes was quoted in the Daily Star as saying that the comment didn’t warrant a reply, as everyone who knows Charlie knows he isn’t a malicious kind of player, and Bale was bang out of order.

Both Bale and his manager at Tottenham, Andre Villas-Boas, have called for an apology from Adam over the incident. They have now, however, received encouraging news about the injury that has seen Bale on crutches, as a scan has revealed the damage is not as severe as first thought. The 23 year old has now resumed light training and looks set to be able to take his place in the Spurs team for the beginning of the new season.

Villas-Boas has been reported as saying that obviously they are hugely relieved that the injury is not as serious as they first thought, as winger Bale was integral part of their squad. With the sale of Steven Plenaar to Everton looking ever closer to completion, the last thing the Spurs boss will want to worry about is a serious injury to one of his key players, whilst the Bale/Adam feud shows now sign of abating.

Brian Kennedy insists that his offer for Rangers is still valid

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Brian Kennedy reinforced that his offer to purchase the new Rangers is still good after its present owners spent a day claiming that the rumour was true and then stating that it was not. Charles Green the chief executive of Sevco denied that the owner of Sale Sharks had placed a bit on the team, despite the fact that earlier in the day he had said that the bid was real. Kennedy stated that he has officially submitted proof that his bid was real on the table and now the offer will remain good until it can be considered.

He explained that while he respects the fact that controlling investors have the right to reject or accept any bids that come in for the shares, he wants to make it a matter of public record that he is willing, ready, and financially able to support the Rangers Football Club in the future if his bid is accepted.

He added that his lawyers submitted the details of his original bid to Zeus Capital who are handling the sale of the football club. His solo bid failed, but he is hoping now that he could take a controlling arm of the shares with his new bid for 51% of the shares of the club.

The bid was rumoured to be about £5.6m and therefore quite intoxicating no doubt for the owners of the Rangers. Kennedy also stated that he has had several meetings over the past month with a man that represents the Sevco shareholders to discuss why he is interested in buying the club and what he would do with the football club if his offer is accepted. He added that the details from each meeting have been disclosed to club members so that full disclosure protocols are followed.

Kim Little pledges to do her best for Team GB, despite the SFA trying to scupper her inclusion

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Kim Little believes that she will not be a hindrance to the international football future of soccer in Scotland, but instead she will end up helping out Team GB in their football tournament and help the image of football overall.

The 22 year old midfielder decided to take her spot in the Olympic team despite the fact that the SFA asked her not to do so. This is due to a political battle that has brewed up over her inclusion on the Great Britain team given the fact that she plays for Scotland. However, Little is not worried about all of the politics of her inclusion and is instead focused on the game ahead of her. The SFA is worried that some players may threaten their home nation’s current FIFA independent status.

Little is one of the two Scottish women that will play for the Team GB women’s squad. Also on the team from Scotland is Ifeoma Dieke. According to Little, she plans to use what she learns while on the international team to help benefit her home team and help Scotland reach an international tournament finals competition. Scotland has not yet made it to an international final match.

The Scotland squad is hoping that next year they will be able to take it up a notch and reach the Sweden Uefa Women’s Euro finals. If they do not make it next year they may have a better chance coming up as the Canada World Cup scheduled for 2015 will mark the start of an increase in finalists with 24 teams allowed to compete for the final match privilege. Little went on to comment that it is Scotland’s target to get this far and the Olympics will only help Little and Ifoema bring it up to that level.