Football news

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez added more spice to his attack against Manchester United by questioning chief executive David Gill's position on the FA board.

Benitez delivered a calculated criticism of Alex Ferguson prior to the weekend's fixtures and claimed his United counterpart was allowed to go unpunished when criticising referees.

"They were saying we are not a threat. Now they know we are, they are starting mind games," Benitez said.

"But when you have control of everything and your chief executive is powerful in the FA and things like this, then that is not mind games.

"Is there a conflict of interest with David Gill at the FA? To me that is very strange."

Bolton halt Barton interest

Bolton Wanderers are no longer interested in signing Joey Barton, the Newcastle midfielder.

The Trotters already had a £2 million bid rejected as Barton is currently sidelined with a knee ligament injury.

"We move on. Joey is a good player and a former England international," Bolton manager Gary Megson said.

"But he has certainly had his problems. There is an amount we would go to and that's it. We would not go any further."

Nakamura to break pain barrier

Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura will break the pain barrier to play in his country's key World Cup qualifier against Australia next month.

The 30-year-old played in Celtic's 2-1 Scottish Cup victory over Dundee at the weekend despite suffering from a groin strain and insisted he would be fit to face the Socceroos on Feb. 11.

"Celtic are fighting for the title so I can't rest," Nakamura said.

"It's not too painful. When you reach 30 you often get pain in the knees and ligaments. It's better to go there with a positive attitude. It takes up a lot of energy but I want to play."

No more signings says Galliani

Adriano Galliani told reporters that Milan will not add new players to their squad in the January transfer window.

With Kakha Kaladze, Alessandro Nesta, Philippe Senderos and Daniele Bonera all struggling for fitness, many expected Milan to delve into the market in search of a new defender.

"We won't return on the market," the Milan vice-president said.

"Kaladze's injury is not serious. To me, it should mean he doesn't have to have an operation. We're also looking to recover Nesta and Senderos.

"The only thing Milan asks of 2009 is health, especially for our defenders... we always score but we still have some little problems there at the back."

Podolski lacks fighting spirit

Out-of-favour Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski, set to leave the Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, has not shown enough determination to earn regular selection, coach Juergen Klinsmann said.

Podolski, who joined Bayern in 2006, has largely been left on the bench behind Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose this season.

Podolski, who had a superb 2006 World Cup under Klinsmann and has continued to score goals for the national side, has said he wants to leave, with Cologne the most likely destination.

"It hurts to see a special talent who just stops and does not progress because he cannot deal with the situation of having two players in front of him," Klinsmann said.

Redknapp puts blame on players

Harry Redknapp has criticised his players following Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at Wigan on Sunday.

"At the moment we have some players who cost this football club a lot of money and they need to be better for the team," Redknapp said.

"They are supposed to be quality players and they have got to show that on the football pitch.

"If you look at our results, it cannot always be the manager's fault, can it?

"It is three times away from home... we went to Newcastle and got beaten in injury time, we went to West Brom and conceded a goal with a couple of minutes to go and again on Sunday."

Lovenkrands for Newcastle trial

Premier League club Newcastle have Peter Lovenkrands on trial.

The 28-year-old Danish striker was set to return to his former club Rangers to keep in shape this month following his release by Germany's Schalke but he then opted to have a trial at Tyneside.

Newcastle assistant manager Chris Hughton said: "There is work going on behind the scenes to bring in the two or three players we need. Lovenkrands is out of contract and could be an interesting addition to our squad.

"He is an experienced player. So, I think this trial gives us an opportunity to look at him."