Chelsea tell Rafael Benítez to prioritise top-four finish - The Guardian

Rafael Benítez has been told to prioritise a top-four finish and qualification for next season's Champions League over the remainder of his interim stewardship of Chelsea as Roman Abramovich looks to salvage a position in Europe's elite competition from a traumatic campaign.

The stand-in manager, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the season, met the technical director, Michael Emenalo, at the club's Cobham training base on Tuesday morning in the wake of defeat by Swansea in the Capital One Cup semi-final and Sunday's unconvincing draw at Brentford in the FA Cup. Emenalo – acting as a go-between for Abramovich – impressed upon Benítez that all efforts must focus on a top-four finish rather than retaining the FA Cup or winning the Europa League.

There is a recognition not only of the financial necessity to qualify for the Champions League but also that their participation in that competition would have a major bearing on the recruitment of a new manager as well as squad strengthening. Chelsea are third, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Everton.

Benítez's position is not under immediate threat and at present the board expects him to see out the season as planned. However, with supporter opposition to the Spaniard continuing unabated, he is unlikely to earn a longer stay at the club and Chelsea have begun to consider their options for a long-term replacement.

Candidates on that list will include José Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp, Michael Laudrup and David Moyes, and the club are hopeful that Benítez will bequeath his successor Champions League football. "All I can say is what I know: I have had meetings," said the interim first-team manager. "We were talking about the situation and it's clear for me the priority is the top four and progressing as much as we can in the other competitions. My position is exactly the same: I will try to do my job as well as I can. I cannot lose my focus."

Benítez feels he has brought balance to the team, if perhaps not consistency to their results, though there is frustration welling within the squad that performances amid a cluttered fixture schedule have not always sparked. John Terry, who made his first start under Benítez at Brentford, issued a trademark rallying cry ahead of Wednesday's trip to Reading, their 41st game of the season, dismissing squad rotation as a potential excuse for underachievement.

"We need to liven up a bit and realise the importance to the fans and the club," said Terry, with Chelsea having won only three of their past eight games in all competitions. "Champions League football is a must next season. We saw last season, going to the Champions League final, suffering with all the extra games and stuff like that, we ended up finishing sixth in the league. It's difficult but we have a squad and it's down to the players who come in to rotate and play well."

Terry described last week's Capital One Cup semi-final second leg draw at Swansea as "lacklustre", adding he would rather have "lost that three or 4-0 and given it a go" than stumbling meekly from the competition. Benítez believes he retains the players' support and spoke on Tuesday with Terry, Frank Lampard and David Luiz – the Brazilian will be absent on Wednesday evening along with Petr Cech with ankle and calf complaints respectively – as the squad seek to address recent failings and inject momentum back into their campaign.

"The players are quite happy with the ways we are doing things, so that is the most positive thing," said Benítez. "If I saw my players in training without conviction, I'd be worried. But they're happy. In the last 10 days we had a fantastic game against Arsenal, not such a good game against Swansea, and a 50:50 the other day [at Brentford]. At the end of the season we will see, but I have confidence in the team. The priority is the top four, very clear. But I will try and compete in the other competitions, too."

Wigan Athletic 2 - The Guardian

Tony Pulis has still not managed a league win against Wigan under Roberto Martínez, and though he must have thought he would break his duck here after changing his system to match the visitors' 3-5-2 and taking a two-goal lead, he was confounded by an entertaining comeback inspired by the Latics' latest Honduran recruit.

With a booking and a hand in all four goals Roger Espinoza had a full league debut to remember, though what Wigan supporters will recall is how he took charge of the game, acceptability responsibility and instantly commanding respect from his team-mates despite his obvious inexperience. Wigan suddenly have a new go-to man and, though a point lifts them out the bottom three only on goal difference, every other aspect of the second-half recovery was encouraging. Stoke could even have lost had Franco Di Santo put away a late chance from Shaun Maloney's cross, and Pulis heard boos as his players left the field.

"Roger took 15 or 20 minutes to get the tempo of the game – after that he was a joy to watch," Martínez said. "I've been following him since I first saw him in the World Cup in South Africa. Playing for Honduras he was up against Jean Beausejour of Chile. Now we've got them both."

