Manchester United: 'I've struggled at times' says Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria: It's been a mixed start for me in England

Angel di Maria has admitted he has struggled to get to grips with football in England but says he has had similar experiences when moving between countries before.

Despite flashes of brilliance at time this season, the Argentina midfielder has failed to deliver consistency for Manchester United who he joined from Real Madrid last summer.

The 27-year-old has also played for Portuguese giants Benfica and he told the United website: "I’ve had a couple of games where things haven’t gone as well as they could have.

"I think it’s part of that settling-in process to the English game. I started off quite well but I think that then made expectations rise and everyone thought I would just carry on in the same way.

“But football is like that, sometimes you have these ups and downs. It took me a while to settle fully in each of the countries where I’ve played before.

“I just have to keep working hard and focusing on what I want, which is to do as well as I possibly can."

Jose Mourinho: Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona for rest of career

Lionel Messi: Made public statement on Barca future last month

Lionel Messi will end his career at Barcelona, Jose Mourinho believes.

Chelsea were among the clubs linked with a move for Messi when his relationship with Barca boss Luis Enrique was under the spotlight around the turn of the year.

At the time Mourinho said UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations would scupper any move for the four-time Ballon d'Or winner, and Messi later made a point of reaffirming his commitment to Barca.

And the Chelsea boss has now told La Gazzetta dello Sport's new television channel he expects to see the Argentine in a Barca shirt until the day he retires.

"I have the feeling that Messi will always be at Barcelona," he said. "I may be wrong and nobody knows what will happen in the future.

"My feeling is that a player of his dimension and significance for a club like Barca, I do not see Barcelona opening the door for Messi to go.

"I do not see Messi playing with another shirt which is not Barcelona’s. I may be wrong, but this is my feeling."

Jonathan’ll not sack Jega but… – FG

The Minister of Culture and Tourism and the Supervising Minister of Information, Chief Edem Duke, has debunked the rumour making rounds that President Jonathan has an agenda to sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, illegally.

The Minister spoke during his maiden meeting with information correspondents at Radio House, Abuja, adding however, that ‘’this is not to say that, if it is time for INEC chairman to naturally exit his office, then the natural course of public service rule will not take place when he has reached age of retirement or exhausted his tenure.”

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega

He said, “I align myself with Mr. President that he has no plan to sack the INEC chairman. President Jonathan reaffirmed the confidence reposed on the INEC chairman and reiterated that the administration has no plan whatsoever to send the electoral umpire illegally packing. Bu nothing would debar the INEC boss from proceeding on retirement when the need arises, in line with the civil service rule and as enshrined in the constitution.’’

Although the Minister did not explain further it was gathered that the administration was angry with Jega for introducing the Card Reader as a means of accreditation for the general elections without briefing the Federal Government over the issue.

‘’Jega wants to try a new system of accreditation without briefing the Presidency over the issue. No freedom is absolute. Section 125 of the constitution forbids electronic voting. Although the card reader can not be used for voting, it is for checking voters.

‘’Secondly, the point Jega also missed is that Nigeria is not a place you can introduce that type of system without trial or experimentation. You try some of these things using local government elections .You can start with council election, beginning with councilors, local government chairmen in that other before you proceed to governorship and presidential elections.

‘’But Jega is starting his experiment with the presidential election, It is wrong even though people are playing politics with the matter,’’ the source told Saturday Vanguard.

Meanwhile, Duke has urged media practitioners to beware of rumour mongers and ensure that that they separate truth from propaganda that was now the order of the day in the country due to the ongoing   electioneering campaigns.

“With the elections around the corner, it is important for every one of us to apply some sense of decorum, sense of patriotism and sense of judgmental guide in a manner that whatever we do, especially at this critical time of our nation’s development, we must be guided strictly by spirit of professionalism and love of our country.

‘Those who are competing for offices in the course of these elections are the ones feeding social media with propaganda because they have no records to back their aspiration; they had spent a lot of resources, time and ingenuity building social media propaganda so that by the time campaign commenced, they were ready with propaganda against government in power.

“They embark on massive publicity campaign, recruit electoral PR companies to sell products that do not exist and these are thrown to the public during election. But we must realise that truth struck a thousand times will always rise again because the eternal age of time belongs to truth.

