Evans joins Sunderland

Jonny Evans’ loan deal to Sunderland from Man Utd has been pretty much confirmed. Roy Keane:
“Jonny looks a done deal. I spoke with the manager at United [Sir Alex Ferguson] and Jonny’s agent yesterday. He will come here next week and is hoping to be at the game tomorrow.
“I’m absolutely delighted with that because he’ll be a top player. He’s young, hungry and he’s a tough lad. I’ve seen him play enough times.
“People might not know a lot about him but I know enough to know that he’ll add something to our team and our squad.
“I think it’s a great benefit for the player because if he’s trying to make a career at Manchester United, Sunderland is a great opportunity for him to come and play.
“He’s a centre-half who can also play at full-back, but I probably see him more as a centre-half.”

http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=11336

Collins fumes at Shiels red card

Dean Shiels was sent off yesterday in the Edinburgh derby following a clash with the goalkeeper as he tried to retrieve the ball, having just scored a penalty to make it 2-2. The game finished 3-2 to Hearts. Hibs manager John Collins was Not Happy:
“I’ve seen the replay five times and there was no punch as the linesman said to me,” Collins told BBC Sport. “It was maybe a booking but a sending off? Never in a million years. It has cost us dearly because at 2-2 we had the momentum.”
Shiels earned the penalty and tucked it away coolly to level the game but he barged Gordon over when he raced to collect the ball from the net.

“His momentum has taken him forward as he was trying to get the ball back,” and the goalkeeper has taken a step forward to meet him.” Hibs had come roaring back from 2-0 down and Collins was delighted with his side’s response. “In the second half we were fantastic,” he said. “We passed the ball well, with great movement. “Even with 10 men, we passed it and dominated the game, which tells you a lot about my team. It’s never much fun to lose an Edinburgh derby and we’re hurting but one thing is for sure – we’ll bounce back.

Baird scores again!

Chris Baird got his second goal of the season, and indeed his career, this afternoon against Crystal Palace. Baird headed Southampton into the lead, but was robbed in the second half to gift Palace an equaliser.

Quinn and Kirk transfer listed

Northern Ireland strike duo James Quinn, 32, and Andy Kirk, 27, have been placed on the transfer list by Northampton Town. The club chairman said:

“We are keen to strengthen the squad considerably in January and if that means that a few players have to leave to give the new manager, whoever that may be, the chance to do that then so be it,” said Mr Cardoza.
“In the meantime the players are still under contract and are still very committed to doing well for Northampton Town. We anticipate that the new manager will have the chance to be very active in the transfer market in January. These decisions have been taken with the full knowledge of the players involved and the caretaker management team.”

Evans on loan to Sunderland

Following Jonny Evans return from Royal Antwerp, he seems set to be shipped out on loan again – this time to Roy Keane’s Sunderland. BBC SPORT:

“Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans is poised to join Sunderland on loan for the rest of the season. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reported to have approved the highly-rated 18-year-old’s move to join Roy Keane at the Stadium of Light. Evans recently returned to Old Trafford from a spell with Royal Antwerp who are United’s partner club. The Glengormley lad has played in Northern Ireland’s last three matches after an superb debut against Spain. Ferguson is keen for Evans to get more first team experience before a possible breakthrough to United’s senior side.”

Lafferty brace

Kyle Lafferty gave Burnley a 2-0 lead against Sunderland on Saturday, however Roy Keane’s side got it back to 2-2 following a stoppage time equaliser.

Sanchez will leave after Euros

“The likelihood is that whenever the campaign finishes, I need to be looking forward to my next job.
“In the meantime, the IFA are in agreement with me, that if a job comes up that interests me and would allow me to continue with Northern Ireland, then I would be given permission to speak to the relevant club. I am committed to finishing the campaign because I want to see how well we can do.”

Sanchez also gave Norn Iron 9 out of 10 for overall performance in 2006:
“I suppose we should have expected the Iceland result because I’ve been told we’ve lost something like four out of the last five opening qualifying games by that margin. We showed great character to come back four days later however. It was a great win against Spain and great result and performance in Denmark.
“The boys were put under a lot of pressure to get a result against Latvia in our final game of the year and they did a job. So I’d say nine out of 10 for 2006. There are very few sides in world football that have made such a dramatic improvement as us during the year. You could get greedy and say we should have beaten Iceland but I’m not sure we would have defeated Spain if we’d come away with a result against Iceland.”
“If I have a wish for 2007 then it’s that the players in my squad are playing regular football and in the highest league possible. I would also want the players to give of their best in every match they play and make sure they don’t let the fans down. We’ve got three important qualifying games coming up against Liechtenstein twice and Sweden at home. We need to accumulate points from all three of those games. It’s imperative we win the games against Liechtenstein because if we don’t then I’m sure there will be all sorts of shouts. If we do that and get something against Sweden we’ll be nicely placed for the last five games. Now I know four of them are away but if we can still be in the campaign going down to the final game against Spain that would be fantastic.”

Brunt
He also said that he’ll give fringe players a run out in our next match, the friendly with Wales in February:
“Wales isn’t a game I’m under pressure to win, so it will be good match to give a number of players an opportunity to show me what they can do. Players like Steve Jones, Ivan Sproule and Chris have all been performing very well for their clubs this year. It’s all about taking your opportunity when it arises so that you are not overlooked in the future. Chris would have been in the squad for the US Tour but wasn’t able to go.”

