Football agent lied to Telegraph investigators

Agent Pino Pagliara has said that he lied to undercover reporters about bribery in English football.

Pagliara is a central figure in The Daily Telegraph’s 10-month probe into corruption in English football, after he was secretly filmed making allegations of illicit payments to current and former Premier League managers.

The Italian has, however, now sought to distance himself from the accusations, saying he made up the ‘bung’ claims in order to try to secure a contract __with the fake investors.

“Of course I did, because I knew that if they were speaking to other agents then other agents would lie,” he said in an interview __with the BBC.

“It’s a question of lying more to make sure that they would renew my contract.

“I had to make sure my argument was compelling. At the end of the day, I got a bit creative.”

Pagliara is an unlicensed agent who was banned from football for five years in 2005 after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Pagliara had told them that one former top-flight manager had ”more backhanders than Wimbledon”.

Pagliara has denied that he has ever made an illicit payment to a manager and suggested the newspaper had targeted him because of his past.

“I have never paid a manager a bung,” he said.

“I have to also admit to one thing, which is they (The Daily Telegraph reporters) wanted me to tell them that my relationships with managers was such that a manager would take money from me.

“I felt because I was only given access to them two or three days a week, and I knew that they had no exclusivity with me and were talking to other agents, that if I didn’t impress them then they would find somebody that would.

“Therefore I actually allowed them to believe that the managers that I would be speaking with would not drop the money on the floor if I gave it to them.”

Sam Allardyce has been the highest-profile casualty of the newspaper’s operation after he agreed to step down as England manager on Tuesday.

Allardyce’s position was made untenable, after just 67 days in the role, after he was filmed negotiating lucrative speaking engagements in the Far East as well as making indiscreet and damaging remarks about a range of issues including third-party player ownership.

Barnsley sacked assistant head coach Tommy Wright on Thursday after the newspaper alleged he took a £5,000 payment from undercover reporters posing as football agents. Wright denies wrongdoing.

QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Southampton assistant manager Eric Black both face investigations from their respective clubs following separate allegations they both deny.

Pagliara said he had not yet been contacted by the police or Football Association, but was willing to co-operate with any enquiries.

“If they need me I’m here,” he said.

“I am certainly not running away. The FA have not been in touch or even the police.”

Big weekend: The watcher

Game to watch – Tottenham v Manchester City
The Premier League’s top two, no less. Manchester United might play at lunchtime and Arsenal shortly before tea, but it’s the filling in Sunday’s Premier League sandwich that most intrigues.

The gauntlet has been thrown down to Tottenham to become the first team to beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The only critique of City’s perfect start to the league season is the standard of opposition faced; five of their six opponents currently hold positions 15, 17, 18, 19 and 20 in the Premier League. Yet if City brush past Tottenham on Sunday, ending the only other unbeaten record in the division, we really do have to consider them as ludicrously heavy favourites to win the league.

Yet it will not be easy. The one thing Guardiola’s City have not yet faced in the Premier League is a side prepared to press and hound them for every pass, trying to force the mistake before exploiting it. Celtic did so to some effect in the first half on Wednesday, before eventually running out of steam and hanging on for a point.

It was also a tactic Mauricio Pochettino’s side used brilliantly in this fixture almost exactly a year ago and again in February, __with Tottenham doing the league double over Manuel Pellegrini’s City last season. That ended a run of four straight defeats during which City had scored 16 goals and conceded two; Pochettino will hope that it is Spurs’ turn to exert their dominance.

Without Kevin de Bruyne, City’s attacking midfield is notably weakened, __with David Silva probably pushed into a role further up the pitch. If Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and Erik Lamela can hound City’s defenders and defensive midfielders into clearing long up the field and wasting possession, there is reason to believe in success. City have still not been behind in the league this season; Spurs must look to test a resilience that has not yet been examined.

One of the statistical quirks of this fixture is that the last 25 meetings have produced only one draw, a 0-0 in the opening fixture of the 2010/11 season. The change in both sides in just six years is monumental (Shaun Wright-Phillips vs Vedran Corluka or Giovani dos Santos vs Kolo Toure with Patrick Vieira on the bench, anyone?), but you wonder whether both managers wouldn’t settle for an exact repeat before sharing a post-match glass of wine. Here’s to unbeaten records.

Player to watch – Adam Lallana
Liverpool’s lack of European competition will never be something celebrated by supporters at Anfield, but Adam Lallana is feeling the benefit more than most. It means he can be Jurgen Klopp’s livewire, haring around the pitch as an all-singing, all-dancing, all-sprinting midfielder before re-energising during the week.

Yet describing Lallana’s performances this season in effort terms is unfair. He might cover more ground than any other player in the league, but he’s also Liverpool’s joint-top scorer and top assist provider. Add in a willingness to muck in and tackle, and you basically have a manager’s dream.

This Saturday lunchtime, Liverpool travel to Swansea. Watching Jack Cork and Adam Lallana try and thwart each other’s passing and movement is going to be the sexiest all-English battle since Groovejet vs Out Of Your Mind in August 2000.

Team to watch – Chelsea
Chelsea’s impressive start to the season means that they are still only four points off second place, but Antonio Conte’s team are accelerating off in the wrong direction. If the draw at Swansea was unfortunate and the home defeat to Liverpool concerning, the 3-0 loss to Arsenal last weekend was as bad as anything from last season.

Conte’s arrival has certainly not proved to be a magic fix for a limp defence that conceded more league goals than Crystal Palace, Watford and Swansea last season. David Luiz’s performances have not been as bad as accused; Gary Cahill’s have been far, far worse. Add in Branislav Ivanovic’s continued decline and Thibaut Courtois’ occasional incompetence and you have a rickety building that creaks and sways in the wind. John Terry’s possible return to the side will be welcomed, but they should not still be relying on their veteran captain.

It may only be Hull City, but Chelsea need to show some marked improvement this weekend. Diego Costa must not be left isolated, the central midfield must not be so easy to dribble past, Eden Hazard should not be so starved of possession and the defence must not look like it is recreating the Basil the rat scene from Fawlty Towers whenever the ball comes close to the penalty area. Anything less than three points, and we have our next elite ‘crisis’ club of 2016/17, following Arsenal and Manchester United.

Manager to watch – David Moyes
“Yes, there is, there’s something [wrong],” said David Moyes after Sunderland had lost to Crystal Palace. “But I’m no closer to identifying it.”

It’s an astonishing admission for a manager to make, particularly one in charge of a team at the bottom of the table. Of course it’s a fairly self-evident statement given Sunderland’s rotten results during Moyes’ first two months in charge, but at least part of managerial success is PR. There’s nothing to be gained from telling everyone else you’re being useless when they’re quickly working it out for themselves.

Moyes’ admission also spells danger for his immediate future. Were Sunderland to believe – or even hope – that Moyes was making improvements, they would have far more reason for patience. As it is, his honesty could easily persuade them to make a change and sack him in favour of someone who can improve the club’s fortune on an ASAP basis.

The £30m Moyes spent on his squad already looks like being enveloped by the dank smog already surrounding the club, a mood not helped by Adnan Januzaj’s absence for the next six weeks. Reports suggest that Lorient were left shocked by the offer for Didier Ndong, so high it was above their own valuation.

This weekend, Sunderland face West Brom at the Stadium of Light. Following that they have four away games out of five, with the exception a league fixture against Arsenal. They really do need to start picking up points, or Moyes’ slump into the managerial abyss will only continue going one way.

One-on-one battle to watch – Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Ryan Shawcross
The last time Shawcross faced Ibrahimovic was on his international debut. He came off the bench for the last 16 minutes in the Friends Arena (Central Perk?) in 2012 and promptly watched the striker score three times, including the most ridiculous overhead kick going. Shawcross has never been picked by England again.

