Rio and Anton Ferdinand issue statement as race row rumbles on

It has been a year since the incident at Loftus Road. During that time, some of the deep divisions that exist in football have been exposed. In the coming months there will be ongoing discussions, we are sure, on finding a way forward. We intend to participate in these discussions, along with numerous other current and ex-professionals of all races, from the grass roots upwards, across the football community as a whole.

On the issue of Kick It Out, we would like to go on record to say what fantastic work they have done in the past regarding education and awareness. However, times change and organisations need to change with them. We are more than happy to join the discussion, privately, to make Kick It Out more relevant in its fight to stamp out racism in football.

Although we have been left disappointed by the PFA and the FA's actions over the last year, as a family, we are committed to working with football's existing organisations towards the betterment of the game and to achieve immediate action.

We would like to thank all the fans and the staff at Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United for their support in what has been a difficult year. In particular we want to thank Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes.

We will not be discussing publicly any issues connected with the case. We are now going to concentrate on playing football.

- Rio and Anton Ferdinand

Cleverley SIgns New Manchester United Deal

Tom Cleverley has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United, the Old Trafford club have confirmed.The deal, which will keep the midfielder at United until 2015, was announced on Monday morning, much to the delight of Sir Alex Ferguson."Tom is one of the brightest prospects in the English game," manager Ferguson told the club's official website.It is a reward for an outstanding start to the season for Cleverley, who would almost certainly have won his first England cap against Holland in August had the game not been called off.One of the substitutes who transformed the Community Shield clash with Manchester City, Cleverley then started four successive Premier League games, including the impressive home victories over Tottenham and Arsenal, before suffering ligament damage to his foot at Bolton last month. Since then, the 22-year-old has been sidelined, although Ferguson is hoping to have the Basingstoke-born player back for Saturday's trip to Liverpool."For a young boy, he has a good footballing brain which, when coupled with his energy and ability, makes for a player with a fine future ahead of him," added Ferguson. "It's the United way to encourage our young players to make their mark in the first team and Tom has grabbed that chance with both hands."

Manchester United Have a £35m Back Up Plan

Man United are ready to make a bid for Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik if they fail to complete moves to sign Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan.Hamsik has long been a target for Sir Alex Ferguson and the Slovakian international has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Napoli this summer and AC Milan have shown an interest in the 23 year old who has been a huge success in Serie A.The former Brescia man has progressed year on year during his seven seasons in Italy and is now considered one of the best foreign players on show in the Italian top tier but the talented goal scoring attacking midfielder has stated that if an offer from a ‘big club’ was forthcoming then he, and Napoli, would consider it. The Naples side have placed a €40m (£35.1m) valuation on Hamsik but Ferguson may well be ready to pay the price if they fail in their pursuit of Sneijder .
The Old Trafford boss sees the capture of a goal scoring midfield threat as the final piece of his summer signing puzzle and is ideally looking for a player that fulfill the kind of role Paul Scholes filled during his Man United pomp. Ferguson’s current central midfield options offer different attributes but the likes of Michael Carrick, Anderson, and Darren Fletcher are not hugely creative hence the Man United manager’s very public interest in Sneijder and Nasri.
Hamsik has scored 47 goals in four seasons at the Stadio San Paolo and has been an invaluable link between midfield and attack, helping Walter Mazzarri’s side clinch a Champions League spot for the coming season.

Xavi Alonso Linked With Move to Manchester United

Manchester United have been linked with a move for former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. The Old Trafford side are desperate to find a player to replace Paul Scholes and see the Real Madrid star as the ideal man.

Spanish radio station Radio Cadena Ser, are today reporting that Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to increase the wages that Alonso receives at the Bernabeu in order to bring the 29 year-old to Manchester.

Alonso has 86 international caps to date, and started every single match of Spain’s successful World Cup campaign in South Africa last summer. He made 52 appearances for Real last season and is seen as one of their key men.

A move to Manchester United would be a bitter pill for Liverpool fans to swallow, but Ferguson has been told that he has the money to spend and if he is prepared to pay the asking price then he may well succeed in getting his man.

