? Lawyers to argue new owner must be given time
? Chainrai warns administration would mean 600 job losses

Portsmouth will today offer Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs an immediate ­payment £1.8m on an outstanding VAT bill of about £7.5m in the hope of being granted more time to find the remaining money to avoid administration.

Continual non-payment of the money caused HMRC to issue a winding-up ­petition on the club before Christmas, and the hearing is scheduled for the high court in London tomorrow. The ­Portsmouth owner, Balram Chainrai, has said that more than 600 jobs could be lost if the club is forced into administration.

Portsmouth's lawyers began stating their case yesterday, which centred on Chainrai's new ownership, the Hong Kong businessman having seized 90% of the club's shares from Ali al-Faraj under the terms of his £17.5m loan. The legal team argued that Chainrai should be allowed time to examine the books and to try and steady the finances.

Chainrai told the Guardian last night: "Time is needed so that we can help the club. It is in everyone's interest that this is granted, and we are hopeful. If we are not given time then the future of at least 600 jobs could be under threat. The ­football club is the second largest employer in Portsmouth."

The club's most recent published accounts show that more than half of its 600 employees work part-time.

Chainrai has been clear that he is only holding the shares in trust and is keen to sell the club as soon as possible. Peter ­Storrie, the chief executive, emphasised how crucial it is that the winding-up ­petition is not heard tomorrow.

He said: "Our objective, now the new owner is in place, is to seek a stay of the winding-up order. We need time for a new buyer to come in and then we will be in a position to pay the Revenue.

"If the Revenue wind this club up then they will get nothing, and that cannot be the right answer. We're in talks with potential new owners, which would be our fifth owner already this season."

Storrie acknowledged the unusual ­situation of multiple owners since last summer, the turmoil that has put the club into and the adverse effect that has had on the current campaign. "I've heard the joke about how we have had more owners than wins this season," he said. "But the media have been putting the knife in all season, and no one is going to stop now."

Portsmouth have won four games and are rooted to the bottom of the ­Premier League, six points from safety. Avram Grant, the manager, is targeting the next three games against Sunderland, who visit Fratton Park tonight, Stoke and Burnley as vital.

"There are 14 games to go, we need to take as many points as possible from our next few games," said Grant. "Our upcoming games are against sides who are around us in the table. We are not playing worse than the sides in mid-table but they're ­taking points and we're not."

If the Gunners fail to mount a title challenge the number of departing fans could be even higher

Seeds of doubt about Arsène Wenger's stewardship of Arsenal have been sown with three defeats and a goalless draw since 20 January, which fans note have coincided with theclub's transfer?window inactivity in January.

Before the latest of those reverses, at Chelsea on Sunday, Wenger said: "We manage the club within our financial resources and when you listen to people you always have to buy five or six players. But at the end of the day, you have to pay them."

Wenger is the holder of an economics degree, but Digger wonders if the concept of a false economy was ever on his syllabus. There are up to 2,000 people in Arsenal's executive club seating area currently believed to be considering whether to renew their season tickets for next season. Together they help contribute up to £10m of the £94.6m a year in match-day revenue the club generate, and if Wenger's team fails to mount a title challenge the number of departing fans could be even higher.

The club have a season-ticket waiting list that on the face of it comfortably covers that. But on the evidence of his comments above, it has probably not occurred to Wenger that if the current holder does not want to take up his or her ticket it is unlikely all of those who have been queueing behind will want to either.

Yet even if the club's turnover falls as a result there will still be players on the books and, to quote a noted economist: "At the end of the day you have to pay them."

Charitable Ferdinand

"Rio has put in cash and a lot of time and effort to support our programmes," Gary Stannett of London Active Communities, a charity based in Ferdinand's native Southwark and for whom he helped raise £400,000 at a recent launch event, told Digger. Ferdinand, right, has also been a Prince's Trust ambassador since 1997, when he was still at West Ham United.

"Rio has been a Prince's Trust ambassador for more than a decade," said Nick Smith, its head of sport development. "He is committed to setting young people on the right track." An England captain who seeks to help other people with their baggage rather than relieve them of their clothes? Who would have thought it?