“You can’t use social media to say 14 new universities were not build, import bill has not dropped with marshal plan for agricultural revolution. You cannot use the social media to blindfold Nigerians that government has not build over 125 Almajiri schools or that 22 airports were not remodeled or five new international airports are not being built. You can’t say Nigeria is not the biggest economy in Africa and that inflation is not at single digit with a growth rate that has positioned Nigeria as one of the six fastest growing economies in the world,” he further said

Claim of Tinubu’s plans designed to dampen Buhari’s success – APC - See more below --

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the sickening and outlandish claim by the Jonathan campaign Organization that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu plans to become Vice President through the back door was designed to divert attention from the runaway success of the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, at the Chatham House in London last Thursday.

In a statement issued in London on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the PDP and the Jonathan Administration still do not have any answer to what has now become an epochal moment that has separated the wheat from the chaff.

”Our presidential candidate’s globally-acclaimed outing has presented Nigerians, and indeed the global community, with a choice between a bumbling, ineffective, incoherent, clueless, visionless and incompetent President and an assertive, knowledgeable, dignified, purposeful and principled President-in-waiting.

”Having failed to discredit that outing with a rented crowd, some of whom confessed to have been paid to carry placards they do not even understand, the PDP and the Jonathan Administration have now resorted to making nauseating claims that are totally untrue, absolutely incomprehensible and nothing but sheer bunkum,” it said.

APC said the claim is the latest in a series of desperate moves by the PDP and the Jonathan Administration since the emergence of Gen. Buhari as the APC presidential candidate, and the clearest indication yet that they have no answer to the unstoppable momentum of a man of history.

”They have thrown everything imaginable at Gen. Buhari, but he has continued to wax stronger and stronger: They said he was not qualified, that he was too old, then they fabricated a medical report of an illness of their own choice, sponsored death wish adverts against him and instituted a myriad of court cases to stop him.

”After they failed to stop him, they went after the election itself, using the PVCs as a tool to launch a campaign for postponement and, when they realized that would not work, came up with the bogey of insecurity in the North-east to force a postponement of the election, hoping they can buy enough time to revive their electoral misfortune.

”With everything working against them, they engaged in a show of shame at The Chatham House that backfired badly, on the heels of their bare-faced lies that Gen. Buhari was hospitalized in London. The preposterous claim of a secret oath – reminiscent of what they do in their own party – by the apparently ailing spokesman of the Jonathan Campaign Organization, Femi Fani-Kayode, is their latest desperate act,” the party said.

APC said in as much as it has so far refrained from engaging Fani-Kayode in his game of character assassination, abuses and irresponsible name calling, the party is becoming seriously concerned that he may be caving in under pressure and reverting to his undignified past of substance abuse.

The party said it would be a real tragedy if the obviously-disturbed spokesman of a doomed presidential campaign will have to be rushed to a back house in Ghana for therapeutics, hence the need for his handlers to quickly put him on a leash before it is too late.

Lessons from Forensic Audit report on -NNPC-

Finally, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Forensic Audit Report draws the curtains on the fifteen-month drama in which the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was docked in the court of public opinion. The allegations that NNPC was not faithful to its fiduciary responsibility to the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria began like a child’s play. Initial steps taken to douse the issue including the inter-agency reconciliation committee led by the Ministry of Finance failed to get Nigerians to give NNPC a clean bill of health. 

From exchanges back and forth during the long drawn drama, it was clear that Nigerians were angry with NNPC. Some, in bitter postulations imagined that the Corporation was a haughty, profit-minded, slave-driving multi-national. However, nothing would obliterate the fact that the giant National Oil Company is 100% a Nigerian baby established and managed by Nigerians for Nigeria. - See more at: 


NNPC

But it bears observing   that the Corporation   over the years had treated mildly or even whitewashed similar allegations. Perhaps unconsciously, it assumed that simply   adhering strictly to its enabling legislation and   internationally acceptable corporate governance standards and ethics, it owed no duty to the man on the street. For those who held this opinion, the allegation of unremitted $49.8bn became   opportunity to deflate the mighty NNPC: It was not important whether the allegation was fabricated or not, making it stick would make the Corporation look bad, and lose face. Sad.

