Harry Redknapp & Peter Storrie Arrested on corruption charges.

Portsmouth have confirmed that Harry Redknapp and Peter Storrie have been arrested by police investigating corruption in football.

Reports had claimed that Redknapp and Storrie were among five people to have been arrested in raids on Wednesday.

A Pompey spokesman said: “Portsmouth Football Club can confirm that chief executive Peter Storrie and manager Harry Redknapp have today been asked to help police with their inquiries concerning a matter dating back to 2003.

“This was prior to the new owner taking control of the club at the beginning of 2006.

“The club is fully supportive of Peter and Harry who are cooperating fully with City of London Police in this ongoing inquiry.

“Both are playing major roles in the continued success of Portsmouth Football Club.”

According to the Evening Standard’s This Is London website, Leicester City chairman Milan Mandaric, Rangers midfielder Amdy Faye and football agent Willie McKay were also arrested.

The City of London Police’s economic unit headed the raid which is part of the same ongoing investigation that saw Tottenham defender Pascal Chimbonda arrested in September.

Eight searches

Police confirmed earlier on Wednesday that five men – aged 69, 60, 55, 48 and 30 – had been arrested following raids.

A spokeswoman for the Police said: “Five men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting as part of an ongoing investigation into football corruption.

“Three searches are currently under way. Five additional searches at a variety of locations across the country have been concluded.”

The Police’s investigation is separate to that of the Quest inquiry, which was launched last year by the Football Association with Lord Stevens at the helm.

Giggs offers Nani advice.

Manchester United’s veteran winger Ryan Giggs has tipped his successor Nani to enjoy the same kind of success that Cristiano Ronaldo has become accustomed to at Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old joined the English champions from Sporting in the summer, the same club from whom Ronaldo joined four years ago, but has not settled immediately in much the same way as Ronaldo struggled.

But old head Giggs is tipping the youngster to come good after seeing glimpses of what he has to offer.

“We’ve always had a great tradition at this club with wingers and hopefully Nani can develop in the way Cristiano has and learn about the game and keep getting better,” said Giggs.

“He’s got great quality and energy and he can score and make goals, so he’s got the makings of becoming a really good player.

“It’s important to help them develop and it’s something I benefited from as a young player.

“I was lucky enough to be surrounded by so many established pros, like Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Brian McClair and Mark Hughes, when I first broke into the team and I relied on them.

“You take on a different role as you get older and you try and pass your experience on to the younger lads and show leadership qualities on and off the pitch.”

Ronaldo was missing from United’s 1-0 defeat at Bolton on Saturday, and much to the disdain and confusion of The Red Devils’ fans was not even included on the bench.

However, manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that the wide-man’s absence, alongside Nemanja Vidic’s lack of involvement, was due to injury and that both would hopefully be available for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Sporting.

“Ronaldo had a little strain on the inside of his thigh and Nemanja missed Serbia’s game on Wednesday while on international duty,” Ferguson told MUTV. “We’ll see what they are like for Tuesday but they were not fit for Saturday.”

United are England

This is what happens when you dont play Man United players, England are shit.

 Goodbye McClaren.

Rooney return

Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United and England striker, will return to club training at Carrington today just 11 days after damaging his ankle, according to sources within the England camp. 

Rooney’s quick recovery from an injury sustained playing head tennis comes too late for him to feature for England against Croatia tomorrow, although the popular forward will be present in the dressing-room before kick-off to help fire up Steve McClaren’s side for a game they must at least draw to qualify for Euro 2008.

England’s head coach has already contacted Rooney and invited him down to Wembley. McClaren is keen for his most important unavailable players, like the injured Rooney and John Terry, to gather as the squad make the final push towards Austria and Switzerland. It is all part of the united England feel McClaren seeks to foster.

United themselves will be delighted at the sight of Rooney training. When he suffered the injury on Nov 9, United predicted that Rooney would be out for four weeks. Depending on how his ankle reacts to training, he could be back in competitive action far more quickly than the initial prognosis.

It is a tribute to Rooney’s determination and United’s medical staff that he is back so swiftly. United’s Premier League match with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday will be too soon for him, although he could feature in next Tuesday’s Champions League Group F tie against Sporting Lisbon.

Fergie we blew it.

Sir Alex Ferguson blasted his Manchester United side for imploding in injury time of their top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal yesterday.

And in an angry tirade the United boss also accused referee Howard Webb of favouring Arsenal in the 2-2 draw that kept the Gunners at the summit of the Premier League.

Ferguson said: “I think we have thrown it away. At 2-1 you think you’ve won the game and for them to get a second goal when they did is very hard to take. It is a fact that they got out of jail.

“We spoke about it at half-time, the importance of not letting them back in, and we started the second half well and then we lose a goal from having our own throw-in near their corner flag. It’s amazing. It’s criminal.”

United had been ahead twice through a William Gallas own goal and Cristiano Ronaldo’s late finish only for Gallas to despatch the injury-time volley that kept Arsenal at the summit.

Cesc Fabregas had levelled the scores at 1-1 early in the second half.

Turning to the referee’s performance, Ferguson said: “I think Howard Webb has a great chance to be the top referee but today was a big game for him and, at times, he favoured Arsenal.

“Their second goal came from him not giving a free-kick for a foul on Louis Saha on the far side. It should have been a foul for us.” And Ferguson believes visiting officials are not provided with sufficient security at Arsenal’s new £390 million home.

“It is very difficult for the referee,” he explained. “On our bench, we were getting terrible abuse from people two or three feet away from us.

“There is a lack of security here. It is absolutely disgraceful the abuse you and your staff take. All sorts of things are being shouted and screamed at you and there is an absolute danger here.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the draw was as good as a win – and keeps his team on course for the title.

Wenger said: “We are in charge now. We have stayed at the top of the table. It’s like winning when you equalise like that at the end.

“It showed that we have a lot of character. We were too cautious in the first half and not as sharp as we should have been. We didn’t play our normal passing, flowing game. But we showed great resilience.

“We have a lot of technical ability. But this does not mean we don’t have character. We have a lot of spirit.

“We came back twice against a good Manchester United side. They didn’t create much, but took advantage of our mistakes. We have got draws against Liverpool and United but I am disappointed because we could have had four points out of the six.”

 

Fergie and Wenger have common beliefs.

Contrary to the tabloid image of their relationship, Arsène Wenger believes there is “common ground” between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson. The Old Trafford boss brings his Manchester United side to Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime. With both sides jostling for top spot this game is a throwback to the turn of the millennium when these fixtures were considered to be title-deciders. In the build-up to those games the media loved to pitch the fiery Scot against the ice-cool Frenchman. However Wenger believes the pair share a major personality trait — their belief in blooding young players. Ferguson famously won the title throughout the late 1990s with a young English side that had emerged through the club’s youth system. At the moment Wenger is trying to do the same thing with largely imported talent. “That’s where the common ground is [with Ferguson],” said Wenger at Friday’s press conference. “He’s not scared to take a chance with young players and bring them through, and nor am I. “He’s the only other manager to have brought a young side through to win the title.” However, in the modern age, Wenger believes even Ferguson has had to look further afield for his emerging talent. “What he did to bring those young English players through [in the early 1990s], he cannot do any more,” said Arsenal manager. “So what has he done now? He has brought young foreign players through to dominate the game again. Nani, Ronaldo, Anderson – certainly these kind of talents aren’t available as much in England at the moment.”