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      Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink watches on from stands as new club Burton concede three goals in disastrous half hour vs Oxford

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      JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK watched on in horror from the stands as his new Burton side conceded three goals within a disastrous first half an hour against Oxford.
      The Dutchman, 48, was appointed manager at the Pirelli Stadium on Friday – five years after leaving the club to take over at QPR.

      Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, right, watched on from the stands as his new Burton side got smashed at home by OxfordCredit: Rex Features

      But not even 24 hours later, he realised the magnitude of the task at hand trying to keep the Brewers in League One this season.
      Coach Chris Beardsley and physio Nick Fenton took charge of the game on Saturday afternoon when Karl Robinson’s O’s visited.
      Just nine minutes were on the clock when Matty Taylor opened the scoring for the away side with a lob.
      And it was 2-0 after 18 when Olamide Shodipo fired into the top corner.

      Then Shodipo tucked home again on 31 minutes to take things from bad to worse for Burton, who started the day bottom of League One despite no team playing more matches than the Brewers this season.
      Hasselbaink was given something to smile about when Burton’s Kane Hemmings tapped in a rebound just before half-time.
      But normal service resumed ten minutes after the break when Josh Ruffels smashed in from 25 yards to make it 4-1 to Oxford – then the same player added a fifth just after the hour mark to complete the rout.
      The new manager will be desperate to get to work with his squad as they try and survive relegation into the fourth tier.

      Hasselbaink, who replaced Nigel Clough’s successor Jake Buxton, joined with the Midlanders six points from safety and with just two wins all season.
      The former Leeds United, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea striker enjoyed a successful 13-month spell at Burton between November 2014 and December 2015.
      He guided the club to the League Two title and left with a win percentage of 61 per cent and his side top of League One before taking the QPR job.
      After a year at Loftus Road and most of the 2017-18 season with Northampton, he had been out of management for nearly three years before returning to work under Burton chairman Ben Robinson.
      Hasselbaink said: “Burton Albion is a club which is very close to my heart and a really special club for me and my family.
      “The job is totally different from the first time, but we are coming in to try as quickly as possible to get us up the league and keep ourselves in League One.
      “There is enough quality in the playing squad but that’s not reflected in where we are in the table so there is a lot of hard work to be done.”

      Oxford ran riot in a dominant first half at the Pirelli StadiumCredit: Rex Features

      Olamide Shodipo made it 3-0 to the visitors with just 31 minutes on the clockCredit: Rex Features

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      Sunderland postpone Accrington Stanley clash as League One club struggles with coronavirus outbreak in squad

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      SUNDERLAND have postponed their League One clash with Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night due to a coronavirus outbreak at the club.
      The Black Cats are reported to have thirteen positive cases in their playing staff, including all three senior goalkeepers.

      Sunderland have been forced to postpone a fourth game due to a coronavirus outbreakCredit: Reuters

      A number of players self-isolating would have only been able to rejoin the rest of the group on Tuesday – the day of the game itself.
      SunSport previously reported that Sunderland had been forced to shut down their training ground for ten days.
      Tuesday’s away clash at Accrington has been the fourth game the League One club have had to postpone.
      Sunderland’s matches against Blackpool, Hull City and Shrewsbury already needed to be rescheduled.

      A club statement said: “Scheduled to take place on Tuesday 29 December, the club has informed the EFL that it will be unable to play the fixture due to the ongoing effects of a Covid-19 outbreak at the Academy of Light.
      “Due to the scale of this outbreak and the volume of positive tests returned by players and staff, the club has taken the decision to postpone the game based solely on the health and wellbeing of all effected.
      “Lee Johnson’s side are now set to return to action in the New Year, kicking off 2021 with a trip to Northampton Town on Saturday 2 January (KO 3pm).”
      A further statement from the EFL added: “The club informed the EFL that they would be unable to fulfil the fixture following the recent positive Covid-19 tests and the requirement for players and staff to self-isolate as per EFL and Government guidance in order to mitigate against the risk of further infection.

      “The circumstances around the postponement will now be the subject of an investigation in accordance with EFL regulations.
      “A revised date for the rearranged fixture will be confirmed in due course.”
      Sunderland are now 11th in the League One table following a 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon during their last outing earlier this month.

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      Man Utd legend Roy Keane cracks rare smile as he watches Salford’s game against Walsall with Ryan Giggs

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      ROY KEANE has been snapped in a festive mood as he cracked a rare smile during Salford City’s 2-0 win against Walsall at Moor Lane.
      The 49-year-old was joined by his former Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs in the stands during the League Two side’s victory.

      Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs were in attendance to watch Salford beat Walsall at Moor LaneCredit: PA:Press Association

      Giggs – a co-owner of the club alongside David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes – looked stony-faced during the encounter.
      But it proved to be smooth sailing for Salford as they found the back of the net in either half to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
      And it was former Red Devils striker James Wilson – who was handed his United debut under the tutelage of Giggs – who opened the scoring.
      The 25-year-old has been in fine form this term having scored six goals including two in his last two outings.

      Luke Burgess secured the three points for Salford in the 87th minute to lift his side up to sixth in the table.
      Keane has been spotted at Moor Lane on a number of occasions this season, though he was left with a face of anger during the 1-1 draw against Crawley.
      And he was left equally as unimpressed when Salford threw away a two-goal lead against Tranmere.
      The ex-Sunderland gaffer recently tipped United to challenge for the Premier League title this campaign.

      Speaking after United’s 6-2 win against Leeds, he told Sky Sports: “I don’t believe McTominay there when he said they don’t look at league tables.
      “Everybody looks at league tables. Players and staff. That’s what you’re playing the game for.
      “You want to know where you are obviously and where you’re heading to.
      “It’s been a nice few days for United. They had to beat Sheffield United and Leeds just to put another marker down.
      “I still think Liverpool are the strongest but United I think could be the best of the rest.”
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      Sunderland announce takeover agreement with 22-year-old Louis-Dreyfus heir whose parents are worth mega £4.2BILLION

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      SUNDERLAND have confirmed a takeover by 22-year-old Kyril Louis-Dreyfus whose parents are worth £4.2BILLION.
      Mackems owner Stewart Donald has been searching for a buyer for months and has finally agreed a deal to sell.

      Sunderland have confirmed an agreement has been reached for 22-year-old Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to takeover the clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Makems owner Stewart Donald has agreed to sell his controlling stakeCredit: PA:Press Association

      Documents have been submitted to the EFL who still need to ratify the deal.
      But if they rubber stamp the sale, Dreyfus will become chairman of the Weirsiders – who are 11th in League One – early in January.
      Dreyfus is the son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus – former CEO at Adidas and majority shareholder Marseille.
      And the family’s vast wealth originates from Kyril’s great-great grandfather Leopold – who starting selling wheat in France before the family business diversified into oil and shipping.

      Donald said: “It’s been no secret that I have been looking for some time to find the right person to take Sunderland forward and during the course of the last year there have been a lot of different people wanting to take over.
      “However, even though it is a matter of public record that some of those bidders offered me more money, I felt that they offered less to the club and to the community.
      “Whereas from the early meetings with Kyril, his family and advisers, I have been greatly impressed with their knowledge and understanding, learned over a long period as owners of major football clubs in Belgium and France.
      “I believe that experience, combined with a good plan, will provide a platform for the club to progress and I look forward to watching that progress from afar.”

      Louis-Dreyfus said: “First, I would like to thank Stewart Donald for his integrity and reasonableness over the last three months, which has led to me having the opportunity to take a controlling stake in Sunderland AFC.
      “I am fully aware of the efforts undertaken by the current ownership and board to protect the viability of the club and respect the difficulty of this task, given Sunderland’s recent past and the current economic climate.
      “We respectfully await the EFL’s approval for this transaction.
      “Nonetheless it would be remiss of me at this stage not to emphasise what an enormous honour it would be for me to become involved with such a historic club, in a city renowned for its rich football culture going back to 1879.
      “Many will be aware of my family connections to the industry and, in acquiring Sunderland AFC, I understand the responsibility that’s placed upon me as the custodian of the club’s future.
      “Moving forward, we have a long-term strategy which integrates Sunderland’s proud traditions with a modern structure and approach.
      “We will seek to be at the frontier of research and innovation in all performance domains and place great emphasis on player development and the team’s style of play.
      “We want to create a team that is entertaining to watch and that embodies the spirit and the culture of those who attend, thereby reconnecting the team with its fanbase, whose support will be so vital to our success.
      “In the midst of a global pandemic, we should all be aware of the difficult situation the club is currently in and the challenges we face in the months to come.
      “However, through hard work, a diligent plan and togetherness from the board of directors, staff, players and supporters we can between us create a brighter future at the Stadium of Light.
      “If we all play our parts, I firmly believe we can restore Sunderland AFC to the top tier of English football and I can’t wait to get started.”

