Sky Sports | Football | News | MBE honour for Webb

Howard Webb admits it has been an 'amazing' year after the World Cup final referee was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List.

The South Yorkshire official took charge of Spain's victory over Holland in a stormy showpiece in South Africa back in July.

His appointment as the referee for football's biggest game followed on from taking charge of the club game's most important match - the UEFA Champions League final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.

The 39-year-old police sergeant, who is on a five-year break from South Yorkshire Police, became the first referee to be chosen to officiate at both finals in the same year.

Unbelievable

He said:"It has been an unbelievable 12 months and this honour tops off an amazing 2010.

"It will be a real treat to go to the Palace with my wife and family and it should be a marvellous occasion."

Though the Champions League final was straightforward enough with Inter winning 2-0, the World Cup final developed into one of the most challenging matches of Webb's refereeing career.

Holland's strong-arm tactics in the 1-0 defeat against Spain led to him showing 14 yellow cards, two of those leading to a red card for Everton's Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga.

Webb, the son of a Rotherham coal miner, took up refereeing in 1989 and refereed his first international match in 2005 while he was also in charge of the 2009 FA Cup final.

He added:"I always say refereeing is about your team, and without the support and ability of my assistants Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey I would not have been selected for the final, so this honour is for them too and it would be lovely if they could be recognised in a similar way at some point in the future.

"I look back on the final as an amazing and memorable experience.

"It was the highlight of my career and although it was a tough game to referee it will live with me forever in a very positive way."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Davies looks to retain Ramsey

Billy Davies is hoping that Nottingham Forest can agree an extension to Aaron Ramsey's loan deal.

The Arsenal midfielder joined the Reds at the end of November as he looks to step up his rehabilitation from a badly broken leg.

His efforts have been hampered by the recent cold snap, with the weather wreaking havoc on Forest's fixture list.

He has not been able to take in as many games as he would have liked as a result and is due back at Emirates Stadium on 3rd January.

Forest, though, are keen for the Wales international to remain with them for the foreseeable future and Davies hopes Arsene Wenger will allow the promising 20-year-old to stay on at the City Ground.

"It was nice to get Aaron Ramsey on the pitch. He is getting fitter and better and he had a decent performance,"Davies said after handing Ramsey his first start in Wednesday's 5-2 mauling of local rivals Derby.

"I have given a recommendation to the board with regards to him, we'll see what happens."

Injury

Davies is also hoping Ryan Bertrand will be sticking around at Forest in the New Year.

The Chelsea full-back is another due to return to his parent club in January, having taken in the first half of the season with the Reds.

The England U21 international did pick up a slight knock against Derby in midweek, and will be sidelined as a result, but Davies feels he would still be a useful asset to have around.

"Ryan has a hamstring problem which is going to sideline him for a few weeks,"the Scot told theNottingham Evening Post.

"It is in the hands of the panel (whether Bertrand's loan is extended). I have advised what I think should happen and we now have to see what can be done."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Hughes offers to slash salary

Richard Hughes is desperate to see his contract issues at Portsmouth resolved as soon as possible.

The midfielder faces an uncertain future as the New Year approaches, with his time at Fratton Park hanging in the balance.

After eight-and-a-half years of loyal service, he knows a goalscoring showing against Leeds on Tuesday may have been his last for the club.

One more appearance this term would trigger a 12-month extension clause in his contract, on Premier League wages.

Pompey cannot afford to pay him that kind of money and could be forced to overlook him for the remainder of the season.

Hughes hopes a solution can be found before he is restricted to the sidelines, with the offer of a 50 per cent salary cut already put to the board by his representatives.

He toldThe News:"You will have to ask the powers that be what is going on. Obviously, they have been very busy but I would have liked to have had it sorted out before now.

"I'm hopeful it can be because I love playing for Portsmouth and have never taken my time here for granted.

Appreciative

"I am appreciative of everything this football club has done for my career and just want to get out there and do what I love to do, which is play football.

"It's a difficult thing because I have read what has been said, and if I was a fan I would be asking questions about exactly what is happening.

"The people making the decisions know I would be delighted to take a significant salary decrease in order to waive this clause.

"I am not talking an insignificant amount either - I am talking 50 per cent because I appreciate financially things have to change. The last thing I want is for anybody to think I am being greedy.

"My agent has had a conversation with the chief executive[David Lampitt], it was very amicable and very professional.

"We made a proposal we think is fair in order to waive the clause, which means signing a contract from next season. As far as I am aware, it is left in their court and something can be achieved.'