Man United Set to Bid for Adel Taarabt

Alex Ferguson is said to be readying a move for Qpr playmaker Adel Taarabt after it became clear that the Moroccan international may be looking to leave the recently promoted Loftus Road club. The former Tottenham youngster helped his West London side to the Premier League last term and was named the Championship Player of the Year after netting 19 goals and providing 16 assists during the campaign.
Ferguson is looking to bring in new youthful additions this summer and having already snapped up Blackburn Rovers defender Phil Jones is now looking to sign others who can form part of a re-building process that has been sparked by the recent retirements of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar.Last summer the Old Trafford boss brought in Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling, two signings that have already shown their worth, and Ferguson will also look to give more first team playing time to academy graduates Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck who spent last season on loan to Wigan and Sunderland respectively.

Ferguson is known to be an admirer of 22 year old Taarabt and the former Lens youth team player has alerted many prospective suitors with his recent comments about his future at Qpr by stating ‘I helped QPR win promotion but they will not offer me a better contract, They say I am already on big wages.’

Though he is contracted to the West London club until the summer of 2013, Taarabt is thought to have a £10m release clause and is keen to leave if he doesn’t get an improved deal and would surely be tempted by a move to the Premier League champions.

QPR boss Neil Warnock has already conceded that he may struggle to keep the talented midfielder who has enjoyed something of a rocky relationship with Adel Taarabt since his arrival at the club after a successful loan spell, on a permanent basis from Tottenham in August 2010

Man City Hijack Man United Transfer Target

Manchester United will reportedly miss out on Daniele De Rossi after being gazumped by Manchester City.According to the Daily Star, the Barclays Premier League champions had planned an £18 million bid for the Roma midfielder, but their Manchester rivals are ready to blow that offer out of the water with £35 million.De Rossi has been linked with a move away from the Stadio Olimpico for a number of months after falling out with the fans and suffering serious problems in his personal life.The Telegraph initially intimated that the Italy international had urged his representatives to organise a move away from Rome in the summer, which was said to have alerted United to his potential availability.

It was then suggested that United had sent their top scout Martin Ferguson - brother of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson - to run the rule over De Rossi on more than one occasion last season, and everything pointed towards a transfer window bid.However, if reports are to be believed, United are set to miss out on the 27-year-old, who is said to have been identified as the perfect candidate to fill the hole left by Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves.

But Eastlands and not Old Trafford now looks to be the more likely destination for the fiery Italian, who would add to a bevy of central midfield talent already at the disposal of Roberto Mancini.

Arsenal 1 Manchester United 0

Arsenal blew the Premier League title race wide open as leaders Manchester United were deservedly beaten at the Emirates Stadium.Aaron Ramsey's winner early in the second half condemned United to defeat and leaves them only three points ahead of Chelsea with identical goal difference - and a meeting between the two to come at Old Trafford next Sunday.Forced to rebuild his promising career after suffering a broken leg, Ramsey made the most of a chance to deputise for injured captain Cesc Fabregas with a goal that will have been met with almost as much joy at Stamford Bridge as it was in front of Arsenal's fans.

Victory was well-earned reward for their superiority against a United side that never looked like repeating the heroics of their Champions League semi-final first leg victory against Schalke 04 on Tuesday in Germany.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger must have thought the fates had conspired against him when they were denied a clear first-half penalty after Nemanja Vidic handled Theo Walcott's cross.

But the game concluded with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson angry at referee Chris Foy after substitute Michael Owen was hauled down in the area by Gael Clichy in the closing moments, only to have his appeals ignored.It is a win that has probably come too late to revive Arsenal's own title aspirations, but one which gives Chelsea real hope that they can retain their crown if they can beat United next week.
Ferguson cut a frustrated figure throughout, a mood matched by his players as they rarely got to grips with an Arsenal side they have enjoyed so much success against in the recent past.
Arsenal lost Fabregas to a thigh injury sustained in training on Saturday - but his absence did not stop the Gunners dominating a first half that concluded with them nursing an acute sense of injustice.

