Soccer: Ferguson's team of all the talents offers multiple options

Daniel Taylor - The Guardian

July 6, 2007 12:25 AM

Sir Alex Ferguson may have won one European Cup playing 4-4-2 but the Manchester United manager seems to have come to the conclusion that the same system is not going to return the trophy to Old Trafford. Ferguson has been experimenting with three different formations over the past couple of seasons and the pending arrival of Carlos Tevez indicates a clear shift in the manager's thinking.

Rather than target an orthodox centre-forward in the mould of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ferguson has identified a player to suit a 4-2-3-1 formation that, when United are attacking, could metamorphose into 4-2-4. Tevez would join a pool of attackers capable of troubling the classiest defences, the emphasis being on speed, fluency and movement, with players interchanging roles. "That is the key," Ferguson said at the end of last season. "Speed of play is so important these days."

This was the system when Roma were destroyed 7-1 in the Champions League quarter-finals in April, a rout that Ferguson described as the club's finest performance in his 20 years at Old Trafford. And there is rich potential for repeats, after a summer in which Tevez's acquisition would confirm United as the most prolific spenders in Europe, with a line-up that could have, for example, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez and Nani flitting around Wayne Rooney.

The hard part for Ferguson is accommodating everyone as he works out how to select an attacking quartet from a list that also incorporates the £19m Brazilian Anderson, the enduringly brilliant Ryan Giggs and a striker in Louis Saha who, when fit, the manager regards as the equal of any other No9 in English football.

Never before has Ferguson had the luxury of so many permutations. Astonishingly, Tevez could be the 46th player squashed into United's 2007-08 team photograph. Liverpool's first-team squad stands at 40 while Chelsea, for all Roman Abramovich's bags of gold, have 37, the same as Arsenal.

Uppermost in Ferguson's mind is that he now has so many options it will be almost impossible for opposition managers to guess his tactics. When Saha is fit, for example, Ferguson can revert to a more orthodox system, with a straightforward midfield quartet and Rooney or Tevez playing behind the Frenchman. In Europe, Ferguson has developed a fondness for a more cagey 4-1-4-1 system, and it is here that Owen Hargreaves, the £18m signing from Bayern Munich, will be expected to excel. And then there is the increasingly favoured 4-2-3-1 line-up, taking its inspiration from the slick systems that have been in place in Spain for many years.

Paul Scholes has increasingly been used in a more deep-lying role over the past six months. He is likely to continue in that "hole", with the arrival of Hargreaves meaning Michael Carrick can no longer be regarded as a mandatory first-team pick. Nani and Anderson are expected to begin their first season as "impact players", unlikely to start many of the big matches and, in an era of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo, others may find that even a place on the bench is beyond them.

The goodwill for Alan Smith after his comeback from a broken leg has made way for the realisation that, with 12 goals in 92 appearances, he should seek new employers. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in his final year before retirement, must foresee only limited chances and Giggs, 34 in November, might have to take a more peripheral role, with competition from Nani and Park Ji-Sung, and Rooney and Tevez expected to start regularly on the left. John O'Shea should benefit from reverting to the role of versatile defender.

As for Ferguson's team when United face Chelsea in the FA Community Shield on August 5, that is anyone's guess. Jose Mourinho might have to guess too.

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: League could block Tevez's United move

West Ham must receive fee for Argentina forward
Agents and Hammers heading for court battle

Matt Scott
Friday July 6, 2007
The Guardian

Carlos Tevez's move to Manchester United is in doubt after the Premier League last night ordered that West Ham United must receive his transfer fee.

The Premiership champions expected to conclude a deal for Tevez once his international duties at the Copa América in Venezuela are fulfilled, with the Argentina forward joining their squad during their tour of the US in the middle of this month. But the league's intervention has left West Ham and Tevez's agents on a collision course to the courts.

West Ham had been prepared to let Tevez go to Old Trafford without receiving a fee but have been forced to reposition themselves. "As far as we are concerned any deal to take Carlos Tevez away from West Ham has to be done directly with the club," said a Premier League spokesman.

