More soccer news in brief.
Argentina coach has no complaints after Chile defeat
ARGENTINA COACH Alfio Basile had no complaints about his side's 1-0 defeat to Chile in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, saying their opponents appeared to have 15 players on the pitch.
"There are no excuses," said Basile, under increasing pressure after a run of disappointing results. "Sometimes it's just the case the opposition played better than you did. I have never seen a performance like this from Chile, it was amazing how much running they did, they were like a machine and pressed us in every part of the pitch and didn't let us settle.
"It seemed like there were 15 of them against 11 of us. We thought they would get tired in the second half but they kept going very well. We had a bit more possession in the second half but in general Chile dominated."
Basile said Argentina had sorely missed mercurial playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, who was suspended. "We missed him and without Riquelme we couldn't play the way we always play," said Basile.
Drogba wants to stay at Chelsea
DIDIER DROGBA (pictured) said that he finally feels comfortable at Stamford Bridge and "would love to finish my career here".
He has frequently expressed his desire to move abroad and in his autobiography that he launched in London yesterday, but which was first published in French earlier this year, he claimed that he had moved to Stamford Bridge against his will and that he hoped "this is my last season" at Chelsea.
"I said that at a time when I was not feeling good," he said
Kinnear explains reason for foul-mouthed outburst
NEWCASTLE'S INTERIM manager Joe Kinnear has explained the reasons behind his foul-mouthed outburst at a news conference earlier this month.
Kinnear (61) swore more than 50 times at reporters but told BBC 5 Live: "It's the language I have grown up with. I'm not trying to be something I'm not. I grew up on a council estate in Watford."
The former Wimbledon boss added: "I come from a one-parent family. My dad died when I was young and my mum brought up five on a council estate. There were an awful lot of characters at Wimbledon in the 10 years that I was there for it. There were things that had to be said and I don't know how to say them any other way than to tell them straight how it is."
Meanwhile, Michael Owen will miss Newcastle United's home game against Manchester City on Monday night after suffering a groin strain. The striker pulled up in discomfort during a work-out on Wednesday.
Other issues at St James' Park appear as opaque as ever. According to Kinnear the seven consortiums said to be interested must today submit formal bids to buy the club from Mike Ashley. However, the man who is brokering the sale, Keith Harris, the chairman of Seymour Pierce, has reiterated: "There are no deadlines, and never have been any deadlines, for bids."
Kinnear will make his first appearance in the home dugout on Monday after completing a two-game touchline ban. "I'll probably be pushed back on to my bench around 40 times by some sort of official, but I act quickly if things go wrong."
Kinnear believes he is beginning to win over the fans. "Maybe I am gradually getting them round to my way of thinking," he said. "Maybe they are seeing that I am a totally football man. And a bit of a lunatic at times."
He has not won over Gerry Francis, however, who has turned down the offer of a coaching job to stay at Stoke City.
Three Arsenal players injured
ARSENE WENGER rued the "heavy losses" sustained by his Arsenal side after William Gallas, Bacary Sagna and Nicklas Bendtner went down with injuries while on international duty. All three will miss tomorrow's Premier League encounter with Everton and Tuesday's Champions League trip to Fenerbahce.
Gallas pulled a hamstring while training with France, Sagna has a knee complaint and Bendtner an ankle injury. The Arsenal manager also has concerns about Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Johan Djourou. Fabregas broke his nose playing for Spain after replacing the injured Fernando Torres, Van Persie has a muscular injury and Djourou suffered concussion but Wenger is hopeful they should be able to feature this weekend.
"Unfortunately we have lost some players over the 10 days - Gallas, Sagna and Bendtner," he said. "These are heavy losses and we have to compensate for them. Fortunately the three of them don't look to be out for a long, long time but they will be out for the weekend game and I think the game on Tuesday."
Tuning in for analysis of game
RTÉ2's live coverage of the Republic of Ireland's 1-0 defeat of Cyprus in their 2010 World Cup Qualifier drew a huge audience on Wednesday night. The audience peaked directly after the final whistle when 752,000 people tuned in for analysis of the game with 517,000 people tuning in for the entire duration of the programme.
• The English FA is to investigate match-fixing allegations. The allegations relate to unusual online betting patterns in Asia during the the October 4th game between Norwich City and Derby County.
• Celtic's Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (groin injury) is out of tomorrow's game against Inverness and looks certain to miss Tuesday's Champions League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
