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      Struggling Man Utd star Harry Maguire too important to be rested for club or country despite crisis, says Southgate

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      GARETH SOUTHGATE is adamant Harry Maguire is too important to be rested for either club or country – despite his alarming confidence crisis.
      The Manchester United skipper was sent off after half an hour of England’s 1-0 defeat by Denmark on Wednesday for two desperate challenges.

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      Gareth Southgate has urged Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not to drop Harry Maguire despite his horror run of formCredit: Rex Features

      And since being jailed while on holiday in Mykonos in August, Maguire has suffered shockers in United’s home defeats by Crystal Palace and Tottenham.
      Yet England boss Southgate remains convinced the defender must carry on playing for England, while believing he is also undroppable at Old Trafford.
      Southgate said: “My view would be that you’ve got to play your way through these moments.
      “Harry is too important a player for them and us to think about resting him but that would be for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his staff to make those decisions.”

      Southgate backed Maguire to the hilt following his arrest while on holiday in Greece in August – naming him in his squad for three September internationals.
      The England manager then had to dump him hours later, when he was convicted of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
      Yet when Maguire appealed – and was seen as innocent in the eyes of the law, with a future retrial likely – there were serious discussions about recalling the 2018 World Cup hero, with concerns about the lack of defensive depth.
      Southgate was buoyed by the performances of Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings at the heart of defence after Maguire’s red card against the Danes.

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      Maguire was sent-off against Denmark in his latest horror showCredit: PA:Press Association

      He also rates Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and Spurs’ Eric Dier, with Kyle Walker impressing in a back three in the 2-1 win over Belgium.
      Yet still the England boss insists Maguire, 27, cannot be rested for key fixtures.
      Southgate’s loyalty seems excessive given Maguire’s current form.
      Perhaps the fact he is captain of United and the world’s most expensive defender at £85million can blind people into believing Maguire is a better player than he is.
      More likely, his leadership qualities – uncommon in the modern game – are treasured.
      Yet there is no point in being a ‘leader’ if you are going to commit a borderline red-card offence within five minutes, followed by a clear second booking, in an attempt to recover from a mistake.
      That was the sum total of Maguire’s contribution against Denmark and all of his qualities as a motivator and a great ‘team man’ are irrelevant if he cannot perform his basic defensive duties.

      Gareth Southgate reacts to Harry Maguire and Reece James red cards More

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      Uefa admit delayed Euros CAN’T go ahead as planned – with format set to be changed and some host cities set for axe

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      FOOTBALL bosses are preparing to rip up the format for the Euros – and SCRAP some venues.
      Uefa privately accept there is no way that next summer’s tournament – postponed because of Covid – will be able to go ahead with the planned 12 host cities.

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      Euro 2020 is set for a format change with some host cities to be axed due to Covid

      A worst-case scenario could see one country stage the tournament with four venues being used.
      Wembley is due to stage seven games, including England’s three group matches, plus the semi-finals and final.
      The competition is sure to go ahead – owing to the millions Uefa will receive from TV companies.
      And the governing body is hopeful supporters will still be able to attend.

      But some venues are at risk and the tournament will have to be condensed to ensure less travelling.
      Places such as Baku in Azerbaijan – now caught in a conflict with Armenia – plus St Petersburg in Russia will be among the first to be dropped.

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      Baku, Azerbaijan, is under threat as the country is in conflict with ArmeniaCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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      San Mames in Bilbao, Spain, is among those that could be axed as it struggled to sell ticketsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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      Bilbao in Spain struggled to sell tickets so would also be in the firing line.
      Uefa know they can complete a tournament in one country, with teams staying in bubbles.

      Further meetings are due over the next few months.

      Manager Paul Fairclough talks about the England C team and its importance to the game More

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      Furious Newcastle fans claim Ashley and Co have taken £7MILLION from them in season tickets for games they haven’t seen

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      FURIOUS Newcastle fans claim the club have taken £7MILLION from season-ticket holders since March – for games they have not attended.
      The Newcastle United Supporters Trust said more than 18,000 Toon Army followers are still being charged for games played behind closed doors.

