Football news

City council leaders want the new Liverpool owners to look again at the possibility of sharing their new stadium with Everton. American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks want to make Liverpool's new Stanley Park stadium even bigger than the planned 60,000-capacity but will need council permission.

Liverpool have always ruled out sharing with Everton but city council leader Warren Bradley wants them to reconsider.

Bradley said: "If they can consider increasing the stadium size, why can't they consider a shared stadium?"

Everton are considering moving to a site outside Liverpool in Kirkby.

Redknapp wants Campbell to stay

Harry Redknapp will abandon his contracts policy to keep defender Sol Campbell at Portsmouth next season. Redknapp prefers to offer yearly contracts to players over 30, but will offer Campbell, 33, a deal until 2009.

"Without doubt I would like to keep Sol here longer," Redknapp said.

"He's been fantastic and he can keep playing in the Premier League for a few years yet."

Curbishley adds to Boro criticism

Alan Curbishley has joined the debate over Middlesbrough fielding a weakened side in their 2-0 defeat by Manchester City. The move by Boro, who had one eye on an FA Cup replay at Manchester United, has angered some of City's rivals in the battle for Premiership survival.

Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock has already criticised Boro on the issue.

And Curbishley, of West Ham, said: "Everyone down at the bottom is very disappointed with what happened.

"Not just the result but, when you do rest players and don't get the result, it's a double whammy."

Treble repeat unlikely says Fergie

Alex Ferguson has played down the chances of Manchester United repeating their treble success of 1999 this term.

United are in contention to win the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League this season as the campaign draws to a close. But Ferguson insists no one in the squad talks about winning another treble.

"No-one talks about that," he said. "It is a possibility but more of an impossibility given the number of games we have, the speed of games and the competition. In 1999 we had no injuries to contend with so that was the lucky break we got in that particular year."

UEFA Cup target for Bolton

Sam Allardyce has told his players to win their four remaining home games if they want to book a UEFA Cup slot. The Bolton boss wants his side to win at least half of their remaining eight games and make this the club's best season since he led them to the Premiership in 2001.

"If we are to secure our UEFA Cup spot in the league, the target for me is to get past 58 points," he said. "Beyond 58 points will be our best points tally. However, we will probably need to break the 60 points barrier if we are to guarantee a UEFA Cup place."

Bolton are currently in fifth place with 47 points.

Thuram pondering future

Lilian Thuram is weighing up his future at the Nou Camp.

The Barcelona defender has struggled to hold down a regular place in Frank Rijkaard's side this term since his arrival from Juve last summer.

Thuram admits he may have to consider his future at Barca if he is not playing regularly as he wants to be in good shape for France.

"I hope that I will play for Barcelona next season. I will move elsewhere if the club tells me there are no possibilities for me," Thuram said.

"If they count on me, there are no reasons to leave the club."

Werder will not let Frings go

Klaus Allofs, Werder Bremen's sport director, said the Bundesliga title chasers are not prepared to let Torsten Frings leave the club.

The Germany international star is reportedly a target next summer for Juventus, but Allofs said there is no way the 30-year-old will be leaving at the end of the season.

"Torsten is staying. He has a contract until 2009 and there is no way that he can secure a release earlier," said Allofs.

"We want to talk to him about changing his contract - increasing his salary and extending his current deal".

Rumours link Bojinov with Barca

Juventus striker Valeri Bojinov is flattered by transfer speculation pairing him with a move to Barcelona."Playing for Barcelona would be a dream come true for me," he said.

"I could wear the jersey which belonged to Hristo Stoichkov, who was my idol when I was a child. He was loved in Barcelona and it would be great to be able to follow in his steps."

Bojinov is currently in Turin in a co-ownership deal from Fiorentina and the latest reports suggest that Juve will not opt to buy him outright after the 21-year-old's struggles this season.

Gilberto not for sale - Wenger

Arsene Wenger made it clear Gilberto is not going anywhere. The Arsenal vice-captain was quoted in the press this week revealing his fondness of Juventus and that he would consider a move to Turin.

The 30-year-old could leave Arsenal this summer, as his contract is no longer protected and under FIFA rules he can technically buy out the remaining two years of his deal.

But Wenger said: "Gilberto is under contract.

"In Italy they talk about him, the German newspapers talk about Lehmann, the Spanish newspapers talk about Baptista and the Swedish papers talk about Ljungberg... I simply cannot control all that."