Defeat to Tottenham on New Year's Day has left Manchester United 11 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal and it's now going to be a struggle for the champions to make the top four, let alone defend their crown.

I hold my hands up because at the start of the season I thought they'd win the title. Not for the first time I'm going to be wrong.
There's a lot of finger pointing going on at the moment and David Moyes, the man who has the poisoned chalice of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, has come in for criticism while others are questioning whether the players are good enough.

I understand that but maybe the focus of attention might be better served on the owners.

When the Glazers arrived in 2005, United were feared across Europe. When there were big transfers out there United were the big players - Rio Ferdinand, Juan Sebastian Veron, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney. Wen there was a big name going somewhere, generally speaking, he was going to United.

Since the Glazers took over that hasn't been the case. Since 2005 there doesn't seem to have been the level of investment in players needed to keep United at the top of the tree, domestically or in Europe.





Fergie and the Glazers



Marouane Fellaini was a last-ditch transfer in the summer. In years gone by United would have been the leading contenders for Gareth Bale, or Edinson Cavani, or Falcao, or Neymar. Yet now, they don't seem to be able to play in the same ballpark.

Instead they have to watch Man City pay money left, right and centre for the likes of Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo, while Tottenham and even Arsenal also out-spend them. That must be hard to swallow for United fans.

Because of the deal the Glazers did to finance their takeover, the interest payments are crippling the sort of investments the club need to be making in players.
World class?

The January transfer window has just opened and I think we'll see them struggle again to add real quality to their squad.

United's January buys in the past haven't always been great and let's be honest, the big players have already gone in the summer. United are just looking at scraps.

Jose Mourinho is putting the 'for sale' sign out for Juan Mata, who is a smashing player and one of my favourites, but is he what United need at the moment? There's no need to buy for the sake of buying. United need to sign the right players - however, the great majority of those have gone.

Next summer, after the World Cup, there will be a lot of players who have performed in Brazil on the market. They'll be going at premium rates, though, so will the Glazers be willing then to put their hands in their pockets to bring in the big signings?

It's not all doom and gloom for United, though. David de Gea, Rafael, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley are all good, young players who are only going to get better. But are any of them really world class? That's what United were used to bringing in before.
Replacements

Another thing the owners have been guilty of is letting the top class players they had there grow old and diminish without replacing them.

Gary Neville is a classic example, but you could also name Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Ryan Giggs, who are still playing, or Paul Scholes - who've they been replaced by? Not like-for-like, nowhere near.








Moyes critical of referee



When the Glazers came in everything was in place and a lot of those players were in their pomp so inevitably that decline wasn't going to start immediately. It was going to take a while before the lack of significant major funding - on a par with the other European giants - was going to take effect.

Fergie, in a way, worked a miracle to win the Premier League with the team he had last season. Everyone said at the time 'this is not a great Manchester United side' - and it wasn't.

But it did have a great Manchester United manager who could cajole them into winning the league, while the other teams around them all had significant issues, from Roberto Mancini having a real struggle at Man City and Chelsea throwing managers away like confetti to an Arsenal side reluctant to spend.

I was naïve in believing anybody could repeat that - and I wasn't alone. It wasn't going to happen without the money being pumped back in.

I don't know when it will end because I'm not a financial expert and I don't know about the Glazers passion for the game. But Liverpool were invincible, big players once and they've been away from the top table for a long time. Without the right kind of backing it might be a while before United are the force they were before.
JEFF'S GEM OF THE WEEK

Spurs and Chelsea are contenders but I'm going with Bury for winning 3-0 away at my lot, Hartlepool. Bury supporters on Twitter have really made me suffer this week!

David Flitcroft who in his first season in charge at Barnsley did brilliantly has gone there and taken them from a position where they were in dire straits to playing the game in the right way, with the ball on the deck and it seems like it's working immediately.

It was a stunning result because we've been in good form. Our manager Colin Cooper says he didn't see it coming and I didn't see it coming either so well done to Bury. It's onwards and upwards for them.

Trainer Nicky Henderson had been forced to skip the Tingle Creek with the highest-rated jumps horse in training due to an unsatisfactory scope and this Grade Two was suddenly the focus of his attentions.

Slightly awkward at a couple of his early fences, Barry Geraghty pulled him up with just under a mile to run but remained on board as he trotted back.

Sire De Grugy, who won the Tingle Creek, was not that hard pressed to beat Oiseau De Nuit by four lengths.

