Today's other stories in brief
Mascherano to use ban wisely
JAVIER Mascherano will use his four-match ban to recover from a knee injury after Liverpool confirmed that he has a medial ligament sprain.
The midfielder injured himself and was then red-carded following a reckless challenge on Portsmouth’s Tal Ben-Haim in the 2-0 defeat at Fratton Park.
Mascherano will miss the games against Wolves, Aston Villa, the FA Cup tie with Reading, and Tottenham on January 10th.
Robinho not for Barcelona
BARCELONA president Joan Laporta insists the newly-crowned Club World Cup champions will not be making a renewed bid to sign Robinho after revealing Manchester City rejected their initial offer.
The Brazil playmaker has claimed previously he would welcome a move to the Nou Camp, prompting Barca to open negotiations with City. But the Eastlands club, now under new coach Roberto Mancini, turned down Barca’s opening bid.
Laporta, speaking in an interview with Catalan radio station Rac1, said: “We are very happy with the squad but if we have to make any improvements we will do.
“The conditions we set out for Robinho were not acceptable to City and since the squad are developing so well, unless there are any unforeseen last-minute changes, we will not be signing anyone in January.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona central defender Gerard Pique is poised to extend his contract with the Spanish and European champions beyond its current end date in 2012.
Everton's Rodwell out for four weeks
EVERTON midfielder Jack Rodwell will be out for four weeks with a hamstring injury.
The 18-year-old sustained the injury after eight minutes of last week’s Europa League defeat by BATE Borisov and, after a scan on Friday, he will miss the Christmas fixtures against Sunderland and Burnley in the Premier League, and Carlisle in the FA Cup.
Rodwell, who has made 22 starts this season, joins fellow midfielders Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville on the Goodison injury list.
WIGAN’S Premier League match at home to Bolton last night was postponed because of the severe weather conditions in the north west.
Heavy snow in the region over the weekend has made roads treacherous in the area, although the playing surface at the DW Stadium was actually deemed playable.
However, safety concerns regarding the public areas surrounding the ground, which are still covered in snow and ice, meant the club had no option but to call off the match.
Ferguson rules out signings to ease defensive crisis
ALEX Ferguson has ruled out making new signings to ease his defensive injury crisis. United lost for the second time in three games when they were hammered at Fulham on Saturday.
The result leaves them four points adrift of leaders Chelsea and Ferguson is acutely aware that unless United’s form improves quickly, they can forget about a record fourth consecutive title.
With seven senior defenders – Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, John O’Shea, Gary Neville and Rafael Da Silva – out of action, plus keeper Edwin van der Sar, it was felt Ferguson may make an emergency signing.
However, with the majority of his players due back at some point in January, Ferguson will not be making any additions.
“That is not come onto the agenda,” he said. “We hope that Wes Brown will be back in a week or 10 days’ time, Rio Ferdinand is improving, Gary Neville is getting there and Rafael Da Silva has now started training.”
Deegan joins Coventry City
BOHEMIANS midfielder Gary Deegan has signed for English Championship side Coventry City on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The 22-year-old, who was named in the 2009 League of Ireland PFAI Team of the Season, will be available for Coventry when they take on Barnsley at home on January 9th.
The former Bohemians, Galway United, Longford Town and Shelbourne playmaker attracted interest from a number of clubs. He was a key figure in the Gypsies’ back-to-back Premier Division title-winning sides in 2008 and 2009 when the Dubliner scored five goal in 34 appearances.
“We are delighted to have secured Gary’s signature and we believe we have acquired not only a very good technical footballer but also a very tenacious and hard-working one,” said Chris Coleman, Coventry City’s manager.
CRISTIANO Ronaldo admits he is missing life at Manchester United but insists he made the right choice to move to Real Madrid.
Ronaldo misses life at United
The Portuguese winger, who left United for a record €90 million fee in the summer, said his challenge now is to help Real challenge the dominance of Barcelona as the best club in the world.
Alex Ferguson’s side have hit a poor patch of form but Ronaldo dismisses the pundits who believe they are struggling without him.
Ronaldo, speaking in Zurich ahead of the Fifa world player award, said: “I think Manchester United are doing very well this season – they have lost the last two games but they are still second in the league.
“What people think about me is their opinion but I really miss Manchester a little bit as I played there for six years and I left a few friends there.
“So I miss the club a little bit but I’m focused now at Real Madrid and I’m really, really happy there.”
Kroenke moves closer to takeover bid
AMERICAN businessman Stan Kroenke has moved a step closer to launching a takeover bid for Arsenal having increased his stake in the club.
Kroenke is now within 17 shares of the threshold that forces him to make a takeover bid having invested another lump sum into the north London outfit.
The club have confirmed that the Denver-based businessman acquired 25 more shares last week, costing €239,000. That takes his stake to 29.9 per cent – if he reaches 30 per cent he has to make an offer for the remaining shares.
Russian investor Alisher Usmanov is the clubs second-largest shareholder with 26 per cent, but he has not been invited on to the board of directors.
