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      We can see you sneaking back as EFL clubs are the first to welcome up to 2,000 supporters into their stadiums this week

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      EFL clubs will be the first to welcome fans back through their turnstiles on Wednesday.
      And those lucky to get tickets are urged to help make the evening a resounding success and send a clear message to the government … watching football outdoors is safe.

      Fans will be allowed back into stadiums at a social distance this week

      Luton, Wycombe, Shrewsbury, Charlton, Cambridge and Carlisle will all play in front of crowds.
      But while this is exciting for fans that haven’t seen their clubs play in the flesh since February or March, most teams will make a LOSS welcoming them back.
      It has been incorrectly assumed the return of supporters will give cash-strapped clubs outside the Premier League a financial boost.
      But not all of them will get the go-ahead to host the 2,000 fans allowed in tier two areas by their local Safety Advisory Group and the costs of hiring staff and adapting stadiums for social distancing will cost more than any gate revenue generated.

      Cambridge United were one of the clubs to pilot return of fans in September
      Although profits will finally be made, once their area is moved into tier one by the government, allowing them up to 4,000 supporters.
      Some SAG authorities prefer clubs to stage smaller pilot events first before granting them permission to allow larger numbers – while others do not.
      Championship sides Luton and Wycombe will be hosting just 1,000 fans for their games against Norwich and Stoke respectively.
      But Brentford, who have not held a trial event, will be allowed 2,000 for the first match at their new Kew Bridge ground in front of supporters against Blackburn on Saturday.

      League One clubs Charlton and Shrewsbury – along with League Two sides Carlisle and Cambridge – staged pilots in September so have been given the all-clear.
      The costs of staging games in front of socially-distanced crowds are high.For example, the Chairboys will be required to recruit a whopping 65 stewards – one for every FIFTEEN fans – as well as hire portable loos and pay for their Adams Park stadium to be deep cleaned before and after the matches.
      Cambridge must have 91 stewards for their game with Mansfield – one for every 22 supporters.
      However, there is a general consensus that making a loss now is a price worth paying.

      Carlisle’s Brunton Park are ready for 2,000 fans for the visit of Salford
      Wycombe spokesman Matt Cecil told me: “This is the first season in the Championship in our history and no-one has seen us kick a ball at that level in the flesh yet.
      “We’ll be letting in the first 1,000 people who bought season tickets in good faith expecting to see football in October.”
      Carlisle chief executive Nigel Clibbens added: “We did a pilot against Southend as a stepping stone to larger crowds and expect that to be the case again here as we edge towards increasing to 3,000, 4,000, etc.
      “It’s important clubs don’t jump from having no fans to 2,000 without testing it first.

      WHAT THE GUIDELINES SAY …

      At all times observe two metre distancing & avoid any close contact with anyone outside your social bubble
      Arrive earlier than you would usually to allow time for entry procedures to take place
      Your temperature may be taken and you could be refused entry if it is too high
      Try to remain in your allocated seat or spot on the terrace wherever possible throughout
      Maintain good hand hygiene by using sanitiser dispensers provided and avoid touching your face, handles and railings whenever possible
      Always cover your mouth if you are to cough or sneeze and wear a face covering throughout
      When passing other spectators avoid face-to-face contact with others by passing back-to-back
      Take care when singing, chanting or celebrating. Avoid hugs, handshakes and high fives with anyone outside your social bubble
      Above all enjoy the match, have fun – but stay safe and don’t put your or others’ health at risk

      “Lower down the pyramid, a lot of the restrictions you must adhere to are not easily dealt with.
      “For example, there are rules on how many toilets you must have in a certain area and the space needed for entry and exit aisles to get fans in and out. You can plan it but until you see how fans move you don’t know.
      “After our trial game, we were able to see pinch points that were causing us problems and how people would react to wearing facial coverings but in the end that didn’t prove a problem.
      “We found people would stay put for enough space before they left the ground at the end. So there was a lot of self-policing.”
      Fans will be required to wear face coverings throughout, unless medically exempt.
      Cambridge will be unable to stage games in front of more than 2,000 regardless whether the city is in tier one or two due to the logistics of implementing social distancing at the Abbey Stadium.