Capaldi holding out for better deal

Tony Capaldi has been given a final contract offer by Plymouth Argyle, after rejecting their first offer. However, if the 25 year old rejects it, the club are prepared to sell him in January to prevent him leaving for free in the summer. Wolves are rumoured to be interested in the currently out-of-favour Northern Ireland left back. Argyle manager Ian Holloway:

“We have put in our final offer and I am yet to talk to him about it. He has got to talk to his agent, who is a very nice man and is trying to do the best for his client. We have made one offer and they have come in with a response of what they want. We can’t offer them what they want but we will offer as much as we can go to, and I will try and convince him that is right.
“I have inherited a situation where it has been let go. If I was here last year, I would have tried to sort it out because it would have been a lot easier. We are trying to offer him a new deal and I would like him to stay but if we can’t match up with what he wants, then he will have to go in the window. I have got to make sure the deals we are giving out are reflective of what people have done for us, and if we can afford him. We might not be able to afford what the big clubs can pay but I would rather have what we have got. I would have that all day long and I thank every one of them from the bottom of my heart for what they have given me so far.
“I imagine somebody would [show an interest in him]. All these agents sit there promising to get players better deals and ringing every Tom, Dick and Harry, unsettling players. It is about you and your life, and what suits you and your family.”

Collins throws the book at Ivan

The Hibs manager said:

“Four games out is a long time in football and there are some big matches coming up. Ivan is now out of the picture and out of my thoughts for the next four games, but rest assured he will be working extremely hard while he is suspended and he will also be heavily fined by the club. When I came to the club I said that discipline was the one area we had to work on, it’s very important to me and it can also be very costly for players. We have got others who can come into the team and Ivan will have to work very hard to get back into the team. That’s the nature of the game, whoever has got the jersey will want to keep it and if someone comes in and does well they will stay in the team.”
It’s not the first time that Sproule’s discipline has let him down since his move from Institute and the fiery winger has collected 20 cards in just 17 months in Scottish football. His latest sending-off means he will be hit with an automatic one match suspension for this weekend’s trip to Falkirk and Saturday’s red card also sent him through the disciplinary points threshold, earning him a further three-match ban.
Sproule today said he was disappointed with the inconsistency of referees, but Collins added: “It’s not the referee’s fault. Referees make a decision and, whether it is right or wrong, players have to get on with it. They’ve got to bite their lips and get on with their job – and their job is not to shout at the referee. It was disappointing and the sending off was a big blow for us and for Ivan.”
Meanwhile David Murphy has revealed Sproule apologised to his team-mates for the red card that killed off any faint hopes of a comeback at Ibrox. The Easter Road club were already trailing 3-0 through goals from Dado Prso, Libor Sionko and Barry Ferguson and Sproule’s folly quickly turned their task into mission impossible. “The sending off was disappointing and Ivan went round everyone to apologise for it,” said Murphy.

Sproule (sent off today!) on transfer speculation

Sproule laughs off transfer speculation:
“I think the credit for all of us being linked with moves to other sides doesn’t just go to the players, it goes right down through the club to the coaching staff. We wouldn’t be in the papers being linked with other clubs without the coaching that we have received at Hibs and I think that is something that a lot of us have to be grateful for. I’m sure none of us would be where we are right now without the coaches.”
Premiership side Reading are the latest to find themselves connected with Sproule, however, the player himself reassured Hibs supporters that he intends to be around Easter Road at least until the end of his contract in 2009 and he believes that there are plenty of incentives for the rest of his team-mates to stick around too.
“To be honest, I laugh at some of the speculation,” he said. “Every time you lift a paper there is a story about someone at this club being linked with a move somewhere else. It’s all well and good for these clubs to be connected with us but the one thing that we have t o remember is that we are contracted to Hibs and we have all got a job to do here. We are in the semi-final of a cup and doing well in the league again so there’s a lot to look forward to.”
Ivan wasn’t doing much laughing today however. With Hibs already trailing to 3 first half Rangers goals, he picked up his second yellow card of the day on 67 minutes. The first booking came after a first half altercation with Barry Ferguson, and the second was for throwing the ball away in protest.

Speaking before the match about his Rangers supporting days:
“To be honest I’ve kind of got my friends converted into the green side because they all fly over here now to Edinburgh. It’s been a great story for me and it’s been great for my friends and family back home. At the end of the day when you go on to the pitch you don’t just go on for yourself, you go on for your family and for your friends and for anybody that’s had anything to do with you at ay time in your life. My friends, bluenoses though they are, come over and sit at Easter Road and as long as I’m dong well they’re happy!
“They’re Rangers men coming over but any time they come over they’ve a green scarf on them. We’re slowly converting them into Hibs men. I have a great pride in supporting Rangers as a youngster but nowadays when I go to buy my Christmas presents it’s Hibs tops I buy and not Rangers tops. It’s everybody to their own when they come over. When you’re a young lad growing up supporting teams you’ll always support them but if there’s one thing this club has given me is a great time since I came here and a lot of special memories.”