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You are the Ref

Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett's official answers appear in Sunday's Observer and here from Monday.Competition: win an official club shirt of your choiceFor a chance to win a club shirt from the range at Kitbag.com send us your questions for You are the Ref to...

Clock ticks for Hughes as City's owners start to lose patience

• Christmas fixtures critical for embattled City coach• Hughes wants funds to bolster stuttering defenceMark Hughes's future at Manchester City has entered a critical period as he battles to convince the club's owners over the next few weeks that he remains the manager to realise their...

Mascherano praises Ngog for filling in for Torres

• Ngog has done a good job, says Javier Mascherano• Forward has eased pressure on Rafael BenítezJavier Mascherano has paid tribute to David Ngog for shouldering the "impossible job" of replacing Fernando Torres in the Liverpool attack and easing the pressure on the manager, Rafael...

No-excuses culture applies to Hughes

If the wealthy regime who run Manchester City decide their manager is out of time, he can hardly complainIf Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan does decide within the next handful of matches that Mark Hughes is not, after all, the manager for the Abu Dhabi-revitalising of Manchester City, neither...

Snow could lead to fixture pile-up in May

• Fewer windows to reschedule games due to World Cup• Only three dates in spring to play postponed matchesPremier League clubs could face a pre-World Cup fixtures pile-up if heavy snow leads to widespread postponements this weekend and in the coming months.Next summer's tournament means...

Wolves to cite reserve sides as defence

• Mick McCarthy's men feel they have history on their side• Manager feels extended rest will benefit his teamWolverhampton Wanderers will write to the Premier League citing examples of other clubs who have fielded weakened teams without facing any sanction in an attempt to avoid any...

Why what worked at Blackburn isn't coming off at Manchester City | Louise Taylor

Good team spirit and an eye for a bargain were once Mark Hughes's strong points, but not nowThe plane had begun its ear-popping descent towards northern Denmark, the fasten seat belt signs were illuminated and the mood of the Manchester City players waiting for a chicken and pasta lunch veered...

'I'd never appear on I'm a Celebrity'

The commentating legend on the differences between working on TV and radio and the likelihood of him appearing on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of HereHello Mr Motson, season's greetings to you. And to you, Small Talk.First off, do you mind if Small Talk acts very familiar and call you Motty? No,...