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      Newcastle fans claim the club have taken £7m from them in season ticket costs for game they haven’t been able to watchCredit: Reuters

      Mike Ashley’s Magpies are losing around £1m a month during the pandemic – the same amount the NUST accuse the club of taking from fans.
      And the St James’ faithful will also have to cough up another £14.95 to watch Newcastle play Manchester United on pay-per-view tomorrow.
      The Trust also claim the club, who are owned by Sports Direct billionaire Ashley, are the only Premier League side continuing to charge their hard-up fans for matches they cannot attend.
      A statement read: “Over 18,000 fans are still being charged monthly direct debit payments for season 20-21 and have been since March.

      “Over £1m per month flows out of North East fan households into Newcastle United, at a time of record unemployment and hardship.
      “No other Premier League club is currently taking money from fans.
      “On top of this, fans must pay £14.95 for pay-per-view games. The cost of watching football in the UK is out of control.
      “Sky, BT and Amazon Prime combined is a minimum of £803.88 per year.

      “Adding £14.95 pay-per-view games will be almost £300 per year extra.
      “This is not right. The Premier League should act. Newcastle United need to act.
      “Stop taking money from people who need it. Start listening and talking to fans. Start giving back.”
      But a Newcastle source disputed the £7m claim and said: “The figure is a broad calculation and not accurate.
      “There is a commitment to refund fans for missed games.
      “But it is difficult to say season tickets will cease because we don’t know how many games they will miss.
      “We have been in dialogue with the Trust and had meetings planned for next week.”

      Newcastle cult hero Hatem Ben Arfa joins Bordeaux after sealing free transfer More

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      Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney in line for Derby manager job as Rams chiefs lose patience with Phillip Cocu

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      WAYNE ROONEY is in line to become Derby boss — and may even be in charge by the start of next week.
      The Rams face Watford on Friday night and another defeat could spell the end for under-fire Phillip Cocu.

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      Wayne Rooney is in line to become Derby bossCredit: PA:Press Association

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      Derby face Watford on Friday night and another defeat could spell the end for under-fire Phillip CocuCredit: PA:Press Association

      Ironically, sources insist boss Cocu was only saved from the chop before the international break by Rooney’s late winner at Norwich a fortnight ago.
      Yet he is still on the brink, and owner Mel Morris plans to turn to skipper Rooney, 34, if they lose against the  Hornets.
      With England’s all-time leading scorer still to get all his FA badges, it means he will need an experienced, fully-qualified coach alongside him — and him — and former Rams manager John Gregory is the man they want.
      Rooney joined Derby  as player-coach on an 18-month contract — with a further one-year option — when he returned from playing for DC United America in August 2019.

      He began his coaching badges within months and admitted he first thought of a post-playing career in management when he was still at Manchester United.
      Rooney insisted he always planned to become a boss one day, and revealed on arriving at Championship club Derby: “I’ve always been interested in it.
      “When Louis van Gaal was manager at United, Ryan Giggs was analysing the opponents and I used to go in there for a few hours after training.”
      Dutchman Cocu replaced Frank Lampard when he moved on to take the Chelsea job in July 2019, but missed out on the play-offs in a disappointing first season.

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      Rooney joined Derby as player-coach on an 18-month contractCredit: Rex Features

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      Sources say Cocu was only saved from the chop before the international break by Rooney’s late winner at NorwichCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      This campaign has been even worse, and after needing penalties to see off League Two new boys Barrow in the League Cup, Derby lost the next four games before Rooney’s late Carrow Road winner.
      Mike Phelan, currently on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s backroom team at Old Trafford, had also been mentioned as a possible No 2 to Rooney.
      Yet Gregory, 66, who was manager for 12 months before he was sacked in 2003, is  favourite.
      He is available after leaving Chennaiyin FC, a year after he led them to the Indian Super League title two years ago.

      Mel Morris laughs off reports that Wayne Rooney is about to replace Phillip Cocu at Derby More

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      Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney in line for Derby job as Rams chiefs lose patience with manager Phillip Cocu

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      WAYNE ROONEY is in line to become Derby boss — and may even be in charge by the start of next week.
      The Rams face Watford on Friday night and another defeat could spell the end for under-fire Phillip Cocu.

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      Wayne Rooney is in line to become Derby bossCredit: PA:Press Association

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      Derby face Watford on Friday night and another defeat could spell the end for under-fire Phillip CocuCredit: PA:Press Association

      Ironically, sources insist boss Cocu was only saved from the chop before the international break by Rooney’s late winner at Norwich a fortnight ago.
      Yet he is still on the brink, and owner Mel Morris plans to turn to skipper Rooney, 34, if they lose against the  Hornets.
      With England’s all-time leading scorer still to get all his FA badges, it means he will need an experienced, fully-qualified coach alongside him — and him — and former Rams manager John Gregory is the man they want.
      Rooney joined Derby  as player-coach on an 18-month contract — with a further one-year option — when he returned from playing for DC United America in August 2019.