That is because the player's registration lies with West Ham and not with the offshore companies who had brought Tevez to the Premiership: Media Sports Investments and Just Sports Inc.

After being fined £5.5m by a disciplinary commission in April for illegally registering the player last August, the Hammers chose to rip up the third-party agreement that connected them to MSI and JSI.

That meant West Ham were effectively taking a £20m-plus-rated player as their own, despite never having paid a transfer fee. MSI and JSI refused to recognise West Ham's decision and instead prepared a path for the player to Old Trafford.

After the disciplinary commission, West Ham had the choice of renegotiating terms with the player's handlers, who are led by Kia Joorabchian, in a deal akin to that which took Javier Mascherano to Liverpool in January. But that would have been a potentially complex discussion and Tevez was needed in a relegation fixture at Wigan the next day. The most expedient route was to rip up the contracts.

That, however, appears to have stored up problems, and these were coming home to roost last night. MSI and JSI have retained the experienced sports lawyer Graham Shear to act on their behalf and a courtroom battle appears inevitable.

West Ham are bound by the terms of their undertakings in response to a letter sent to them by the Premier League on May 4. According to the transcript of the arbitration proceedings concluded on Tuesday, they agreed "to contend that the Tevez Agreement was invalid and unenforceable and, from the club's perspective, terminated, and the club would not perform in accordance with it".

This was interpreted by the Premier League as a commitment to treat any transfer of Tevez as being from West Ham and as having no consideration for the perceived rights of MSI and JSI. On that basis alone was Tevez permitted to continue playing for West Ham, scoring the goals that saved them from relegation.

The difficulty now for West Ham is that they must attempt to defend in court a situation that Sir Philip Otton, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, described in his arbitration judgment as probably not being "legally watertight".

The player's handlers insist the old agreements are still enforceable and that they entitled West Ham only to a one-year loan for Tevez. They claim any attempts to prevent his move to Old Trafford will be an actionable restraint of trade.

The only way West Ham and the companies Joorabchian represents may avoid the courts is if a negotiated settlement can be reached. The Premier League will permit the club to share a transfer fee with MSI and JSI but West Ham would have to secure a fair market rate for themselves before forwarding any surplus. But with Manchester United's directors seeking to pay only £6m to take Tevez on a two- season loan with a future option to make the deal permanent, that looks unlikely.

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Reds can't go wrong - Balague

Guillem Balague has followed Fernando Torres' move to Liverpool from start to finish and with the former Atletico icon now an Anfield player, looks back at the summer's biggest deal so far. He says Atletico might not be getting the money their fans expect, but on the other hand, Liverpool cannot lose...

When Rafa Benítez convinced the new owners of Liverpool they had to spend big amount of money to take his team to the next level, he thought about making a ground-breaking move for a striker.

Samuel Eto'o was his first option but soon it was clear that however much he wanted him, it would be almost impossible to get the Camerooon international - he was wanted by many but the player, having thought about leaving, indicated finally he wants to stay at Barcelona.

So before the end of the Champions League at the end of May, the Liverpool manager had already chosen his future centre-forward.

It was not going to be Diego Forlan because of the doubts that exist in the manager's mind following his previous spell in the Premier League with Manchester United; nor Zaragoza's Diego Milito who, the boss thought, doesn't really have the pace needed to succeed in England; nor Juventus's Daivd Trezeguet, who was waiting for a call from Barcelona or Real Madrid.

So it soon became clear that the best option (in terms of the money-quality split) was Fernando Torres and talks began before the end of the May.

When the player played through injury in the last two matches of the season, it was obvious his only objective was help Atletico fulfil their dream of qualifying for the Uefa Cup.

But by then he already knew about the interest from Liverpool and even if Athletico did make it, there was still the suspicion that things would end in Torres pulling on the red shirt of one of the most famous clubs in the world.

The player was ready for a new challenge and after Atletico did not qualify for Europe for the eighth consecutive season, there was only one outcome of the talks.

The agreement between player and the two clubs has been in place for weeks but if it wasn't confirmed by any of the parties earlier it's because Atletico needed to prepare their fans for it, as well as finalise agreements on the usual commissions between the parties.

