Newcastle train sights on Delap's 'grenades'

SOCCER ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:STOKE CITY fans have dubbed them RPGs - Rory Propelled Grenades - and Rory Delap's long throws have become such a potent weapon that opponents, such as Newcastle United on Saturday, are concentrating on how to contain the threat.

The Newcastle midfielder, Danny Guthrie, has said that the club's training this week has been focused on dealing with Delap's throw-ins, which have the speed and trajectory of a corner kick, and can find their way into the area from almost anywhere in the opposition half. They are no longer Stoke's secret weapon, but Guthrie claimed that does not make them any easier to deal with.

"I've never seen anything like it before," he said. "We'll be doing a bit of work to counter it because it's got them a few points this season. It's hard to practise against, because we don't have anyone who can throw it in like Delap does.

"We can kick it in or hurl it in at a different angle, but it's the trajectory of his throws that makes them so difficult to defend. They come in hard and low, and it's hard to replicate that in training. We've been trying though, and we'll be coming up with a few plans.

"Everybody has made a big deal of it this season, so it's not like we're going into the game not expecting it. Maybe we'd rather kick it out for a corner than concede a throw - that's something we'll be discussing."

Having earned creditable goalless draws at Chelsea and Middlesbrough, Newcastle desperately need to follow that up with a win. With that in mind Guthrie believes the decision to give Joe Kinnear a managerial contract until the end of the season was needed, to give the team stability.

He said: "It's nice to know that he is going to be here until the end of the season and it's good for him to know that as well. He knows where he stands, so everyone can just get on with things now."

Meanwhile, the English Football Association has decided not to take disciplinary action against Liverpool following the club's public show of support for Michael Shields, the supporter jailed for an attack on a Bulgarian waiter in 2005 and whose controversial case goes before a judicial review today.

Liverpool, in conjunction with the Spirit of Shankly Supporters Union and the Shields family, staged a protest against the 22-year-old's conviction before Monday's goalless draw with West Ham. The demonstration involved players wearing T-shirts with the slogan Free Michael Now before kick-off, the Kop holding aloft a mosaic with the same message and the actress Sue Johnston, accompanied by Shields' parents, making a speech on the pitch in which she called on the justice secretary, Jack Straw, to "do the right thing".

The FA was alarmed by Liverpool's backing for a man convicted of a serious crime and contacted senior club officials for an explanation yesterday. Having advised Liverpool against making further political messages, it elected not to take the matter on. World football's governing body, Fifa, confirmed it had contacted the FA over the events at Anfield but that any disciplinary measures were the responsibility of the host authority.

"We have spoken to Liverpool Football Club today about this matter," said an FA spokesperson. "We understand that Michael Shields' case is a very emotive issue and one that many Liverpool players and fans feel strongly about. Having heard the club's explanation we will not be taking any formal action and we are satisfied that they understand the sensitivities around football matches being used as a platform for political messages."

Shields was jailed for 15 years, later reduced to 10 years on appeal, for the attempted murder of Martin Georgiev, who suffered a fractured skull and brain damage after being struck on the head with a paving stone at the Golden Sands holiday resort in Bulgaria. The Liverpool fan has always protested his innocence and despite another man, Graham Sankey, confessing to the crime, a statement he later retracted, he has failed to have his conviction overturned.

Shields has since been transferred to HMP Haverigg in Cumbria to serve the remainder of his sentence having been refused a pardon by the Bulgarian president, Georgi Parvanov.

• Guardian Service