“I’m the butt of the joke in my family, just because the 10 minutes I had in international football was ruined by one man,” Shawcross told the Daily Telegraph in March. “They are consistently saying that Zlatan ruined my career! I had a chance and I don’t think many other defenders have. I was given 10 minutes to show what I could do and probably didn’t provide a good enough performance. I was against one of the best strikers in the world who was on a hot streak at the time and these things happen.”

On Sunday, Shawcross must face Ibrahimovic again. Now 28, he will hope that his experience (and the Swede’s advancing years) can make it a far easier assignment, but the nerves from 2012 will not disappear. There will only be one image etched into Shawcross’ mind as he falls asleep on Saturday evening: That bloody man doing that bloody acrobatic kick.

Football League game to watch – Wolves vs Norwich
Although Wolves – and Walter Zenga – had managed to claw back some form with victories over Newcastle and Brentford, they lost 2-1 at Wigan on Tuesday, a rotten result that saw them drop to 11th in the Championship. That hard-luck story pales into insignificance in comparison with Norwich’s tragedy 24 hours later: 3-2 up at St James’ Park after 94 minutes to a 4-3 defeat by full-time.

Alex Neil will be looking for a response, as his side aim to return immediately to the top of the Championship. Having kept faith in their young manager, the Norwich board will be confident of a swift return to the Premier League. Until Wednesday, they had won four on the spin, scoring nine times and beating Everton at Goodison Park in the process

Having been permitted to spend all of the Nathan Redmond transfer fee on new players, Neil will know that the pressure is on to keep Norwich in form and up towards the Championship’s upper reaches. The key to success in the Football League is to minimise the inevitable setbacks associated with regular Tuesday-Saturday football and exploit the good results to their maximum. Wolves and Norwich are both trying to achieve the first of those two ideals.

European game to watch – Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund
Slightly frustratingly, the best European game to watch on television this weekend clashes with the best Football League game. So it’s time to get out the iPad, set it up next to the TV and pretend you’re Gary Lineker in the Match of the Day studio. Yes, that can mean sitting in your pants.

Saturday’s game pitches the two clubs with the greatest designs on finishing second, which is as tragic as it sounds with Bayern Munich so far ahead of the rest. Last season Dortmund finished 18 points ahead of Leverkusen, who themselves were five points ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach. This season Leverkusen have started slowly, but victory over Thomas Tuchel’s team will cut the gap to their opponents to two points.

Leverkusen have not won in nine league meetings against Dortmund, but did cause a stir in this fixture last season, when the game was suspended for eight minutes after coach Roger Schmidt refused to leave the field despite being sent from the dugout for his protestations against a Dortmund goal. The referee took the players off the field and waited until Schmidt agreed to his dismissal. Anything like that would be greatly appreciated.

Punt of the week – Mevlut Erdinc to score anytime vs Monaco
Going all continental on you this week, and why the heck not when the lovely people at Bwin.com (they might not be lovely, could be knobs) have FC Metz striker Mevlut Erdinc at the whopping price of 13/4 to score at any time against Monaco on Saturday evening. He’s scored six times in 589 minutes this season, including four in his last four, and is available at 7/4 in places, while Monaco conceded four goals at Nice last week.

Where is Mike Dean?
He’s only gone and got the big one, aka Watford vs Bournemouth. You might consider this a bit of a ‘B’ fixture, but that’s only because you haven’t considered the possibility of Harry the Hornet, the most banterous of all the Premier League mascots, doing an interpretive dance of Mike Dean’s penalty box pointing. If there is a God, it will happen.

Ten live matches to watch (because having a social life is overrated)
Everton v Crystal Palace (Friday 8pm, Sky Sports 2)
Swansea City v Liverpool (Saturday 12.30pm, Sky Sports 2)
Wolves v Norwich City (Saturday 5.30pm, Sky Sports 2)
Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund (Saturday 5.30pm, BT Sport 3)
Udinese v Lazio (Saturday 7.45pm, BT Sport 3)
Valencia v Atletico Madrid (Sunday 11.00am, Sky Sports 5)
Manchester United v Stoke City (Sunday 12.00pm, BT Sport 1)
Tottenham Hotspur v Man City (Sunday 2.15pm, Sky Sports 1)
Burnley v Arsenal (Sunday, 4.30pm, Sky Sports 1)
Roma v Internazionale (Sunday 7.45pm, BT Sport 3)

Daniel Storey

Managing Sunderland even tougher than I expected admits David Moyes with annual relegation candidates struggling yet again

David Moyes admits being Sunderland boss is more difficult than he thought it would be – but he is still up for the fight.

The Black Cats are bottom of the table and still without a league win, six matches into the Premier League campaign.

They face West Brom at home on Saturday in what former Everton and Man United boss Moyes says is a “massive game”.

The Scot is rumoured to be unhappy at the state he has found Sunderland in after succeeding Sam Allardyce in July, and with not being able to attract more players to Wearside in the summer transfer window.

He says the “revolving door” at the club has to stop and, a year to the week since their former Holland boss Dick Advocaat quit to set the stage for Allardyce's arrival, insists he is in it for the long haul.

Allardyce became the latest Sunderland boss to stave off relegation - but will Moyes?

Former Everton boss Moyes said: “I still want the job. I still want to make it the best I can possibly do. When I came in, I wanted an exciting challenge and that hasn’t changed. It’s more difficult than I thought to begin with, I will say that.

“This club can’t get a period of stability or identity, where players can come and say, ‘I’m here for a project’. It just feels like a revolving door – and that needs to stop somewhere.

“The main things supporters notice, however, are what happens on the pitch – and I want to get that right as quickly as possible. I’m governed a little by transfer windows and by money to spend. So I’d like to be able to change things a lot quicker, but it’s not that easy.”

Moyes has regularly admitted he is in a relegation battle, but was criticised for being too downbeat.

He explained: “Yeah, it could be interpreted like that. But honest is all I can be. I think people would rather you tell them the truth, than untruths.

In pictures — Sunderland lose to Palace from 2-0 up after an hour:

VIEW GALLERY

“Maybe I could say, ‘We’re going to be challenging near the top of the league!’ But now you would be asking me why we’re not.

"My style is to be as open and honest as I can be.

“We need to try to keep our heads a little bit. I want to stop the revolving door. If they keep the revolving door going, somewhere someone is going to have to say, ‘Stop this’.

“There needs to be a period of stability somewhere along the line.”

Sunderland will be without Adnan Januzaj, Lee Cattermole, Steven Pienaar and Victor Anichebe, who are all injured.

Mediawatch: Savage, Owen, Merson, Lawro…

Absolutely Savage

‘He will have been buoyed by the reception he got in the 67th minute – and just over a minute later he had a hand in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s winner. Not that Rooney meant the assist’ – The Sun.

‘The England captain had a hand in the crucial goal two minutes later. Fosu-Mensah crossed and Rooney’s fluffed attempt on goal sent the ball spinning towards the back post where Ibrahimovic was well placed to head in’ – Daily Mail.

‘His first contribution proved decisive, even if unintended. From his mis-hit shot, the ball fell kindly for Ibrahimovic, who took full advantage’ – Daily Mirror.

‘Rooney had been on the field only two minutes when his first touch, a bungled attempt at a shot, saw the ball bounce off his knee, into the ground and then loop high into the air and straight on to the head of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ – Daily Telegraph.

‘Rooney’s first touch was actually a terrible one, presented __with an opportunity from close to the penalty spot by Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s cut back from the right, he stabbed his shot into the ground and managed to miss the target, yet succeeded in surprising the Zorya defence as well as the Old Trafford crowd’ – The Guardian.