Wigan's Latin American connection got them into trouble midway through the first half. The visitors were just about holding their own in midfield, if not producing much in front of goal, when Espinoza marred his evening by giving a foul away on the edge of his area. When Charlie Adam chipped in the free-kick Beausejour attempted a headed clearance only to hit his team-mate James McCarthy in the back of the neck, leaving the ball to sit up invitingly for Ryan Shawcross to stroke a volley past the hopelessly exposed Ali al-Habsi.

Lightweight up front and fragile in defence, Wigan are too often the architects of their own misfortune, and unbelievably Espinoza had to be spoken to by the referee a couple of minutes later for pulling over Glenn Whelan in a similarly dangerous position. Watched by Gordon Strachan, Adam wasted his chance to cross on that occasion, but cutting in from the opposite wing just after half an hour he found enough space to try his luck with a long-range curler that flew narrowly wide. Wigan had begun the game passingly neatly and intricately enough to make Stoke look clumsy, though the home side's more direct approach was paying dividends by the interval.

What Wigan never do is change the way they play, however, and once they recomposed themselves after going a goal behind they created a couple of half-chances through Beausejeur on the left before Espinoza, almost inevitably, went into the book on the stroke of the interval for a needless foul on Matthew Etherington. With such a high proportion of the playing staff at Wigan speaking Spanish, not to mention the manager, one would have thought someone might have impressed upon the debutant that the first rule of playing Stoke is not to give away unnecessary free-kicks.

Espinoza also played a part in the next three goals, though for the first he was slightly unlucky when his reverse pass in the Stoke penalty area found only Geoff Cameron. The defender sent Adam on a lonesome run from halfway, Habsi could only beat out the eventual shot and Peter Crouch had a simple task in mopping up the rebound.

With three minutes of the second half played that should have been that, but Wigan and Espinoza are made of stronger stuff and hit back almost immediately. The midfielder sent a return pass forward for Di Santo, who was blocked off and could not reach it, allowing James McArthur to show great presence of mind in running on to the ball and improvising a finish to beat Asmir Begovic.

After that almost anything seemed possible and it was no great surprise to see the same three players bring Wigan level on the hour. Espinoza's measured cross found McArthur, whose precise knockdown was crisply tucked away by Di Santo.

"Two-nil, and you cocked it up," trilled the Wigan fans in the away end. It is too early for celebrations yet, but a team that can come back from two goals down on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke surely have another great escape up their sleeve.

Manchester City miss Yaya Touré more than Mario Balotelli against QPR - The Guardian (blog)

A run of wins, they said. That's what Queens Park Rangers need to stay up. After a feverishly-fought 0-0 draw against Manchester City on a night of swirling rain at Loftus Road Harry Redknapp, in his role of emergency managerial defibrillator, was at least on the verge of delivering the next best thing: a run of draws. A third consecutive draw inches Rangers along at the bottom.

For City this was a night of much possession, some fine interplay and a slight lack of incision that comes at a most inopportune time. Two points dropped here represents a stilling of the momentum that had kept Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premier League to five points. Separately this is a blank that coincides – yes always him: even now – with the departure of a £17m striker. City's attacks did lack a telling variation, although the absent ingredient was not Mario Balotelli but Yaya Touré, missed for the first time since his departure for South Africa. Touré's direct running would have provided an ideal attacking counterpoint to the embroidery of City's midfield as Rangers dropped deep and the pitch grew heavier.

Not that it seem likely to be an issue in the opening half hour. With Javi García providing a seamless stop-gap in central defence, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Agüero, and David Silva all seemed to fancy this wet Tuesday night from the off, arranging themselves in a rotating forward three of gnome-like industry. If this match was always likely to be in part Viking funeral for Balotelli's City career, the early stages threatened to emphasise the well-grooved striking riches that remain.

As the half wore on though Rangers' defenders accustomed themselves admirably to City's scurrying threat. City still have Edin Dzeko to provide a more direct route to goal, the Bosnian not only out-scoring Balotelli – provider of 20 goals in the Premier League over two and half years – but also providing a more adhesive presence. Dzeko duly arrived just before the hour, with the match at that stage resembling not so much champions against bottom club as a meeting of rough equivalents.