      Facial coverings must be worn throughout the entire time spent in grounds
      The U’s – along with Charlton – worked in September with crowd experts Movement Strategies, who helped with their planning.
      Chief executive Ian Maher says the club will be offering tickets to their 1,535 season ticket holders first – bar the 31 who live in tier three – and the remainder will be put on general sale.
      But he is urging supporters who can’t make it to let the club know so they can reallocate tickets.
      He said: “We want a full 2,000 in so our slogan is, ‘Don’t waste a space.’”Wycombe, meanwhile, will allow their season ticket holders to reallocate their places to a mate.

      Fans are being urged to turn up to games earlier than normal as it is likely to take longer to get them in.
      The Chairboys say there will organise staggered arrival times while fans may be asked to remain in their parked cars before being allowed to proceed to the entrance to avoid crowding.
      Temperature checks will be taken before entry while some clubs will be unable to provide food and drink – but some like Wycombe will allow supporters to bring their own.
      Fans will be socially distanced or placed into bubbles on the terraces.Wycombe will not open their terracing on Wednesday but hope to for the visit of Coventry on December 12.

      Fans are asked not to hug, high five or shake hands with anyone outside their social bubble
      And they plan to paint dots on the terracing and will ask supporters to find a vacant one and remain there throughout the match.
      Fans are not allowed to make any close contact with anyone outside their household bubble – such as hugging, high fiving or shaking hands.
      And, in the EFL’s code of conduct, fans are asked to “take care when singing, chanting or celebrating.”
      Government concerns about how fans travel to and from games on public transport were found to be unfounded during the EFL’s pilot matches.
      Research by the University of Edinburgh – who surveyed supporters – found that 90 per cent walked or travelled by car and adhered to all government Covid safety guidelines.
      Until we get on top of this wretched virus, going to matches will not be the same experience as it once was.
      But finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.

      It’s not a fair Klopp for the EFL, Jurgen

      LET’S put Jurgen Klopp’s rant into the perspective of the real world.
      While the Liverpool boss moans about fixture scheduling, lower league clubs are having to also deal with short turnaround in matches with smaller squads. And those teams, inching closer to financial disaster, are STILL awaiting the promised Premier League rescue package.

      Thomas Frank is happy in Legoland
      BRENTFORD had a hilarious comeback after being trolled by West London rivals QPR ahead of their game on Friday night.
      The Rs tweeted: “Friday night from the Lego Brentford Community Stadium.”
      After their 2-1 win, the Bees replied by tweeting a picture out of a Lego man’s head smiling.

      Brentford staged a great comeback for the trolls of London rivals QPR

      Potty-mouthed Paunovic swears to secrecy

      READING boss Veljko Paunovic was asked by journalists about his fiery exchange with Bristol City opposite number Dean Holden.
      He said: “What happens on the touchline stays on the touchline.”Er, not while there are no fans, Veljko.We all heard you shout at him: “Shut the f**k up!”Don’t worry, your secret is safe with a group of hacks!

      Auntie doesn’t like handbags
      ROUND of applause to the BBC for suspending local football pundit Steve Thompson for using the word “hangbags” during Lincoln’s recent 0-0 draw with Accrington Stanley.
      Notwithstanding that in the Collins dictionary it defines handbags as “an incident in which people, especially sportsmen, fight or threaten to fight, but without real intent to inflict harm.”A few loony politically-correct snowflakes complained to ‘Auntie’ apparently. So what? Tell them to get a life. More

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      Neil Warnock says there’s still life in old dog yet as Middlesbrough boss, 71, claims wife would choose pets over him

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      NEIL WARNOCK was HOUNDED out of retirement by his missus.
      The Middlesbrough boss was content to spend quality time with Sharon at home without football – but he soon found he was playing second fiddle to his two dogs in the battle for his wife’s affections.