‘Rooney met Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s cross __with an attempted volley but miscued completely. The ball bounced off his knee and across to Ibrahimovic at the far post, who had little trouble climbing above Kamenyuka, Zorya’s captain, to head in’ – The Times.

‘And within a couple of minutes he played a part, unintentionally, as Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock. The striker headed home from Rooney’s mis-hit shot for his sixth goal for the club’ – Daily Express.

‘His miskick from Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s cross hit the ground and was headed home by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ – Daily Star.

Sorry to inform you, guys, but you are all mistaken. You see, Rooney “used all his experience…he didn’t go into the bodies, he just pulled out, great little move”.

And then what? “…and then he’s got an assist”. Just ask Robbie Savage.

Stand by me
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored goals aplenty this season after joining Manchester United this summer. But is Michael Owen impressed? Is he balls.

“There was no movement from him,” the former Liverpool striker told BT Sport on Thursday evening. “He just tends to stand at the back post and wait for the ball. There were a few crosses tonight and he stayed in the same position.”

There might be a reason he “just tends to stand at the back post”, Michael. The clue is in his winning goal against Zorya Luhansk in a game you (presumably) just watched. And in the goal he scored against Southampton earlier this season. And in the Community Shield. He stands at the back post because, being a tall man, he wins headers at the back post.

Ibrahimovic will surely be devastated at facing criticism from a man who, in his last two seasons at Manchester United, scored eight goals in all competitions. The Swede already has six goals in ten games.

And plenty of those came at the back post.

It’s a kind of magic
Paul Merson has been a good boy recently. He has been conspicuous by his absence from Mediawatch, ensuring to steer clear of mentioning Revels, wearing glass slippers on mountains, or just saying really silly things.

Finally, six weeks into the season, the Sky Sports pundit has cracked. The Magic Man is back to his magic best in his predictions piece for this week’s Premier League fixtures.

We begin with what can only be described as Merson in its purest form.

“I couldn’t believe what I was watching against Arsenal last weekend. It was unbelievable.”

Wonderful. Thanks, Paul.

Next, we move on to his prediction for Swansea’s game against Liverpool. Merson has noted the pressure that manager Francesco Guidolin is under, with the Welsh side 17th in the current table. But the Italian receives backing from everyone’s favourite tipster.

“I am a great believer that you stick with your manager you had at the start of the season.”

Nice to hear, and surprisingly level-headed from a man with a reputation for reactionary commen…oh, what’s this?

“It’s getting to be a bit of an awkward situation now,” Merson said of Arsene Wenger in April this year. “He’s getting like a squatter really. You know, you have a squatter in your house and you want them out – and you can’t. They’ve got to make a decision. They need change.”

So much for ‘sticking with your manager’.

Finally, Merson is asked to predict the outcome of Watford’s clash with Bournemouth. He is struggling to decide, however.

“It’s all about attitude, some teams think they can turn up and win, but it doesn’t work like that,” he says.

“That’s why people love this league, because anybody can beat anybody.”

Indeed, only in the Premier League can you see “anybody beat anybody”. Not in La Liga (Alaves have beaten Barcelona). Not in the Bundesliga (RB Leipzig have beaten Dortmund). Not in Serie A (Inter Milan have beaten Juventus). Not in Ligue Un (Monaco and Toulouse have both beaten PSG). Nope. Only in the Premier League.

Lawro, Lawro laughs
Of course, Merson is only half of Friday’s king and queen of predictions; Mark Lawrenson cannot be overlooked. We will let you decide which is which.

Lawro is not quite as controversial as Merson in his opinions this week. He predicts a 2-2 draw between Tottenham and Manchester City – of course he does, it’s a big game – and backs Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United to win.

Unfortunately, the BBC Sport man simply can’t help himself sometimes. He is not wholly convinced on Liverpool’s rise.

“If Liverpool can play like that – and they might not be able to – against the top teams then it is going to be so difficult to beat them,” he says, discussing their 5-1 win over Hull. “That remains to be seen.”

Liverpool have played Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester and Tottenham so far this season, remaining unbeaten in those games and earning ten points. Those four sides sit third, eighth, 12th and second in the Premier League table respectively. All four are in included in the top eight favourites to win the title.

In fact, the Reds’ only defeat this season came at the hands of Burnley, who are 13th. Are they considered a “top team”?

The Wright stuff
Says Ian Wright to BBC 2’s The Premier League Show:

“I would give him [Arsene Wenger] another three years, simply because I think he’s put a lot of faith into a lot of squads who have let him down miserably. So badly.”

Nice to see Wrighty give his former manager some support, claiming many of Arsenal’s struggles in recent seasons have been down to a squad “who have let him down”.

Not so nice to remember the following words from Wright:

“I think that it will run its natural course. In 2017 he will probably leave” – April 2016.

“There’s more people that want the boss out at the moment than they want him in. I’m not sure if he will still be there in the summer, depending on if they don’t win the league. I think changes are coming. At some stage it’s got to happen and I think something’s got to happen with Arsenal this season” – March 2016.

“That’s the kind of manager that you want, a good young manager that has proven himself tactically, he knows what he’s doing. It’s got to be that kind of man, Roberto Martinez, he’s the perfect one. If someone was to ask me who I want, I’d say Roberto Martinez. That’s the kind of manager you’ve got to be looking at to take Arsenal forward” – April 2014.

Three more years. For now.

Predictable
Fans of Mediawatch will know we have a new favouritest thing in the whole wide world. The Daily Express are predicting the end-of-season Premier League table. After every gameweek. Obviously.

It is at this stage that we will post the table itself for you to draw your own conclusions. It’s quite something.

To cover every bit of excellence within this table would take far, far too long. So we will take a look at just one team: Crystal Palace.

You see, Palace are predicted to finish seventh come May. After gameweek two, the Express predicted them to finish 18th, with 41 fewer points.

They are also predicted to score 41 goals this season – somehow the seventh-most of any side. Do you know how many goals they were predicted to score after gameweek two? Zero. They were predicted to score zero goals. Not a single one.

Join Mediawatch in praying that these end-of-season table predictions will continue until, well, the end of the season.

Express delivery
You know how it’s September? You know how the summer transfer window has been SLAMMED shut for almost a whole month, and the winter transfer window does not open for another three months? You know how that makes this a premium time for transfer gossip stories?

The Daily Express know. They know everything. They know all your secrets. They know about that thing in the woods.

They also know all of Chelsea and Antonio Conte’s secrets, and they are more than happy to share.

‘Chelsea pile hopes on Italian centre-back despite contract talks,’ reads the headline. Said ‘Italian centre-back’ being Leonardo Bonucci. He is Italian. He is a centre-back. Full marks so far.

‘That is according to The Times, who claim Blues boss Antonio Conte has not given up hope of signing the 31-year-old,’ writes Joe Short.

So to that Times story we go. It leads us to a Matt Hughes exclusive, who tells us that manager Conte is ‘demanding an overhaul of his Chelsea squad’.

The first problem here is that Hughes’ article was written as a Thursday morning exclusive; the story is already over 24 hours old.

The second problem here is that Hughes’ article does not mention Bonucci whatsoever. Not even in passing. It does not even mention an ‘Italian centre-back’ which, as Mediawatch has already kindly concluded for you, Leonardo Bonucci most certainly is.

You cheeky buggers.

The important question

Arsene Wenger flutters his eyelids at England ahead of his 20 year anniversary at Arsenal #afc https://t.co/XP3yhcwvvq

— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) September 30, 2016

How in God’s name does one flutter their eyelids? Sounds painful.

Mirror, Mirror
Mediawatch has a simple question to ask of the Daily Mirror. Why did you feel the need to insert two rather large pictures of Bianca Westwood in her latest column? Her picture can be found both at the top and the bottom of the article, which is about Sam Allardyce (not Bianca Westwood).