 FERGUSON DEMANDS 25mins INJURY TIME

Vidic, a central figure in every sense, was fortunate not to be punished for an uncharacteristic error after only three minutes.In attempting to clear, he only succeeded in finding Jack Wilshere and was relieved to see the teenager pull his effort inches wide.
And Walcott could not keep a close-range shot under control as he stretched to meet Clichy's cross, sending it well over the top of Edwin van der Sar's crossbar.
United have had joy against Arsenal in the past by lying deep before striking with devastating effect on the counter attack.
And they almost delivered a sucker punch in the face of Arsenal's early superiority when Fabio da Silva burst into the area unmarked, but was unable to find Javier Hernandez.

Arsenal, with justification, were furious just after the half-hour when Vidic clearly used his hand to direct Walcott's cross away from the incoming Robin van Persie - an offence missed by the officials.
England striker Wayne Rooney's main contribution had been a yellow card for fouling England team-mate Wilshere just before the interval.He did show his enduring quality with a curling 25-yard free-kick after 48 minutes, but the previously unemployed Wojciech Szczesny was equal to the task with a diving save.Arsenal finally got the goal they had merited after 56 minutes, Ramsey sliding a low finish into the corner of the net from Van Persie's incisive cut-back.United, thoroughly out of sorts, replaced Anderson with Antonio Valencia moments before the goal.They did muster a response, however, when Vidic rose highest from a corner to head just wide.And in a belated show of urgency by United, Szczesny was then forced to save well from Nani after Rooney had driven deep into the Arsenal half in a bid to lift his team-mates from their slumbers.With three minutes left Ferguson and United's players were reduced to a fury as Owen was brought down from behind by Clichy as he raced into the area.Referee Foy, much to Ferguson's obvious disgust, was unimpressed.It was Arsenal's last anxious moment before closing out a win that leaves the title potentially on the line when United confront champions Chelsea, who narrowly beat Tottenham 2-1 on Saturday.

Chelsea v Manchester United Preview

One of the most iconic images from the past few years of Champions League football has been John Terry, bursting into tears after missing the deciding penalty in the 2008 shoot-out in Moscow. Leaving aside the obvious jokes about Englishmen and penalties, much of Chelsea’s journey since then has been about erasing that particular memory. It’s no secret that owner Roman Abramovich’s biggest desire is to secure the Champions League trophy, and while the massive piles of oil money that have been sunk into the West London have earned 3 Premier League titles, 3 F.A. Cups, and 2 League Cups, there is still a large European Cup-shaped gap in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet.
In contrast, Chelsea’s vanquishers that night have won absolutely everything since Alex Ferguson took over; too many to list here, but it’s safe to say that the guy from Cash4Gold would have some kind of stroke if you showed up with all of the trophies, presumably in a large wheelbarrow.
Both of these teams have had a relatively trouble-free passage into the quarter-finals; they both won their group stage rather convincingly, before getting the job done against perhaps two of the smaller teams left in the competition (Copenhagen and Olympique Marseille). It’s the Premier League however, that the two clubs’ fortune to date have varied.
Domestically, Manchester United are leading the Premier League – and look set to waltz off with their 19th English title, taking them past the 18 of rivals Liverpool. Chelsea currently sit fourth, 11 points behind.
The league campaign has generally been an uncomfortable one for Chelsea. A flying start saw them top of the table in the early stages of the season, but injuries to key players (particularly Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard) have seen them drop away from the title contenders, instead become embroiled in a battle for a top four finish (and hence a berth in next season’s Champions’ League.). The uncertainty over the squad led to a transfer splurge in January, with defender David Luiz and striker Fernando Torres both signing for the club in big-money deals. So far, only one of these can be said to have been a success; Luiz has made an immediate impact at the Bridge, including when scoring a goal in that Premier League win over Man Utd in March. £50M man Torres has been less successful; he has yet to score a goal since his acrimonious move from Liverpool, and just last weekend he was dropped from the starting lineup.
What makes things worse for the West London club is that Luiz is ineligible for this match, having already played in the competition this season for former club Benfica. That makes it likely that Terry will be partnered at back by Branislav Ivanovic, with Chelsea’s other Brazilian centre back, Alex, not expected to be fit until next weekend. Chelsea have no new injury concerns – Yossi Benayoun is back in training along with Alex but is unlikely to play a part. The most interesting personnel decision facing coach Carlo Ancelotti is whether or nor to recall Torres to the starting XI. That choice may have been easier had Chelsea won convincingly at the weekend, but a misfiring Blues were held 1-1 at Stoke City; although the Blues goal was created by Nicolas Anelka and scored by Drogba.
Manchester United have one or two injuries of their own to contend with – Darren Fletcher has a virus, while defenders John O’Shea and Wes Brown will also be missing. Set against that is the welcome return of Rio Ferdinand, potentially to rejoin Nemanja Vidic in heart of the defence, as well as the likelihood that midfielder Anderson will also be able to play.
Alex Ferguson has suggested in pre-match press conferences that he expects to win the game at Stamford Bridge, and take a lead back to Manchester to defend. In all probability this is one of wily Scotsman’s attempts at “mind games” – you can be sure that he would be very happy with a draw from this, especially a score draw. For Chelsea’s part, they really need that highly expensive strike force to come to the party. If they fail at this stage of the Champions League there is a very good chance that they’ll end the season without a trophy, and despite the owner’s obsession with this competition, everybody knows that an empty trophy case could spell the end for Ancelotti.
Whichever of this teams progresses will; surely fancy their chances against the leaky defences of either reigning champions Inter Milan, or (more likely) German team Schalke 04, who recorded an amazing 5-2 away win that San Siro on Tuesday evening.