Togo's blame game

The Confédération Africaine de Football and its president, Issa Hayatou, are being pursued through the French courts by Togo after that nation was banned from the next two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Togo were suspended by CAF after its national team were the subject of a terrorist attack by the FLEC group, a paramilitary organisation seeking the liberation of the Angolan province of Cabinda. FLEC was also named in the legal complaint and speaking from Luxembourg its secretary-general, Rodrigues Mingas, said of the attack on the team bus, in which two men were killed: "Togo are absolutely right to sue and we understand our Togolese brothers in this. But they must understand that Cabinda is under an illegal occupation. So CAF and the Angolan state are those principally responsible for what happened." A spokesman for CAF declined to comment last night.

Train leaves station

matt.scott@guardian.co.uk

The manager's diet of idealism and disdain for lesser prizes is turning the Premier League into a two-horse race

Arsène Wenger has always followed his own path, but he is leading Arsenal into mediocrity. A largely justified reputation as a visionary distracts people from noticing the most basic flaws in the team. With 25 Premier League games completed, the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge means they have conceded 30 goals. That equals the worst defensive performance Wenger has presided over since his arrival in the autumn of 1996.

Statistics of that sort are far from bloodless, and Arsenal have been wounded. Never before in the history of the Premier League have they lost all four of their encounters with Chelsea and Manchester United. The Old Trafford defeat may have been undeserved, but there is no quibbling with the aggregate score. Arsenal must be dazed after the 10-2 thumping from Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson's teams.

In a practical sense, nothing grave has befallen the club. Arsenal are very likely to qualify for next season's Champions League and their current interest in the competition is genuine. They are favourites to get the better of Porto in the last-16 tie that starts next week. The real harm is done to fans, who are starting to feel undernourished on a diet of idealism, and, less gravely, to neutrals who would prefer to see more than just a pair of contenders for the Premier League title.

Two seasons ago Arsenal topped the table at this juncture and appeared reasonably well-equipped. There was to be terrible misfortune in Eduardo da Silva's broken leg at Birmingham City in February 2008. He had notched a dozen goals in that campaign, but has understandably had less impact since his return. He, however, was not to be the only person whose loss would be felt. Jens Lehmann and Gilberto Silva left at the end of that campaign.

It may have been time for them to go, even if the Brazilian was still capable of commanding a place in his national team when England were beaten three months ago, but they have not been replaced satisfactorily. Manuel Almunia has none of the command that Lehmann exuded, and seems to spread unease in the defence. Where holding midfielders are concerned, Arsenal now have no experienced candidates. United and Chelsea have been permitted to notch goals on the break in successive weekends.

The club needs to find a starting point, but Wenger has been disdainful of lesser prizes that might actually be alluring to supporters. Arsenal virtually inflict FA Cup defeats on themselves, and a lightweight selection went out at Stoke City last month. This policy is intended to conserve energy for more important challenges, but getting knocked out does appear to be dispiriting. Since leaving the Britannia Stadium, Arsenal have not won in three games.

Those matches have been particularly tough, but the pattern is also familiar. In 2008, Wenger sent out a weakened line-up against United in the FA Cup and watched as they were crushed 4-0. Injuries were a factor but some of the absentees faced Milan four days later. If Wenger had been writing off the FA Cup it proved to be an error as he helped United to develop the momentum that ultimately took them past the then leaders, Arsenal, in the league.

It is traditional and often fair to point to Arsenal's lack of means, particularly while they concentrate on paying off the cost of the Emirates, but there are limitations, too, that are self-imposed and idiosyncratic. The deals that saw Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor move to Manchester City for a total of £41m was extraordinarily good business for Arsenal and that unanticipated sum was a windfall. The money, all the same, was not used to bring in the centre?forward who was so badly needed.

There was plenty of time to act since they left Arsenal when over a month of the transfer window remained. Wenger then spoke of wishing to bring in a striker in January, but no business was done. Though the manager was on a demanding mission, it is for his ingenuity and knowledge that he is employed. Sympathy for the harm done by the loss of Robin van Persie to ankle trouble in November is tempered by the recognition that Wenger knew the Dutchman was injury prone.

Arsenal remain the most idiosyncratic of Europe's major clubs. Wenger, with his intelligence and commitment to streamlined football, has endowed them with a status they never enjoyed before but there are days, too, when it seems that success will only be accepted on his pure and personal terms.

Through his official website, Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero has declared: "Everybody can see the moment that we are going through. Despite our situation in the...