Maybe the furore and near-panic in government circles that greeted the allegation of missing $49.8 billion crude revenue could be attributed to the personality of the person who made the allegation, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now the Emir of Kano).

Moreover, the drama may not have played out for so long if Sanusi had remained consistent in his allegations. From the original $49.8 billion, the former CBN governor later came down to the sum of $10.8 billion as the amount that was unremitted by NNPC. That was at a press conference where the Inter-Agency Reconcilliation Committee announced its preliminary findings that $39 billion had actually been remitted to the Federation Account. Members of the Committee were drawn from the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Petroleum Resources; Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS);   the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR); the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the CBN.

That same afternoon while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance, Sanusi informed the Committee that the balance of unremitted revenue to the Federation Account stood at $12 billion, not the $10.8 billion which he had earlier concurred to at the Inter-Agency Reconciliation Committee press conference. At this point the Senate Committee dismissed the Inter-Agency Committee urging it to reconcile their positions before next appearance.

Two months later when the Inter-Agency Committee returned to the Senate Committee and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who led the team reported that out of the outstanding $10.8 billion previously stated, it had certified and signed off on the claims of NNPC to the tune of $8.7 billion for petroleum products subsidy. Sanusi, who was present at the hearing, expressed satisfaction with the findings of the committee.

It was at that hearing that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala averred that the Committee had no technical competence to verify the claims of $2.1 for pipeline repairs and maintenance, and strategic reserves and suggested that forensic auditors be engaged to examine the expenditure as claimed by the NNPC.

However, like one launching an ambush, stepping out of the Senate Chambers, Sanusi in a prepared press statement stated that $20 billion was the new amount yet to be remitted to the Federation Account by NNPC and not the $12 billion he had earlier alleged or the 10.8 billion given by the Inter-Agency Committee.

Sanusi’s allegations raised other issues including questions as to whether or not kerosene was still being subsidised; how much is NNPC allowed to hold back in its kitty from crude oil sales to defray its operating costs and expenses; and how much should it keep for holding Strategic Stock Reserves.

Fifteen months later, the PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic audit report not only affirmed NNPC’s long held position that allegations of unremitted crude oil revenue or missing oil revenue – whether $49.8bn or $20bn or $12bn or $10.8bn – was a farce from day one, it also answered the questions on kerosene subsidy.

The report   asserted that the entire revenue accruable to the Federation Account during the period under investigation was $50.81 billion and not $48.9 billion as alleged by Sanusi. The amount has been fully accounted for and clearly categorised under the various components of the accruable revenue.

The report confirmed the earlier position of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, that subsidy on kerosene was still in force as the Presidential directive of October 19, 2009, was not gazetted as required by law, and that there exists no other legal instrument cancelling subsidy on kerosene.

The PwC report did also raise the issue of ‘outstanding $1.48 billion’ being ‘signature bonus due for divested assets and taxes/royalties’ which it recommended should be remitted by NNPC to the Federation Account. Was that not an indictment on NNPC?

The NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Joseph T. Dawha in his explanation described the $1.48 billion as comprising of signature bonus, taxes, and royalties on the oil wells divested by Shell, which NNPC acquired and transferred to its upstream subsidiary, the Nigeria Petroleum Development company, NPDC. Signature bonus, according to Dr Dawha, represents the book value of the assets and was estimated at $1.847bn by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

However, NNPC raised issues with the parameters used in calculating the signature bonus since the assets involved were old wells. NNPC had paid $300 million pending when both parties would come to terms on a mutually acceptable estimate of the book value of the assets.

The NNPC boss submits therefore that the $1.48 billion was not part of the alleged unremitted revenue from crude oil sales or missing oil revenue. And going by the explanation, the $1.48 is not an amount willingly withheld by NNPC but rather an amount which was in dispute by two sister agencies and so the recommendation of the PwC forensic audit report can be seen as a resolution of the dispute. It is therefore erroneous for anyone to see it as an indictment of the NNPC in anyway.

It would be recalled that the Senate had also come up with a similar report after its painstaking investigation of the allegation. The Senate Committee on Finance’s probe report also answered in the affirmative questions raised over the right of NNPC to defray its operational costs before remitting to the Federation Account and the subsistence of kerosene subsidy. It concluded just like the PwC Audit Report that NNPC’s right to defray its operation costs is established in the NNPC Act.