The owners of Liverpol are keen on the opportunity to bring in a player of great promise, who is young enough to be allowed a first season of adapting to the style of the Premier League.

Although Torres's representatives pushed for less and Liverpool wanted to sign him for seven, a six-year-deal has of course, been agreed between them.

That means Liverpool have little to lose.

If the move doesn't work out, Torres will be able to return to Spain in three years time when he will still only be 26, and they will still have the chance to recoup the money spent.

Finally, according to Liverpool executives, the Anfield club has paid around £20million for the player (including Luis Garcia, but not Djibril Cisse as had been discussed) — although Atletico will keep insisting they have recieved almost the totality of his buy out clause, another leak to the press that is trying to help the unrest of fans.

I know who to believe!

As the British media all agree, that money makes Torres one of the most important signings in the history of the Premiership

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

RUGBY: Test rugby scores zero

Wednesday 4 July 2007

It seems that winning tests no longer matter and losing matters even less, writes Keo in his Independent Group column.

The All Blacks are relieved to have lost to the Wallabies and aren’t reading too much into the result. The Wallabies aren’t reading too much into it either, saying it was just one win, albeit the first one against the All Blacks since 2004.

Where’s the disappointment in losing a test? Where’s the joy in winning? What happened to living the moment?

What has happened to test rugby?

Why do teams still play test rugby outside of the World Cup?

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones described the first Bledisloe Cup test of the year between New Zealand and Australia as a chance for both teams to learn something about the other. Nothing more and nothing less, he said, adding it would give both a chance to assess their respective World Cup preparations.

There was no reduction in the price of test match tickets. The game was officially recognised as an international and players were awarded test colours for taking part in what effectively was just another World Cup practice match.

To add insult to this training exercise, 80 000 punters paid an entrance fee to see two teams play a match one coach wasn’t unhappy to lose and the other wasn’t thrilled to have won.

As King Louis, of Jungle Book fame, would say … ‘Crazy Man-cub … Crazy’.

King Louis, for those familiar with the animated classic, offers the Man-cub a banana in exchange for the secret of how man makes fire. In fact he offers him two bananas to close the deal.

If King Louis had been privy to the crazy jungle professional test rugby has become he would offer two fingers instead of two bananas. He would give the game’s administration, the coaches and to some extent the players an up yours for the scam of charging punters top dollar to watch ‘meaningless’ pre-World Cup test matches when the performance matters more than the score.

The World Cup, played every four years, only has one winner and that winner has to play four big games – traditionally one in the Group stage, then a quarter-final, semi-final and final. Teams on average play 12 tests a year, with most playing eight before the start of the tournament in World Cup year. This gives you 44 tests between World Cups that mean absolutely nothing, according to coaches who rally around the call of World Cup glory in their defence of every performance.

Everything is acceptable outside of those four big games. Only then does it really matter what the score is. Only then is there accountability to the paying public and whoever else invests in a team’s fortunes.

So here’s an idea. Don’t give any of those 44 tests international status. Make entry to the ground free and call them friendly matches between two countries preparing for a World Cup when the real stuff starts, like Portugal against the All Blacks and South Africa against Tonga and the United States.

If you think that’s ridiculous, it isn’t half as crazy as the notion that it is okay for the game’s highest paid rugby professionals to take the public for fools and preach positives from losing a test, while the winners tell you they played better the last time when they lost.

If winning isn’t important, why keep score?

I hate how the World Cup devalues test rugby. It used to be something to beat the All Blacks, but it apparently only matters now if it happens at the World Cup.

Cue King Louis: ‘Crazy Man-cub … Crazy …’

Keo - keo.co.za

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

F1: Stepneygate could decide World Championships

Wednesday 4th July 2007

As F1 grapples with the incredible developments of Stepneygate, which culminated in McLaren suspending their chief designer on Tuesday after Ferrari documents were allegedly uncovered at his home, a nightmare scenario looms over the sport: the World Championship being won and lost in the courts.