The eventual winner was sent off at 4/1 to reward Gary Moore for his decision to take on Sprinter Sacre.

Henderson said: "They (vets) listened to him when he pulled him up and when he came back in, and there is an irregular heartbeat there.

"He landed on the back of the fence and Barry said he was empty.

"He was looking great, he jumped the first very well and his work was unbelievable

"He is going to have to go for dope tests and then they will scope him and hopefully we will know more later."

Moore said: "I'm over the moon for the horse and the owners, and especially Jamie (Moore, son and rider), but it's just a shame he had to do it that way but it's not his fault the other horse has gone wrong.

"I can enjoy it, but it has probably taken a bit of gloss off.

"That was a messy race, they went off fast then the pacemaker dropped out. He'd be better in a bigger field, covered up, and then you'd see his true potential.

"I said to Jamie to ride him for speed today, but he hasn't been able to.

"If he comes out of the race OK he'll definitely go for the Clarence House (January 18, Ascot) then he'll have a good break. We'll see if he goes for the Queen Mother then."

Andy Murray hailed a 'perfect start' after recording his first victory since back surgery in convincing fashion against Stanislas Wawrinka in Abu Dhabi.

The Wimbledon champion looked pretty sharp as he saw off world No 8 Wawrinka 6-3 6-4 to finish fifth at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition.

Murray had opened his season on Boxing Day with defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his first proper match since helping Great Britain beat Croatia to reach the Davis Cup World Group in September.

He had a minor operation on a long-standing back problem later that month, bringing an early end to his season.



"It was good to get two matches against top players. Everyone needs matches at this stage, especially me. It's been a perfect start and hopefully I'll get better."
Andy Murray



After training hard in Miami over the past six weeks, Murray was happy with his fitness against Tsonga and he looked to have shaken off some of the rust when he faced Wawrinka.

The world No 4 got the better of three successive breaks to take the first set and then forged ahead again with a break for 4-3 in the second.

Wawrinka saved a match point on his own serve with a forehand winner but Murray confidently served out the victory and then declared himself pleased with the way his back has responded to playing matches again.

Speaking on court, the 26-year-old said: "I feel pretty good, a lot better than I did a few months ago. I just need to play more matches like this because the intensity's a lot higher than you can get in practice.

"It was good to get two matches against top players. Everyone needs matches at this stage, especially me. It's been a perfect start and hopefully I'll get better."

Murray now makes the short trip to Doha for next week's Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he will start his ATP World Tour season alongside world number one Rafael Nadal.

South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis has announced he will retire from Test cricket after the second Test against India which starts on Boxing Day.

Kallis, who will remain available for selection in the limited-over formats of the game, has played 165 Tests for South Africa, scoring more than 13,000 runs and taking nearly 300 wickets since making his debut as a 20-year-old in 1995.

"It's been an honour and a privilege to have been part of the South African Test team since making my debut 18 years ago," said Kallis. "I have enjoyed every moment out in the middle but I just feel that the time is right to hang up my Test whites.

"It wasn't an easy decision to come to, especially with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying, but I feel that I have made my contribution in this format.

"The last two years specifically have been a memorable journey with an exceptional group of cricketers. I am fortunate enough to have ended my Test career amongst a group of talented cricketers but more importantly, friends whom I will cherish for years to come.





"I don't see it as goodbye because I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing."

Jacques Kallis



"I don't see it as goodbye because I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing.

"Winning an IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders was a special achievement, and I am still determined to taste that success with South Africa at an ICC event."

Proteas coach Russell Domingo was quick to pay tribute to Kallis, calling him an "immense human being".

"The impact Jacques has made on South African cricket has been immense, not just as a player but as a human being. I'm not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon.

"Jacques' calmness, maturity and presence in the change room will be sorely missed and hopefully he will still be able to play a role in this team's success in the near future.






Captain Graeme Smith was proud of South Africa as they came up just short of chasing down a world record 458 against India



"He has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournament."

Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Chris Nenzani added: "We are truly entering a new era with three of the icons of the game - Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and now our own Jacques Kallis - departing the Test arena within a short space of time.

"It is a time for reflection not only on Jacques' enormous contribution to the game of cricket but also the legacy he leaves behind him. South Africans love their sporting heroes and Jacques is right up among the best. Not only that but he has been there for the best part of two decades. At a time when we live in a fast-changing world and not always for the better he has remained true to the best traditions of the game

Steven Gerrard has told Sky Sports News it would be an anticlimax if Liverpool failed to achieve their pre-season target of a top-four finish.