Many Nigerians obviously do not like this; but this does not make it illegal. The Senate as part of the National Assembly holds the solution to the problem through the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill which has been proposed to give legal backing to the reforms recommended in both reports.

Beyond the hoopla and hysteria, were there any lessons gained from the Sanusi allegations? Several! A significant lesson is that openness and transparency should be the rule of the thumb in the transactions of a public enterprise like the NNPC.

Secondly, the public deserves to know how its oil wealth is being managed. As a matter of fact, one assumes that the NNPC has learnt the vital lesson that explanation of issues regarding its transactions does not have to be just once and that it owes it a duty to the Nigerian public to explain as many times as necessary till the people understand and assimilate the issues.

All said and done, the legislature and executive must be proactive in terms of putting in place legislations, institutions and processes that make for robust inter-agency interactions to eliminate the kind of misunderstanding that led to the allegation in the first place. If such proactive measures had been in place the pains and costs of the past fifteen months could have been avoided.

Robert Mugabe turns 91 with million dollar birthday bash .

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday will celebrate his 91st birthday will a million dollar bash attended by thousands of faithful party supporters.

As elephants are slaughtered for the feast at a luxury hotel in Zimbabwe’s famed Victoria Falls, critics are questioning the scale of the festivities, calling them “obscene” in a country where millions live in poverty.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is the world’s oldest leader.

While he is hailed by many of his African peers as a liberation hero, critics say that over the following decades he turned the “breadbasket of southern Africa” into a basket case, trampling human rights, justice and democracy.

Mugabe’s violent seizure of white-owned farms triggered food shortages and hyper-inflation, while Europe and the United States imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe over elections seen as rigged.

Obama Demands Full Investigation of 'Brutal' Nemtsov Murder

US President Barack Obama condemned what he called the “brutal” and “vicious” murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin who was shot dead in Moscow on Friday.

“We call upon the Russian government to conduct a prompt, impartial and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his murder and ensure that those responsible for this vicious killing are brought to justice,” Obama said in a statement.

“Nemtsov was a tireless advocate for his country, seeking for his fellow Russian citizens the rights to which all people are entitled.”

“I admired Nemtsov’s courageous dedication to the struggle against corruption in Russia and appreciated his willingness to share his candid views with me when we met in Moscow in 2009,” added Obama, calling Nemtsov a “dedicated” and “eloquent defender” of rights.

She go say, I be -lady- o-

The birth of Feminism was made possible as a result of education, industrialisation and technology which combined with other elements to create a new individual consciousness, especially for women.

Today, the average female is no longer an epitome of the meek and mild sheep. She has come a long way to claim an enviable place for herself in all areas of human endeavours.  And so, she believes that what a man can do, a woman can also, and even do better. Late Fela Anikulapo aptly describes the new African woman and her desires to level up with the man at all cost in one of his numerous evergreen hits, “she go say I be lady o”.

And sexual liberation is definitely now on her front burner. Several decades back, chastity and virginity used to be prerequisites for marriage. Young ladies found wanting paid dearly for their gross indiscipline and recklessness, their families inclusive. Today, sexual compatibility and even confirmation of fertility is a condition for marriage even among acclaimed religious individuals and groups. And for many women, sex is no longer the archaic romp in the sack.

Consensual sex must be mutually satisfying and benefiting to the partners. And most women are no longer burying their faces in the sand like the ostrich any longer. Let’s look at these three accounts together and you may want to share your views on them with me. You may reach me via email address: yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk or inthesunlovezone@yahoo.com . Happy reading!

Sandra, (46), PR Manager and mother:

I am the dominant one in my marriage. My husband is an extreme introvert. He needs to be pushed to do almost anything. On a normal day, his routine is just go to work, return home, watch television if not too tired and go to bed. He prefers to stay at home weekends than go out, so I determine our outings. He loves to take care of the kids and even up till now, what I do mainly is to cook all the food, (stews and soups) and   leave the rest to the housemaids under his supervision.