Why does John Cross not get the same treatment? Why is Crossy’s picture not emblazoned at the top, in the middle and at the bottom of each of his articles? We demand to see Crossy’s face everywhere.

Demand of the day

Telegraph should investigate this as well then find out who the leak is https://t.co/AbZ8j6lYb8

— Philip Neville (@fizzer18) September 30, 2016

Mediawatch wholeheartedly agrees: The Daily Telegraph should indeed postpone their investigation into illegal payments and behaviour in football to discover why postcards sent by Sam Allardyce to England players have been procured by the press.

Recommended reading of the day
Jeremy Wilson interviews the other Wenger.

Michael Cox on Theo Walcott and other ‘rebound’ Premier League players.

Tom Fahy on Jari Litmanen.

Gossip: Liverpool want ‘next Ibrahimovic’

ARSENAL CHASING CELTIC’S DEMBELE
The only surprise is that more elite clubs did not chase Moussa Dembele before he moved to Celtic, a point picked up in Champions League winners and losers. It looks like they’re quickly learning from their mistakes.

The Sun report that Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Arsenal are all scouting Dembele, who has scored 12 goals already for Celtic. Where were you at Craven Cottage, lads?

Unfortunately, Celtic are hardly likely to let Dembele go for less than a king’s ransom. They somehow managed to sign him for a compensation fee of around £500,000, but are going to ask for at least 20 times that figure now, and probably more besides.

FA WANT TO SPEAK TO RANGNICK. OR HOWE. OR WENGER
We have the latest in the England manager race. Is it a race if nobody is really arsed about running?

The Daily Mirror go big on Eddie Howe, saying that he is on the Football Association’s shortlist (of course he is) and might want the gig. Quite why he’d take it over a big Premier League job we don’t know.

The Mirror also add Jurgen Klinsmann to the FA’s supposed three-man shortlist (alongside Gareth Southgate), which is a shame because we thought all that had gone away.

Finally, Sky Sports report that the FA want to speak to Ralf Rangnick, currently sporting director at RB Leipzig after moving upstairs from the manager’s job. Rangnick was reportedly interviewed after Roy Hodgson’s departure, and has managed clubs including Stuttgart, Hannover, Schalke and Hoffenheim.

Finally, no paper mentions Glenn Hoddle. Praise f**king be.

LIVERPOOL WANT ‘NEXT IBRAHIMOVIC’
It’s when you know you’ve really made it. This week’s Portrait of an Icon piece talked about Russia’s obsession __with the ‘next Lev Yashin’, and we’re now going to hear about the ‘next Zlatan Ibrahimovic’. Cue some tiresome sh*t from him about there only being one Zlatan.

The man in question is Alexander Isak, a 17-year-old striker __with AIK. He’s scored six goals in 18 games this season. Apparently Liverpool are the Premier League club monitoring Isak closely, but they are joined by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. It’s almost like elite clubs have scouts watching every player with serious potential in Europe.

AND THE REST
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp sought to put Mamadou Sakho’s recent remarks behind him by insisting that the matter is finished as far as he is concerned… Francesco Guidolin accepts he could lose his job as Swansea manager if his side fail to beat Liverpool on Saturday… Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann is on Swansea’s three-man shortlist if they decide to sack Francesco Guidolin… The Football Association has revealed that it will meet City of London police next week as it begins its investigation into alleged corruption.

Moyes calls for transfer details to be made public

David Moyes wants a greater transparency in transfer deals following a week of controversial allegations.

Moyes is adamant the kind of behaviour apparently highlighted by undercover Daily Telegraph reporters in recent days is not prevalent in his experience, but admits revealing the facts over player recruitment might raise a few eyebrows.

The 53-year-old said: “I can only say in my time, I have not come across it, I have not. But if we are disclosing things which are happening just now, I think it would be good to have transparency __with the transfers as well.

“What I mean by that is, you sign a player, let’s get the transfer fee – which you get – let’s get what the club has had to pay to the agent, not at the end of the year through the FA in a big list, because then I think there might be a few gasps from the supporters and a few gasps from the media.

“There is a lot going on out there, there are big, big sums of money being talked about for transfers and I think it might be better that the public get to see that because at the moment, it sounds as if there is a distrust of the managers or the coaches.

“I honestly don’t believe that’s the case, I honestly don’t believe there is a bad culture amongst the managers or the coaches. I don’t believe that for a minute, I really don’t – and if there is, I’ve not come across it in my time.”

Moyes’ comments came after old friend Sam Allardyce lost his long-coveted job as England manager just 67 days and one match into his reign after being secretly filmed discussing ways to get around the Football Association’s rules on third-party ownership of players, among other topics.

The Scot, who managed Preston at the same time as Allardyce was making his name at nearby Bolton, admitted his sadness for his predecessor at the Stadium of Light.

He said: “I am just sad that we in football have got ourselves in this situation, but I’m disappointed for Sam because I know it was a job he wanted and he will be the first one to admit that it was a mistake he made.

“But he will always be a friend, Sam, he always will be because that’s the way it’s been for a long, long time, so I am more disappointed for him that he’s just not had the opportunity.

“He will probably always look back and say, ‘My goodness, what a chance I have had __with England’ – and I think everyone was believing in Sam as well, there was a big swell towards, ‘Come on, let’s give him a chance’.

“He’s worked up through the leagues, so for lots of reasons, I am disappointed that he’s not going to get the chance to fulfil that.”

However, Moyes’ concentration this weekend will be purely on ending the Black Cats’ wait for a first Premier League win of the season when West Brom head for Wearside, although he will be missing midfield trio Lee Cattermole, Steven Pienaar and Adnan Januzaj, as well as striker Victor Anichebe, through injury.

Sunderland slipped to the foot of the table as a result of last Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat by Crystal Palace and although the season remains in its infancy, that is not a situation which can be allowed to continue.

Moyes said: “It [the table] matters all the time, to be honest. I’m taking notice of it, but I’m trying not to look at it, if that makes any sense at all.”

Zlatan still seeking improvement from Man United

Manchester United frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he “expects more” from his team-mates after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Zorya Luhansk.

Ibrahimovic headed in at the far post after Wayne Rooney’s bobbled shot off his knee was tipped into the striker’s path __with 20 minutes to go at Old Trafford.

The Europa League strike took the Swede’s tally to six goals in 10 games, but his efforts have still not impressed former United striker Michael Owen.

“It was not an easy game, but we played well. We created some chances but when you don’t score in the beginning the spaces get smaller and smaller,” said Ibrahimovic.

“You have to find a way to score the first one and then there becomes more space, but by then we had only 15 minutes.

He said: “I mean, if you wanna go through then you have to win the game. We won, but I think we could do much more.

“I expect more, much more from the team. But we’re working hard and against Leicester, we had a good game, today we had a good game. We couldn’t score as we did against Leicester but we won.

“This is good for the confidence. If we continue like this, step it up a little bit more then yeah, we’ll do good.

“We play as a a team and we are trying. Sometimes you create a lot, sometimes you create less. The important thing is that you create chances and then when they come along you have to be focused to score them.”

