Why we picked Keshi - NFF

In spite of the spirited and repeated denials by the chairman of Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barrister Christopher Green, that the federation has not picked a new coach for the Super Eagles, members of the executive board have zeroed in on Stephen Keshi as the favoured candidate for the job.

Disclosing this to Daily Sunsports, a member of the board, who does not want his name in print, said that what informed the board’s decision was the fact that since the Hawks of Togo’s former handler contested the position with sacked Siasia, it has decided against inviting fresh applications from other coaches.

He further noted that though the board will ratify Keshi on Wednesday as Eagles head coach, there were strong indications that it would be on acting bases, revealing that the board was looking into the option of hiring a foreign coach for the Eagles.

“Well, Keshi is the likely person to replace Siasia. His choice was based on the simple fact that he attended the interview with Siasia. We want to avoid inviting fresh applications from other coaches. We just want somebody to start working on acting capacity until we finally resolve on the possibility of hiring a foreign coach. For now, we have settled for Keshi,” our source noted. Asked why the board sacrificed Siasia despite divided opinions of Nigerians to his favour, the board member noted that his greatest undoing was his arrogance to the technical committee members and most especially the clause in his contract.

Admitting that the board was harsh in inserting such draconian clause in Siasia's contract, he, however, blamed Siasia for not appealing for the removal of the clause, stressing that the desperation for the job could beclouded his meticulous and detailed scrutiny of the contract document.“The reports and recommendations of the technical committee were very unfavourable. They said that Siasia was very arrogant. He talks down on all members of the committee and that was why they were unanimous in recommending his sack.

“He specifically gave example of an incident when the technical committee wanted him to remove injured Chibuzor Okonkwo since he has not being playing for Heartland FC, but he refused. During the match against Guinea, it was obvious Siasia was biased and sentimental in his selections. He fielded his boys,” he noted.

On conditions that would have saved Siasia from sack, the board member said: “I can tell you the general feelings of most members was that if Siasia had resigned immediately after the match, he would have been retained, but his over confidence was his greatest undoing.

Andre Villas-Boas has no case for his Chelsea defence

By STEVEN HOWARD

IF it goes on like this, he'll be known as AVB4 — A Vulnerable Back Four.

Andre Villas-Boas was bought in to brighten the place up and get Chelsea playing the attacking football Roman Abramovich craves.

Sadly, the stable door is not so much ajar as wide open with a galeforce wind whipping up off the Thames and blowing right through it.

There were always going to be unfavourable comparisons with Jose Mourinho if things went wrong for his Portuguese protege at Stamford Bridge.

And after the shambolic 5-3 defeat by Arsenal, the stats are growing increasingly grim. In 10 league games this term, Chelsea have conceded 15 goals — as many as Mourinho's team let in winning the title in the ENTIRE 2004-2005 campaign.

In fact, the five shipped against Arsenal was just one less than the six surrendered in all 19 home league games that season.

In terms of league defeats — three in the first 10 games — it's the worst start by ANY Blues boss under Abramovich.

It took Claudio Ranieri 18 games before he lost three. It took Mourinho an extraordinary 64. Yes, SIXTY-FOUR.

Avram Grant was beaten in just two of his first 32 — including his first at Old Trafford — and still vacated his post.

Phil Scolari lost three of 21, four of 25 and was fired. And, finally, Carlo Ancelotti. He lost three of the opening 15 — and six in all — but still won the Double.

Even in his second season, there was only one defeat in the first 10 though this would rise to four in 14 and six in 21. And we all know what happened there.

Under Villas-Boas, Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine league games, their worst run for a decade.

OK, we know statistics don't tell the whole story but there is some damning evidence here.

We also know a young manager should be given time. Even Abramovich, with his notoriously itchy trigger-finger, must appreciate this.

Yet Chelsea fans trooping disconsolately away from Stamford Bridge on Saturday must be seriously concerned.

Incredibly, their own defence was as poor after the break as Arsenal's had been before it.

And this is taking into account the lumbering, out of position Per Mertesacker — at fault for both of Chelsea's opening two goals — and Andre Santos, who for 45 minutes gave one of the poorest full-back displays seen this season.

And yet after half-time Chelsea turned into a carbon copy of their north London rivals.

Sure, Arsene Wenger's side are quick on the break and have Robin van Persie in the form of his life.

But it was still a shock to see how easily unhinged the Chelsea back four became, as slow on the turn as waxworks, a veritable defensive chamber of horrors.

Then, again, this has been creeping up on them. Jose Bosingwa is as good going forward as Santos appeared after the break.

But he is as equally a liability when it comes to positional play — totally exposed by Arsenal's Brazilian full-back for the Gunners' second equaliser.

And then we come to the heart of the problem — central defence.

Under Mourinho, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho formed a near impenetrable barrier.