? 'It's important that we keep the feelgood factor'
? Liverpool have not won at Arsenal for over 10 years

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool can increase Arsenal's troubles with their first win at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night and admits Rafael Benítez's team must not squander the initiative provided by victory in the Merseyside derby.

Liverpool returned to the top four for the first time since October with Saturday's 10-man defeat of Everton and can close the gap on Arsenal to just two points with victory at the Emirates.

They have not won at Arsenal in 10 years, when Titi Camara scored in a 1?0 win at Highbury, but head to London on the back of 17 points from a possible 21 and four consecutive clean sheets. Liverpool's recent displays have been ­spirited rather than scintillating but Carragher believes confidence has been restored by the manner of victory in the 213th Merseyside derby and that, even with Arsenal and Manchester City away to come, Benítez's side can strengthen their claims to Champions League qualification.

"In one sense it is more than three points because everyone was buzzing in the dressing room on Saturday, but that can quickly change if we don't build on the result," said Carragher. "It's important that we keep the feelgood factor that we've got until after the Arsenal game, and if that is to happen we'll have to make sure we get a good result. Arsenal have been at the Emirates for a couple of years and I don't think we've had a win there yet. So it's something we're going to have to do sooner or later and hopefully Wednesday will be the time. We're going into it in a great frame of mind, but Arsenal is always a difficult game."

Sotirios Kyrgiakos will start a three-match suspension tomorrow as a result of his dismissal in the derby but Steven ­Gerrard, echoing Carragher's sentiments, believes the Everton result can be the foundation for an improved run of form.

The Liverpool captain said: "Arsenal away is always tough but we have used beating Everton as a platform in the past and we've got to do it again. We want to extend our run and go on to better things. We know there is a long way to go and we want to make sure we are in the top four at the end of the season.

"It's performances like Everton that will get you in there. We have got to try and keep this run going, as we can't afford any slip-ups. There is pressure coming from Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa. There are a couple of very tough games coming up but if we can show what we have done in the last six games, I don't see why we can't maintain it."

Napoli have communicated through their official website the transfer of 30 year old attacking midfielder Roberto De Zerbi to Cluj

Fulham are set to lose midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi for up to six weeks after scans revealed ligament damage in his ankle.

The 25-year old South Africa international sustained the injury in the scoreless draw with Bolton on the weekend and Cottagers boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed the injury will be up to six weeks.

?The game at Bolton was once again an expensive game for us because we got a point but have lost another player as Dikgacoi will be out for five to six weeks,? Hodgson said.

West Ham forward Frank Nouble has joined Championship outfit West Brom on loan for one month.

The 18-year old has been brought to The Hawthorns to cover for injured striker Ishmael Miller and suspended attacker Jerome Thomas and the signing has delighted Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo.

"Frank is an exciting young player who I am delighted to welcome to the club," he said.

"He can play in any of the three forward positions - down the middle, wide left or wide right - and we hope the next month is a fruitful one for the club and Frank.

"His main attributes are that he's powerful, quick and good on the ball, but we mustn't forget he is still very young."

Tottenham captain Ledley King is targeting regular European Champions League action for the club.

The 29-year old defender believes Spurs can continue to build on their impressive showing so far this season and wants Champions League qualification to become a regularity in the future.

"I like to believe we?ll move on from here, we?ll become a better team. We want to improve each season,? he said.

"We don?t want to feel that, if we don?t make it this season, we?ll never get another chance again, we want to move on.

"If we can achieve that this season, then obviously, hopefully, the club can move onto bigger and better things after a Champions League campaign.

"But for the last few years I?ve felt the club?s always been going in the right direction, and finally we?ve got a manager who hopefully can do that for us.?

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson wants a cash boost so he can strengthen the squad in the summer.

The Cottagers boss says he will ask chairman Mohamed Al Fayed for extra funds so he can make some much-needed purchases in the next transfer window.

Hodgson has managed to conjure magic at Craven Cottage in the past few seasons without much of a budget but knows now that his injury-depleted and ageing squad needs some freshening.

?The chairman has been very supportive throughout and I have no reason to think he won?t be,? he said.

?We?re fully aware that if we are to stay and do as well as we have done in the last year-and-a-half then we will need some help in the summer and that will probably mean we will be seeking some quality additions to the squad.

?We have until the summer to identify those people we want and persuade the chairman that all the support he has given in the past isn?t yet finished and he has to keep going.