Cheeky punt: Aguero man of the match at 5/1

Everton v Crystal Palace
Everton will be in a few coupons this weekend but they look plenty short to me at 8/11 when you factor in they’ve only won one of their last six in the league against Palace. The Eagles look a different team __with Christian Benteke up front and I fancy them to claim a share of the spoils at Goodison.
Betting: Draw at 3/1 (bet365)

Swansea v Liverpool
The Welsh side have lost three games in a row and boss Francesco Guidolin is the betting favourite to become the first Premier League boss to lose his job. Ryan Giggs is rumoured to be the preferred choice (and the current bookies favourite) should Swansea’s owners grow tired of the Italian, which they surely will if the losses continue to stack up. The man himself admitted this week he could be sacked if they lose again against Liverpool so the stakes are high this weekend. The Reds have been magnificent in recent weeks and their high octane pressing game can bring them another three points here.
Betting: Liverpool to win and both teams to score at 15/8 (Hills)

Hull City v Chelsea
The Blues have thrown in a couple of shockers in recent weeks but can get back to winning ways here against a Hull side who are down to the bare bones. The Tigers had made an encouraging start but have been leaking goals recently and Chelsea should have too much quality at the KCOM, where Willian looks a fair bet to score his second of the season.
Betting: Willian to score anytime at 5/2 (Betfred)

Sunderland v West Brom
After throwing away a two-goal lead against Crystal Palace this looks a must-win game for Sunderland and David Moyes. The Black Cats are propping up the table after six matches and have taken just one point from a possible 18. West Brom are tenth and, while they will as usual prove tough to beat, this is a game that the Wearsiders can win. If they don’t? Taxi for Moyes…
Betting: Sunderland to win at 6/4 (Skybet)

Watford v Bournemouth
I steamed into Watford to beat Burnley on Monday night and they were a disgrace. And having sat through the full 90-minute horror show I am loathe to back them again here at 11/8. If anything Bournemouth could be the value to build on that fine win over Everton last weekend.
Betting: Bournemouth (Draw no Bet) to win at 5/4 (Bet Victor)

West Ham v Middlesbrough
What exactly is happening at West Ham please? They are shipping goals for fun, their fans are fighting __with each other at their new stadium and this week certain high-profile players have been criticised for allegedly going on a boozy rollover the morning after a team bonding night out. It’s hardly great preparation for the visit of ‘Boro this weekend and I make both teams to score an absolute lock in this one.
Betting: Both teams to score at 4/5 (Stan James)

Manchester United v Stoke City
The Red Devils put out a very strong side in the Europa League on Thursday and claimed three valuable points, but their display against FC Zorya Luhansk raised more questions than answers. Ander Herrera should return against Stoke and his guile in midfield could be crucial as Jose Mourinho’s men seek a fourth win on the spin. They’ve won all eight previous Premier League encounters against the Potters, who last tasted success at Old Trafford in 1976, a year when people grooved to a near-peak David Bowie and lived on quiche and Angel Delight.
Betting: Manchester United to win to nil at 11/10 (Stan James)

Leicester City v Southampton
Is been crazy old week in the world of football. And I don’t know about you but revelations about Jamie Vardy’s pre-match drinking routine were arguably more shocking than Big Sam’s views on Prince Harry. The Foxes front man swears by a nice drop of Port and several Red Bulls before games. While he may be wired to the moon when he trots out against the Saints, his scoring record over the past few seasons suggests he is doing something right.
Betting: Vardy to score anytime at 17/10(Betfair)

Tottenham v Manchester City
Sergio Aguero’s scoring record in English football is a joke. He is averaging a goal every 106 minutes and has scored as many Premier League goals as the mercurial Paul Scholes. The fact he’s scored them in 345 fewer games tells you everything you need to know about how prolific this Argentine powerhouse really is. with no Kevin De Bruyne, Aguero will be expected to step up to the plate in North London and I reckon his star could shine against a Spurs side who tend to leak goals in this fixture.
Betting: Sergio Aguero to be Man of the Match at 5/1 (Paddy Power)

Burnley v Arsenal
The Gunners are usually pretty ruthless against the Premier League’s lesser lights and have actually won 22 and drawn three of their last 25 matches against newly promoted teams. The Wenger boys are on a bit of a roll too and were f*cking magnificent against Chelsea last weekend, helping to get me level for the day after a turbulent afternoon of punting threatened to go very wrong indeed.
Betting: Arsenal to win 2-0 at 13/2 (Bet Victor)

Degsy Bilton – He’s off to Grimsby this weekend.

Jurgen Klopp: I will retire in the next ten years

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that he plans to retire in the next ten years, before turning 60.

Speaking to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, 49-year-old Klopp hinted that he would be happy to stay at Liverpool for the duration of that time, but will not manage into his old age.

Having started management at the age of 34, Klopp took over at Borussia Dortmund in 2008 and at Liverpool last year.

“There will come a day where I decide it has been enough. I would say it is very, very unlikely that I will still be coaching at the age of 60,” Klopp told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

“I will definitely return to Germany to live there, but I do not know whether I will return to Germany as a coach.

I have no plans to annoy someone who does not want me around __with my presence at the end of my managerial career.

“And if Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool turn out to be the only three clubs I have coached at the end my career, at least it has been __with great clubs.”

Enjoy him while you can, people.

Footy people on TV: Martin Tyler

Johnny has been listening to Martin Tyler since the brown bri-nylon underpants days of 1974 and he’s not changed in those 42 years…

Fashion police
Not a hostage to the shifting sands of fashion. A solid wearer of undemonstrative, plain, well-ironed, mid-priced menswear.

Comes across as the smiley sort of granddad we all wish we’d had instead of, in my case, a man who kept a barrel of pig blood in the garden which he used as a primitive sort of fertiliser, even though it upset small sensitive young boys to see him pouring it on his roses.

Old photos of Martin show a man who must have inspired a young Alan Partridge in the sports casual department.

Lingo Bingo
A Chester lad, there is no trace of any accent to his voice these days. Presumably at some point he spoke __with that sort of flat, toneless drone of another Chesteronian, Michael Owen, but he did the right thing and stopped.

In a way, his voice is so familiar, after over 40 years behind the mic, he is a definition of what a commentator sounds like. That thing they all do, extending the player’s name as he shoots at goal, that’s pretty much his thing. Everyone does it today, but he was doing it in 1974 when the world was in black and white, except for the brown bri-nylon underpants.

Has turned ‘And it’s Live” into a catchphrase of sorts, though it always strikes me that it’d be odd to say anything else. “And it’s recorded” , “And it’s a hologram”?

Often flatters the co-comm ex-player outrageously.

Hits and misses
To still be in work into your 70s and having done your job for over 40 years, you’ve got to be doing something right __with the mic and you have to just be able to turn up. Turning up is a much underrated way to be successful.

In the 60s he was the ghost-writer for Jimmy Hill’s Times column. Worked behind the scenes on The Big Match from 1968. The Big Match really was Big. Impossible to overstate how big, in these days of multi-channel TV. And for us out in the regions, it just felt so London.

I remember Martin in the mid 70s on Yorkshire television, back in an era where local ITV stations all had their own commentators and the emphasis was on individuality and not homogeneity. On a Sunday afternoon, each region would show a local team and then another two games, usually from another region. So on Teesside we’d get the Boro, or occasionally the Hartlepool game and then Leeds, or maybe Sheffield United’s game and then Orient or West Ham. It all felt very exotic.

Martin moved through the ITV gears in the 80s, still being second comms to the legendary Brian Moore, finally jumping ship to ‘Squarial’ British Satellite Broadcasting, which was a loser from the get-go. But then Sky bought that and Martin became their main man from the start of the Premier League, 24 years ago, by which time Marty had certainly paid his dues. Has sat in many a stand alongside Andy Gray which must have taken some patience.

Because he’s never really done any presenting, to many, he’s still a quite anonymous figure.

Has done well to ride out the vinegary Andy and Richard era without being tainted by it, which suggests a good moral compass. Seems to have struck up a regular working relationship with the always lugubriously, lovely and loquacious, Alan Smith. For the last 25 years, for one outlet or another, he’s covered every major tournament, as well as doing computer game work. Without doubt, Martin is Britain’s primo senior football commentator, and when you do commentating for a living, that must feel amazing. Well done, Martin. Excellent work, sir.