      He began his coaching badges within months and admitted he first thought of a post-playing career in management when he was still at Manchester United.
      Rooney insisted he always planned to become a boss one day, and revealed on arriving at Championship club Derby: “I’ve always been interested in it.
      “When Louis van Gaal was manager at United, Ryan Giggs was analysing the opponents and I used to go in there for a few hours after training.”
      Dutchman Cocu replaced Frank Lampard when he moved on to take the Chelsea job in July 2019, but missed out on the play-offs in a disappointing first season.

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      Rooney joined Derby as player-coach on an 18-month contractCredit: Rex Features

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      Sources say Cocu was only saved from the chop before the international break by Rooney’s late winner at NorwichCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      This campaign has been even worse, and after needing penalties to see off League Two new boys Barrow in the League Cup, Derby lost the next four games before Rooney’s late Carrow Road winner.
      Mike Phelan, currently on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s backroom team at Old Trafford, had also been mentioned as a possible No 2 to Rooney.
      Yet Gregory, 66, who was manager for 12 months before he was sacked in 2003, is  favourite.
      He is available after leaving Chennaiyin FC, a year after he led them to the Indian Super League title two years ago.

      Eddie Hearn wants to stage Wayne Rooney vs Rio Ferdinand charity BOXING match at Man Utd’s Old Trafford More

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      Man Utd and Liverpool threaten to ramp up European Super League plans if clubs don’t accept Project Big Picture vision

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      MANCHESTER UNITED and Liverpool may ramp up Euro Super League plans in a bitter twist if Project Big Picture is snubbed.
      The two English giants face a backlash when all 20 Prem clubs stage a virtual meeting today.

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      Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United could push for a European Super LeagueCredit: Getty – Pool

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      Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are supporting the Red DevilsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

      But SunSport has been told smaller top-flight teams have been threatened with a breakaway European league if they do not agree to the deal. Project Big Picture wants to reduce the Prem from 20 to 18 clubs and scrap the Carabao Cup. 
      The EFL would also get 25 per cent of all future TV deals, plus £250million.
      But it has emerged the Big Six stand to rake in ‘hundreds of millions’ if they get the rights to sell up to eight games a season on overseas pay-per-view streams.

      According to club sources, the ultimatum came as top flight outfits voiced their private anger at the Project Big Picture proposals, including giving the Big Six a policy veto and a fundamental change in the club revenue split.
      One insider revealed: “The pair of them made it pretty clear what they saw the situation was.
      “We were told ‘you either come with us and make a deal or we will start detailed talks about a Super League’.
      “The argument was that by agreeing to these proposals, we would still have a share in what we have got now but risk being left with nothing if we didn’t go along with it.”

      Club bosses are ready to call the bluff of Liverpool and United, believing that even the rest of the Big Six are reluctant to publicly or privately back the plans.

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      FA chairman Greg Clarke yesterday revealed he walked away from initial PBP talks in the spring when a breakaway league was ‘mooted as a threat’.
      At that point, he claims in a letter to the FA Council: “The principal aim of these discussions became the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few clubs, with a breakaway league mooted as a threat.”
      And he warned that any breakaway competition would not be sanctioned by the FA, adding: “It is the FA’s responsibility to sanction competitions in England – including any proposed new competition – as well as being responsible for licensing clubs, through UEFA, to play in Europe.”
      It seems certain that United and Liverpool will be walking into a firestorm at today’s meeting, especially with the League board also furious at the backdoors deal cut with EFL chairman Rick Parry.
      A number of Prem clubs plan to call for a vote to demand Parry’s resignation as a price of his perceived ‘treachery’ before there can be any future talks about a bailout of the lower divisions.
      Even Big Six members who back some of the proposals believe the plan as it stands is doomed to fail.
      Other clubs have accused the American hierarchies at Anfield and Old Trafford of simply having no understanding of English footballing culture.