Hughes added:"It's not a situation that has arisen overnight. It's been there for months and months and the talks probably started shortly before the Norwich game.

"I am sure if everything was running smoothly from the top to the bottom of the club it would have been addressed a long time ago."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Chamakh tipped to bounce back

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has backed Marouane Chamakh to rediscover his goal-scoring form 'very quickly'.

The Morocco international striker hit the ground running following his summer switch from Bordeaux, leading the line and netting 10 goals for the Gunners by the end of November.

But he has failed to find the net since, although Wenger has backed the 26-year-old to be back among the goals soon.

The Arsenal boss told the club'sofficial website:"I think he had a little dip very recently because he gave a lot since the start of the season.

"But he will come back very quickly.

"He played most of the time on his own up front fighting for every single ball.

"He was highly decisive in many games and of course that's why in the last two games he was a little bit jaded and had less capacity to make a sprinting difference.

"I'm very happy we have him at the club."

Vermaelen compensation

Meanwhile, Wenger has revealed the club have not pursued a claim for compensation regarding Belgium centre-back Thomas Vermaelen.

The 25-year-old has not played since sustaining an Achilles problem while on international duty in a Euro 2012 qualifier in September and Wenger believes he is unlikely to feature again before the end of January.

But the Arsenal boss said the club have not sought damages from the Belgian FA.

"We have not asked for it,"he said.

"The simple reason is that at first it was three or four days and now it is three or four months.

"It was an official game in Turkey so I don't know if we have a chance to do that (seek compensation)."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Cech - Arsenal more mature

Petr Cech feels Arsenal are well placed to launch a title tilt and believes they can have no more excuses.

The Gunners are among those battling it out for the top prize in the Premier League this season, with the race for top flight supremacy keenly-contested.

Reigning champions Chelsea are also there or thereabouts at the moment, with a recent wobble denting but not dashing their dreams.

Commanding keeper Cech is likely to be a key figure for the Blues over the coming weeks, especially in Monday's crucial clash at Emirates Stadium on Monday.

He knows Arsenal will be no pushovers on home soil, as Arsene Wenger's men have learnt how to grind results out, and insists the Gunners can no longer be regarded as an inexperienced side.

Stronger

"I am expecting them to be around the top spots,"Cech toldisport.blesk.cz.

"They have managed to edge some games with last-minute goals, which shows they are mentally stronger than in past seasons.

"A lot will depend on how they do in the big games and whether they can become consistent in those."

The crunch clashes have cost Arsenal dear over recent years, but Cech insists they cannot keep churning out the tired excuses of the past.

He added:"Their team has big potential, they aren't kids anymore like people often call them.

Expectation

"Most of them are around 25 years of age or older and have played many times. They are a top side that are expected to win all their games.

"They always get close to the top and then drop out."

The Czech shot-stopper added:"They sometimes get out-battled. You cannot win all the time just by playing nice football.

"Some years ago you could put it down to inexperience, but that's not an excuse for me now.

"Even their young players have been around for at least four seasons in the Premier League."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Tevez planning City stay

Carlos Tevez insists he has no plans to quit Manchester City despite suffering homesickness.

The Argentine ace has openly admitted he misses his children with reports even suggesting Tevez could retire early to return to his homeland.

However, Tevez is adamant he remains committed to City and has pledged to stay at Eastlands for the foreseeable future.

"I'm happy here. I really am,"Tevez told the club'sofficial magazine.

"I do miss my family, just like anyone would when they are not around.

"But I don't see retirement happening for a long time to come.

Sacrifice

"A sacrifice has to be made when you make a commitment like I have done with City and it is something I am going to see through.

"Once that job is done I will have plenty of time with my kids."

Tevez found himself shrouded in controversy last weekend when he was involved in a touchline bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini after being substituted against Bolton.

Former Manchester United star Tevez has played down the spat and insists incidents like that are regular occurrences at high-profile clubs.

"It is just like any club,"added Tevez."There are both good and bad vibes alike.

"The most important thing is that, as players, we are all pulling in the same direction and trying to do our best for the club.

"Anything that goes on between us (Tevez and Mancini) off the pitch or in the dressing room stays there and he and I keep on fighting for the club."

Pressure

Tevez added:"There is a lot of pressure within the club which the players are always stuck with.

"Sometimes the odd thing gets out of the dressing room through people who don't have the best interests of the club at heart.

"It's not big deal. You just have to live with it."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Crouch seeks consistency

Peter Crouch believes Tottenham can mount a title challenge, providing they become more consistent.

Harry Redknapp's side currently sit fifth in the Premier League standings, six points adrift of North London rivals and league leaders Arsenal.