There are lots of examples of his art but the Aguero goal will probably be top of his CV when he eventually retires. You can actually hear his uvula vibrating.

Big club bias
Chester is a weird place. It’s where loads of Scousers with money live. Isn’t everyone from there a Liverpool fan? Some say he’s mad for Manchester United. Personally, I really dislike that sort of sniping from fans of teams who seem to think the commentator is against them. Even if they are, suck it up and stop being be a wuss.

He is currently the first team coach at Isthmian League club, Hampton & Richmond Borough. I love the word Isthmian. An Isthmus is a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land whereas the Isthmian League is a regional men’s football league covering London, East and South East England, so not like that at all.

Loved or loathed?
Commentators have a hard gig. Half the biased audience thinks they’re great, half the biased audience thinks they’re an idiot. Me? I loathe the hatred of commentators. It must be such a difficult gig. It’s live. Live. Imagine doing that without saying something off-colour, especially when Andy Gray has sat beside you for years. Almost impossible. But Martin has never dropped an f-bomb, a c-bomb or any other sort of bomb. And when you’re from the post-war generation, a generation which grew up with a set of assumptions and a lexicon of expressions that are fundamentally unacceptable in 2016, that is almost incredible. It speaks to the idea of a man who has flourished with the changing times.

Social media comments, outside of the club bias silliness, were very positive:

“My dad is convinced he mentions Manchester United at every possible opportunity, which is clearly nonsense.”

“Voice of a generation. Calm, measured, always well prepared. Can occasionally drift into more waffle than Birds Eye territory.”

“One of the few who managed to elevate what you see on screen. Almost all of my fave football moments are via him, no coincidence.”

“I wouldn’t recognise him if he walked past him but the voice is unmistakable. So ITV.”

“Tyler just grates on me now. Too many obvious cliches”

“Too keen on a pun now. Eg pirlo is peerLESS. Far too much of that and seems to talk more than before”

“In a heated Ks v Hampton derby on Boxing Day two years ago he went mental at the ref, which is very funny in Tyler’s voice.”

“Great commentator, but always seems to have an elongated goalscorer name in the chamber e.g. Pobgaaaaa!! Roooooney!!”

“Think there’s something of the night about him. Reckon he owns a spooky b&b at the end of a foggy causeway.” (He does look like a fairground owner in an episode of Scooby Doo)

“Always has the right words at dramatic moments, and none of the pomp of Mowbray et al.”

“As a twentysomething born after 1992 he is THE voice of football. Very calm and brings his co-comms in for longer comment well.”

Proper Football Man
What do you mean, what’s this? It’s a pint of white wine, innit, Martin? I know, I know, white is for the ladies, but Reidy’s drank all the red. I mean literally all of it. There’s no red wine left on earth. He’s had the lot. So get it drunk. Help yourself to the trough of baked beans garnished with a couple of dead dogs. Oh Deano has passed out in them. Pull him out of there Macca.

You’re not working undercover for a national newspaper are you, Martin? Have you got a hidden camera in your tie? How did they hide a camera in a tie? Cameras are massive – like them ones that used to be at the start of Grandstand. Just don’t understand that, me. Can’t trust anyone these days. What a carve up. In my day you could start a civil war on Far-Eastern tour after some classic banter with the boys involving Agent Orange and a helicopter gunship and the FA would turn a blind eye as long as you slipped them a few quid. Happy days. That was back when men where men, and so were the women.

But these days everyone is out to get us. I blame my agent, whoever he is, what is an agent? I don’t have an agent, I don’t know what one is, or who that man with the big paper bag of cash in the service station was. I was just trying to help out an old friend, I said what I said and it was wrong but it was a pony and trapment, Jeff.

They’re just trying to make us do bad things and then when we do, they bloody well tell everyone. No-one can help being wrong. It could happen to any of us, at any time. In fact, we’re paid loads to be wrong on the telly, so it’s a way of life for us. Anyway, getting paid loads for doing almost nothing is dead clever. They should be praising us for that sort of scam. Err, no, not a scam. I meant pram…err…no…I meant Sam…no…err…sham…no…err…sandwich. Yeah, that’s it, sandwich. We’re paid in sandwiches, so that’s why we’ve got to earn a few extra quid. Man cannot live on sandwiches alone, you’ve got to sell a few sandwiches as well – not that I’ve done that. I never sold nuthin’. I don’t even know what money is and anyway I’ve been quoted out of context, I never said them things. Am I going to jail, Jeff? This is like a bereavement, it really is.

Oh are you still here Martin? How come you’ve not even touched your pint? You sat alongside Andy for years, so how are you still in work? Being good at your job, you say? Nah, that’s overrated. No point in that when you can just pick up money for just saying words out loud, even if they make no sense. I played football and that means I can say anything about football even when I know almost nothing and make wild statements that I’ve not thought through, even for a minute. Glenn Hoddle should be the next England manager. See? Told you.

The really smart people know that knowing nothing is really smart. Knowing stuff is for losers. You just say you’re great and that means you are. Them people what’s got educated, where are they now? Are they in Benidorm with a pint of wine and a plate of fried eggs? No. They’re all just running stuff and not ‘avin’ any banter at all. Bet they don’t even put Skittles in vodka, them lot.

You’ve always been alright, you Martin. All that shouting names thing is brilliant. I could do that, if only I could pronounce foreign names and long words. I’ve spent my career shouting lad’s names before the foreigns came and ruined it. Come on, let’s go and find Miss Fiscal Greed and Lavish Bung Body of 1988 at Snouty McTrough-Hoover’s House of Ill Repute. Everything is served under the table and that’s the way I like it.
Beyond the lighted stage
One always imagines commentators commentating on their own lives as they unfold, so when the missus brings his dinner in, he’s talking into his spoon, documenting the fact, drawing out the name of the food. ‘And it’s potatooooooooos!”

Likes a charity kickabout and then there’s the non-league management business too – presumably he does commentary in the dug out. Has also done promo for voluntary work organisation Vinspired.

John Nicholson

Pochettino ‘one of the best managers in the world’ – Guardiola

Pep Guardiola says he will come against “one of the best managers in the world” when Manchester City travel to Tottenham on Sunday.

Guardiola is all too aware of the threat posed by the Argentinian, who masterminded a stunning win for Espanyol over his then-unbeaten Barcelona side at the Nou Camp in 2009.

Victory for Spurs this week would be somewhat less of a surprise but the City boss admitted his side face a major challenge against a team of whom he freely admits he is a major fan.

Guardiola said: “I don’t think he (Pochettino) is one of the best managers in England – I think he is one of the best in the world.

“I enjoy watching Tottenham play now and since last year he has been doing an amazing job.

“The way they play, he is so aggressive and he has a lot of quality players and the basis of the national team in (Erik) Dier, (Dele) Alli and Harry Kane.

“If I was a fan or a young person wanting to become a coach, I would see Tottenham and say ‘I really want to play that way’.”

Pochettino joined Espanyol in 2009 – one year after Guardiola took over at Barcelona – and led his rock-bottom side into a Catalan derby they had not won for 27 years.

But Barcelona – who went into the game 10 points clear at the top of the Primera Division table – were humbled 2-1, giving Pochettino’s then-fledgling coaching career a significant boost.

Guardiola added: “When he (Pochettino) arrived at Espanyol from his first game he was so aggressive and high-pressing and many more things, and the way Mauricio plays is quite similar.

“The difference now of course is the quality of the individual players – they are all so good.”

Guardiola reported no new injury concerns arising from his side’s entertaining 3-3 Champions League draw __with Celtic in Glasgow on Thursday.

Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany remain absent __with hamstring and groin issues respectively, while Fabian Delph is also still out.

Guardiola will seek some timely inspiration ahead of Sunday’s clash as memories return of his time spent with the European Ryder Cup team in Medinah four years ago.