      Boro boss Neil Warnock was hounded out of retirement by his wife Sharon

      Neil Warnock enjoys some quality time with his dogs Monty and Donald

      And Mrs Warnock was soon growling and barking at him for being useless at household chores.
      So when Warnock opted to take the Boro job in June and then commit himself for this season, it was music to her ears.
      He said: “At home we’ve a Shih Tzu called Monty and a Norfolk Terrier named Donald. They rule the roost.
      “If Sharon had a choice between having me and the dogs, they would win. I’d come a distant second!”

      Warnock has been promising to call time on a managerial career spanning 40 years for more than a decade.
      He had aimed to finish with Sheffield United but was not happy how his time ended there in 2007 – falling out with chairman Kevin McCabe and relegation following the Carlos Tevez-West Ham controversy.
      Since then, he has had ‘one last job’ at Crystal Palace, QPR, Leeds, Palace (again), QPR (again), Rotherham, Cardiff and now Middlesbrough.
      But Warnock revealed he really had settled on retirement five years ago after his month in caretaker charge at QPR following Chris Ramsay’s dismissal … until his missus had other ideas.

      The Boro boss said: “I was at home with Sharon, who had just had chemotherapy on a double mastectomy.
      “I had finished collecting chicken eggs in the garden – and, with me sat there reading the paper, she told the nurse, ‘He never washes a pot and when he does he splashes water everywhere. I’ve never seen him make a bed. He never fluffs the cushions.’
      “So I told her, ‘Tony Stewart, the Rotherham chairman, rang me this morning offering me a job? I’ll go until the end of the season if you want?’ Without hesitation, she said, ‘Go! Get off.’ That’s how I came out of retirement.”
      And it was his brief 16-match stint in charge with the Millers – leading the team to safety in the Championship – that got his juices flowing again.
      He said: “We were six points adrift when I went there and had to play seven out of the top eight straight away. We stayed up on the next to last game.
      “That was my biggest achievement ever and that was all down to Sharon!
      “I love making, with no disrespect to those Rotherham lads, average players feel invincible.”
      After another spell driving Mrs Warnock around the bend with his lack of domestic skills, Warnock took on his next big project Cardiff City.

      My wife told the nurse, ‘He never washes a pot and when he does he splashes water everywhere. I’ve never seen him make a bed. He never fluffs the cushions.'”
      NEIL WARNOCK

      And he tells a great story about the unorthodox contract he signed to take him to the club.
      He said: “I had spoken to a number of clubs and chairman Mehmet Dalman rang me one morning asking me to meet him.
      “I was in Scotland so flew down and within 15 minutes I shook his hand. He said, ‘We haven’t talked money yet.’
      “I said, ‘No, I just like you.’
      “He wouldn’t have it. He left the room and came back, saying, ‘Vincent Tan wants you to sign something.’
      “I said, ‘What are you talking about? I’ve just shook your hand, I’m a Yorkshireman!’
      “But he insisted and got a serviette out, because we were in a gentlemen’s club, and I signed it. That was my contract at Cardiff!
      “Mehmet was brilliant. I couldn’t do anything there without his help. He was a calming influence. I said to him once, ‘You’re like my father’, even though he’s nine years younger!”

      Neil Warnock led Cardiff to his eight promotion and fourth to the top flight
      During his time in South Wales, Warnock won his eighth promotion and fourth to the top flight.
      He enjoyed eight months out of the game after leaving Cardiff last November but believes he was fated to manage Boro even though he could not live any further away in Cornwall.
      He said: “Steve Gibson has been a friend of mine for years and I’ve always wanted to show him what a good manager I am.
      “When I took over the media guy, Paul Dews, said an airline was thinking of doing flights from Newquay to Teesside. I thought, ‘This is a dream.’ I went to meet the people at the airport and within a matter of days they were flying to Cornwall.
      “It’s a 40 minute drive to Newquay airport from my house so I can do the journey door to door in around just two hours. It means Sharon can fly up and I can commute sometimes too. It was fate I came here.”
      Having been successful in keeping Boro up, Warnock believes he has a special group of players capable of winning his FIFTH promotion to the top flight.
      This, he says, became apparent to him when he invited the whole squad down to his Cornish home.
      He said: “I knew in the summer that I had something special happening at Boro.
      “All the lads came for a BBQ. In the past, at almost every club I’ve been to, I’ve taken the players down there. More