Having already launched legal proceedings against their mechanic Nigel Stepney, Ferrari's claim of espionage took on a sensational dimension on Tuesday when a police raid, made at their behest, allegedly found 'technical information' stolen from their Maranello base at the home of Mike Coughlan, McLaren's chief designer.

Announcing that they had presented 'a case against Nigel Stepney and an engineer from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team with the Modena Tribunal, concerning the theft of technical information', Ferrari pointedly ruled out further legal redress. 'Ferrari reserves the right to consider all implications, be they criminal, civil or of any other nature, according to the applicable laws,' it declared in a statement.

"We have proof that Stepney had been supplying technical information to a McLaren employee and we found evidence of that fact in his [the employee's] home. This is a very serious situation. We are talking about a lot of information being given to a prominent McLaren engineer. We are not talking here about rumours or speculation."

As a mood of crisis threatened to envelop the sport on Tuesday night, the FIA confirmed that, "We have received information on this matter, which we are examining."

The governing body will be powerless during any criminal investigation either in Italy or Britain, but it is already being speculated that Ferrari could launch a separate case that would determine the victors of both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships in the courts.

Their case would be advanced if they could prove a correlation between performance and the alleged 'dirty tricks'.

Tellingly, the discovery of a mysterious white powder in the fuel tanks of both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen's cars just before the Monaco GP, which prompted the internal enquiry that resulted in Stepney's sacking, coincided with a sudden regression by the team's chargers. Having won the previous two races in dominant fashion, Ferrari then failed to challenge for victory in the next three.

Meanwhile, with McLaren admitting that 'a senior member of its technical organisation personally received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April', The Guardian reports that 'Ferrari believe that the improvement in McLaren's performance after the Spanish Grand Prix on May 13 is consistent with the apparent leaks at the end of April.'

Planet F1

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Will Torres be Kop's new God or just another Fernando?

Sid Lowe - The Guardian
July 4, 2007 12:41 AM

Fernando Torres is used to the weight of expectation on his shoulders. He joined Atlético Madrid, his boyhood team, at 11, rejected an offer from Real Madrid at 12, had a €3m buy-out clause at 15, made his debut at 17, captained the club at 19 and won his first cap before he was 20. He alone has carried the hopes of one of Spain's biggest clubs for seven long years - and still he is only 23. Now he has to pull on the No9 shirt worn by the man the Kop called God and prove that Liverpool's manager is not insane.

By splashing £27m on Torres, Rafael Benítez has almost doubled the amount spent on Liverpool's previous record signing, Djibril Cissé, making "The Kid" the most expensive Spaniard ever. It is a gamble, one on which Benítez's legacy, and his reputation, may well rest; one which, at three times the fee, will have to pay far greater dividends than the last time Benítez brought a centre-forward called Fernando to Anfield. Morientes came with a big reputation and departed having scored eight league goals in 41 league games. For Torres, the pressure is on.

On the face of it he has the credentials to rise to the challenge. He had scored 64 goals before he was 13 and got another 68 over the next two seasons, breaking a club record. At 14 he won the Nike Cup, being named the best Under-15 player in Europe, at 16 he led Atlético to the national juvenile league, and then he was the leading scorer and player of the tournament as Spain won the Under-16 European Championship, hitting the winner in the final. He repeated the feat in the Under-19 championship.

When he made his Atlético debut it was on the orders of the chairman, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, responding to the restlessness of fans desperate to see the player about whom they had heard so much, the saviour who would lead them out of the second division - or "hell" as the former owner Jesús Gil dubbed it. The pressure did not faze Torres and in his second match, against Albacete, he came on and changed the game, provoking two sendings-off and scoring the winner.

Since Atlético's return to the First Division in 2002 he has been their top scorer every season. He has scored 75 times in 173 games, twice finishing as La Liga's top-scoring Spaniard, never failing to get into double figures. Over the past four seasons only Samuel Eto'o and David Villa have scored more league goals.

And yet there have always been doubts. Torres divides Spain. He is an idol and a star, his raw talent unquestionable, but for some he almost became a figure of fun as well, capable of combining the most brilliant goals with the most incredible misses. When Spain drew 0-0 with Russia in a pre-World Cup friendly he was booed by Spain fans. On one occasion he got the ball, spun his marker, played a quick one-two, dashed clear leaving his defender for dead . . . and put the ball wide. It was, they said, classic Torres.