The Spaniard bore witness to one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history and will remain an avid follower as it unfolds again this weekend.

“I cannot compare my experience at the Ryder Cup in Medinah to anything else,” admitted Guardiola.

“As a sports guy, it is the highest experience I ever lived. (Jose Maria) Olazabal invited me and my family, and in the last round we were 10 points down.

“We saw all the players, saw them putting from two or three metres, saw the chipping, saw (the points go down) nine, eight, seven, six to the end.

“It was amazing. The whole three days were fantastic. I love golf and the Ryder Cup. Hopefully we can enjoy this weekend because the players are amazing.”

Conte: I don’t have a ‘magic wand’ to transform Chelsea

Antonio Conte insists there is now magic solution to Chelsea’s troubles and has asked for patience from the club and fans.

The Blues, champions in 2014-15 and 10th last term, have lost their last two Premier League games, to Liverpool and Arsenal.

Chelsea have one clean sheet in 15 matches in all competitions and two in the last 25 ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Hull, when captain John Terry (ankle) is again absent.

“We haven’t got a magic wand to change the situation in two months, three months, four months,” Conte said.

“We don’t forget the past. The past is there, it’s very clear. We finished (in) 10th place last season. When you finish 10th, it means you have problems. We must change the situation and we must work hard together and we are doing this.

“At this moment, that’s the most important thing: not to win, (or) to lose. But to understand that only through great work, hard work, can we fill the gap that now we have.”

September passed __with Chelsea failing to record a Premier League win. The only success in four games was in the EFL Cup against Leicester.

Conte believes Liverpool, 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge, and Arsenal, 3-0 winners in last week’s derby, are at their best, while Chelsea have room for improvement.

“In these two games we saw, and we learned, a lot of important things,” he added.

“We faced two teams who are very strong and, for me, these two teams are now at the top (of their games). We have a lot to improve. This is the great difference. This is also the great hope that we must have.”

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich visited Conte and the squad at their Surrey training base this week.

“I’m lucky because Mr Abramovich is very passionate about football,” Conte added.

“To talk __with him about football is very interesting. To discuss and explain my idea of football, to have a confrontation.”

It was a Freudian slip. It was clarified that the Italian, whose English is very good and continually improving, meant conversation.

Conte said speaking to Abramovich was important for clarity.

He also refused to look ahead to the winter transfer window, amid suggestions the Russian will bank roll another spending spree to overhaul the Blues squad.

“We must think about the present, because the present is now more important,” Conte said.

“I don’t see an opportunity in January to spend money or to change. Now I see the present. I see in the present the opportunity to improve, to continue to work, to understand it’s not easy.

“We know this in the club. And we must continue to change the story of last season.”

Terry has missed the last three matches with an ankle injury sustained against Swansea and his earliest possible return will be on October 15 against Leicester.

Defender Kurt Zouma continues his rehabilitation from his long-term knee injury, while midfielder John Obi Mikel is out with a “small muscular problem”, Conte said.

England role interests Pochettino – but not yet

Mauricio Pochettino admits he would be interested in becoming England manager – but insists he still has work to do __with Tottenham.

Spurs boss Pochettino has been among the names mooted as a potential successor to Sam Allardyce, who was forced to resign after becoming embroiled in the Daily Telegraph’s investigation into corruption in English football.

Asked about managing the English national team, the Argentinian said: “Yes, why not? In the future. Not now, it’s impossible. I signed a new contract here. It’s not my moment.”

Former Southampton manager Pochettino signed a new five-year deal __with Tottenham in May, and is one of a host of names to commit their future to White Hart Lane.

Cameron Carter-Vickers is the latest player to sign a new contract, with the 18-year-old penning a deal until 2019 on Thursday.

“It’s now about taking my game up another level.” @cameroncv2 looking to push on after signing a new contract with the Club… #COYS pic.twitter.com/TOts4zdLh6

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 29, 2016

No storm over Vardy’s port for Leicester boss Ranieri

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri insists he is happy __with Jamie Vardy’s pre-match port as long as he continues to perform.

The striker admitted in his new autobiography he drank a glass of port out of a Lucozade bottle the night before every match last season out of superstition.

He ended the season __with 24 goals after firing the Foxes to a shock Premier League win by 10 points.

Vardy has three goals in 10 games this term ahead of Sunday’s visit of Southampton and Ranieri is relaxed about his personal preparation, which also includes three cans of Red Bull and two espressos on the day of a game.

He said: “He took it before Porto? Why didn’t he score!?

“A nutritionist gives them something to eat but after they go home they are professional and can eat and drink what they want.

“For me it’s important to watch on the pitch, when they play and train well I am happy.

“Sometimes the players do something just because ‘ah, I scored a goal and I want to continue’. It’s okay. It’s the doctor who has to investigate and say the port is good or not good.

“Jamie is doing a fantastic career, from non-league to national team. I don’t believe port can do something. It is a glass of red wine. It is okay. For me it is only superstition, nothing more.”

Meanwhile, Ranieri’s assistant Craig Shakespeare remains in talks with the Football Association over his role under caretaker England boss Gareth Southgate.

Shakespeare was part of Sam Allardyce’s backroom staff before Allardyce’s exit on Tuesday, just 67 days into the job, following a Daily Telegraph investigation into corruption.

He only joined the national set-up in August but Ranieri would be happy for him to continue under Southgate.

Ranieri added: “I know they are speaking and Craig is fantastic with us and the FA. He is free to choose so they are speaking and I am waiting.

“If he wants to continue I am happy, if he wants to stay with us I am happy.”

Danny Simpson is available after being dropped for Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League win over Porto and Nampalys Mendy is fit after an ankle injury but Matty James is out with his own ankle problem.

Slaven Bilic: What’s the point of smiling anymore?

Slaven Bilic has explained why he looks down in interviews, saying that West Ham’s form makes it hard to smile.

In his column for the Evening Standard, Bilic addresses West Ham’s wretched recent results, and says it hurts to look in the mirror at his own reflection.

Some manager may stay relentlessly positive through adversity; Bilic is clearly not one of them.

“I have been told that I looked very “down” in interviews after the defeat by Southampton,” Bilic said.

“Well, yes, I was “down” but how am I supposed to be?

“I don’t think there is a problem if a manager is like that after his team have lost, especially four times in a row.

“The defeat did hurt, so why should I pretend that it didn’t? It hurt me personally, totally. It hurts me when I look at the Premier League table, it hurts me when I look in the mirror.

“What is the point of smiling? Does that make me a brave leader? I am a leader and I am very brave but I hurt after a defeat. Most of the managers are the same.

“It doesn’t mean I have lost my faith or determination — on the contrary – but we lost again and I don’t like it.”

West Ham host Middlesbrough on Saturday desperate for a home win to lift the gloom.

Antonio reveals ‘massive upset’ at rejecting Spurs

Michail Antonio has insisted that his mother’s decision to not allow him to join Tottenham as a teenager has made him a better player today.

Antonio had to reject the chance to become part of Spurs’ academy due to complications in travel from his home in south west London, plus concerns about him keeping up __with his schoolwork.

“When my mum didn’t let me join Tottenham, it kind of gave me a confidence that I had the ability to do it but then again, it kind of upset me massively,” the England international stated.

“I was in tears, because it was an opportunity to play for a professional team and I didn’t get to do it, but I’m here now so I can’t complain.”

Antonio has scored 14 goals and amassed five assists since joining the Hammers, and admits the decision has had a positive impact on his career.

“In hindsight it’s definitely made me better as a player. It’s made me more hungry, it’s made me want to go out, it’s made me eager and I’m never satisfied.

“I always want to push on, I always want to keep going because I feel like I’ve missed out on things in the past, so I’m going to keep going until I can’t go anymore.”

