The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Bruce blames Di Canio’s style as reason for Italian getting the sack Posted: 23 Sep 2013 07:47 AM PDT Despite saving the club from relegation last season, a woefall start to the new campaign leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table with just one point from five games. "You cannot manage in the Premier League these days through a fear factor," Bruce told talkSPORT. "You've got to be able to manage individuals. "Man management has become more relevant in my experience than coaching. "Once you get yourself in the Premier League, they're all good players and you've got to find a way of getting the best out of them. "It's never been my style to criticise anyone in public and I'm disappointed for Paolo. He's a character. "A manager's lost his job. Management is a lonely place and he's lost his job this morning. I feel sorry for any manager in that position. I've gone through it and it's not nice." Reports of a bust-up with two senior players and lack of trust within the dressing room over Di Canio's approach were also believed to have forced club owner Ellis Short to bring down the axe. However there was also disbelief at the sacking with former England captain and Newcastle icon Alan Shearer defending the Italian. "I'm amazed, I really am amazed. Paolo Di Canio hasn't changed from the guy he was a year or two ago," he told the BBC. "I assume, maybe naively, that Sunderland owner Ellis Short and his chief executive did their homework on Paolo before they went and hired him to do the job." Short's next task is to find a replacement for the man he appointed in a storm of controversy last year. Critics rounded on Di Canio's alleged fascist sympathies, prompting the club to make a stout defence of their new manager. After debates about his political views had died down, Di Canio kept Sunderland in the Premier League thanks in part to a memorable 3-0 victory over rivals Newcastle at St James' Park, but little else in his regime went right. Former Sunderland captain Kevin Ball, currently on the club's coaching staff, steps in to lead the team on a short-term basis, with the club saying a permanent replacement for Di Canio will be announced "in due course". Bookmakers immediately rated former Chelsea and West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo as favourite, narrowly ahead of Gus Poyet, previously boss at Brighton. Following Sunderland's 3-0 defeat at West Bromich Albion on Saturday, Di Canio walked over to face the travelling supporters, who made their feelings clear. "I absorb the insults as it's part of the game - if I was in their position I'd be furious," he said in his post match comments. "But I'm professional: 24 hours a day I work for this cause. One day their reaction will be a different reaction. "I knew that they were furious. I went to them because I wanted to see their faces. It's easy to go over when they're clapping or singing your name. I'm responsible but my head is up. I won't give up." "I'm never going to change my regime. I am what I am. My way to manage the team is for the top, top level. I have to be clear to everyone - the board, the chairman, the fans - I'm never going to change. "One day, if I receive the full support from the players, we will turn the corner." That support never materialised as Di Canio became the league's first managerial casualty. - AFP, September 23, 2013. |
| Malaysian football club suspends staff in match-fixing probe Posted: 23 Sep 2013 03:30 AM PDT The suspicions swirling around Perak FA, which represents the state of Perak in the top-tier Malaysian Super League, are the latest in a string of corruption allegations to taint the sport in the football-mad country. National news agency Bernama said state football authorities in Perak planned to lodge reports with police and anti-graft authorities after a run of three losses including a 6-1 drubbing on Saturday. Deputy president Khairul Azwan Harun told reporters the Perak Football Association (PAFA), which fields the team, had also launched their own internal inquiry to investigate what happened. The side's poor performance saw it crash out of contention for the Malaysia Cup despite earlier leading its group. "They are given two weeks to carry out the investigation and report the findings to PAFA's main executive committee," Khairul Azwan was quoted as saying at a press conference. All coaches and officials will be required to report to PAFA every day during the suspension period while players would continue to train but make themselves available to investigations. Malaysian football has repeatedly been stained by match-fixing scandals. In 1994, a nationwide clampdown saw 21 players and coaches sacked while 58 players were suspended. Last year the Football Association of Malaysia suspended 18 youth players and banned a coach for life for fixing matches. Early this year it was revealed that hundreds of matches worldwide, including European Champions League games, had been targeted by Asian-linked gangs. According to Europol, 380 suspicious games have been identified in Europe and the European police agency linked the problem to a criminal syndicate based in Singapore, which borders Malaysia.- AFP, September 23, 2013. |
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