sc Heerenveen Forum

Newcastle United have confirmed that they have agreed terms with Tottenham
Hotspur for the transfer of Stephen Carr.

The Official Website has reported that Carr is expected in Newcastle in the
next 48 hours to "undertake his medical and finalise personal terms".

The Republic of Ireland international has netted 7 goals in 226 Premiership
games and has earned himself 30 full caps for his country.

WBA's Hughes jailed for six years


Lee Hughes' Premiership football career was over tonight after he was jailed for six years for causing a fatal accident following a post-match drinking session.
Judge Christopher Hodson said he had no doubt that the 28-year-old West Brom forward, who is thought to have downed six whiskies, fled the scene of the crash because he knew he would fail a breath test.


Hughes' six-day trial at Coventry Crown Court heard how the disgraced star's £100,000 super-charged Mercedes sports car ploughed into an oncoming Renault near his home, killing passenger Douglas Graham almost instantly.

The married father-of-two, who had been drinking at two pubs near his home in Meriden, West Midlands, then ran from the scene and only turned himself into police 34 hours later.

Jailing the player, the judge told Hughes he had shown a 'callous disregard' for his victims, including father-of-four Mr Graham's wife, Maureen, and driver Albert Frisby, who is currently wheelchair-bound due to his injuries.

Hughes was banned from driving for 10 years and it emerged that he had previously received a 12-month ban for drink-driving when he was 18.

The ashen-faced footballer bit his lip as the jury found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and later appeared to wink at his Croatian wife, Anna, as he was led away to the cells.

The judge told Hughes that alcohol had 'clearly played a part' in the tragedy.

He added: 'I realise that your football career is at an end, but remember that Douglas Graham's life is at an end.

'In running away you showed a callous disregard for others.

'I am quite satisfied that in running away you were thinking only of yourself and you were attempting to avoid the legal consequences of driving having consumed alcohol.

'You clearly believed that if you had been breathalysed, then you would have been over the limit.'

Relatives of Mr Graham, including his wife, 50, and their two sons and two daughters, greeted the verdict with cries of 'Yes' before bursting into tears.

West Brom released a statement on the club's official website.

It read: 'West Bromwich Albion has decided to terminate Lee Hughes' contract, which had two years left to run, following the outcome of the player's trial.

'The club would like to take this opportunity to express its deepest sympathies to the Graham family on the loss of Mr Douglas Graham.

'Its' thoughts are with Mrs Maureen Graham, Mr Albert Frisby and Mr Frank Gosling, who were injured in the incident.'

En misschien dat Liverpool met de nieuwe manager eindelijk eens leuk voetbal laat zien?

DE ZUID schreef:Watch out fot the sleeping gigant Liverpool!!!

H-J schreef:Zattie dan? http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2005000532,00.gif

Ook in Engeland moet het een beetje spannen blijven natuurlijk!

TORCIDA schreef:en hij wordt niet getelt ????

Sikke schreef:Leuk om te weten dat:

"As he ran (de grensrechter dus) , the United scarf
he was wearing under his shirt came loose and
fluttered up into his face obscuring his view and
preventing him from making the call. It was just one
of those things."

Aldus een woordvoerder van de FA.

Bookies betalen 'winnende doelpunt' Mendes uit

Bijna net zo bizar als het incident in de Premiership-wedstrijd tussen Manchester United en Tottenham Hotspur heeft bookmaker William Hill besloten om het controversiële 'doelpunt' van Pedro Mendes alsnog uit te betalen.

Met nog een minuut spelen en de stand op 0-0 leek Pedro Mendes gisteravond het winnende doelpunt te hebben gemaakt. De middenvelder wist met een schot van 45 meter de uitgekomen keeper Roy Carroll te verschalken. Hoewel de bal zeker een meter de doellijn had gepasseerd, kende de arbiter Mark Clattenburg geen doelpunt toe.

William Hill, één van de grootste bookmaker in Engeland, besloot een uitzondering te maken. "Dit is naar mijn mening het meest bizarre incident in de Premiership ooit. We zullen daarom ook alle mensen uitbetalen die hadden gegokt dat Mendes de winnende zou scoren en ook de mensen die dachten dat hij tenminste een doelpunt zou meepikken", aldus woordvoerder Graham Sharpe namens William Hill.

Man Utd V Spurs decision explained

An FA spokesman after the game absolved the linesman of any responsibility for the apparently mistaken decision not to award a goal to Spurs after a shot from the halfway line crossed the goal line by at least a metre.

"The shot came in from an unusual distance and as such caught the linesman out of position forcing him race back towards the goal as the play developed", explained the spokesman, "As he ran, the United scarf he was wearing under his shirt came loose and fluttered up into his face obscuring his view and preventing him from making the call. It was just one of those things."

In response to further questions from the Press the spokesman explained "If they don't already have a United tattoo most officials on game day try to wear a scarf or a replica shirt under their regulation kit to show their support for the worlds greatest club. The linesman in this case had chosen to wear a United scarf, a common choice that is in keeping with FA guidelines. The root cause of the problem lies not with the linesman but with the players and management of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club who broke one the most important unwritten rules of the English FA: They placed a shot on target at Old Trafford. Martin Jol is new to this country and perhaps he's not yet familiar with some of our finer traditions. If he doesn't yet understand that for the greater good of the game visiting teams, by tradition, are not expected to try to score at Old Trafford then our officials are in a position to help Mr Jol make that cultural adjustment."

Chuckling to himself the FA spokesman added "The goal had to be disallowed to avoid us descending down a slippery slope that would be bad for the national game. It's a fine line the officials have to walk. If they award a goal this week, next week someone might expect to get a penalty or demand that Van Nistelrooy be booked for diving. Can you imagine? That would just never do. No no no. Shocking, just the thought of it."

Manchester Red Devils PLC Press Conference Latest -

CARROLL "WAS PETTING LOVEABLE DOG"


Manchester Red Devils Manager Sir Alex Ferguson tonight quashed speculation that a refereeing decision had been given in United's favour during their 0-0 draw with Tottenham. Speaking in a post match press conference, Ferguson claimed that reports that a late shot by Pedro Mendes had clearly crossed the line were "misjudged" and "gay".

"What we clearly have seen tonight is a victory for the forces of evil", the ebullient Scot claimed. "Roy was doing nothing more than comforting a lost and confused animal. If any of you were put in a professional situation as a goalkeeper that demanded expert canine handling, I doubt that you would even be able to stay conscious, let alone act with the bravery and accuracy that Roy summoned. That the referee did not award us a penalty for his actions was astounding".

Carroll affirmed his managers words, adding, "I didn't even see a shot. If there was one, it was done in pretty bad taste. That dog could have got hurt."

United have long prided themselves on the clubs attitude to the animal kingdom, even awarding a position on the playing staff to champion flat runner Ruud Van Nistelrooy, a member of the equine race. In the end, United will reflect on an evening that, had it not been yet again for the disgraceful bias of Premiership officials against the Manchester Red Devils PLC, fans of the Trafford based franchise would have been rewarded with penalty based goals, fuelling their inexorable rise towards yet another richly deserved Premiership Pennant.