Former Leeds striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has declared his interest in the vacant managerial position at Elland Road.
The 42-year-old, who represented the Yorkshire club between 1997-1999, is keen to start a managerial career and would like the chance to take charge of the club he classes as one of the biggest in England.
“Leeds is a wonderful big club where I had two great years. If they want to talk to me, of course I would talk (to them),” he said.
“I’ve got experience, I know I could take the club forward and I know I can take the club back to where they need to go.”
Poll backs TV replays proposal
Former referee Graham Poll believes it is a “great idea” to introduce TV replays in football be-cause players are “more crafty and deceitful” than ever before.
However, he is unsure about the merits of giving managers the power to challenge decisions.
Blatter’s proposal would see managers or coaches being allowed to make a number of challenges per half if they disagreed with referee’s decisions, with a final call being made by the official once replays had been studied on a monitor.
Regarding the use of video, Poll said: “It’s a great idea. The game has speeded up. Players are more crafty and deceitful than they have ever been.
“Unfortunately, that is a fact of life, therefore refs do need help.”
Concussion break
FIFA’s medical chief wants matches to be halted for three minutes if a player suffers a suspected concussion.
Michel D’Hooghe, chairman of FIFA’s medical committee, said he will make the proposal to UEFA and FIFA and said only team doctors should be allowed to decide whether a player can continue, not the manager.
He said: “If there is a suspected concussion we will ask the referee to stop the game for three minutes. The referee will only allow the player to continue playing with the green light of the team doctor – nobody else.”
UEFA to share fines among clubs
Manchester City’s huge fine for breaching UEFA’s financial fair play rules is to be shared out around the other clubs in the Champions League.
City were fined £50m for the FFP breaches but will only have to pay around £20m if they comply with the break-even rules in future seasons.
The first tranche of payments from City, PSG and Zenit SP will total £20m and will be split among the Champions League and Europa League clubs who did comply with the rules last season.
A similar sum will be distributed to clubs who comply with the FFP rules in this season’s European competitions.
Rooney holding player-only meetings
England captain Wayne Rooney has been holding player-only meetings in a bid to put the summer’s disastrous World Cup behind them.
While Rooney won his 97th cap in the 2-0 win in Switzerland this week, the rest of the line-up had just 186 appearances between them – a lack of experience which led him to hold player-led meetings.
“We have had meetings among ourselves, just players in the rooms, watching videos and discussing how we can do better as a team,” Rooney said.
“Obviously the manager gives us our game plan, but because we don’t spend that much time together as a team we need to know and feel confident in what we’re doing together.”
Blatter will not get Dutch vote
The Dutch football association (KNVB) has said it will not be voting for Sepp Blatter, who has confirmed his candidature for a fifth term as FIFA president.
Outspoken KNVB president Michael van Praag told reporters about the association’s stand but admitted he saw no chance of the Swiss incumbent being swept from power.
“I realised this in Brazil, even after we in Europe had sought to discuss the impact of Blatter on the good name of FIFA,” van Praag said.
The Dutch have been a rare dissenting voice against the 78-year-old Blatter.
At the FIFA Congress in Brazil, the KNVB told Blatter he should retire as he must take much of the blame for the crumbling reputation of soccer’s world governing body.
QPR face ban
Queens Park Rangers could be consigned to English soccer’s minor leagues if they are relegated from the top flight and fail to pay a potentially huge fine for breaching the Football League’s financial fair play rules.
Shaun Harvey, chief executive of the Football League (FL), which governs the second to fourth tiers of English soccer, said that it has the right to refuse re-admission to their competitions to clubs who do not pay outstanding fines.
Under the FL’s rules, QPR, who returned to the Premier League this season, would be fined about £54 million if their losses during their promotion campaign matched their 2012-13 figure of £65.4 million.