If Atlético fans indulged him his misses, won over by his love for the club and all too aware that they were watching a one-man team, others were less charitable. He did not do it when it mattered, they said - in 10 games against Real Madrid he has scored once and, for all the millions spent, Atlético have not secured a European place since his debut. He missed too many chances, they said, look at his record.

Torres has pace, power, athleticism and bags of skill, and he frightens defences with his direct running, but where are the goals? Not once has he scored 20 in a league season and, of the 19 he scored in 2003-04, six were penalties. In fact, subtract the penalties and he has twice scored 13 and twice 10 in the past four years.

Even his World Cup, with three goals, only temporarily won over the fans. When Luis Aragonés left him out of a friendly with Romania last winter, more than 80% of those polled agreed with the decision. Aragonés admitted that he had done it to shake Torres out of a rut.

And yet Benítez would be entitled to believe that the rut in question is Atlético Madrid. If Liverpool see in Torres a man who will get them 25 goals a season, they may be disappointed; he is no Fowler. But he is blessed with immense talent and the change may be exactly what he needs, not least because - too intelligent, too grounded, too open-minded - he is no José Antonio Reyes. Leaving Spain will not sink him. It may be the making of him.

Freed from an underachieving chaotic club where he has had seven managers and no support, where he has been burdened with too much too young, where he has, by his own admission, grown weary, maybe the brilliant player can be released - and the goals will follow.

After all, how many players would have scored the goals he has with a team like Atletico? When their sporting director, Jesús García Pitarch, recently admitted, "It's ridiculous really that Fernando is still with us", the fans saw truth in his words. So, more importantly, did Torres, who finally feels that he has a club, a coach and team-mates worthy of him. Now he has to prove he is worthy of Benítez's gamble.

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Yachting: Alinghi's unparalleled control over the America's Cup

Paul Lewis - The New Zealand Herald

There's a strong rumour doing the rounds in Valencia: If Alinghi win the 32nd America's Cup, skipper Brad Butterworth will not be allowed to accept it. Syndicate boss Ernesto Bertarelli will.

With a question mark over Butterworth's continued employment with Alinghi after this regatta, the rumours say that Bertarelli has opted to reduce the spotlight on Butterworth, with the future in mind.

We may have to wait to see if Alinghi wins and if any of this happens - but this is just one of the examples of how Alinghi have taken their public relations and communications strategy to a new level in what is shaping up to be one of the most heavily propagandised Cups in history.

Some of the posturing, micro-management and spin being imparted by Alinghi is unparalleled, even for the America's Cup.

Latest example: The Losers' Press Conference.

This one was nipped in the bud but the Swiss had to get organised ahead of Monday's postponed race seven in case Alinghi won and the Cup presentation was held.

They planned to hold two press conferences simultaneously after the winning race.

At one, Alinghi would attend a winner's press conference.

At the other, Team NZ would attend the losers' press conference. Not only does this fly in the face of aeons of America's Cup tradition - the two teams are always at the end of the match to shake hands after a long battle.

It also reveals a mindset increasingly obvious to journalists covering the Cup but which is far less discernible by the real targets - the readers and viewers at the end of the line.

Who in their right mind would attend a loser's press conference? Who in their right mind would propose holding one at the same time as a winner's press conference?

It was an obvious ploy to focus most of the world's media attention on Alinghi and to keep Team NZ squarely out of frame. Team NZ were not consulted about these plans and found out second-hand.

If the press conference had gone ahead and Team NZ failed to win the Cup, they would not have attended anyway.

The common factor in all this is Kiwis.

Not just the Kiwis in Team NZ but even the Kiwis in the Alinghi camp. At times in Port America's Cup, anything New Zealand, it seems, is a rival with a capital R and needs to be carefully controlled.

There's nothing overt or bitter or rude about the atmosphere at the Port - it's just that Alinghi do not want the Kiwis' America's Cup expertise to overshadow them and have put together an under-the-counter PR strategy to deal with it.