?He's backed all the managers to be fair. My record on transfer selling and spending is actually very good.

?Before that a lot more money was spent that wasn't recouped. A lot of the money that I have spent in my couple of years has actually been recouped.

?But I'm still asking him to put money onto money. Maybe not money that I have cost him, but money that the club has cost him - and I'm aware of that.?

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Furious at the loss to Hull, the manager says Champions League ambitions remain are on track, if City can learn to win away

Roberto Mancini's flowing, beautifully styled locks means the word "hairdryer" has a very different connotation at Manchester City than it does at United. He laughed when asked if he had ever thrown a tea cup in a dressing room and yet at Hull City on Saturday, Mancini was as angry as anyone can remember seeing him. He left the dressing room early after a brief and to the point half-time team-talk and sat alone in the away dugout.

It was the same old City squandering points against the strugglers and ­stragglers of the Premier League. His promise, made at his first press ­conference, that ­Manchester City would qualify for the Champions League in May and then win the title the following season was being dragged down by the same failings that undid Mark Hughes, losing away from home and dropping points when it is least expected.

And yet 48 hours after the defeat by Hull, Mancini argued with a smile that he was still on course for both targets. "I am more confident than I was when I first came," he said. "In my first three or four games we played very well but we had very few players available. And I am ­confident that when we have the full squad available, we can win at home and learn to win away.

"And you must remember that we have two games in hand. This is an important fact. If we win these two games, we will be in fourth position and one point behind Arsenal. We have to be really confident."

There was a further injury setback today that could further harm City's ambitions. Craig Bellamy, who has yet to score a goal for Mancini, has travelled to London for consultations about the knee injury that has troubled him all season. Nevertheless, Joleon Lescott is perhaps one game away from returning while ­Mancini may start against ­Bolton tomorrow night with both his signings of what proved a low-key and somewhat frustrating transfer window, Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson.

Even at 33, Mancini still invests enormous faith in Vieira to the extent of remarking before City travelled to Humber­side that, had the Frenchman been available, they probably would not have lost the Carling Cup semi-final to Manchester United.

And for the first time today, Mancini was critical of Hughes, wondering how so much money could have been spent on a squad that before Vieira's arrival from Internazionale boasted just three central midfielders. "I know a lot of money has been spent," he said. "But it is strange for me that we only had three central midfielders ? Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Stephen Ireland. It is impossible to play a whole season using just three central midfielders. Impossible."

He added that if Vieira, whose replacement of Bellamy at Hull was responsible for City's late revival, remained fit for the rest of the season, he would give the calmness and experience of winning that Manchester City lack. Hughes, after all, spent more than £100m on six players ? Given, Adebayor, Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Barry and Lescott ? who have not won a single major honour in English football.

The most expensive player signed ­during Hughes's tenure, Robinho, once the totem of the new Manchester City but whose failure to adapt to the Premier League became a burden on the Welshman, marked the start of his loan deal with Santos with a goal against São Paulo. ­Mancini remarked that, if the Brazilian had a good World Cup, he might be seen again in a sky-blue shirt, yet that is far from what either the player or the club want.

Indeed, the accent may have changed but Mancini talks the same language as his predecessor. Hughes spoke constantly of "changing the mentality" of Manchester City, making them more ruthless against the weaker clubs, especially away from home. And so it was a 1-1 draw at home to Hull in front of the chairman, ­Khaldoon al?Mubarak, that set in motion Hughes's dismissal. Nothing, in one sense has changed. "We have to change the ­mentality," ­Mancini said today. "To reach our ­target we have to start winning away. That is the most important thing."

And yet, while many, even at Eastlands, buy into the argument that what might derail Manchester City's bid for the Champions League are too many points dropped against teams in the bottom half of the table, actually, the opposite is largely true. City have been essentially flat-track bullies, averaging 2.21 points per game against the Premier League's bottom 10. Yet none of their rivals for fourth has been quite as poor against the teams around and above them, from which City have taken 10 points from nine games.

Perhaps Mancini senses this. "For me, February is very important because we play Liverpool, Chelsea and ­Tottenham," he said. "For me, it is the crucial moment."