For the past couple of seasons this fixture has seemed to provide instead a poignant reflection of contrasting approaches to the billionaire's burden. City 2.0, for all the £930.4m total spend, somehow still manage to convey a sense of managed revolution. Rangers on the other hand are a lesson in how not to do it. Since Tony Fernandes bought the club in 2011 19 players have been recruited, many on embarrassingly overblown wages, the club resembling a footballing equivalent of the kind of lottery millionaire who blows it all on helicopters and model race tracks and ends up forgetting to buy a roof to sleep under.

The appointment of Redknapp at such a late stage resembled at first glance the managerial equivalent of tossing aside the empty ammo drums and charging over the top with bayonets fixed. Not so this evening. Rangers were solid at the back and disciplined in midfield, while throughout this rackety old shed of an urban football stadium resounded to chants of "Tony Fernandes".

Rangers' early midfield scuffles were applauded wildly and, Pablo Zabaleta's header on to the bar aside, Rangers had the most clearcut chance of the first half. Adel Taarabt, breaking from inside his own half, did everything right, stepping past Gaël Clichy and attempting a dinked finish. Joe Hart's sprint from his line to save at his feet was electrifying stuff.

With Redknapp putting his faith in Rangers' receding core of promotion?season survivors, Shaun Derry was immensely busy in midfield, shuttling left to right in search of balls to snaffle, colleagues to upbraid. At one point, in danger of being bypassed, he simply sat on Samir Nasri. Along with Clint Hill, restored to the captaincy in place of the bafflingly ineffectual Park Ji-Sung, Derry provided the main sense of resistance while Júlio Cesar produced some outstanding saves throughout: one leaping, firm-wristed palm away from Gareth Barry's shot was the defining image of the night. A result that might yet provide a renewed shift of momentum at the top of the table depended in large part on the Brazilian's decisiveness at vital moments.

With Tevez removed on 73 minutes in favour of Jack Rodwell there was at last a sense City may have been briefly regretting the departure of a man who did, for all his flaws, provide the odd – albeit increasingly unexpected – moment of the unexpected. More than this though, they seemed to miss Touré's thrust on a night that was a reminder, towards the end, not of the fragile charms of the season's grandest striking disappointment, but instead of where the genuine strengths of City still lie.

Vincent Kompany leaves Manchester City with defensive shortfall - The Guardian

David Platt has admitted Manchester City are concerned about Vincent Kompany's recurring calf injuries and fear his latest presents them with a central defensive crisis because only Joleon Lescott is fully fit in the position. Kompany is almost definitely out for at least two weeks.

The captain lasted 40 minutes of Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Stoke City before having to go off. With Matija Nastasic injured and Kolo Touré away on Africa Cup of Nations duty, Karim Rekik, who is 18 and has made one start at left-back, was the sole authentic centre-back on the bench. Roberto Mancini decided to bring on Gaël Clichy, the first-choice left-back, and play with a system of three at the back to cope in Kompany's absence.

"It is a concern that it's not a fresh injury," said the assistant manager. "The calf is the strangest muscle – there is probably more recurrence than with hamstrings, groins and things like that. And it has happened on a couple of occasions but the concern is to make sure we clear the problem and that is what we will be working through."

Kompany first injured his calf towards the end of last season and then had to fly home early from City's tour of Malaysia during the summer to receive further treatment.

He will miss Tuesday evening's game at Queens Park Rangers and is also expected to miss Sunday's visit of Liverpool. But despite Nastasic's fitness to face QPR still being in the balance, Platt played down any suggestion that City might sign a central defender before the transfer window closes on Thursday.

"Circumstances often dictate and have done in the past [how to deal with injury]," the assistant manager said. "Vinnie limped out of the game but he'll be back, not tomorrow obviously. And again, with it being such a difficult market, you can't start stepping into it willy nilly and thinking right: 'We've got to get somebody.'

"It's very difficult. We're at Manchester City. It's a top club that competes for top trophies and as a result of that you can't just get anybody and think they are going to fill the gap that somebody leaves. And that gap Vinnie has left could be a fortnight, three weeks, who knows?