Carvalho allowed Terry to play, covered for him and the England skipper did the same.

Terry, of course, is now five years older. But he is not helped by a lack of a regular partner.

Alex isn't rated by Villas- Boas and could well be sold in January while David Luiz, despite a great touch and easy, languid movement going forward, is another with defensive weak link.

To discover this after forking out £21million is a high price to pay.

Which leaves Branislav Ivanovic. Athletic, powerful, he is the best of the three though too similar to Terry and, like his captain, susceptible to a quick-turning player as we saw when both were left for dead by Theo Walcott for Arsenal's third.

Only now are people realising just what an accomplished defender Carvalho was.

And, finally, Petr Cech. To be beaten three times at your near post is a worrying sign of increasing vulnerability.

As was Chelsea's lack of midfield bite and another anonymous showing from the allegedly revitalised Fernando Torres.

That this was also, supposedly, Chelsea's best side leaves AVB4 with much work to do.

Robin Van Persie outraged at ‘Nazi salute’ claims

ARSENAL star Robin van Persie has slammed claims he made Nazi salutes at Chelsea.

The Arsenal hat-trick hero said: "It is totally ludicrous to suggest that my action of brushing my shoulder could be construed as anything else but a showing of joy and celebration."

The Dutch striker, 28, hit back over crazy internet comments about his second goal celebration in the superb win at Stamford Bridge.

He added: "To suggest this meant anything to the contrary is insulting and absurd as nothing else came into my mind

Wojciech Szczesny: I was lucky not to be sent off

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY admits he was lucky not to see red for clattering Ashley Cole on the edge of his area.

The Polish keeper escaped with only a yellow card and later said on Twitter: "I don't know why I stayed on."

But on a day when both teams attacked like champions and defended like pub teams, Arsene Wenger still made a point of praising £8.5million centre-back Laurent Koscielny's display.

Arsenal boss Wenger said: "Koscielny is a top centre-back.

"He had only one season at the highest level in France, is now in his second year with us and will go from strength to strength.

"He was also top class against Stoke last week and has all you need to become a real defender.

"He is a bit less impressive in size because he is not 6ft 3in. But he is quick, sharp and reads the game really well."

Andre Villas-Boas faces D-day over John Terry

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS must decide whether to pull John Terry out of the firing line this week.

But the Chelsea boss seems likely to stick with his under-siege skipper for tomorrow's Champions League trip to Genk.

Villas-Boas knows he can probably afford to leave Terry out against the Belgian minnows, who were buried 5-0 at the Bridge two weeks ago.

But he also knows that would raise more questions about the frame of mind of a player feeling the strain of a police and FA investigation after being accused of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

Terry was taunted by Arsenal supporters throughout Chelsea's shock 5-3 home defeat on Saturday.

However, Villas-Boas insists the England captain has not been distracted by the allegations and continues to support his man.

But Chelsea are not short of central defensive options, with Branislav Ivanovic, David Luiz and Alex all available.

Villas-Boas said: "We are always confident with any team we put out to win a game.

"Any 11 selected from 18 in the squad will be good. The Champions League is a different scenario to the Premiership and this is a good opportunity for us. We will put ourselves in a very good position to qualify if we win this."

Chelsea will be assured of their place in the knock-out stages if they win in Genk and Valencia fail to beat Leverkusen at home.

One worry they have, though, is they have not kept a Premier League clean sheet since the first day of the season.

And Ivanovic admits they need to get their act together at the back. He said: "We are playing more attacking football than last year and a lot of other small things are contributing to this, but it's up to us to adapt. We need to keep more clean sheets.

"So, yes, we need to improve defensively, I think we can do better."

Super Mario kart - Balotelli turns garden into quad bike racetrack

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SOCCER oddball Mario Balotelli has turned the garden of his mansion into a race track.

The Manchester City striker — who fans have dubbed Super Mario after the Nintendo character — gets his kicks ripping up the lawn on his flash quad bike.

A source said: "Mario absolutely loves playing sport, whether it's football, swimming, karate or judo. But with the quad bike he has the speed too.

"He's moved from an apartment block to a country house and has been tearing around now there's no one to complain about the noise.

"He's like a big kid. His girlfriend Raffaella doesn't get it at all though.

"This is definitely something for him to do with the lads."

The 21-year-old Italian switched from a city centre flat to a mansion near posh Alderley Edge, Cheshire — home to fellow footie stars such as Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. But he is having to take a breather from roaring around the grounds.

Mario Balotelli ... as game star and, right, his garden

He has moved out during bathroom repairs needed after fireworks were set off inside during a party.

His quad bike has been spotted standing unused on the forecourt while he stays in a hotel.

The source added: "Mario lives in a very posh area, with lots of big houses on leafy streets.