Furious at the loss to Hull, the manager says Champions League ambitions remain are on track, if City can learn to win away

Roberto Mancini's flowing, beautifully styled locks means the word "hairdryer" has a very different connotation at Manchester City than it does at United. He laughed when asked if he had ever thrown a tea cup in a dressing room and yet at Hull City on Saturday, Mancini was as angry as anyone can remember seeing him. He left the dressing room early after a brief and to the point half-time team-talk and sat alone in the away dugout.

It was the same old City squandering points against the strugglers and ­stragglers of the Premier League. His promise, made at his first press ­conference, that ­Manchester City would qualify for the Champions League in May and then win the title the following season was being dragged down by the same failings that undid Mark Hughes, losing away from home and dropping points when it is least expected.

And yet 48 hours after the defeat by Hull, Mancini argued with a smile that he was still on course for both targets. "I am more confident than I was when I first came," he said. "In my first three or four games we played very well but we had very few players available. And I am ­confident that when we have the full squad available, we can win at home and learn to win away.

"And you must remember that we have two games in hand. This is an important fact. If we win these two games, we will be in fourth position and one point behind Arsenal. We have to be really confident."

There was a further injury setback today that could further harm City's ambitions. Craig Bellamy, who has yet to score a goal for Mancini, has travelled to London for consultations about the knee injury that has troubled him all season. Nevertheless, Joleon Lescott is perhaps one game away from returning while ­Mancini may start against ­Bolton tomorrow night with both his signings of what proved a low-key and somewhat frustrating transfer window, Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson.

Even at 33, Mancini still invests enormous faith in Vieira to the extent of remarking before City travelled to Humber­side that, had the Frenchman been available, they probably would not have lost the Carling Cup semi-final to Manchester United.

And for the first time today, Mancini was critical of Hughes, wondering how so much money could have been spent on a squad that before Vieira's arrival from Internazionale boasted just three central midfielders. "I know a lot of money has been spent," he said. "But it is strange for me that we only had three central midfielders ? Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Stephen Ireland. It is impossible to play a whole season using just three central midfielders. Impossible."

He added that if Vieira, whose replacement of Bellamy at Hull was responsible for City's late revival, remained fit for the rest of the season, he would give the calmness and experience of winning that Manchester City lack. Hughes, after all, spent more than £100m on six players ? Given, Adebayor, Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Barry and Lescott ? who have not won a single major honour in English football.

The most expensive player signed ­during Hughes's tenure, Robinho, once the totem of the new Manchester City but whose failure to adapt to the Premier League became a burden on the Welshman, marked the start of his loan deal with Santos with a goal against São Paulo. ­Mancini remarked that, if the Brazilian had a good World Cup, he might be seen again in a sky-blue shirt, yet that is far from what either the player or the club want.

Indeed, the accent may have changed but Mancini talks the same language as his predecessor. Hughes spoke constantly of "changing the mentality" of Manchester City, making them more ruthless against the weaker clubs, especially away from home. And so it was a 1-1 draw at home to Hull in front of the chairman, ­Khaldoon al?Mubarak, that set in motion Hughes's dismissal. Nothing, in one sense has changed. "We have to change the ­mentality," ­Mancini said today. "To reach our ­target we have to start winning away. That is the most important thing."

And yet, while many, even at Eastlands, buy into the argument that what might derail Manchester City's bid for the Champions League are too many points dropped against teams in the bottom half of the table, actually, the opposite is largely true. City have been essentially flat-track bullies, averaging 2.21 points per game against the Premier League's bottom 10. Yet none of their rivals for fourth has been quite as poor against the teams around and above them, from which City have taken 10 points from nine games.

Perhaps Mancini senses this. "For me, February is very important because we play Liverpool, Chelsea and ­Tottenham," he said. "For me, it is the crucial moment."

Levski Sofia sell controversial Morocco defender Youssef Rabeh to Russian Premier League newcomers Anzhi Makhachkala.

Gold Coast United have dismissed their link with attempting to sign North Queensland Fury?s Robbie Fowler for the rest of the season.
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Fowler had already been linked with a loan deal to Adelaide United and then his name popped up in the same sentences as Gold Coast?s but the Robina-based club confirmed that they did not plan to sign the former Liverpool star on a short-term deal.

Gold Coast have denied any potential dealings and Fury chairman Don Matheson backed up their words by saying that a deal could not be done anyway unless it was an injury replacement.

''You can't do it anyway, I don't think you can do it on an injury replacement, either, so all that talk's just a waste of time,'' Matheson said.