That strategy has gone too far, over the top.

Like the Losers' Press Conference.

The other key element is that, for the first time in many years, sponsor Louis Vuitton is not in charge of communicating the America's Cup to the world.

Instead of Louis Vuitton and the affable Bruno Trouble running the media centre and working with the world's media, Ernesto Bertarelli set up a company called America's Cup Management (ACM) to do it instead.

Some of ACM's media management has been, shall we say, direct, particularly with the electronic media.

Those TV pictures you have been watching through this thrilling regatta come from America's Cup TV, the host broadcaster, operated by ACM.

TVNZ use Peter Montgomery, John McBeth and James Spithill as commentators over those pictures.

But many millions of people around the world listen to the commentary provided by America's Cup TV commentators - Kiwis Martin Tasker and yachting commentator Peter Lester, in coverage produced by Leon Sefton, son of Alan Sefton, a communications man from previous New Zealand America's Cup campaigns.

All that you are about to read was not told me by Tasker, Lester nor Sefton.

But it is common knowledge among the media ranks here. ACTV didn't want Kiwis originally - there's that thing again - and tried to hire other broadcasters before realising that New Zealand has actually managed to put together the world's best coverage of America's Cup sailing through the last two regattas.

It's the same in rugby, where New Zealand's television coverage of the game is the world's best. But, from day one, the ACM/ACTV controlling hand fell heavily on the shoulder.

Tasker and Lester - who also writes for the Herald and nzherald.co.nz - have been taken to task on a regular basis for being too biased in favour of Team New Zealand. On day one, the complaints started.

Too much Team NZ.

For anyone who heard the ACTV commentaries (they are beamed into the media centre here), this was a ridiculous call.

Tasker and Lester are professionals, and good ones.

If there was any bias in their work, I couldn't pick it.

On the second day, Tasker and Lester tried to correct matters in the second race.

Then they received complaints from various Kiwis that they were leaning too far towards Alinghi. But unless this sounds too much like "a TV commentator can never keep everyone happy", story there is a darker side to this.

Tasker and Lester have been placed pretty much on threat of dismissal if they don't removed the alleged bias (which no-one else can hear) from their commentaries.

Still dissatisfied, ACTV brought in Ian Burns, an Australian designer who has been linked with Alinghi's next America's Cup campaign - to provide balance.

In one commentary, Lester was heard talking about Ed Baird and how Brad Butterworth had said Baird was one of only five men who could sail an America's Cup yacht at the top level.

Lester set about naming the other four.

One was Russell Coutts. The next day, knuckles were rapped.

We do not talk about Russell Coutts on ACTV, apparently.

Not since he left Alinghi.

Then came the day of the infamous protest and the sight of a man up Alinghi's mast quickening thoughts that the defender might have breached class rules.

The Team NZ protest was dismissed but suspicions remain. When the incident occurred, the ACTV boat which follows closely behind filming was told to drop back.

Later, ACTV were cutting a highlights package for broadcast around the world. Orders from the top arrived.

A large chunk of the mast sequence in the package was pruned, leaving a package which made Alinghi appear to be not quite so seriously in question. Welcome to the America's Cup.

But remember, the pictures you have been watching - and ACTV's commentary if you happen to be hearing that - come to you freshly approved.

By Alinghi.

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Torres cuts holiday short to speed move to Liverpool

Sid Lowe in Madrid - The Guardian
Tuesday July 3, 2007

Fernando Torres cut short his summer holiday in Polynesia to return to Madrid last night and finalise a deal taking him to Liverpool. He had been surprised by the speed with which negotiations had been conducted in his absence and returned early to conclude his £27m move from Atlético Madrid to the Premiership.

Sources in Liverpool yesterday suggested that the 23-year-old has verbally agreed a four-year deal and the move could be made official today, subject to a medical. Atlético Madrid had already agreed a deal with Liverpool, in which Torres was valued at fractionally short of his €40m (£27m) buy-out clause. The two clubs also agreed a deal for Luis García to return to the Vicente Calderón, where he played during the 2002-03 season.