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      Sunderland, Ipswich and Portsmouth handed early Christmas present with £2.7m EFL bailout money given as gift not loan

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      CHRISTMAS is coming early for Sunderland and other ‘big clubs’ in League One – with the EFL cash bailout now a GIFT.
      The major boost means that the Black Cats will be the big winners after their claim for help will be answered with a payment of around £2.7 million.

      Lee Johnson’s Sunderland are one of the clubs to benefit from an early Christmas giftCredit: Rex Features

      Ipswich and Portsmouth are two other outfits who are due seven-figure payments, with the real reward being it is FREE money.
      The pot for League One, handed down from the Premier League’s original donation, is now going to be split according to losses but will not have to be paid back.
      It is estimated to be £11.8m in total, with insiders revealing the ‘big three’ will grab the majority of that figure.
      A vote among clubs opted to make it a gift rather than a loan, which is major help for Sunderland in particular as it would have complicated a possible takeover.

      Amazingly some of those smaller teams did not ask for extra and settled for the original £375,000 they all received.
      Accrington Stanley revealed that they have lost almost £700,000, ranking them at number 43 out of 48 in the bottom two divisions.
      The Lancashire club picked up £223,013 in the first hand-out and £375,000 in the one-off grant.
      So they are down but did not apply for help.

      League Two clubs have yet to decide how to split their £3.8m pot.
      They threw out a plan for it to be divided up according to losses.
      The formula to calculate lost revenue in League One is based on these four main categories: Seasons tickets refunded, season tickets still due, gate receipts and hospitality refunds both for last season and this campaign so far.
      So the clubs with the biggest supports will get the largest financial gift – and won’t have to give it back.

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      Ian Holloway quits as Grimsby boss after 12-months on his Twitter account after ‘inappropriate’ contact by new owners

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      IAN HOLLOWAY has quit his role as manager of League Two strugglers Grimsby – and told fans exactly why.
      The 57-year-old took charge of the Mariners a year ago but leaves them 20th in the fourth tier.

      Ian Holloway has quit his job as Grimsby managerCredit: PA

      Now he has resigned from the job after last night’s 2-1 defeat to Bradford left them just six points above the relegation zone.
      And he cited his ‘strained’ relationship with Grimsby’s possible new owners as the reason behind his exit.
      Holloway explained in a lengthy Twitter thread: “To all the fans; it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my resignation as manager of Grimsby Town Football Club. New wannabe owners are hovering over GTFC and John (Fenty, majority shareholder) has told me he is selling his stake in the club, so it’s time for a fresh start across the board for this great club.
      “Contact was made by the new owners to me on several occasions before the takeover, which I felt was inappropriate, and told them as such. This is the key factor in my decision.

      “Why? The relationship between the incoming new owners, board and manager is so, so important. It needs to be strong for a club to succeed, and we got off on the wrong footing. Therefore, that relationship will be strained from the off, which is bad for the club.
      “This is a club that, if everybody has its best interests at heart, can progress onwards and upwards. That is their challenge. That is their honour. I sincerely wish them all the best going forward and I implore them to communicate regularly and openly with the fans.
      “For a myriad of reasons, on and off the pitch, it feels like we didn’t get a fair crack together, and I take my share of the blame too. I hoped for this to be a long, serious relationship but it hasn’t worked out that way, and that saddens me.
      “I wish you every bit of success. The fans deserve it. God bless.”

      Grimsby confirmed Holloway’s departure shortly after his tweets.

      A statement read: “It is with great sadness and disappointment that Ian Holloway has made his intentions absolutely clear that with John Fenty agreeing to sell his shares, he does not want to remain at the club without progressing with the people that he came here to work with.
      “The board and Ollie had a joint vision, first to improve the league position, secondly to deliver top class training facilities and finally by relocation to a new community stadium.
      “It has been a difficult year for obvious reasons which invariably affected all clubs, some worse than others.
      “The club, albeit prematurely, will prepare to move on to a new chapter and would like to put on record its thanks to Ian and Kim for committing themselves to our vision and wish them both all the very best for the future.”

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      Watch Arsenal stopper Alex Runarsson horror gaffe as he punches Riyad Mahrez free-kick into his own net

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      ARSENAL keeper Alex Runarsson will have wanted to do a Runar after his howler against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
      The Gunners’ Icelandic backup somehow punched Riyad Mahrez’ free-kick into his own net to put City 2-1 up in the 54th minute of their 4-1 defeat.