Fowler himself he wouldn?t be all that keen on extending the season as the Fury finish after this weekend and was hoping to begin a holiday as soon as possible.

''I've been here for a year now doing football and, regardless of what job you do, whether it's football or in an office, I think you do need a holiday,'' Fowler told the Townsville Bulletin.

''I'm due a holiday ... sometimes you do need a break from football.''

Following backlash surrounding the six-month loan deal for Nik Mrdja from Central Coast Mariners to Melbourne Victory, Football Federation Australia will review the transfer rules.

The 31-year old striker was released by the Mariners to sign with the Victory before he returns to the Central Coast to undergo one more year on his contract but the transfer has been blasted by fans and critics alike, who believe it should not have been allowed because it was outside FIFA?s January transfer window.

A-League boss Archie Fraser said because it was an injury replacement signing, means it is allowed but even so, confirmed the transfer ruling will be reviewed after the 2009/10 season.

?This one is slightly different with the timing at the end of the year and the fact he indicated he may head back to Central Coast," Fraser told AAP.

"We're going to review the injury replacement rule at the end of the current season. We have listened to clubs, and the feedback about the rule, and it appears there are many people who feel it's not in the right spirit.

"So under that basis it will be reviewed as we review all our regulations at the season's end."

Melbourne Victory have requested to play their home semi-final on a Thursday night if they happen to finish in the top two.

The reigning champions want the semi-final first leg brought forward to Thursday February 18 if they finish top and have hosting rights which will give them just three days of preparation for the match.

With the final home and away game against Sydney FC this Sunday (a draw or win would see the Victory finish on top) followed by their opening Asian Champions League group stage match on February 23 in Beijing, Melbourne will have a cluttered schedule with three vital matches in nine days.

But football operations manager Gary Cole said that because the finals series was not etched in stone, the club has the opportunity to play their own cards, but only if they have the privilege of finishing on top of the table.

"While it's not written in blood or ink, it could happen," Cole said yesterday from China.

"We're looking at the choice of playing the first leg at home, but we have to finish on top of the table to do that."

Cole is in China before heading to South Korea and Japan later this week to research all things available to the club when they travel over to Asia for the ACL and wanted to leave no stone unturned.

"It's just a matter of checking the hotels, the stadiums, the facilities, the transport," Cole said. "We don't want any surprises when we arrive."

? Championship club must pay £2.7m to taxman by Wednesday
? Deals on land surrounding stadium expected to cover debt

Cardiff City are confident of averting liquidation this week by using the proceeds from two recent deals on land surrounding their new stadium to convince the taxman they can afford to pay outstanding debts.

It is understood that the chairman, Peter Ridsdale, today paid around £1m of the £2.7m owed to Her Majesty's ­Revenue and Customs. The club is believed to be confident that the land deal, together with proceeds from the club's FA Cup run, which continues away to Chelsea on Saturday, and advance season-ticket sales will take care of the outstanding debt.

The Welsh club face a winding up petition in the high court on Wednesday after defaulting in December on a previously agreed payment schedule.

Confidence has been boosted after Cardiff City Council, which owns the freehold, allowed Ridsdale to sell two areas of land around the stadium to the Capital Retail Park Partnership for around £750,000. A further sum of up to £3m was raised from a controversial drive to persuade fans to renew their season tickets early.

The club has also negotiated a related agreement with the company of another director, Steve Borley's CMB ­Engineering, to take on a commitment to build the House of Sport training facility promised as part of the deal with the council to construct the new stadium. Under the agreement, the sports centre was due to be built by this December. Borley will assume that cost, beginning work within three months. In return, the council has allowed money to be raised from the land sale. The deal is still subject to approval from the club's shareholders, who will vote on the plan at an extraordinary general meeting on 24 February. Cardiff's largest shareholders include PMG Estates, Borley and Ridsdale.

HMRC is likely to insist on being paid in full, having taken a hard line on football clubs in recent months following a string of cases where they went into administration and it was forced to settle for a fraction of the outstanding bill.

"The reasons I believe the winding up order won't be given is because the shareholders have made substantial loans to the club, which would they would lose if there was an insolvency," said Keith Morgan, a partner and sports finance specialist at accountants PKF and a member of the Cardiff Supporters' Trust. "I don't believe they could afford for that to happen. And I don't believe the council here would have allowed these land deals without proof the club would get beyond Wednesday with the Revenue."