Torres cuts holiday short to speed move to Liverpool Sid Lowe in Madrid Tuesday July 3, 2007 The Guardian Fernando Torres cut short his summer holiday in Polynesia to return to Madrid last night and finalise a deal taking him to Liverpool. He had been surprised by the speed with which negotiations had been conducted in his absence and returned early to conclude his £27m move from Atlético Madrid to the Premiership. Sources in Liverpool yesterday suggested that the 23-year-old has verbally agreed a four-year deal and the move could be made official today, subject to a medical. Atlético Madrid had already agreed a deal with Liverpool, in which Torres was valued at fractionally short of his €40m (£27m) buy-out clause. The two clubs also agreed a deal for Luis García to return to the Vicente Calderón, where he played during the 2002-03 season. Article continues Although the two deals were not interdependent, with both clubs looking to prevent Torres's move falling through because of any difficulties in completing the deal for Luis García, who is valued at £4m, they will now form part of the same operation. Luis García's agent, Manuel García Quilón, yesterday admitted he expects his client to join Atlético "today or tomorrow". That move had not yet been made official last night and Atlético and Liverpool are keen to announce both moves simultaneously today. Torres will then bid an official farewell to Atlético, for whom he has played since the age of 16. Torres is expected to earn around £90,000 a week at Anfield, putting him in the same wage bracket as Xabi Alonso and Jamie Carragher but leaving him some way short of the club captain, Steven Gerrard, who earns a reported £120,000 a week. Torres will be the 10th Spaniard signed by Rafael Benítez since 2004 and the club's record signing. The CSKA Sofia midfielder Mihail Alexandrov, 18, yesterday told a Bulgarian radio station that he has passed a medical at Liverpool and that he will join the club as soon as his season finishes. Chelsea's German midfielder Michael Ballack could be considered for the club's US tour despite preparing to have surgery on his ankle today. Ballack injured his ankle and underwent an operation in May but complications with the healing of the wound have forced him back into hospital. A spokesman for Chelsea confirmed: "Michael Ballack will have an operation in Germany on his ankle." The London club are due to play the Suwon Bluewings and David Beckham's new side, LA Galaxy. Andrew Johnson has returned to full training with Everton, six weeks after his ankle surgery, and his manager, David Moyes, believes the striker can improve on his first season with the club."His goals were so important and they came at important times, at the start of the season and on the run-in as well," Moyes said. *Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

RUGBY: McCaw rues vital errors

Saturday 30th June 2007

McCaw: No hiding his disappointment

All Black skipper Richie McCaw cited crucial errors from his side for the reason behind their shock 20-15 Bledisloe Cup defeat against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.

Having led 15-6 at the interval New Zealand failed to score in the second half and coughed up two crucial tries whilst down to fourteen men.

"We made crucial mistakes," McCaw lamented to Fox Sports.

"We had them on the ropes at halftime and had we scored early in the second half it might have been a different matter."

Despite dominating for long periods in the second period New Zealand could not capitalise on their territory and possession and often came up with basic errors at key times.

Australia fed off the errors and grew in stature as the game went on, and their never-say-die attitude showed through according to McCaw.

"But the Aussies never lie down, they showed that and played the rugby in the second half," he concluded.

planetrugby.com

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

RUGBY: Kiwis to take `losing lessons` to RWC

Sunday 01st July 2007

Lessons learnt: Graham Henry

Coach Graham Henry wants to use New Zealand's rare Tri-Nations' loss to Australia as motivation for the All Blacks to go on and win the World Cup later this year.

The All Blacks, dominant in the opening half and leading 15-6, paid for not putting the resilient Wallabies away and failed to register a point in the last 54 minutes to go down 20-15 on Saturday.

It was New Zealand's first Test defeat since losing to South Africa 21-20 in Rustenburg last September and their first loss to the Australians in six Tests, stretching back to August 2004.

Skipper Richie McCaw spoke of letting the Wallabies off the hook with No.8 Rodney So'oialo and inside-centre Aaron Mauger both fumbling try-scoring chances which, if converted, would have probably put the All Blacks out of reach.