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      Wayne Rooney reveals he is ready to retire aged 35 if Derby offer him manager job amid Championship struggles

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      WAYNE ROONEY has revealed he is ready to hang up his boots if Derby offer him the managerial job on a permanent basis.
      The 35-year-old has been named the sole interim boss of the Rams, who he joined as a player-coach in August.

      Wayne Rooney will be in charge of Derby for Saturday’s game against WycombeCredit: YouTube/ Derby County Football Club

      Rooney, 35, had been taking charge of Derby along with Liam Rosenior following the sacking of Phillip Cocu 
      But just days after arriving as technical director at Pride Park, Steve McLaren handed Rooney full control.
      Rooney has insisted he is ready to end his 18-year playing career in order to focus on management at Pride Park.
      The former Manchester United star said: “That possibility (of ending his playing days) is there, of course.

      “As I have stated I want to do this job and I want to go into management.
      “If I manage the team long-term I do not feel it is possible to manage and play.
      “If I’m not managing the team I will continue to play, but if I’m asked to manage the team on a full-time basis that will be the end of my playing days.
      “It’s not the answer you want to hear but as I keep saying, the focus is on Saturday.

      Wayne Rooney does not believe it is possible to manage while still playingCredit: PA:Press Association
      “The new owners are not yet here [but they are] days away from finalising so I have to focus on the team.
      “I’m sure in the near future I’ll be able to answer these questions better.
      “Management is what I want to do and what I see myself doing.
      “On Saturday it is the right decision to give my full attention to managing the team and not lose focus on that by taking part in the game.
      “We are all doing what we can to help Derby get out of this mess.”

      Wayne Rooney kicked off his senior career with Everton in 2002Credit: PA:Press Association

      Wayne Rooney’s playing career

      2002-2004 – Everton
      2004-2017 – Manchester United
      2017-2018 – Everton
      2018-2020 – D.C. United
      2020 – Present – Derby County

      Rooney faces a tough task if he wants to get Derby back to winning ways.
      The Championship side are without a win in their last nine matches in all competitions.
      As things stand, they are slumped firmly at the bottom of the table with just one win in 13 attempts.

      Wayne Rooney reveals he was keen to swap Manchester United for Barcelona in 2010 More

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      Neil Warnock insists there’s still life in old dog yet as Middlesbrough boss, 70, claims wife would choose pets over him

      by

      NEIL WARNOCK was HOUNDED out of retirement by his missus.
      The Middlesbrough boss was content to spend quality time with Sharon at home without football – but he soon found he was playing second fiddle to his two dogs in the battle for his wife’s affections.

      Boro boss Neil Warnock was hounded out of retirement by his wife Sharon

      Neil Warnock enjoys some quality time with his dogs Monty and Donald

      And Mrs Warnock was soon growling and barking at him for being useless at household chores.
      So when Warnock opted to take the Boro job in June and then commit himself for this season, it was music to her ears.
      He said: “At home we’ve a Shih Tzu called Monty and a Norfolk Terrier named Donald. They rule the roost.
      “If Sharon had a choice between having me and the dogs, they would win. I’d come a distant second!”

      Warnock has been promising to call time on a managerial career spanning 40 years for more than a decade.
      He had aimed to finish with Sheffield United but was not happy how his time ended there in 2007 – falling out with chairman Kevin McCabe and relegation following the Carlos Tevez-West Ham controversy.
      Since then, he has had ‘one last job’ at Crystal Palace, QPR, Leeds, Palace (again), QPR (again), Rotherham, Cardiff and now Middlesbrough.
      But Warnock revealed he really had settled on retirement five years ago after his month in caretaker charge at QPR following Chris Ramsay’s dismissal … until his missus had other ideas.