Ferguson handed five-match ban for outburst

A Football Association tribunal has given Sir Alex Ferguson a five-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Martin Atkinson.
The Manchester United manager was found guilty of improper conduct for criticising Atkinson's display in the loss at Chelsea earlier this month.
"You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that," Ferguson told MUTV.
The ban starts on 22 March and includes the FA Cup tie against Manchester City.
The Independent Regulatory Commission's sanction is made up of a three-game ban for the Atkinson remarks and the activation of a two-game suspended ban that Ferguson was given last season for suggesting referee Alan Wiley was not "fit enough" to keep up with play.
The three-man panel also fined the 69-year-old manager £30,000.
The reasons for the decision will be sent to Ferguson in the next 24 hours and he then has 48 hours to decide if he wants to appeal. This is why the sanction does not start until after Saturday's home league game against Bolton Wanderers.
Should he accept the punishment, the Old Trafford boss will have to watch the Premier League games against West Ham, Fulham, Everton and Arsenal from the stands, as well as the semi-final against local rivals City at Wembley.
His outburst about Atkinson followed a hard-fought contest at Stamford Bridge which saw United score first but lose to second-half goals from David Luiz and Frank Lampard, the latter coming from the penalty spot.
Ferguson was furious that Luiz had not been sent off for fouls on Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney after the Brazilian defender had already been booked. He was also angry about the decision to award Chelsea a penalty when Yuri Zhirkov fell under Chris Smalling's challenge.
The veteran manager may consider himself a little unlucky about the severity of the punishment as he did temper his remarks in the MUTV interview by changing his initial comment about wanting a "fair referee" to the less contentious "strong referee".
But the FA has clearly taken into account the final warning he was effectively given last season for criticising Wiley and the fact he contested these charges.
It is the longest touchline ban in Premier League history but three games short of the two consecutive bans Celtic manager Neil Lennon is currently serving in Scotland.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was given a 12-game ban from the dugout for pushing a fourth official in 2000 but that was reduced to one match on appeal.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti defended Ferguson and believes the punishment handed out is too harsh.
"I think that, my opinion, is that Ferguson has always had good behaviour and I think five games now is too much," he said. "There is no reason he has to be out for five matches and I do not think that can change their strength and the power of Manchester United.
"I know what he said after the game. Obviously it was not good behaviour but five games is too much."