Henry has the task of tempering home expectations of winning a second World Cup in France in October, such has been the All Blacks' glorious run of form - they haven't lost a home Test, a sequence of 24 consecutive wins, for four years.

The All Blacks have lost only five of their 41 Tests since the 2003 World Cup, when they were sensationally knocked out in the semi-finals by unfancied Australia.

Saturday's loss recalled memories of that painful 22-10 loss to the Wallabies and again it was Stirling Mortlock who plunged the dagger into the All Blacks with his linebreak that set up replacement Scott Staniforth's winning try eight minutes from time.

"Hopefully, we'll learn a lot from this fixture and it's better to lose now than in October at the World Cup," Henry said Sunday.

"Hopefully, it will be a big learning experience for us all.

"This side hasn't lost often and I think you learn a lot from losing and hopefully we do learn from that."

Henry praised the Wallabies for fighting their way back after a ragged first half to keep the All Blacks scoreless for the entire second half.

"They finished stronger than we did, the Australians played particularly well in the last 20 minutes and deserved their win," he said.

"We've been saying all along that the Australians are a pretty good rugby side, the Australians would understand that, maybe the New Zealanders still find that hard to handle, but they deserved to win.

"We didn't take a few opportunities and we got opened up a couple of times in defence.

"Hopefully, we'll look back on this as a very important game for us and show the character from learning from this game and improve in the future."

McCaw, who missed key tackles in the lead-up to Australia's two second-half tries, said the All Blacks let the Wallabies off the hook.

"We weren't getting across the advantage line in our own half in the second half, we turned the ball over a couple of times and looking back on it we should have put the ball in front of us a couple of times," McCaw said.

"We let them off the hook a bit, they got a sniff and a Test match like that with a couple of mistackles, some points and they were right back in the game.

"At halftime we had them on the ropes and perhaps if we scored early in the second half it may have been a different story.

"The Wallabies are a team that never lie down and they came out on top in the second half."

New Zealand's backs coach Wayne Smith praised Mortlock's contribution to the Wallabies' victory.

"To me, Mortlock typified the Australian performance. He ran really hard, he chased hard and they were up for it big-time. Stirling made some critical line breaks," he said.

"We'll have to look at it, analyse it well and learn from it. It could be a very good game for us ultimately.

"We all have to look at our performances and I'm no different to anyone else. I'll learn a lot from it and I'm sure the players will."

SAPA-AFP - planetrugby.com

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RUGBY: Henry happy to be rid of invincible tag

Saturday 30th June 2007

Henry: Happy to no longer be invincible

The All Blacks have finally been beaten, and despite the disappointing nature of defeat, their coach Graham Henry insists the lose is "a good thing".

Most people, before the game, were convinced that New Zealand would sweep all before them in the coming months resulting in a World Cup win. The result does not cast New Zealand's credentials into doubt, but it does give hope to others and prove they are not invincible.

Henry, who has grown tired on the invincible tag, believes the defeat will give the squad a chance to now reaccess where they are as well as providing huge motivation for the coming months.

"I think this is probably a very good thing in many respects," he told Fox Sports.

"It just put us back on our hind foot and made us think and rethink what we are doing.

"Hopefully this is motivational."

The expectation for New Zealand to deliver the World Cup has grown over the past years and has now become something of a burden, similar to 2003. At that stage four years ago New Zealand had whitewashed Australia in the Bledisloe Cup but went on to lose 22-10 in the World Cup semi-final.

Despite the winning score coming from a Luke McAlister mistake Henry was quick to defend the makeshift outside centre.

"We made some mistakes defensively generally, I won't blame any particular individual and that's the way it was," he said.

"And Mortlock played particularly well, had a big game, and exposed us a couple of times."

Henry was however far from happy with the manner in which referee Jonker handled the scrum, with both sides struggling to come to terms with his interpretations of the laws.

"It's frustrating the scrum at the moment," he said. "It needs to be looked at.

"That's not the way to play it really with short-arm penalties all the time. It's frustratin

planetrugby.com

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog