Manchester City have announced a pre-tax profit of ?16.8m for the six months to 30 November 2005.

The figure incorporates the ?21m received from Chelsea for Shaun Wright-Phillips in the summer and helps to ease the club’s reported ?57m debt.

It is thought that City will use around ?5m of the profit to pay off some short-term loans.

The accounts also reveal that City made salary cuts of ?1m and increased turnover by 2% to ?28.2m.

City have since reduced their wage bill further with Robbie Fowler, who was reported to be earning in the region of ?35,000 a week, returning to Liverpool in the January transfer window.

The club’s continued involvement in the FA Cup this year will also boost their income compared to last season.

Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack has denied reports that he has agreed a four-year deal with Chelsea.

According to the Daily Mail, Ballack - who is a free agent in the summer - was offered a contract worth ?121,000 a week during talks in London in January.

But Ballack, 29, issued a statement saying: “I have not signed anything and I was also not in London.”

Ballack’s agent Michael Becker told BBC Sport: “There was contact with Chelsea in January that was not followed up.”

Bayern and Chelsea have refused to comment on the story.

Ballack is in Florence preparing for Germany’s World Cup warm-up match against Italy on Wednesday.

Lifelong Port Vale fan and pop star Robbie Williams has bought an undisclosed stake in the club according to a statement released by the former Take That star.

“Although I can’t be at the Vale often, my investment is just to say that my heart is still there and I’m a huge supporter,” Williams said.

“I’m really excited about what we may be able to do with the club in the future,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Port Vale chairman Bill Bratt has welcomed Williams’ investment in his home town club and confirmed that he had bought up all of the remaining stock available, which although not released, stood at a value of ?260,000 worth of shares remaining at the beginning of February.

Bratt said he was “extremely pleased and excited” about Williams’ stake, which “clearly shows that he cares about Port Vale FC and its future”.

“It’s now up to the board and all at Port Vale FC to ensure his investment is used wisely in helping to secure the future at the club,” said Mr Bratt.

Vale manager Martin Foyle added: “I’ve always known Robbie’s heart is in the Vale - I’m delighted, but not surprised by what he has done.”

Former England and British Lions rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward has told the BBC how he turned down an offer of a high ranking position within the FA after his World Cup victory with England in 2003. Shamed former FA chief executive Mark Palios had spoken to him at the time about the senior position.

“I met him (Palios) on a couple of occasions,” Woodward said.

“All I said was…I wanted to get far more hands-on experience with a football team and do some coaching.”

“It’s a job I’d very much like to do, but I wouldn’t want to do it immediately.

“I’d just come from a successful rugby union World Cup-winning campaign. I’d rather spend at least a year, or a couple of years, working with a club and doing all my coaching badges.”

Woodward took over as Southampton Director of Football late last year, moving up from his position of performance director after only four months at the club. He is about to start a course to gain his Uefa A, or level four, coaching badge, having already passed levels two and three. If he passes that he will then only need to gain the Uefa Pro Licence in order to be qualified to become a Premiership boss which is his ultimate aim in around 18 months time.

He said, “It’s been fascinating going back and doing a coaching course. Any guy who wants to become a top manager has to go for those badges.

“If it goes well, it’s probably a year and a half, two years, before you’re fully qualified as a professional football coach, which is something I want to do.

“I feel I would be a far better rugby union coach after having six months working in another sport and listening to other ideas. It is good to get a break.”

It?s hard not to be consistently surprised by the complete un-truths most football fans will readily swallow. But there?s one, along with the ?Michael Owen will score you twenty Premiership goals a season? fallacy that really irritates me, and that is Freddy Shepherd?s assertion that the Newcastle managers job is ?one of the biggest in world football?.

I?m sorry Freddy; can you repeat that? One of the biggest in world football, really? Well that makes sense, I guess, since your team regularly wins trophies?oh wait, no, it doesn?t.

The strangest thing about this was that when Shepherd said this recently, no one questioned him. No one even batted an eyelid. Everyone simply accepted what he said as fact. Does no one else find it odd to see big names in continental football - the likes of Hitzfeld, O?Neill and Eriksson ? linked with a job that was until relatively recently filled by unspectacular domestic managers such as Jim Smith? Newcastle were last the champions of England way back in 1927 and have not won the FA Cup for some fifty years and yet somehow they still retain ?big club? status. People tend to overlook that they have a worse recent record in winning trophies than Aston Villa, that bastion of mediocrity. Consider the reaction if Doug Ellis was to claim that the Villa job was one of the biggest in world football, as Shepherd did ? you?d barely be able to hear him over the laughter. And yet, surely, Villa has a better claim to being a big club than Newcastle. It?s worth remembering that they won the old First Division in the 1980-81 season and the European Cup the following season, beating the mighty Bayern Munchen in the final. Granted, you could say that the last real trophy they won was ten years ago now (and it was only the League Cup) but still that?s better than Newcastle?s recent trophy winning record.