"But it's not a six-month gap, it's not something ridiculous that we feel we can't do with the squad that we've got available. It's a calf strain. My experience of calf strains would be no chance [of QPR], Liverpool [is] a big doubt, with an outside chance. But that would depend on the gravity of it, but you're probably looking at the game after that [Southampton] as being a realistic target."

Regarding Nastasic's availability for QPR, Platt added: "Maybe he'd have to train today [Monday]. He has an inflamed ligament. There is no danger in it at all but we have to wait for the inflammation to work itself out.

"Our options are [Javier] García, who slipped into there on Saturday, Karim Rekik, Matija if he is fit or we can go to a three, as well as Joleon."

Jones says centre-back is his best position - The Guardian

Phil Jones has said that centre-back is his preferred position though he is happy to play anywhere for Manchester United.

Jones partnered Chris Smalling in central defence during Saturday's 4-1 win over Fulham at Old Trafford in the fourth round of the FA Cup but the 20-year-old has more frequently played at right-back or in midfield for United and England.

Asked if he felt centre-half was his best position, the £16.5m signing from Blackburn Rovers said: "Yes I have said all along that is where I feel most comfortable. I understand and read the game better there. But wherever I am asked to play I will play there."

On Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson compared Jones favourably to John Terry, claiming that he has more in his "locker" in terms of his versatility than the Chelsea centre-back and said: "Jones was absolutely brilliant at Tottenham in the role we asked him to play. He did it really well. He can play anywhere. He is quick, two-sided and reads the game well. He's competitive and has got a great change of pace going forward so the boy has done very well."

Jones accepts that his performance in midfield in the 1-1 draw at Tottenham means he may be used there again. "Yes I kind of shoot myself in the foot a bit," he said. "But I am at Manchester United and I love playing for this club and I am happy to play anywhere.

"Prior to the two games Chris and I have played together recently we have played quite a lot together for England Under-21s and we understand each other's game. It is not a problem playing together at the back."

Jones is the latest United player to say the club is targeting a repeat of the Treble United won in 1999. "Definitely. That is what the gaffer said to us before the game and that is exactly what we are going out to achieve," he said.

"The Treble is too far in the distance. We just have to concentrate on the games coming up. We have a tough game on Wednesday against Southampton and that won't be easy. Southampton are a good team irrespective of whether they have got a new manager or not. They have got some good players in the squad. We will have to be wary of that.

"We have a good team here and a solid foundation. This year we are more concentrated on us and what we are about. It has definitely helped us on the pitch. You can see that with all the lads and in training. It is a laugh but we are focused and are really gelling.

"We have lots of games coming up. There are a lot of tricky games and it is a tough period but we know if we have everyone fit then with the big squad we have we will be fine. I didn't have a great start to the season [due to back and knee injuries] but hopefully I can push my way into the side and get some games under my belt."

Premier League - Cut losses or face new laws, MPs tell clubs - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

The call adds to pressure on the 20-team Premier League to implement Financial Fair Play measures which UEFA has already introduced for leading teams across Europe.

New television contracts are expected to generate more than £5 billion over the next three years for the Premier League, the world's richest in terms of revenue.

However, English clubs often struggle to translate cash into profit because as much as 70 percent of their income is paid out in wages.

A report into football governance from Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee did not expect that trend to change.

"We see little evidence that clubs will spend significant amounts of the funding available from the latest broadcasting rights settlement on increasing their sustainability rather than on players' salaries and transfers," it said.

Raising concerns over debt levels in English football, it called on the Premier League to follow the example of the Championship and adopt FFP rules to rein in losses.

"If they are not enforced, then we consider that legislation will be required to impose some financial discipline on clubs," the report added.

The committee, comprising MPs from the three main political parties, criticised what it called a "disappointing" response to its initial inquiry into how the game is run.

It stepped up its calls for reform of the Football Association to reduce the influence of the Premier League. Legislation should be introduced to shake up the FA if there was no progress within a year, it added.

Although the report is not binding, sports minister Hugh Robertson welcomed its findings.