Initially, I used to worry about what our family and friends would say if when they see him helping out so much, but with time, I got used to the fact that it is his nature. His siblings and mother confirmed that he’d been that way since he was a child. So, naturally, this applies to our sex life. My husband may not request for sex for three or four weeks if I don’t insist.

It was the same while we were courting. I thought he was just shy and considerate and this further convinced me that he was the right man for me. It wasn’t until we got married that I discovered he had very little sexual experience and desire. I am an extreme extrovert and needless to say that I’d had a number of relationships before we met, some of them sexual. So, I was a bit disappointed. However, I am not one to pretend with people and definitely not with my husband. If I didn’t take things into my own hands, I am sure I will be cheating seriously on him by now.

In bed, I am the boss. If I don’t insist, we may not do anything except hold each other, cuddle and kiss for weeks. I can’t hold out as long as he can, so, I just ask him. Asking on its own does not usually work for him, unless he really wants to. So, I have to be creative many a time. The kids know that once they see the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, they dare not knock.

They have to use the phone and it must be for something important. It’s a rule I have laid down and its sacred. Our bedroom is our shrine. I created it to my taste when we built our house. I have lighting, flowers, perfumes and sexy night wears.   Depending on my mood, I choose what I want and tell him how I want it done.

On nights dedicated to him, he can’t orgasm until he begs me when he cannot control himself any longer. The aim is not for me to achieve orgasm, it’s for him to enjoy himself. On my own nights, the focus is mainly foreplay or oral sex, because penile sex don’t do much for me. I give the commands and encourage him with dirty talks.

And on other times, we just flow with the tide like normal people. When I tell my friends, some have their doubts but most of them who really know us, hardly question me. I count myself lucky that I met my husband. If it were any other man, I doubt he would allow me the freedom I have. I pity many of my friends who tell me dry stories about their marriages and sex life. (In many marriages, husbands dictate what constitutes sex, when and how it is performed).

Chinyere, (30), employed single:

Sometimes when you are pushed to the wall, you may resort to do unconventional things. It cost me a lot at the time, but I got over it eventually. And because of my boldness, I was able to earn some of the respect I had lost. Shortly after I gained admission into the University, I fell in love with a guy from my class who turned out to be a womaniser. Everything happened very fast and I compromised myself too early in the relationship.

I was not a virgin anyway, so it was not as if I had done something special. But by the time we resumed for the second semester, he already had eyes on some other girl in another faculty and started misbehaving. I was very sad because I had put so much into the relationship so quickly. I even pleaded with him, promising to change if only he would give me another chance. But he broke up with me and went on as if nothing happened between us, ignoring me most of the time. I felt really bad and ashamed of myself. Then, I started hearing stories about our relationship, especially our sexual activities together.

He told them that I had a funny sound I make when I had sex which sounded like a dog, whining and barking. He claimed he had no choice but to quickly use and dump me as he could not stand the noise. It was very humiliating. I may not know for certain the kind of sound I make during sex, but I definitely did not sound like a dog. Soon, I began thinking that everyone was making fun of me at my back. This also affected my self esteem and confidence and I started making excuses for not attending classes. Then, one evening at the hostel, one of the older girls came to my rescue. The only solution was to confront him in the open.

She told me how to go about it and turn the table around on him. After perfecting my rehearsals, I sought him out one day immediately after lectures when everyone had not yet dispersed. He was surprised that I could call his name out loud in class after we’d been avoiding each other for so long. And as all those who cared to listen turned, I dropped my bombshell. I told him that I’d been hearing stories about how he’d used and dumped me and how I would cry like a dog during sex.

I asked why he was not ashamed of himself and protect the little dignity he had left. I asked if he realised that he was not my first lover and that if I cried like a dog, it was because I did not enjoy what he was doing. I told him he could not have used me since it was our mutual decision to have sex and he had not raped me. I also told him that so far, he had the smallest penis I had ever seen and had no regrets that the relationship was over as I was going to end it anyways.

At that point, the whole class erupted in laughter, laughing and clapping. I advised him to go and sharpen   his sex skills and learn how to treat girls better. After my speech, my friends and I waltzed out of the class while he stood rooted to the ground as the clapping continued. Later, some people said I shouldn’t have done it because he could arrange for cult guys to deal with me.