Ridsdale has come under fire from fans after being forced to apologise for misleading them over the so-called Golden Ticket upfront season ticket scheme and is expected to be the target of fresh protests at Tuesday's home match against Peterborough. Fans were led to believe that money collected from 10,000 up-front season ticket renewals would go towards new players, but Ridsdale said they had misinterpreted the scheme and said the proceeds of up to £3m would help service debt as he sought other new investment to fund acquisitions. A spokeswoman for Cardiff City Council confirmed it had received future financial information from the club as part of the negotiation over the land deal. The council remains the freeholder of the land on which the stadium is built, but the club has a 125-year lease.

But even if Cardiff sees off the threat from HMRC on Wednesday, it will still face severe stress on its balance sheet between now and the end of the season. It has a monthly wage bill of £1.2m and is believed to have already mortgaged the tranche of Football League money due at the end of the season. The club's most recent accounts, to May 2008, show it had debts of almost £33m. Since then, the club has moved to its new stadium at Leckwith and is believed to have overspent by several million pounds on the fit out of the ground.

A club spokesman said that it would make no comment before Wednesday's hearing.

Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna was delighted for his players after the broke a 10-match winless streak last night.

The Mariners overcame a tardy start to eventually defeat Newcastle Jets, who were chasing fourth spot, 3-0 at Bluetongue Stadium and McKinna was pleased that the players could taste some success prior to the end of the season.

?Over the last ten weeks it?s been hard, and in a lot of these games we feel as though we should have got a lot more out of but we never, and that?s football, so to come to the last home game and get a very convincing win over Newcastle, our local rivals, is great,? said McKinna.

?I?m just happy for the players, they?ve worked hard all season and we?ve copped a lot of criticism for the poor run of results, but that is probably one of the most convincing games we?ve played against our local rivals in the five years.?

The win enabled the Mariners to jump to seventh position on the league table although they can finish no higher but can drop to ninth if results don?t go their way in the final match of the home and away season.

They take on fourth-placed Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium this Friday night ? kick-off is at 7:30pm local time (5:30pm AEDT).

Belenenses 1 Braga 3

? Bruce questions pace of changes to Sunderland squad
? 'The expectancy is that of a top-four or top-six club'

Steve Bruce fears his desire to subject Sunderland to rapid root-and-branch reform may be behind the team's slide towards a relegation battle.

The squad which left Wearside yesterday for tomorrow night's vital game at Ports­mouth has undergone major surgery in recent months, and Bruce acknowledged that the pace of the change has possibly proved to be counter-productive.

"Something like 23 players have left since I came in seven months ago," said Sunderland's manager, whose side lack a win in their past 11 Premier League games and boast only one victory in the past 15 attempts. "The player turnover has been drastic and I'll probably look at it and think, 'Has it been too drastic?'"

Bruce's 11 signings have joined a sig­nificantly slimmed-down playing staff and helped him to place his own stamp on a squad that is still transitional.

"This is a new team, we're still getting to know the manager and he's still trying to impose his philosophy on us," said the midfielder Andy Reid. "I always thought we'd have a tricky spell."

Not that Bruce harbours any real regrets about his bold modus operandi. "I'm convinced my signings have had a wonderful effect," he said.

Many might disagree. Although Bruce buys such as Lorik Cana, Lee Cattermole and Michael Turner may eventually prove to be inspired, the only arrival to have met expectations is the leading scorer, Darren Bent. After a fine start to the season, Cana's central midfield performances have dipped and the Albanian appears burnt out. Similarly, injuries have decreed that Cattermole has spent much of the season sidelined and Turner, so impressive at Hull, increasingly looks out of his depth.

Meanwhile other arrivals including Fraizer Campbell, Paulo da Silva and Matthew Kilgallon are arguably no better than their swiftly offloaded predecessors.

Despite being north-east born and bred, Bruce seems slightly taken aback by the special demands imposed by the success?starved 40,000-plus crowds. "No disrespect to my old clubs, to Birmingham and Wigan, but you need a different sort of recruitment policy. Sunderland players have to be able to handle a big, expectant crowd. You've got be a big player to come here. After seven months, I know that.