      The Boro boss said: “I was at home with Sharon, who had just had chemotherapy on a double mastectomy.
      “I had finished collecting chicken eggs in the garden – and, with me sat there reading the paper, she told the nurse, ‘He never washes a pot and when he does he splashes water everywhere. I’ve never seen him make a bed. He never fluffs the cushions.’
      “So I told her, ‘Tony Stewart, the Rotherham chairman, rang me this morning offering me a job? I’ll go until the end of the season if you want?’ Without hesitation, she said, ‘Go! Get off.’ That’s how I came out of retirement.”
      And it was his brief 16-match stint in charge with the Millers – leading the team to safety in the Championship – that got his juices flowing again.
      He said: “We were six points adrift when I went there and had to play seven out of the top eight straight away. We stayed up on the next to last game.
      “That was my biggest achievement ever and that was all down to Sharon!
      “I love making, with no disrespect to those Rotherham lads, average players feel invincible.”
      After another spell driving Mrs Warnock around the bend with his lack of domestic skills, Warnock took on his next big project Cardiff City.

      My wife told the nurse, ‘He never washes a pot and when he does he splashes water everywhere. I’ve never seen him make a bed. He never fluffs the cushions.'”
      NEIL WARNOCK

      And he tells a great story about the unorthodox contract he signed to take him to the club.
      He said: “I had spoken to a number of clubs and chairman Mehmet Dalman rang me one morning asking me to meet him.
      “I was in Scotland so flew down and within 15 minutes I shook his hand. He said, ‘We haven’t talked money yet.’
      “I said, ‘No, I just like you.’
      “He wouldn’t have it. He left the room and came back, saying, ‘Vincent Tan wants you to sign something.’
      “I said, ‘What are you talking about? I’ve just shook your hand, I’m a Yorkshireman!’
      “But he insisted and got a serviette out, because we were in a gentlemen’s club, and I signed it. That was my contract at Cardiff!
      “Mehmet was brilliant. I couldn’t do anything there without his help. He was a calming influence. I said to him once, ‘You’re like my father’, even though he’s nine years younger!”

      Neil Warnock led Cardiff to his eight promotion and fourth to the top flight
      During his time in South Wales, Warnock won his eighth promotion and fourth to the top flight.
      He enjoyed eight months out of the game after leaving Cardiff last November but believes he was fated to manage Boro even though he could not live any further away in Cornwall.
      He said: “Steve Gibson has been a friend of mine for years and I’ve always wanted to show him what a good manager I am.
      “When I took over the media guy, Paul Dews, said an airline was thinking of doing flights from Newquay to Teesside. I thought, ‘This is a dream.’ I went to meet the people at the airport and within a matter of days they were flying to Cornwall.
      “It’s a 40 minute drive to Newquay airport from my house so I can do the journey door to door in around just two hours. It means Sharon can fly up and I can commute sometimes too. It was fate I came here.”
      Having been successful in keeping Boro up, Warnock believes he has a special group of players capable of winning his FIFTH promotion to the top flight.
      This, he says, became apparent to him when he invited the whole squad down to his Cornish home.
      He said: “I knew in the summer that I had something special happening at Boro.
      “All the lads came for a BBQ. In the past, at almost every club I’ve been to, I’ve taken the players down there. More

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      Wayne Rooney to wind down playing career as he is made SOLE interim manager of Derby ahead of Wycombe clash on Saturday

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      WAYNE ROONEY has been named the sole interim boss of Derby – and will now start to bring the curtain down on his playing career.
      Rooney, 35, had been taking charge of the Championship strugglers along with Liam Rosenior following the sacking of Phillip Cocu earlier this month.