"People aren't living on top of each other like in his old place. But they definitely won't have a problem hearing when he's back in the neighbourhood.

Liverpool crock Steven Gerrard fears England KO

STEVEN GERRARD hobbled out of hospital yesterday — amid fears he could be sidelined for over a month.

The grim-faced Liverpool skipper needed to use crutches, with his infected ankle in plaster.

Gerrard, who was put on an antibiotic drip, will discover tomorrow how serious his latest setback is.

But if worst fears come true, he could miss the whole of November which would rule him out of key Premier League games against Manchester City and Chelsea, plus England's two home matches with Spain and Sweden.

Gerrard, 31, has been plagued by injury problems this year, recently admitting he had doubts whether he would ever be the same force.

He said: "There were times when I was as low as I have ever been.

"I think it's only natural that you have doubts and different things do cross your mind from time to time."

Kop boss Kenny Dalglish said: "Will he be fit for England v Spain? I haven't got a clue.

"It's nothing to do with any injuries before, it's an infection. I suppose it's like having an abscess on your mouth."

Gerrard's problems started again last week after he suffered a cut on his ankle in training.

He was kicked in the ankle during a midweek session at their Melwood camp, yet was expected to recover for Saturday's trip to West Brom.

The Reds talisman made the journey to The Hawthorns but the injury became infected and he had to dash back to Merseyside.

Gerrard spent nearly seven months out earlier this year after groin surgery, which then became infected.

He started his first game since March against Manchester United a fortnight ago, after three earlier appearances from the bench.

Liverpool defied his late absence to beat West Brom 2-0.

Diego Maradona feels Tevez pain

DIEGO MARADONA admits he is hurt by Carlos Tevez's plight at Manchester City.

Striker Tevez has been hit with an £800,000 fine and is also set to train on his own for the foreseeable future following his apparent refusal to warm up at Bayern Munich.

But Argentina legend Maradona has backed his countryman, saying: "It hurts me to see it happen to Tevez as a player and human being.

"If City want to give him a financial penalty then fine. But the worst thing to do to a player is to stop him playing."

Maradona was more upbeat over son-in-law Sergio Aguero's City fortunes. He added: "Sergio is one of the world's best strikers and is putting in great displays game after game."

Anton Ferdinand: We’re at a point of no return

ANTON FERDINAND will give evidence to the FA's race row probe today knowing what he says will be a 'point of no return' in the crisis engulfing English football.

The QPR defender is due to go over his statement with club chiefs this morning before submitting it to football's governing body.

And, in an exclusive interview with SunSport, Ferdinand revealed how the controversy involving John Terry has affected his everyday life.

Ferdinand said: "Of course, it's been strenuous — but it's football as usual as far as I'm concerned.

"All week I've been focusing on nothing other than the game at Spurs on Sunday."

But there is little doubt the pressure will intensify later today when he submits his evidence.

An insider confirmed: "John Terry has given his version of events — let's just say it bears no resemblance to what Anton recalls."

Chelsea and England skipper Terry, 30, is accused of hurling racist abuse at Ferdinand during Sunday's fiery London derby with QPR, which saw the Hoops defeat Andre Villas-Boas' Blues 1-0.

TV footage appears to show the Blues defender calling his opponent a ******* black ****.

Terry, who could be stripped of the Three Lions captaincy if the FA find him guilty, claims he was filmed halfway through a sentence and was misconstrued.

The defender insists Ferdinand had yelled at him 'Did you just call me a ******* black ****?' and Terry was replying by saying: 'No, I didn't call you a ******* black ****'.

SunSport understands Ferdinand denies any such exchange took place.

Our source added: "Once Anton hands his version of events to the FA, they'll have no option but to quiz every player who may have seen or heard what actually happened."

Arsenal expect to re-sign Robin van Persie

Van Persie has scored nine time in 13 games this season

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident club captain Robin van Persie will sign a new contract.

Van Persie, 28, has scored nine goals in 13 games for Arsenal this season and his current deal runs until July 2013.

The Gunners have not yet officially begun negotiations with Van Persie, the only current player to have won a trophy with Arsenal.

But Wenger told BBC Sport: "He has 18 months to go and I'm confident he'll sign a new deal. I'm always confident."

Arsenal will be keen to hold onto his talisman following the departures of key players Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Gael Clichy during the summer transfer window.

However, Wenger brought in midfield duo Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta, while defender Per Mertesacker and forward Ju-Young Park were also added to his new-look side.

Chelsea FC lose fan vote on stadium

Chelsea have lost a vote to buy back their own stadium from a group owned by their fans.

Only 61.5% of shareholders in Chelsea Pitch Owners voted in favour of selling the freehold for the club's Stamford Bridge stadium back to the club.

Approval of 75% of the shareholders was needed to pass the proposal.