But I was sure he would never do anything of such. I was able to kill two birds with one stone. Shut his mouth up for good as well as buy back my self confidence. (Sex na fall me, I fall you, according to sister Joyce)

Supo, (32), employed, single guy:

We had barely dated for a month when she came to visit me in Ibadan and called off the relationship. I really liked her and was not prepared for the breakup at all. I had never heard a lady tell me or anyone I know of, what this lady told me that faithful day. I had met her over the Christmas holiday in Lagos three years ago.

She seemed an okay girl and I concluded there was no reason we could not hit it off. I came to Lagos to see her two weeks after we met and we had sex at my place. I had thought she would leave but she told me she was spending the night. I thought I had struck gold and that she was indeed in love with me. All through the week, she kept asking if I was coming to Lagos for the weekend which I said no.

To my surprise, she told me she would come over and actually did. I promised to come over the next weekend but I could not make the trip. So, the following weekend, she asked me not to bother as she would prefer to make the journey. It was on this weekend that she called it off. She told me that the relationship was dead even before it took off as she would not date guys outside her state of residence. She had agreed only because she’d found me very attractive.

She said she enjoyed having sex and must do it as regularly as possible. She could not date me because there was no way she would not cheat on me, and she did not want to be accused of betraying my trust. I was dumbfounded for a few seconds, not really knowing how to respond. I could only thank her for telling me the truth and agreed to her decision.

Until then, I had never heard such a thing as a woman telling a man she likes sex and would not be faithful to him. I haven’t really gotten over it. In a way, I still appreciate her boldness and truthfulness. Most ladies have two or three lovers and still manage to convince all of them that they are faithful to them. (Surely, no parking on the dance floor!) Lols!

Do have a wonderful weekend!

two straight wins will assure Stoke a top-10 finish , say Mark Hughes

Mark Hughe:Want six ponits from Stoke's next two home games

Mark Hughes has urged Stoke to win their next two matches and virtually guarantee a top-10 finish.

Hull visit the Britannia Stadium on Saturday followed by Everton on Wednesday, and Hughes believes if Stoke take all six points on offer they will end the season in the top half of the Premier League table.

They head into the weekend four points clear of 11th-placed Newcastle - unlikely to trouble the European spots and clear of relegation strife - but Stoke boss Hughes insists there is still a tangible goal to play for.

"I think we can do that (guarantee a top-10 place) with two wins, certainly that will make the gap really difficult to overcome for the teams below," he said.

"That can help us because we want to get as high as we can. It's our priority, something we've talked about since the start of the season and it's still very much on for us if we win the games we know we're capable of."

Hull have taken seven points from their last three games to catapult themselves out of the bottom three, but Hughes does not expect his men to be outdone in terms of self-belief when the teams meet.

"There's been a couple of good results for Hull, but they needed them... they were on a terrible run in fairness," he added.

"They've been able to pick up points from the teams around them, which is important in their situation and winning breeds confidence so they'll be better mentally than they were three or four weeks ago.

"But we're in good nick ourselves and they won't be looking forward to coming here and matching themselves up against us."

Hughes also confirmed that negotiations over a contract extension were heading in the right direction.

"It's progressing well, there's will on both sides to get it done," he said. "It's a club that's still going places and we've got a lot to achieve here. The next few years can be really exciting."

Sky Bet Championship: Knee surgery ends Blackburn defender Shane Duffy's rest season

Shane Duffy: Out for the rest of the season

Blackburn have revealed centre-back Shane Duffy's season has been brought to a premature end after he underwent a knee operation.

Defender Duffy, 23, moved to Ewood Park at the start of the season from Premier League outfit Everton and has made 22 appearances.

However, he will be unable to add to that tally in any of Rovers' remaining Sky Bet Championship or FA Cup fixtures.

"It is devastating news both for the lad and the club," boss Gary Bowyer told his club's official website.

"He is an important member of the squad and it will be a big blow for him to miss important league and cup games."

Duffy tweeted: "Op went well this morning on my knee, gutted to miss the rest off this season but will come back stronger I've been through worse!

"Let's hope the lads have a strong finish to the season now and a big upset in the cup !! #COYB"

Aitor Karanka: Tells Middlesbrough to focus during run-in

Aitor Karanka: Tells Boro players to think only about themselves

Aitor Karanka has told his Middlesbrough players to concentrate on themselves as they attempt to fight their way back into the Barclays Premier League.

