Breitner: Premier League is ´laughable´

Championship club Southampton are on the brink of becoming English football s first major casualty of the credit crunch after missing an end-of-March deadline to secure new financing.

Trading in the shares of the club s parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings, were suspended on Wednesday, a day after the expiry of the deadline for securing new funds.

The company warned that it would not be viable without fresh funds, which are likely to prove difficult to find in the current economic climate.

The company is currently in discussions with a number of parties concerning the injection of additional finance into its business, Southampton Leisure Holdings said in a statement.

Unless this funding is secured, the company will be unable to continue as a vi…

Reviving a women s pro football league in the United States during harsh economic times has been a challenge, but Women s Pro Soccer (WPS) is on course to meet goals for quality and stability.

The seven-team league reaches the midpoint of its inaugural season this week with elite talent from around the world, an average of about 5,400 fans a match and two expansion teams paying one million dollars each to start in 2010.

It s thrilling and exhausting at the same time, WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci said. Anyone in any start up finds that surge and excitement. You get passionate about the sport.

After a collegiate career as a Stanford midfielder, long-time business executive Antonucci has picked up the pieces from the Women s United Soccer Association that fol…

Antonio Conte has been urged to stay at Juventus and resist the lure of coaching elsewhere by the club s former manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

Conte, who played under Trapattoni at Juve, has guided the Turin club to successive Serie A titles since returning to the club in a managerial capacity in May 2011.

The 44-year-old former Italy international has recently been mooted in the media as a possible successor to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

But Trapattoni believes Conte is well placed to enjoy more success domestically and in Europe if he remains with Juve, who are third in Serie A behind leaders Roma and Napoli.

I do feel ready to give him some advice: the longer he resists the fascination of trying a different league, the better, Trapattoni told Tuttosport.

I …

Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed he is to leave Malaga at the end of the season.

The Chilean has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City following the departure of Roberto Mancini and had previously spoken about how unlikely it was that he would remain at Malaga.
However, he confirmed this morning that he and his coaching staff will leave the club, having been there since 2010.
My coaching staff and I are separating from Malaga but our union with this city will be eternal, he is quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper website Marca.com.
I m going for sporting reasons, he added.
Pellegrini guided Malaga to the UEFA Champions League semi-final this season, where they were knocked out by Borussia Dortmund.
…

Spanish side Valencia are reportedly keen on Serbia international Filip Kostic.

The 25-year-old pacey winger is one of the highest earners at the German club Hamburger SV and looks set to lead the exodus following the relegation to Bundesliga 2.

Valencia have been long-term admirers of Kostic having followed him closely for the past two years and will look to exploit the fact HSV will sell their biggest stars during the summer transfer window.

According to the latest reports coming from European papers, negotiations between the two sides are already advanced. Premier League side Southampton were said to be in the running for his signature but the prospect of playing the Champions League in Spain looks too tempting.

Valencia are expected to pay around €…

Pep Guardiola has again insisted he does not want Lionel Messi to leave Barcelona despite speculation he could join Manchester City at the end of the season.

A turbulent week at Camp Nou on and off the pitch has seen Messi s future come under scrutiny.

The club captain called out first-team technical secretary Eric Abidal on social media after the former Barca defender suggested some players had downed tools during Ernesto Valverde s final weeks as head coach.

Messi s response, in which he accused Abidal of dirtying the squad and urged him to name names in his criticism, has led to talk that he could utilise his option to have his contract cancelled at the end of 2019-20 and walk away from Barca for free.

PEP

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The draw for the World Cup play-offs in Europe has produced a few interesting ties. Russia will play surprise package Slovenia. Greece and Ukraine will face each other and Portugal have been paired with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The most interesting one for me however is the Republic of Ireland facing France.

Still seething

A lot of people have complained about the fact that the play-offs have been seeded and I think they are correct. The draw should be an open draw. Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given is absolutely seething. He told the press:

The seeding thing is totally unfair. As one of the smaller countries, it is hard enough to qualify at the best of times. To change the rules a couple of weeks before the end of the campaign is ridiculous.

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Yesterday saw Fulham beat Liverpool 3-1 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League. Liverpool may be poor at the moment but it was another big scalp for the West London outfit and their underrated manager Roy Hodgson.

Much Travelled

Roy Hodgson is a highly experienced coach who has managed all over the world and has made an impact wherever he has gone.

A Winner

He has won trophies in Sweden and Denmark and helped the Swiss national side to their first major tournament in 28 years as they qualified for the 1994 World Cup.

He also helped Inter to the UEFA Cup final 1997 before joining Premier League Blackburn Rovers. Rovers was his first top flight job in his native country and he was sacked in only his second season after helping them to the UEFA Cup…

Bastian Schweinsteiger can end his Manchester United nightmare at Stuttgart, says former Germany team-mate Kevin Grosskreutz.

The experienced midfielder has found himself frozen out at Old Trafford following the arrival of manager Jose Mourinho.

Schweinsteiger is yet to play a minute of first-team football this season, and was not included in United s Europa League squad.

The 32-year-old could be set to depart in the January transfer window and Grosskreutz, part of Germany s 2014 World Cup-winning squad alongside Schweinsteiger, would welcome his compatriot at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

He is in a difficult situation. But he deals with it well, Grosskreutz told Bild.

He can come to VfB in the winter everybody would be happy.

…

Turkish media outlet Haberturk has suggested that Chelsea have agreed to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.

The Blues were reportedly interested in the attacking midfielder last summer as well, but they have now made their interest concrete.

According to Haberturk, Calhanoglu has been given permission to speak to the Premier League side after a €20 million proposal was accepted.

The 22-year-old joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2014 after a highly successful spell with Hamburg and he went on to make 71 Bundesliga appearances for die Werkself, scoring 13 goals in the process.

Calhanoglu has been linked with a big club move for quite a while now, but the reported offer from Chelsea appears to have come out of the blue.

The…