"We have been clear that we want the football authorities to carry out the reforms they promised by the start of the 2013-14 season - most notably around improved governance and diverse representation at the FA, the development of a licensing system and greater financial transparency," Robertson said.

"If football does not deliver then we will look at bringing forward legislation," he added.

The FA, Premier League and Football League said they were continuing to work towards final approval and implementation of the reform proposals.

"Significant headway has already been made on many of these proposed reforms, not least on sustainability and transparency," the organisations said in a joint statement.

"The remaining reform proposals are the subject of consultation within the game and we are confident that the necessary progress will be made."

UEFA'S FFP rules pose a challenge for English clubs funded by wealthy benefactors such as Russian Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at champions Manchester City.

Premier League clubs are due to discuss FFP at a meeting early next month, mindful of the need to ensure that the latest television windfall is not squandered.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have all argued for the wholesale adoption of the UEFA model, saying that the top teams in the Premier League have no alternative.

Others are more resistant to a system that they argue would prevent a smaller club from challenging the elite.

A number of British clubs have failed financially in recent years but have been able to relaunch with new backers.

Rangers, Scottish champions a record 54 times, collapsed under a pile of debt last year. The Glasgow club was salvaged by new owners but has been consigned to restart from the fourth tier of the Scottish game.

Alisher Usmanov criticises board for turning Arsenal into feeder club - The Guardian

The underlying tensions within Arsenal's ownership structure have resurfaced as time ticks down towards the transfer deadline after the major shareholder, Alisher Usmanov, claimed the board's lack of spending and inability to hang on to the club's best players have effectively rendered them a feeder team for their rivals.

Usmanov, who owns just under 30% of Arsenal, has regularly expressed his frustrations at the running of the club by the majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, and offered his latest outburst in an interview with L'Equipe. Arsenal have not claimed a trophy since the FA Cup in 2005 and have lost the likes of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Gaël Clichy to the two Manchester clubs – as well as Cesc Fábregas and Alex Song to Barcelona – in recent years.

"The greatest achievement of Arsène Wenger is to have created two teams: the one that now plays for our rivals and the one that is trying to be among the best in the Premier League," Usmanov said. "That's why I say it's not enough to merely flatter the coach, but to give him the possibility to buy the best players, superstars. But not just stars, but those chosen by Wenger.

"For me, he's one of the best coaches in the world, but it's not easy for him. I think he deserves that players are brought in at Arsenal when they're needed. The best players, and not being satisfied with selling our best players to our rivals.

"If that happens, we can ask everything of him. But, today, he's sacrificed. Because of the policy and we're all to blame. Everything's in Mr Kroenke's hands and I hope he succeeds, even if he doesn't go along with my ideas.

"It's unthinkable that the shareholders get well paid while, for small clauses in contracts, we lose key players like Robin van Persie, Mathieu Flamini or Patrick Vieira. We should have increased their salaries when they started to be courted, started to look elsewhere. I don't know why we didn't propose that to them."

Arsenal may now not add to their ranks before the transfer window shuts on Thursday night, despite interest in the West Ham United midfielder Mohamed Diamé – a target for Tottenham Hotspur – and Barcelona's David Villa, as they seek to reach the Champions League for a 16th successive season. They currently lie sixth, four points off Tottenham, and host Liverpool on Wednesday. Thomas Vermaelen should be fit to return for that fixture, but doubts remain over Mikel Arteta's involvement.

Kroenke has consistently stated his support for Wenger, whose contract has one more season to run, and that he has no intention of selling the club. Yet Usmanov suggested Thierry Henry, Arsenal's record goalscorer, has urged him to buy out the American and take control.

"I like many footballers and I'm in contact with some of them," he added. "Perhaps my favourite of the last 10, 15 years is Thierry Henry. He's pushing me to buy all of Arsenal's shares, but I cannot predict the future.

"When I had the chance to buy some shares and become one of the main shareholders in the club, I didn't hesitate for a second. I was even ready to take total control. That wasn't possible because certain people preferred to make a profit and create, using me, an outside enemy. I remain portrayed as a pirate, an enemy. They have won that game."