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Edwards questions the way United is run by Glazers

Edwards questions the way United is run by Glazers Drogba wants Chelsea to go for Vieira Briatore's QPR position to be decided Maradona to review position

MARTIN Edwards, the former Manchester United chairman and now a life honorary president, has become the first dissenting voice at boardroom level to question the way the club is being run by the Glazer family, reports Daniel Taylor.

Edwards described the Glazers as having “behaved fairly well” but he is also alarmed that, under the ownership of the American businessmen, United have accrued debts of around €760 million.

“It concerns me that the club are in so much debt,” he said. “The club are not in control; that family are in control of the debt. I can understand where the fans are coming from with their concerns. The crunch time will come when they exit. Will they saddle the club with the debt or just sell the club on for a profit because that’s all they are interested in? How will they leave the club?

“I’m not going to make any accusations because up to now they have behaved fairly well, supporting the manager, and they haven’t disrupted the running of the club or the personnel. Time will tell.”

Edwards no longer holds any executive powers at Old Trafford and endured strong criticisms of his own during large spells of his chairmanship from 1980 to 2002, most notably when he recommended to the club's shareholders that they accepted a takeover bid from BSkyB. "I thought Sky would have taken Manchester United to a level where nobody could have got near us." ( GuardianService)

Drogba wants Chelsea to go for Viera

DIDIER Drogba has urged Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti to make a move for midfielder Patrick Vieira in the January transfer window.

The Premier League leaders are unable to bring in new players due to a transfer embargo imposed by FIFA, but should the club’s appeal against that ruling be successful, Drogba believes veteran midfielder Vieira should be the first name on Ancelotti’s wish-list.

“It would be a good move for Chelsea to bring Patrick in,” the Ivory Coast international said.

“Don’t forget we are going to miss several players in January, particularly in midfield, because of the African Nations Cup. We played against Vieira last summer and he was very strong.”

Inter Milan’s Vieira was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to see Chelsea’s victory over Liverpool.

Coleman on his toes after freak injury Grant returns as Pompey director

IRELAND under-21 defender Séamus Coleman revealed yesterday a freak mishap almost resulted in the loss of the big toe on his right foot during the summer. When a blister on the toe became infected the problem quickly escalated to the point where the Everton player’s career might have been ended.

“I was looking forward to getting a good pre-season under my belt,” said the former Sligo Rovers right back who is in Dublin for tomorrow’s under-21 European Championship qualifier against Georgia, “and I got the strangest injury ever. I got a blister and it just got infected on me. It was quite serious actually – the infection went to the bone and I could have lost my toe.”

The club were on tour in America and an immediate operation was required. Coleman has since made a good recovery and returned to reserve team action for the Merseysiders on Tuesday night against Manchester United.

Grant returns as Pompey director

AVRAM Grant has returned to Premier League club Portsmouth as technical director of the struggling south coast side, the Israeli said.

The 54-year-old, who replaced Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager in September 2007 before being sacked the following May, was technical director at Portsmouth from June 2006 to July 2007.

“I am happy to return to the best league in the world, the English league,” Grant said.

Briatore's QPR position to be decided

FLAVIO Briatore’s future as QPR owner is expected to be decided at a Football League board meeting tomorrow.

Briatore was recently banned from Formula One for his role in “crashgate” – where he instructed Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash in 2008 to facilitate Fernando Alonso’s race victory – which could deem him unfit to own a football club under league rules.

It is understood the FIA will provide evidence to the Football League over the matter.

“We have a board meeting tomorrow and have at least a couple of fit-and-proper person issues which we will address,” said Lord Mawhinney, chairman of the Football League.

Mawhinney also warned clubs of the long-term perils of relying on mega-rich benefactors and expressed his alarm at escalating player wages.

Maradona to review position

DIEGO Maradona, unhappy with interference in his job as Argentina coach, will review his position after their final World Cup qualifier away to Uruguay in Montevideo next Wednesday, he said yesterday.

“If I carry on, it will be on my terms,” Maradona told reporters after a squad practice, adding he would discuss the job with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona.

Local media said Maradona, whose team are in danger of failing to qualify for the 2010 finals in South Africa, was unhappy technical director Carlos Bilardo had taken decisions without consulting him.

Bilardo reportedly publicised a squad list of home-based players for a friendly against Ghana last week without consulting Maradona.

Maradona returned from a 10-day break in Italy and told reporters he was in sole charge and “no-one imposes players on me”.

Argentina face Peru in Buenos Aires on Saturday and Uruguay away, with qualification for the 2010 finals hanging in the balance.