      Wayne Rooney has been named as Derby’s sole interim boss for their game against WycombeCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      But just two days after arriving as technical director at Pride Park, Steve McLaren has decided the partnership was not working and handed Rooney full control by himself.
      McLaren held a series of meetings with Rooney and Rosenior through today knowing something needed to change with the club rooted to the foot of the table.
      Those talks led to former England boss McLaren deciding Rooney had to given the job – on the understanding he massively scales back his playing role.
      The former Manchester United and England star will today be confirmed in the role and will have full responsibility for team selection and tactics.

      SunSport understands he has the job at least until the proposed takeover of Derby by Sheikh Khaled Zayed Bin Saquer Zayed Al Nayhan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.
      That £60million deal still needs to be signed off by the football authorities after current owner Mel Morris agreed to sell up at the start of November.
      The pressure will immediately be on Rooney to deliver a major turnaround in fortunes on the pitch following a dismal run of four straight defeats.
      Derby have not won in nine matches, and their solitary win this season came back on October 3 as the Midlands club’s hopes of a promotion challenge turned into a nightmare.

      Rooney has been part of a group of coaches taking charge of Derby since Phillip Cocu was sackedCredit: Rex Features

      The timing of the appointment has also been done to give Rooney the best possible chance of securing some desperately needed wins.
      Derby play host to third from bottom Wycombe on Saturday before Coventry, only one place outside the relegation zone, visit Pride Park three days later.
      Rosenior will continue to work as part of the coaching team at the club.

      Wayne Rooney reveals he was keen to swap Manchester United for Barcelona in 2010 More

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      Steve McClaren rejoins Derby as advisor and technical director with possible Wayne Rooney manager link-up on cards

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      DERBY COUNTY have announced the appointment of Steve McClaren as advisor and technical director.
      The Rams are on the brink of a £60million takeover from Derventio Holdings, which is owned by Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed al-Nehayan of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.

      Steve McClaren has returned for another stint at DerbyCredit: PA:Press Association

      McClaren will be reunited with Wayne RooneyCredit: PA:Press Association

      But while the deal rumbles on in the background, having been given the green light by the EFL, the Rams’ incumbent owners are seeking to reverse sliding fortunes on the pitch.
      Upon announcing McClaren’s return, CEO Stephen Pearce said: “We are delighted to have Steve’s help and support at this critical time.
      “His knowledge, experience, and academic qualifications will be invaluable to us. I am sure he will make a huge contribution.”
      Derby were expected to challenge for promotion this season, having come tenth last time out.

      But they currently sit bottom after a dismal start to the campaign, which led to the sacking of Phillip Cocu earlier this month.
      And in returning to Pride Park, McClaren will reunite with his former England talisman Wayne Rooney.
      The pair worked together during the former’s ill-fated tenure as Three Lions boss between 2006 and 2007.
      Rooney, 35, is currently in charge on an interim basis alongside Liam Rosenior.

      Rooney is currently player/interim coach at DerbyCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      But the duo have so far failed to arrest the slump, losing 1-0 at Bristol City on Saturday.
      According to TEAMtalk, Rooney wants McClaren to be part of his coaching staff, should he get the managerial gig full-time.
      McClaren initially represented the Rams as a player between 1985 and 1988, making 25 appearances for the club.
      He then returned as manager in 2013, coming within a whisker of taking his old side back to the Premier League.
      Derby lost the 2013-14 play-off final 1-0 to QPR in his first year in charge, before a late season meltdown cost them even a top-six spot the season after, blowing promotion having been league leaders in February.
      Following a subsequent spell at Newcastle, he returned once again to Pride Park in October 2016, but failed to replicate any of the old magic, being sacked just five months later.

      Wayne Rooney talks about his upcoming coaching qualifications at Derby More

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      Football fans could be allowed back in to stadiums soon with Government ‘desperate to get crowds back’

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      FOOTBALL fans could be allowed back in stadiums soon with the Government reportedly ‘desperate’ to get crowds back.
      Ministers are said to be having ‘detailed’ discussions over letting supporters back into open-air arenas.