The Teessiders head into Saturday's Sky Bet Championship trip to Sheffield Wednesday sitting second in the table and in the best shape yet to secure a return to the top flight following relegation in 2009.

Boro suffered a shock home defeat by Leeds last weekend, while rivals Bournemouth went down 2-1 at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening, and Karanka knows there will be further twists and turns before the final placings are decided.

Karanka told the club's official website: "Everyone is going to lose points because we all know how difficult this league is.

"Now we have to think about ourselves because we have to win our games and if we do that, we'll be at the top.

"I don't want to think about what is going to happen in a few months' time. I will concentrate on the Sheffield game first, Millwall after that and then Nottingham Forest."

The football agents body call on FA to allow self regulation

The Association of Football Agents (AFA) are resisting imminent changes to their regulations and are lobbying the FA to let them govern themselves.

FIFA are about to hand the management of agents' practices to the national football associations, bringing with it a series of mandatory reforms, some of which the AFA claim are in breach of EU law.

The AFA have already filed a complaint to the European Commission and threatened the FA with legal action if they attempt to impose these measures, and as an alternative they have proposed the idea of self-regulation.

While admitting a self-regulating agents association is possible, the FA have told Sky Sports they will proceed with carrying out FIFA's measures and continue to govern agents' in England.

“As a member association, the FA is required to comply with the regulations and statutes laid down by FIFA,” a spokesperson said.

“Given that FIFA has set mandatory requirements regarding agents and intermediaries to be applied by national associations, the FA will continue to regulate in this area.

“The establishment of a self-regulating agents association would be a decision for the agents themselves, but individuals would remain subject to the relevant football bodies’ rules and regulations in addition to standards an association might set for its members.”

The AFA and FA discussed these imminent changes at a meeting in Europe with other national associations this week.

And Mel Stein, chairman of the AFA, told Sky Sports he hoped the FA would agree to let his association govern themselves.

He said: “I've been banging on about self-regulation to the FA for years but they've been reluctant to change.

“We're not represented within the FA. The Premier League, Football League, PFA and even the League Managers Association all have a seat on the FA Council, but we don't and it's ridiculous.

“We have already complained to the EU Commission and threatened the FA with legal action over the changes FIFA are implementing.

“And at the meeting it seemed that, for the first time, most agreed self-regulation would work and we hope the FA will agree that this is the sensible way forward for everyone.”

FIFA's changes, which come into effect on April 1, include all transfer deals being annually published online, a total prohibition on agents' fees for players under the age of 18, and a reduction in the cap on all agents fees from 5% to 3%.

But the changes also mean agents will no longer be required to have a license, which the AFA argues would allow persons without proper checks and qualifications to act as an 'intermediary' in a transfer deal.

Manchester United Ex chief executive backs Sepp Blatter's FIFA World Cup stance.

David Gill: In favour of a World Cup final before December 23

Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill says Sepp Blatter's suggestion that the 2022 World Cup final should not be played later than December 18 is “a move in the right direction.”

Speaking before an International Football Association Board meeting in Belfast on Friday, FIFA president Blatter said he was against the idea of the 2022 final in Qatar being played on December 23.

And Gill, who now sits on UEFA's executive committee, is pleased Blatter is against the idea of playing the biggest match in world football two days before Christmas.

"I'm encouraged by the fact president Blatter has come out and said it can't be on the 23rd and the 18th would be the latest it can be which I think is at least a move in the right direction," he told reporters.

The Premier League have been strong opponents of the planned winter World Cup in Qatar but Gill insists it is now time to accept it and move on.

"It's been decided, let's get on with it,” he said.

“Some of the European leagues that have breaks in January have a bigger problem than the Premier League does.

"There will still be 380 games in the Premier League, 38 per club. We'll still have a great season in 2022-23.

“There will have to be compromise on all fronts. Maybe friendlies will have to be given up, FA Cup replays may be dropped, the League Cup semi-final might be one leg. Everyone has to give something up."