Sunderland could be forced to pay Inter Milan £8million for loan flop Ricky Alvarez

Sunderland could be ordered to pay £8million to Inter Milan for flop Ricky Alvarez.

The winger joined the Black Cats on loan in September 2014, scoring one goal in his 11 appearances and helping them to Premier League survival.

But at the end of the loan agreement, Inter claimed that Sunderland were contractually obliged to purchase the Argentinian on a permanent basis on the back of their survival.

According to the Daily Mail , Sunderland refused and the case has now been taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Alvarez made just 11 appearances for Sunderland

David Moyes could see his transfer budget cut as a result

It was claimed that problems with Alvarez's knee and the surgery he underwent as a result invalidated the agreement.

Inter won the initial case during a FIFA hearing but Sunderland refused the verdict.

Being forced to pay would be a bitter blow for Sunderland, who would have preferred to use the money on their relegation-threatened squad.

Alvarez, meanwhile, is currently playing for Sampdoria in Serie A.

Walcott, Sanchez and Bellerin in love triangle

Theo Walcott has credited his own hard work and his partnerships __with Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin for his rejuvenation this season.

The winger has scored five goals in all competitions this season after finally deciding he was fine about being a winger; on Wednesday night both his goals against Basle were set up by Sanchez, playing as a striker.

“That combination between me and Alexis, it’s boding well but it’s obviously still very early into the season, so hopefully we can all stay fit and it’s going to be a good run,” Walcott told the club’s website.

“It’s getting a good sort of partnership there, but it’s not just that, the whole team seems to be clicking.

“Me and Hector Bellerin have got a good relationship on that right-hand side, it’s quite a pacey right-hand side.

“I think the whole team tends to react well and defend well as a unit and clean sheets are going to win games because we’re going to score plenty of goals.

“I think the age I am, the experience I’ve had, the games I’ve had and the amount of goals I’ve scored this season is a different level,.

“I’m working hard, harder than I ever have and I just want to be the best I can. If I can do that it’s going to benefit the team.

“I want to improve every day; going into work and being a better person and a better player as well and that’s just the way I am now.”

Rooney gets an assist…from ‘experts’

“Rooney just used all his experience…he didn’t go into the bodies, he just pulled out, great little move, the ball’s fired in…and he’s got an assist.”

And that – ladies and gentlemen – is how Robbie Savage described Wayne Rooney’s scuffed shot that was headed over the line by Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Manchester United’s first shot on target in the 69th minute of a Europa League clash __with Zorya Luhansk.

World class assist from Rooney. What an assist. What a touch. What a pass!! Haters will say he scuffed it.

— Doc Joshi (@BusbyMUFC) September 29, 2016

If anybody was in any doubt, this is why the mainstream coverage of Wayne Rooney’s form is so exasperating. Having endured Paul Scholes telling us that “when them big games could round – Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City – I think we’ll see Wayne back to his best”, we then heard Robbie Savage questioned about the praise given to Juan Mata this week by Jose Mourinho.

Savage’s answer contained no insight at all about Mata but instead we heard that he astonishingly agreed __with ‘Scholesey’ that Manchester United would have still beaten Leicester by the same margin had Rooney been on the pitch. Those who watched United play quick, incisive, penetrative football without their captain against the champions – and thought it no coincidence – must have been mistaken.

That they failed to play quick, incisive, penetrative football against Zorya Luhansk can be at least partly attributed to the absence of Ander Herrera and Daley Blind; the economist who claimed “soccer is a weakest link sport” presumably had the Belgian tree in mind. It was slow, it was ponderous, it was Louis van Gaal; undoubtedly he will get the blame for this leaden display.

Gary Neville’s short, sharp answer on last week’s hottest topic saw him cite Feyenoord as an example of a Rooney-less game that had gone badly, and he may well feel smug as United were once again rotten in the Europa League with their captain a spectator. The statistics will say that the game changed with the introduction of Rooney, but he was merely the recipient of some generous defending and some quite phenomenal luck. His ridiculously over-hit pass to destroy a counter-attack a few minutes later was regression to the norm.

What is astonishing is that Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday that he would not risk starting a slightly injured Rooney because “the situation that you create to him I think he really can’t afford to have a performance that is not really good and I am here to protect him and have to analyse the best thing for him”. He actually believes – or at least wants us to believe – that Rooney has been harshly treated by the media.

The simple answer is that no, Jose, you are not here to protect him, but to win football matches for Manchester United. Right now, regardless of his remarkable instinct “not to go into bodies”, the best United side still does not include its captain.

Sarah Winterburn

Klopp opens the door for Sakho’s Liverpool return

Jurgen Klopp has opened the door for Mamadou Sakho’s potential Liverpool first-team return.

Sakho has not featured for the Reds all season, __with Klopp having informed the defender to leave on loan in the summer in order to improve his fitness.

The Frenchman decided to stay at Anfield and fight for his place however, although he recently hit out at his manager on social media.

The 26-year-old returned to training last week, and was given a glimmer of hope on Wednesday when he featured for the club’s under-23 side.

Sakho played the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 defeat to to Wolfsburg in his first appearance at any professional level since falling victim to a drugs ban in April.

Happy to get back tonight __with #LFCU23s 👍🏿⚽️ and visit to the #LFC Academy / Content d'avoir retrouvé la compétition ce soir !!! pic.twitter.com/ooODLMMoSq

— Mamadou Sakho (@mamadousakho) September 28, 2016

That suspension was overturned before the start of the season and the defender was cleared of any wrongdoing, and now Klopp has opened the door for a possible return to the first team.

“Work hard is the rule for every player,” he said on Thursday. “I spoke to Mama and from my side everything is done. Now we carry on.

“That’s not a rule for Mamadou Sakho, it’s a rule for every player. Work hard and do your best.”

Saints assistant boss latest in Telegraph files

Southampton assistant manager Eric Black is the latest football figure to be accused of wrongdoing following investigations by the Daily Telegraph.

They have footage of Black telling their undercover reporters that they could pay an assistant manager at a Championship club a bribe to receive information about his players.

Eric Black, assistant manager at Southampton FC, filmed advising 'businessmen' how to bribe lower league staff https://t.co/g3lo1CWKFz pic.twitter.com/L3amgHFI0y

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 29, 2016

Black, who has previously been caretaker manager at Aston Villa, suggested that “a couple of grand” would be enough to persuade an official at another club to give them information about players to potential agents.

Naming the assistant manager of a Championship club, he said “it doesn’t take too much to get these people involved” because “they won’t have an awful lot of money”.

Black met an undercover Telegraph reporter along __with his friend Scott McGarvey, who was also present at meetings __with Sam Allardyce that have cost him the England job after just one match.

When asked for advice about representing players, Mr Black said: “You say, ‘look, we’ve set up the company, we want to go big, you build up the whole thing and you would do brilliantly, then, y’know, if you get somebody, we’ll give you a couple of grand or something…’”

On Thursday night a spokesman for Mr Black said: “[Mr Black] does not recall Mr McGarvey making suggestions that football officials should be paid during transfer negotiations – this was not the purpose of the meeting so far as our client understood it. Any suggestion that he was complicit in such discussions is false.”

Southampton issued a statement on Thursday night saying: “Southampton Football Club has today been made aware by The Daily Telegraph that, as part of their ongoing investigation, the club’s assistant first team manager Eric Black will feature as part of an article in tomorrow’s paper.

“The club immediately requested to be sent, by The Daily Telegraph, the details of this article, but the newspaper declined to share any further information.

“We have today contacted The FA and The Premier League, and intend to work closely with both bodies on this matter when the facts become clear.

“Southampton Football Club is fully committed to investigating any situation that directly or indirectly relates to our club, employees or the wider community.”