Sheringham has always said he does not want to leave Old Trafford but Nevill stressed he is keeping an open mind on
Sheringham has always said he does not want to leave Old Trafford, but Nevill stressed he is keeping an open mind on the possibilities.”We have to look at all the options and we don’t know what Manchester United are going to offer yet,” he said. “Until we know that, we can’t discard anything.”Sir Alex Ferguson, whose last-ditch intervention persuaded Sheringham to stay in the summer, will have a keen eye on the negotiations and the Old Trafford manager would prefer the former Tottenham Hotspur striker to stay at the champions. “Teddy has had an outstanding year and along with Andy Cole he has proved himself,” said Ferguson.”It’s always been on the cards that we would talk to Teddy. It’s been said many, many times we would be offering Teddy a new contract.”Duncan Ferguson has had another precautionary X-ray on his troublesome shoulder, casting doubt on his fitness for the Premiership game at Ipswich Town on Saturday.The Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot has signed a two-year extension to his present contract at Stamford Bridge.The Dutchman had one year of his existing three-year deal still to run. The 24-year-old signed for Chelsea from Ajax on a free transfer in the summer of 1999 and has gone on to break into the Dutch national team.The Scottish striker damaged the shoulder a couple of weeks ago against Leeds United, and has complained that the injury is still giving him pain.The Everton manager, Walter Smith, said: “Duncan is able to run normally in training but found the shoulder was inhibiting his movement when he tried to jump for the ball. We are still hopeful that we will have him available for the weekend.”Everton will be without the suspended trio of Scott Gemmill, Dave Unsworth and Steve Watson at Portman Road, and still have injury doubts over Mark Pembridge and Paul Gascoigne, although Richard Gough has recovered from a groin strain. Joe-Max Moore will be on international duty with the United States for their World Cup game with Mexico.Pakistan will play Coventry City and Second Division Bury on their first tour of Britain.
They will face Bury on 21 March and Coventry four days later in preparation for World Cup qualifiers against Thailand, Sri Lanka and Lebanon in May.Bury have an Indian forward, Baichung Bhutia, on their books and their chairman, Terry Robinson, said: “We are honoured and delighted to be playing this historic game. Bury and its surrounding towns and cities have a large Pakistani community who I’m sure will come to the match.”We were the first club in the UK to sign an Asian player and I expect that his participation in the game will add even more flavour to the event.”. On Saturday’s Match of the Day, referee Eddie Wolstenholme defended his decision to allow Wycombe Wanderers’ second goal, which levelled the Second Division team’s FA Cup tie against Wimbledon. His explanation did not convince, especially as the replays showed that three Wycombe players were palpably offside. And to make matters worse for Mr Wolstenholme, he was then mocked by Alan Hansen for explaining in terms of complicated “phases” why the goal was allowed to stand. I felt rather sorry for him, even though he had clearly goofed.
On Saturday’s Match of the Day, referee Eddie Wolstenholme defended his decision to allow Wycombe Wanderers’ second goal, which levelled the Second Division team’s FA Cup tie against Wimbledon. His explanation did not convince, especially as the replays showed that three Wycombe players were palpably offside. And to make matters worse for Mr Wolstenholme, he was then mocked by Alan Hansen for explaining in terms of complicated “phases” why the goal was allowed to stand. I felt rather sorry for him, even though he had clearly goofed.
Such is the unhappy lot of the football referee.