They are unbeaten in five, winning three of those fixtures, and have suffered just four defeats so far - the same as Chelsea and Arsenal.

They have, however, dropped 13 points on the road, with a 1-1 draw at Birmingham on Saturday seeing another two slip through their grasp.

Quality

Improving performances on their travels will be crucial to any plans they have of launching an assault on the summit, and the players know as much.

England international Crouch feels Tottenham have the potential to push for major honours, but feels they lack the killer instinct of established contenders like Manchester United and Chelsea.

"With the players we've got and the quality we have in all areas, there is no reason people shouldn't talk about us for the title, but we aren't as consistent as we should be,"he said.

"We're getting there but the Chelseas and the Manchester Uniteds have had that for a long time. That's where we need to be."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Thompson defends show timing

BBC director general Mark Thompson has defended the decision to air aPanoramaexpose of alleged bribery at Fifa.

The much-maligned show was broadcast just three days before Fifa decided on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.

England had been in the running for the 2018 event, but secured just two votes from the committee as Russia took the spoils.

ThePanoramainvestigation, which made claims against four of the 22-strong executive of world football's governing body, has come in for renewed criticism in the wake of the crushing defeat.

Powerful reasons

Thompson, though, insists the BBC was right to screen the show, which he believes contained 'significant information about matters of very serious public interest and public concern'.

He said:"They spent time checking the provenance of this information, putting a number of specific allegations to the people involved, as we must do, and when the programme was ready to transmit, we transmitted it.

"I have to say that I believe that in the end, although I understand that there are often reasons to believe that transmitting a programme might be impolitic or inconvenient, if you believe that you have a matter of real public concern to broadcast, there have got to be overwhelmingly powerful reasons for not broadcasting.

"I believe we were right to broadcast and I believe we have very strong support from the British public in broadcasting."

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Sky Sports | Football | News | Lescott eyes City exit

Joleon Lescott has admitted he could be forced to leave Manchester City after growing frustrated with his lack of action.

The defender, signed in a£24million deal from Everton in the summer of 2009, is concerned that his place in Fabio Capello's England squad will come under threat as he struggles to feature at club level.

Roberto Mancini's first-choice central defensive pairing of Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure is proving tough to break, with Lescott often deployed at left-back when he is considered.

With Mancini even preferring Belgian teenager Dedryck Boyata on occasion, Lescott is now considering his future.

"I'm not happy with the situation. I don't enjoy sitting on the bench, and sometimes not even making the bench,"he said.

Go and play

Lescott said he would be open to a loan if his salary and transfer fee ruled out a permanent move.

"That's down to myself and the club,"Lescott said."The club might say 'If there's a chance to play, go and play' and, if not, I will have to stay here."

However, Lescott insisted he never regrets joining City.

"The squad's big and there is a lot of quality here so I knew it wasn't going to be a foregone conclusion that I was going to start every game,"he said.

"You have to respect the manager's decision and it's warranted because Kolo and Vincent have been outstanding so far this season, but when I've gone in I think I have done OK.

Unfortunate

"I've never regretted my decision to come here. Mark Hughes was in charge at the time and I was playing every game but, even now, I still don't regret it.

"It's unfortunate that I'm not playing as much as I'd like, but you just have to get on with it sometimes. I'm a professional and level-headed person. I know situations come and go.

"Next week there might be an injury and I could be back in the team for the rest of the season. I just have to be ready for that, in case it happens."

Lescott has retained his England place to date, but believes that might soon change if he does not get in the City team.

"Fabio[Capello] has kept his confidence in me when other players have gone down with injury[Lescott has started the last three matches] and I'm grateful for that but there's going to come a time when, if I'm not playing for City, I'm not going to be in the England squad as well,"he said.

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Sky Sports | Football | News | McGhee leaves Aberdeen

Aberdeen have confirmed Mark McGhee has left his role as manager of the club.

McGhee and his assistants Scott Leitch and Colin Meldrum have been relieved of their duties as a result of the side's disastrous run of form.

The Dons slumped to their sixth successive defeat last weekend after losing 2-0 to Kilmarnock.

They have only won three games all season and are only off the bottom of the table because of their superior goal difference to Hamilton.

Aberdeen chairman expressed his disappointment that former Dons player McGhee was unable to transform the club's fortunes.

"On behalf of everyone at the Club, I would like to thank Mark, Scott and Colin for their time at Aberdeen,"Milne told the club's official website.

"It goes without saying that everyone at Aberdeen Football Club wishes Mark, Scott and Colin every success in the future.

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