Brendan Rodgers' side go into Christmas top of the Premier League, and no team since Liverpool in 2008 have failed to win the title from such a position of strength.

In an interview to be broadcast in full on Sky Sports News on Christmas Day, Gerrard said the aim at Anfield remains a return to the Champions League.

But the Anfield captain is hopeful Liverpool can "surprise a few people" and stay in contention at the top.

He said: "I think if we were to finish outside the top four I think it would be a disappointing season.






Steven Gerrard speaks about the upcoming year with the England team and his hopes for his Liverpool side next season.



"With the talent we've got in the squad and the way we've started, we've set ourselves up with a magnificent chance of finishing in the top four so if we were to let that slip and finish outside everyone would be disappointed.

"The key to us is to finish inside the top four, it helps the club financially to bring players in and to end that long spell without it.

"I think we're title contenders if we're in the title race with 10 games to go - I don't get carried away or change targets or raise expectations around the city just because we've started the season very strong.

"To be in the title race you've got to be there with 10 games to go with a realistic challenge of winning it. I do have confidence and belief in my team-mates that we're capable of surprising a few people this season."

Gerrard is tied to the club until 2015 after signing a new contract in the summer, and his priority is still to see out his career at the club he joined as a nine-year-old.

He said: "If something happens where I fall out of contention or someone else comes along and takes my place and I stop enjoying it, if I still feel I could offer someone else something of course I'd consider it, but for the time being I can see myself seeing it out here."

When Lionel Messi or his FC Barcelonateammates lift their shirts after scoring a goal, soccer fans will seeIntel Corp. (INTC)’s logo under a sponsorship that puts its logo on the inside of the team’s jerseys.

Intel, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors, agreed to become the official technology partner of the 2011 Champions League winners and current leader of La Liga, Intel vice president of sponsorships David Haroldsen said. The company’s current advertising slogan is “Look inside.”

“This is a first-time placement of a logo inside of their jersey and a first for a technology company,” Haroldsen said in an e-mail.

Haroldsen declined to provide terms of what he called a “multiyear” agreement. Forbes magazine reported that Intel will pay the club $25 million over five years.

Intel’s technology will help Barcelona players and coaches improve research, training and performance, Haroldsen said. The company’s only current sports sponsorship also will provide devices to students at Barcelona’s La Masia training academy, which developed current players such as Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

“In the future, we will also be working to improve the fan experience through new technology at Camp Nou,” Haroldsen said of the club’s 99,354-seat stadium, which it says is the largest in Europe.
‘Novel Idea’

The logo placement fits well with the company’s previous “Intel Inside” ad campaigns, according to Rick Burton, professor of sports management at Syracuse University. Burton warned that players must show the logo after scoring in order for Intel to see benefits from what he called a “really novel idea.”

“Otherwise Intel may have paid for something that isn’t often seen,” Burton said in an e-mail. “Still, it’s a bold move by Intel and links them with one of the world’s most recognized sports brands.”

Haroldsen said the contract does not require players to display the logo, and players have not been asked to do so. The sponsorship will not interfere with the team’s other jersey sponsors, Qatar Sports Investments on the front and Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, on the back.
Second-Richest Team

Barcelona is the second-richest soccer team in the world with $627 million in annual revenue, according to accountant Deloitte LLP, trailing only La Liga’s Real Madrid at $665 million. The team scored a record 115 goals last season en route to a La Liga championship and in June signed 21-year-old Brazilian forward Neymar, who scored three times yesterday as the team advanced through the Champions League group stage with a 6-1 win against Scotland’s Celtic FC.

Winners of the top European club championship in 1992, 2006, 2009 and 2011, Barcelona is valued at $2.6 billion, according to Forbes’s annual rankings. That’s third among soccer clubs behindReal Madrid ($3.3 billion) and England’s Manchester United ($3.2 billion), the magazine said.

La Liga’s top scorer in each of the past two seasons, the 26-year-old Messi scored 46 goals for Barcelona last year in league competition. He’s won the FIFA Ballon d’Or in each of the past three seasons as world soccer’s top player.

Messi, like many soccer players, has lifted his jersey during past goal celebrations to reveal a message written on his undershirt. Such personal statements aren’t allowed by the Spanish Football Federation, and Messi was fined about $3,400 in 2011 after he wrote “Happy Birthday Mom” in Spanish on his undershirt, according to ESPN.