So what is it that makes football ?experts? accept Freddy Shepherd?s self-deluding bluster? As we?ve seen, plenty of so-called smaller clubs have been more successful than Newcastle in the recent past, so it?s not that. What, then? Is it the fans? Undoubtedly Newcastle has a huge loyal fan base (who else but Newcastle fans would be willing to pack themselves in to St. James Park on a Monday morning to welcome yet another big name mercenary while dressed like walking bar codes?) yet loyal fans alone does not a big club make, as Manchester City show.

No, it?s not about success or popularity. Like everything in football, it comes down to money. Freddy Shepherd (and Sir John Hall before him) have pumped huge amounts of money into the club (as well as raking plenty in from the fans, ever willing to pay the hyper inflated ticket prices and buy the ?new? replica shirt every year), and as a result Newcastle can afford to punch above their weight in the transfer market, buying players such as Shearer, Owen and Parker, players that belie their true status as an average side on a par with the likes of Aston Villa or Manchester City. However, Newcastle?s relative riches may be as much of a curse as a blessing for the club, not unlike Tottenham Hotspur back in the 90s, the club have a tendency to acquire trophy players rather than actual trophies. Naturally, this is not enough for the fans. With the amount of money that has been spent, they expect their club to be challenging for European places at the very least, yet these days the club finds itself looking over its shoulder at a relegation battle it could still be dragged into.

Managing this club does not sound like ?one of the biggest jobs in world football? anymore. One of the hardest jobs, almost certainly. The expectations from the fans are almost impossible to fulfil, especially considering the squad, for all the smattering of big names here and there, is full of underachieving and average players. Unless they particularly relish an almost impossible challenge and thrive on suffocating pressure, I can?t see Hitzfeld or anyone of that ilk taking the job. After all, come the summer there will doubtless be some real big clubs with vacancies. Newcastle or Real Madrid, which would you prefer?

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd will have to speak to his Wigan counterpart Dave Whelan personally if he has any plans to prise manager Paul Jewell away from Wigan to replace Graeme Souness.

As Jewell prepares for the first major cup final of his managerial career, Dave Whelan has spoken from Barbados to give his views on the current rumours surrounding his manager’s future,

“I am told Freddy is here in Barbados but I have no idea where he is staying and I have not spoken to him. If Freddy had any interest in Paul Jewell he would speak to me directly. He’s that kind of man.”

He added: “I will back Paul in whatever he chooses to do - and that includes leaving this club for one of the big clubs if that is what he wants.

“Manchester United and Liverpool are big clubs. Chelsea are a big club too. But Chelsea are down south and I can’t see Paul going down there.

“Paul is straight down the line with me and if he wanted to move on, I would be the first to know.

“Paul Jewell can stay as long as he wishes with me. I have told him ‘name the length of your contract’.”

Chelsea have issued a statement offering their categoric condemnation of the death threats towards match referee Terje Hauge their supporters have posted to online messageboards in the wake of Wednesday night’s Champion’s League defeat to Barcelona.

The Chelsea fans have blamed Hauge for the defeat following his controversial decision to send off Asier Del Horno for a challenge on Lionel Messi. The dismissal then helped contribute to a Barcelona fightback as they came from behind to win the tie 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

The threats have since been posted on Chelsea’s official club message board and on a Norwegian fan’s forum and coming so soon after similar threats from Chelsea fans last season led to the retirement of referee Anders Frisk in the same fixture, the club have made it clear that such actions will not be tolerated and have removed all offending posts from the messageboards.

A club spokesman said: “As with the Anders Frisk situation last year, Chelsea football club totally condemns any threats made to referees, officials, players or supporters of any club or organisation.

“The problem is that most of these messages are posted under false names. Tracking the culprits might not prove to be an easy task.”

UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson fears European football could be “taken hostage” by a criminal element if it fails to rewrite its own rule book.

Olsson is anxious to beat the con-men who are draining money from the game with the help of legislative loopholes and in the process putting players and clubs at risk. He hopes that an Independent Review of European Football will help trigger the much-needed changes.

The inquiry, chaired by Portugal’s sports minister Jose Luis Arnaut, hopes to present a dossier of concrete findings to the heads of European Union states and FIFA before the end of the year and, in doing so, tackle a number of hot topics including the ownership of clubs, match-fixing and corruption, the roles of agents and the destination of transfer money.

Olsson said: “We have no idea how much money is lost into this black hole which surrounds transfers but we are talking about millions of pounds. This is something we’d like to find out in the review.

“Transfer sums and commissions should be open and list who gets what. It’s possible to introduce.

“The French government for example are worried that some players’ agents are involved in money-laundering. So we need a better system of following transactions and comparing contracts with financial transactions.

“It’s so easy that football could be taken hostage by those who have criminal activities.”

Olsson said: “There is a need for a player to have an advisor, somebody to talk to and help him in negotiations for example. But there is an absolute need to develop the quality of the agents and their knowledge of what they are dealing with.”

With English football already at red alert over the bung scandal re-ignited by Luton Town manager Mike Newell, it was only a matter of time before the higher authorities were forced to put the whole of the football house in order.

The Football Association have fined Manchester United skipper Gary Neville ?5000 and warned him about his future conduct following his enthusiastic goal celebrations after United’s late winner against Liverpool in the Premiership last month.

Neville appeared at the FA disciplinary hearing via video link and was found guilty of improper conduct but wasn’t suspended and finds himself now free to captain Manchester United in the Carling Cup final against Wigan at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

The FA verdict did come as a disappoinment to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who had felt that Gary Neville had done very little wrong despite the player racing 50 yards towards Liverpool fans at Old Trafford before clutching his shirt and kissing the United badge after Rio Ferdinand’s late headed goal.

His conduct has since been defended by both Rio Ferdinand and Alex Ferguson, who said: “Too much has been made of it.”

“What do we want our players to be? Cold fish who just walk back up the park and tie their boot laces on the half-way line, as everyone else is celebrating?”

Neville himself has expressed his own disappointment at the decision telling manutd.com,

“I am extremely disappointed with the decision, I believe it to be a poor decision, not only for me but for all footballers. Being a robot devoid of passion and spirit is obviously the way forward for the modern footballer. I ask the authorities where is football being taken to?”

It may seem strange that two sides that both hail from the same country have not played each other in a competitive game in such a long period of time. In 1973 Derry City were forced to leave the Northern Irish League because of safety concerns. It was not until 1987 that Derry City decided a return to competitive football would be a wise decision and instead of returning to the Irish League they became part of the League of Ireland.

Linfield on the other hand remain one of Northern Ireland?s most successful club sides but they have yet to establish themselves in European competitions. In 2005 the media in the south and the north predicted that talks had been on going between officials from each association and it had been leaked to the press that an All Ireland competition would be set up. The two associations had come to an agreement to stage the first ever All Ireland cup which would involved three of the best Eircom League sides and three of the top club sides from the Northern Irish premier division. The two leagues had grown apart in more ways than one and FAI had taken the decision to move the Eircom League to the summer time to deal with trouble with pitches and player fatigue and more importantly hopes of financial gains.

The Premier Division in Northern Ireland remained in its current slot of August to May. With the change of the footballing season to the summer time some Eircom league sides took the opportunity to move to full time status whilst their northern counterparts remained on part time status. It was seen as a controversial decision at the time and many wondered would the change to summer football really make much difference. The answer was YES! In the first season Eircom league clubs found that the change to summer football was a huge success. Many clubs changed their matches to Friday nights and crowds were flocking back to watch football.

Was the reason for the increasing in gate receipts down to the change to Friday night football or was it simply down to summer football and at a time when there is no major football on television? The change of season has also affected the players and Brian Kerr selected Bohemians striker Glen Crowe for several of his international squads and further down the age groups Eircom League players were making their presence felt.

For years, league players had been used to slogging through the winter season in harsh conditions more rewarding to endurance and strength than skill. With the change to the summer footballing season teams have been forced to adapt to a style of football that comes with playing during the summer months. After all, most people who attend soccer matches want to see attractive ?sexy football?. Teams no longer will want to hoof the ball forward anymore, they will want to retain possession and play football that everyone will enjoy.
On the other hand the Irish Football Association have been left puzzled as to how to revamp football in the north and get on the same playing field as their southern counterparts. Dwindling gate receipts and poor attendances have left the local game in disarray and despite a proposed injection of investment into Northern Irish soccer, the association is still left wondering what should be done to save football in Northern Ireland. It could be said that the failure of the local game had a detrimental effect on the national side and they went through an agonizing 1298 minutes without scoring a goal whilst their southern counterparts were enjoying much success in the World Cup in 2002.

Some critics of the Premier Division in Northern Ireland argue that the reason for the poor attendances and lack of income into the game was due to the fact that the IFA had ignored the idea of moving to a summer season and expanding the main league to sixteen sides. The league in the Republic left the size of their league to ten teams. Was it the question of quality not quantity? The failure of the league to develop at home has had affects on the top sides progressing in Europe and it was an annual occurrence for the Irish leagues top sides to be knocked out of European by sides from Lithuania and Estonia. In 2004 Shelbourne the Eircom League champions held Deportivo La Coruna of Spain to a 0-0 draw at Lansdowne Road, sure testimony as to how the league down south had developed and progressed. In that same year Linfield fell at the first hurdle and lost on both legs to HJK Helsinki of Finland.

In the past few years, however, the Irish League has shown their southern counterparts that they have upped the anti and Glentoran have defeated AC Allianssi to progress to the next round of the UEFA Cup. The Setanta All Ireland Cup will provide the top sides from each nation a chance to show that Irish football is on the rise once more and last year the North overpowered the South courtesy of a 2-0 final victory for Linfield over Shelbourne at Tolka Park. This was seen as a huge achievement and it was some sort of consolation for Linfield having already thrown away the Irish League title to Glentoran. In 2006, will the South get revenge over their Northern rivals or will the North regain its crown?. We will just have to sit back and watch as events unfold in the next couple of months.