"Recruitment here is difficult. The expectancy is that of a top-four or a top?six club. It's huge and players who have been OK at smaller teams often can't cope. The problem is there's no substance to the expectancy of our great, huge support. We've no divine right to be up there, but it's the north-east. Football is the fans' life, it's their passion."

By way of exacerbating Bruce's woes, his side do not freeze merely in front of their own faithful. Away, they have won just once in the league. "I was ­talking about this to Big Sam [Allardyce, the Blackburn manager] a couple of days ago," said Bruce. "We don't know why, but all of us in the bottom 10 struggle playing away."

This does not bode well for Sunderland's prospects at bottom-placed Ports­mouth, but sheer bad luck has also provoked their slump. "I don't like to look for excuses but injuries and suspensions have been mainly responsible," said Bruce, who believes he is finally "getting through" to Bent's talented yet recently indifferent strike partner Kenwyne Jones.

"We've lost key players at bad times and momentum and confidence went too. I played my 15th different back four against Wigan on Saturday ? even Manchester United struggle when they haven't got a settled defence."

"I'm not enjoying this, I don't like it. The Premier League can be an unforgiving place. But, when I come through it, I'll be a better manager," he said.

? Bruce questions pace of changes to Sunderland squad
? 'The expectancy is that of a top-four or top-six club'

Steve Bruce fears his desire to subject Sunderland to rapid root-and-branch reform may be behind the team's slide towards a relegation battle.

The squad which left Wearside yesterday for tomorrow night's vital game at Ports­mouth has undergone major surgery in recent months, and Bruce acknowledged that the pace of the change has possibly proved to be counter-productive.

"Something like 23 players have left since I came in seven months ago," said Sunderland's manager, whose side lack a win in their past 11 Premier League games and boast only one victory in the past 15 attempts. "The player turnover has been drastic and I'll probably look at it and think, 'Has it been too drastic?'"

Bruce's 11 signings have joined a sig­nificantly slimmed-down playing staff and helped him to place his own stamp on a squad that is still transitional.

"This is a new team, we're still getting to know the manager and he's still trying to impose his philosophy on us," said the midfielder Andy Reid. "I always thought we'd have a tricky spell."

Not that Bruce harbours any real regrets about his bold modus operandi. "I'm convinced my signings have had a wonderful effect," he said.

Many might disagree. Although Bruce buys such as Lorik Cana, Lee Cattermole and Michael Turner may eventually prove to be inspired, the only arrival to have met expectations is the leading scorer, Darren Bent. After a fine start to the season, Cana's central midfield performances have dipped and the Albanian appears burnt out. Similarly, injuries have decreed that Cattermole has spent much of the season sidelined and Turner, so impressive at Hull, increasingly looks out of his depth.

Meanwhile other arrivals including Fraizer Campbell, Paulo da Silva and Matthew Kilgallon are arguably no better than their swiftly offloaded predecessors.

Despite being north-east born and bred, Bruce seems slightly taken aback by the special demands imposed by the success?starved 40,000-plus crowds. "No disrespect to my old clubs, to Birmingham and Wigan, but you need a different sort of recruitment policy. Sunderland players have to be able to handle a big, expectant crowd. You've got be a big player to come here. After seven months, I know that.

"Recruitment here is difficult. The expectancy is that of a top-four or a top?six club. It's huge and players who have been OK at smaller teams often can't cope. The problem is there's no substance to the expectancy of our great, huge support. We've no divine right to be up there, but it's the north-east. Football is the fans' life, it's their passion."

By way of exacerbating Bruce's woes, his side do not freeze merely in front of their own faithful. Away, they have won just once in the league. "I was ­talking about this to Big Sam [Allardyce, the Blackburn manager] a couple of days ago," said Bruce. "We don't know why, but all of us in the bottom 10 struggle playing away."

This does not bode well for Sunderland's prospects at bottom-placed Ports­mouth, but sheer bad luck has also provoked their slump. "I don't like to look for excuses but injuries and suspensions have been mainly responsible," said Bruce, who believes he is finally "getting through" to Bent's talented yet recently indifferent strike partner Kenwyne Jones.

"We've lost key players at bad times and momentum and confidence went too. I played my 15th different back four against Wigan on Saturday ? even Manchester United struggle when they haven't got a settled defence."

"I'm not enjoying this, I don't like it. The Premier League can be an unforgiving place. But, when I come through it, I'll be a better manager," he said.