Liverpool: Cleared by UEFA of breaching FFP rules

Liverpool: Cleared by UEFA of breaching FFP rules

Liverpool have been cleared of breaching UEFA Financial Fair Play rules but Hull have reached a settlement with European football's governing body.

The Anfield club were found to have satisfied "the break-even requirement" and were no longer under investigation.

UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) announced the decisions following a meeting on Friday

Put simply, the Reds lost around £50m in the 2012/13 season but because they spent most of the money on infrastructure, their stadium and training ground UEFA were happy with the amount spent.

UEFA investigated the clubs' accounts on their return to European club competitions this season, which is the second year of sanctions being applied.

Ian Ayre, Liverpool's chief executive officer, said following the judgement: "During this review period, the club was going through a transitional period having just emerged from a difficult financial and operational position under previous ownership.

"Since FSG took over in October 2010, we have stabilised the club and made good overall progress by taking a measured approach to our financial position as we worked towards FFP compliance"

Ian Ayre

"Since FSG took over in October 2010, we have stabilised the club and made good overall progress by taking a measured approach to our financial position as we worked towards FFP compliance.  We have always been supportive of the principles of FFP and welcome today’s announcement"

Hull were found to be in breach of the rules, however, and agreed to pay a settlement of around £145,000 (200,000 euro) with the club's accounts continuing to be monitored by UEFA for the next year.

Hull manager Steve Bruce pointed out the accounting period went back to a time when the club were losing money trying to get out of the Championship.

Bruce said: "I think we all understand that the only reason is because of when we were in the Championship, and because we qualified for a UEFA tournament.

"We're all becoming accustomed that FFP is out there, we've been given two or three years to make sure we're alright and after that we should be in a healthy position.

"It's tough on us because the only reason we've come under investigation is a) because we've qualified for a UEFA tournament and b) because of when we were in the Championship.

"It's very, very difficult. "

City played in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League this season for the first time, but would have to pay an additional £290,000 if they were not compliant with FFP for the 2015/16 season.

UEFA introduced the financial monitoring project in 2011 to curb overspending on players.

Israeli club Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Panathinaikos of Greece and Poland's Ruch Chorzow joined Hull in settling payments for excessive losses while Czechs Sparta Prague joined Liverpool in satisfying the break-even rule to escape financial punishment.

The CFCB's investigations into Monaco, Internazionale, Sporting Lisbon and Roma are to continue.

In new cases, UEFA revealed they were investigating the accounts of Moscow clubs Dynamo and Lokomotiv.

Updated:Real Madrid look to continue recovery from derby mauling when they host Villarreal

Cristiano Ronaldo: Back in the goals again

The European champions Real Madrid will be looking to continue their recovery from their derby mauling when host high-flying Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 5 HD.

Barcelona’s shock 1-0 defeat to Malaga last weekend allowed Madrid to open a four-point advantage after they put in one of their best La Liga performances in weeks in a 2-0 win over Elche, making it three wins of the same scoreline since that 4-0 capitulation at Atletico.

World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo scored his side’s second at the Martinez Valero to end a three-game La Liga goal drought and open up a three-goal lead over Lionel Messi, 29-26, in their dual for the Pichichi top scorer award.

Scott Minto and the Revista team answer your tweets on the pressing issues in La Liga

Villarreal will be no pushovers though. The Yellow Submarine are riding high in sixth place, and sailed through to the last-16 of the Europa League with a 5-2 aggregate victory over Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday.

Team news

Real winger Gareth Bale has returned to training with his team-mates as he continues his recovery from a minor ankle problem, the La Liga leaders said on Friday.         

Guillem Balague said that Malaga boss Javi Garcia executed a perfect game plan is his side’s win against Barcelona

Bale had been absent from training this week after taking a knock in last weekend's victory at Elche and should be available for Sunday's home game against sixth-placed Villarreal.       

"Gareth Bale joined up with the group and everyone completed a training session that was once again centred around ball work," Real said on their website.         

Centre back Sergio Ramos and midfielders James Rodriguez and Sami Khedira are still sidelined as they continue their recuperation from injuries, the European champions added.

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his 'mini' goal drought by scoring in Real's 2-0 away win at Schalke in the Champions League

Villarreal’s in-form Russian winger Denis Cheryshev will be miss out as he is on-loan from Madrid.