      Football fans could soon be back in stadiums with the Government ‘desperate’ to see crowds backCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The main concern is said to be around getting people to and from events while avoiding increased infection risk on public transport, according to the Mail.
      But giving people the ‘morale boosting’ option to go and watch live sport again is one ministers are said to be ‘desperately’ pursuing.
      A source is quoted as saying: “That is an important element to consider.”
      PM Boris Johnson said yesterday: “My first message is ‘thank you’ for what you have done over the last very difficult eight months, my second is that there is hope on the horizon.”

      And a No 10 spokesman added: “Everyone’s efforts during the current national restrictions have helped bring the virus back under control, slowed its spread and eased pressures on the NHS.
      “But the Prime Minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present – and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect.”
      Brighton fans were allowed in to watch their team’s friendly against Chelsea at the end of August.
      But no other Premier League team has allowed supporters in since that test event.

      Only last week it emerged fans could be allowed back before CHRISTMAS despite the national lockdown.
      The Department of Culture, Media and Sport were said to have submitted proposals which would allow fans in areas where coronavirus infection rates are low to attend games.
      The Government are yet to officially agree but the DCMS’s involvement is encouraging.
      Football fans have long bemoaned not being allowed to re-enter stadiums, while other sports and activities have welcomed back crowds, albeit in limited numbers.
      Last month, West Ham boss David Moyes vented his frustration.
      The Scot was left baffled after West Ham’s clash with Manchester City was played behind closed doors, but the match was screened in an indoor cinema just a ten-minute walk away.
      Moyes said: “People are going watch a game in a cinema, close to here, why can we not be sitting outside in the open air doing it?
      “Please come out and give us an explanation as to why we can’t do it.”

      Rishi Sunak says government doing their best to get families together for Christmas — but warns it won’t be ‘normal’ More

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      Pukki fires Norwich top after Boro’s Tavernier has penalty disallowed for touching ball TWICE to end long unbeaten run

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      TEEMU PUKKI fired Norwich top and ended the country’s longest unbeaten run following penalty drama at Middlesbrough.
      The Canaries striker came off the bench to stroke home a spot-kick to earn a 1-0 win – but Boro boss Neil Warnock was left spitting feathers over his side’s bad luck as their 10-game undefeated streak came to a crashing end.

      Teemu Pukki came off the bench to fire Norwich top after victory at MiddlesbroughCredit: PA:Press Association

      Marcus Tavernier’s penalty was ruled out after he slipped taking it and hit the ball twiceCredit: Getty

      Marcus Tavernier was handed the perfect chance to fire the hosts ahead on 51 minutes, but he touched the ball twice after slipping while converting to force the officials to rule it out before Pukki struck late on.
      Warnock, whose side had gone 10 without defeat prior, admitted he had not witnessed anything like the Tavernier incident in over 1,000 games in the dug-out.
      He said: “No, not really. That’s how it goes. We’ve had a few lads slip today.
      “Marcus Bettenelli didn’t have a shot to save today against a really good side – which makes it all the more disappointing. You need a bit of luck.”

      There was little to separate the sides at the break but moments after the restart the game burst into life with the unique moment very rarely seen.
      Tavernier placed the ball on the spot after ex-Boro star Ben Gibson tripped him inside the area and slotted home down the middle despite losing his footing.
      But Boro’s celebrations were short lived as the eagle-eyed referee spotted the attacker had touched the ball with both feet when falling, and awarded a free-kick to Norwich instead.
      A super last-ditch tackle from Dael Fry denied Pukki when clean through as the Canaries flew forward in search of a breakthrough.

      However, it would be the Finn who delivered the killer blow in the 72nd minute as he sent Bettinelli the wrong way after Hayen Coulson fouled Aarons.
      Norwich boss Daniel Farke said: “It feels like a massive win for us. It’s a tough place and they have conceded just once in their last eight games.
      “Both penalties were fair to be rewarded. But thank god they were unable to use their situation and Pukki was ice cold.”

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      Neil Warnock leaves fans in hysterics as Cardiff boss stares into TV camera More