      Alex Runarsson punched Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick into his own netCredit: Sky Sports

      The Icelandic stopper made the gaffe just before the hour mark in Arsenal’s 4-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Man CityCredit: Sky Sports

      The ball ballooned up off his gloves and into the back of the netCredit: Sky Sports

      Alexandre Lacazette’s strike cancelled out Gabriel Jesus’ third minute opener and Arsenal were very much in the game.
      But their momentum was dashed just before the hour mark when the Icelandic let the ball slip through his hands.
      City won a free-kick just on the edge of the box.
      Mahrez whipped it towards Runarsson’s side of the goal with the 25-year-old looking certain to stop it.

      He set himself and prepared to punch the fierce effort away.
      But rather than deflecting the ball away, he somehow managed to divert it into his own net.
      Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte added goals in the 59th and 73rd minute respectively to send the Gunners crashing out.
      Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta defended his keeper and said: “He hasn’t played a lot of games for us he’s just adapting to the league.

      “We all make mistakes but we have to support him.”
      Asked whether he considered playing No1 Bernd Leno instead, Arteta said:”Yes, but Bernd has played a lot of minutes, he needed some rest as well and we want to give opportunities to other players.
      “Alex has done well in other games and these things happen in football.”
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      Brentford 1 Newcastle 0: Josh Dasilva’s second-half peach sees Bees take FOURTH Prem scalp to reach Carabao Cup semis

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      JOSH DASILVA sent jubilant Brentford through to their first ever Cup semi-final – while it was another night of misery for Newcastle.
      The former Arsenal midfielder scored a cracking 66th minute volley for the Championship side who had already polished off three Premier League teams in the Carabao Cup.

      Josh Dasilva scored Brentford’s winner as they beat Newcastle 1-0 to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finalCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The midfielder swept home with his left foot in the 66th minuteCredit: Reuters

      But Steve Bruce’s side can have few arguments about going the same way as Southampton, West Brom and Fulham as their overall performance was poor.
      And it was fitting that Dasilva proved to be the matchwinner as he was outstanding throughout.
      The England Under-21 international delivered a neat finish from just inside the box meaning Newcastle have not reached the last four of the League Cup for 45 years.
      Brentford are unbeaten in 14 matches and you would fancy their chances whoever they meet in the last four.

      They were the better team despite top scorer and former Newcastle man Ivan Toney not being introduced until after the goal.
      Newcastle had a few chances but were not able to control the game.
      Callum Wilson managed the first decent shot but home keeper Luke Daniels saved. Wilson then delivered an air shot as he failed to connect to a terrific cross from Ryan Fraser.
      Yet it was Brentford playing the more enterprising football and they should have taken the lead.

      Steve Bruce cut a forlorn figure as his side crashed out of the quarter-finalsCredit: PA:Press Association

      Brentford boss Thomas Frank looked delighted with the result after a frustrating first halfCredit: PA:Press Association

      Callum Wilson looked dangerous for Newcastle in the first-halfCredit: Reuters

      Although Saman Ghoddos’ scuffed shot hit the bar, unmarked Sergi Canos somehow failed to score with a free header and instead managed to nod the ball wide.
      It was hardly a surprise that he held his head in his hands with embarrassment.
      Newcastle shifted up a gear before half-time and Fraser forced Daniels to tip a half volley over the bar.
      Brentford’s new stadium is certainly impressive but the pitch – which is now being used for rugby by London Irish – is already in a bit of a state.
      Throw in some heavy rain, and both sets of players struggled to keep their feet and moving the ball at speed also proved difficult.

      It was fairly even before the breakCredit: AFP

      Dasilva looked comfortable on the ball throughout for the home sideCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      As a result, the game was pretty scrappy and the second half was not much better.
      There were strong Brentford claims for a penalty after the ball hit the arm of Isaac Hayden and Newcastle were thankful there was no VAR.
      Ciaran Clarke delivered blocks from Canos and Christian Norgaard within about three seconds of each other to save Newcastle.
      But there was no stopping Brentford and they took the lead through Dasilva for his fourth goal of the season.
      He was completely unmarked to meet a clever cross from Canos but still did well to control the volley which he sent underneath Karl Darlow.
      Former Newcastle man Ivan Toney then replaced Canos and while Bruce threw on Andy Carroll, he could not stop another Cup flop for the north-east club.

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