CPO acquired the freehold to the stadium in 1997 to protect Stamford Bridge from developers should the club run into financial difficulties.

Chelsea had wanted to buy the stadium in order to facilitate a possible move to a new stadium and redevelopment of the site.

However, many fans opposed the move from the club's current location where it has been based for more than a century.

"Chelsea FC is naturally disappointed with the result. While we will remain as ambitious as ever, this decision could slow down our progress," the club said in a statement.

The club maintains no decision has been made on a move, even if the club does buy the stadium.

The club feels that Stamford Bridge's current capacity of 42,000 puts Chelsea at a financial disadvantage compared with rivals such as Arsenal whose new stadium holds 60,000.

Carlos Tevez backed by PFA over four-week Manchester City fine

Tevez has not played for City since they beat Birmingham on 21 September

Carlos Tevez's four-week fine for refusing to play for Manchester City is "not justified", says the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).

City, who also banned Tevez for two weeks, found the striker guilty of what they say were five separate breaches of contract in a game against Bayern Munich in September.

But the PFA supports Tevez's claim that he did not refuse to play and says that a two-week fine is all that is allowed.

"The PFA's opinion, based on all the evidence presented, is that Carlos Tevez never refused to play for the club," said the PFA.

"This is accepted by the club in that the charge against Carlos made at the hearing was not one of refusing to play.

"As such the PFA considers that there is no justification for a fine other than up to the prescribed sanction of two weeks' wages agreed by the FA, the Premier League and PFA."

Following the incident in the Champions League last month, City launched an internal investigation which concluded that among the contractual duties breached by Tevez was one that says he has "an obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play for the club when directed by a club official".

Tevez insists he only refused to warm up and his advisors have told the BBC they believe that none of the five reasons given by City for upholding the charge of misconduct - which the club published on their website - are correct.

They have further been advised that City manager Roberto Mancini's post-match comments in Munich, where he said Tevez refused to play, could amount to defamation of character and that legal action against him could be forthcoming.

Tevez, who has 14 days to appeal to the club board against the misconduct charge, continues to insist that at no time during the Bayern Munich match was he told he was to be brought on to play, and he is understood to be considering his legal options.

Liverpool eye overseas breakaway TV deal for top clubs

Page last updated at 06:08 GMT, Wednesday, 12 October 2011 07:08 UK

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Liverpool want the right to sell their broadcasting rights overseas

Leading Premier League clubs should be able to negotiate their own overseas TV rights, Liverpool's managing director has been quoted as saying.

Ian Ayre thinks English sides will be left behind by European rivals if they continue to be tied to a collective agreement, which expires in 2013.

He told the Guardian: "Is it right that the international rights are shared equally between all the clubs?

"What we are doing is disadvantaging ourselves against top European clubs."

The current broadcasting deal for overseas rights is worth £1.4bn to the 20 Premier League clubs, with matches shown in 212 countries.

Under current Premier League rules, 14 teams would need to vote in favour of any new arrangements.

PREMIER LEAGUE APPEAL

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• The Premier League has a global following of 1.46 billion - 70% of the world's estimated football fans
• Premier League games last season drew a global audience of 4.7bn
• The League clocked up 185,000 hours of TV coverage in 2010/11

Ayre reportedly believes that Liverpool - along with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal - deserve to receive an increased share. In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid are able to negotiate individual contracts.

Ayre said: "What is absolutely certain is that, with the greatest of respect to our colleagues in the Premier League, if you're a Bolton fan in Bolton, then you subscribe to Sky because you want to watch Bolton. Everyone gets that.

"Likewise, if you're a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, you subscribe.

"But if you're in Kuala Lumpur there isn't anyone subscribing to Astro, or ESPN, to watch Bolton, or if they are it's a very small number. Whereas the large majority are subscribing because they want to watch Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.

"So is it right that the international rights are shared equally between all the clubs? Some people will say: 'Well you've got to all be in it to make it happen.'

"But isn't it really about where the revenue is coming from, which is the broadcaster, and isn't it really about who people want to watch on that channel? We know it is us. And others.

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No matter how many times Manchester United appear on TV in Singapore or America and no matter where they finish in the table, each of the 20 Premier League teams splits the overseas television cash equally

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"At some point we definitely feel there has to be some rebalance on that, because what we are actually doing is disadvantaging ourselves against other big European clubs."

Last month Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson called for more revenue from the overseas broadcasting deal, but he was in favour of sharing the money equally.

Ferguson told BBC Sport: "We are being shown in 212 countries at the moment so whatever we are being paid, it is not enough.

"There is a negotiation to be had there next time around. [Individual rights] is the big issue in Spain at the moment but I've no great feelings about that.

"We'd love to have our own but I don't think it should happen that way. It's quite fair to have all equal shares."