      PROPOSED PREMIER LEAGUE CHANGES IN FULL

      EFL given £250m for loss of matchday revenue – deducted from future TV earnings.
      Nine longest-serving clubs have ‘special status’ – with just six votes from those clubs needed to pass a new rule.
      Premier League to go from 20 clubs to 18.
      FA awarded £100m gift to help during Covid-19 pandemic to help non-league game, the women’s game and grassroots football.
      8.5 per cent of annual net Premier League revenue to go to ‘good causes’, including the FA.
      25 per cent of all combined Premier League and Football League revenues to go to EFL clubs.
      Six per cent of Premier League gross revenues to pay for stadium improvements across the top four divisions.
      New rules for the distribution of Premier League television income, overseas and domestic.
      League Cup and the Community Shield to be axed.
      24 clubs each in the Championship, League One and League Two reducing the professional game overall from 92 clubs to 90.
      A women’s professional league independent of the Premier League and FA.
      Two sides automatically relegated from the Premier League every season and the top two Championship teams promoted.
      The 16th place Premier League club plays in a play-off tournament with the Championship’s third, fourth and fifth placed teams.
      Financial Fair Play regulations in line with Uefa, and full access for Premier League executive to club accounts.
      Away tickets for fans to be capped at £20, with travel subsidised, a focus on a return to safe standing, a minimum away allocation of eight per cent capacity.
      Later Premier League start in August to give greater scope for pre-season friendlies, and requirement for all clubs to compete once every five years in a summer Premier League tournament.
      Huge changes to loan system allowing clubs to have 15 players out on loan domestically at any one time and up to four at a single club in England.
      *According to The Telegraph…

      But there is also a recognition that even if there is a huge vote to shoot down the plan in flames, it will not go away for long.
      Liverpool and United both have seats on the board of the European Club Association, headed by Juventus President Andrea Agnelli, which is plotting a revamp of club football from 2024-25.
      A European Super League remains the ambition of a number of Europe’s leading clubs, especially those who dominate their national leagues and need more competitive football to keep revenues growing.
      What has become clear to all 20 clubs and the League is the commercial push that will exacerbate the divide between the haves and the have nots.
      Among the plans drafted by Liverpool and United would be for all clubs to have the right to sell the overseas rights to up to eight games per season.
      It is estimated that Big Six showdowns would attract huge audience figures in the Far East, with expectations that clubs ‘could earn more from one game than an entire Champions League season.’

      Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says he fears Premier League reform plans are a ‘power grab’ More

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      EFL clubs support Project Big Picture plans as Man Utd and Liverpool fans turn against ‘sugar-coated cyanide pill’

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      FANS have united to brand football’s controversial revamp plan “a sugar-coated CYANIDE pill”.
      EFL clubs last night pledged their “strong support” to the Manchester United and Liverpool-driven Project Big Picture proposals.

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      Man Utd fans are completely against the Project Big Six plansCredit: PA:Press Association

      But the two Prem giants’ own fans turned against them yesterday — backed by supporters from the rest of the Big Six and the Football Supporters Association.
      In a savage attack, the FSA warned: “These plans are not the answer — they would be an absolute disaster.
      “The insatiable greed of a small handful of billionaire owners cannot be allowed to determine the structure of football in this country.
      “While Project Big Picture dangles an alleged £250million ‘rescue fund’ in front of EFL clubs to cover lost revenues, it might actually be a sugar-coated cyanide pill.

      “Six billionaire club owners could change the rules of the game any time they like.
      “There is no guarantee that they won’t pull up the drawbridge and cut funding entirely to the EFL, as it signed its own death warrant.”
      The FSA admit the game is in “crisis” and “many clubs desperately need financial support to survive.”
      But the group has promised to lobby Oliver Dowden at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport plus all football authorities including the FA Council, which meets tomorrow.

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      EFL chief Rick Parry is backing the controversial plans Credit: Rex Features

      A joint letter by the official fan groups at Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs wrote: “We all understand that football doesn’t work in isolation.
      “It’s a family and requires a fair share of resources to ensure the Premier League is competitive.
      “We do not support the proposals in their current form. There are some suggestions in this plan that have merit.
      “But we are totally opposed to concentrating power in the hands of six billionaire owners and departing from the one club, one vote and collective ethos of the Premier League. This part must be dropped immediately.”
      However, meetings of the 71 EFL clubs brought near-unanimous approval of the package.
      An EFL statement read: “The proposals, which look to address the long-term economic imbalance across the pyramid while also addressing the short-term financial need created as a result of Covid-19, received strong support.”

      Premier League matches will cost £14.95 on PPV Box Office channels with Man Utd and Chelsea games among first clashes More