The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 20

20 SPORTS NEWS THE GUARDIAN Friday November 3 1989 Soccer Wednesday's men in a million David Hofapa dough insisted he had "no regrets" about the departure of a player who cost 650,000 from Leeds in the summer. "Brian Clough told me I would not get into the first team," said Sheridan. "Forest play a passing game which suits my style but Clough wants-his midfield players to be more involved than I was used to." Chris Vinnicombe, the 19-year-old Exeter left-back, is expected to sign for Rangers today for a fee which may reach 400,000. Diego Maradona, who accused Napoli's president Cor-rado Ferlaino of orchestrating his ban from the Uefa Cup tie against Wettingen and hinted he was leaving the dub, is expected to play against Lecce in the league on Sunday. Nottingham Forest are giving a trial to Javier Villalba, the 26-year-old Paraguayan midfielder.

The Tottenham Hotspur winger Paul Moran is being loaned to Leicester City for one month. Paul McGrath, Aston Villa's Republic of Ireland international, has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute after attacking his former manager, Manchester United's Alex Ferguson, in a newspaper Rogan Taylor has stepped down as the chairman of the Football Supporters Association to take up a post with the Sir Norman Chester Centre. SHEFFIELD Wednesday agreed to spend almost 1 million yesterday as then-manager, Ron Atkinson, acted to arrest the decline of the First Division's bottom club. Atkinson's first remedy to Wednesday's record of two goals in their first 11 League matches was to buy John Sheridan from Nottingham Forest for 500,000 as a "controlling midfield Sheridan appeared in only one Littlewoods Cup tie, against Huddersfield Town, in a disturbing three months under dough's regime, and added piquancy comes with a debut for Wednesday at the City Ground against Forest tomorrow. Sheridan signed a three-year contract without Atkinson in attendance and the reason became clear by late afternoon as Phil King, 21, a left back, was taken on loan from Swindon Town with a view to completing a 450,000 move on Monday.

King, who cost Swindon only 12,500 from Torquay nearly three years ago, is required as a replacement for the Northern Ireland defender Nigel Wor-thington, transfer-listed and awaiting a third hernia operation. Since taking charge at Hillsborough in February, Atkinson has spent 35 million, recouping 2J2 million. No fillip of John Toshack's reign at Madrid Is under threat of early termination after this week's defeat at the hands of Milan TosLhiack departs from the Real tradition David Lacey in Madrid attempts to separate the Tosh from the truth after another Real exit from the European Cup Roxburgh's fury flipped his lid charging out of the penalty area in the first half for an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Rijkaard and then panicking late in the second half when Massaro beat the offside trap and broke clear on the right Buyo raced out once more and brought down Massaro with a bodily assault that belonged to the sport of helmets and shoulder-guards. This is not what Real Madrid should be about. Almost equally depressing was the number of times their players were caught offside; Toshack made it 22.

There was no inspiration in the side, only a lot of tension and, as Van Basten remarked, a growing inclination to become irritated when things were not going to plan. There is going to be a lot more irritation at the Bernabeu before Real become a force in Europe once more. It is some indication of the state of the Spanish League that Real are top of the league and likely to retain their title, and that the country's sole remaining representatives in the three European competitions are Vallado-lid, the Spanish answer to Milton Keynes. ration has been extinguished by the dull hand of tactical expediency. And what the followers of Real will find hard to forgive is that under Toshack the club that won the first five European Cups by putting skill above cynicism have gone out kicking.

Yesterday the back page of a Madrid sports paper pointedly carried a large picture of Beenhakker wandering among the souvenir stalls outside the Bernabeu before Wednesday's kick-off. "He'll be back," said a Dutch journalist, an opinion given extra weight by the recent one-year ban from European competition on Ajax, Beenhakker's present club. The dismissal of Sanchis 15 minutes from the end of Wednesday's game for hacking down Fuser after the Milan player had won a 50-50 ball was simply the culmination of a series of dismal fouls by Madrid players who from the start had attacked selected targets, notably Van Basten and Rijkaard. Toshack's complaint about the penalty in Milan might have won more sympathy had Buyo behaved better in the return game. Instead the Real goalkeeper more than once task now becomes a matter of conjecture.

Real's supporters do not take kindly to failure and if the club president, Ramon Mendoza, can attract one of the big names on the European coaching circuit Toshack's career at the Bernabeu may well be curtailed with a golden handshake. It was always likely to go this way. Toshack has come in at the fag end of a Real revival which was strong enough to rekindle memories of the halcyon days but never likely to bring true glory back to the Bernabeu because the team, while possessing talented players, was seldom blessed with greatness. Yet when Real, under Beenhakker, beat PSV Eindhoven in last season's quarter-finals, having been knocked out by the Dutch champions in the 1987 semi-finals, they still appeared to have the flair to beat the functional. The charge against Toshack is that even this flicker of inspi- periority in both games was even more marked than it had been in last season's semi-finals when they forced a 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu before winning the return game 5-0.

In the matter of casualties, moreover, they had equal justification for self-pity. But as Gullit said after Wednesday's match: "Without me Milan were still much better than Real Madrid." Toshack became manager of Real at the start of the season, succeeding Leo Beenhakker, the Dutch coach who had taken them to three successive European Cup semi-finals. He would not discuss his future on Wednesday night, saying simply that Real now had to make sure of entering next season's competition by winning the Spanish championship for the fifth time in succession. Whether or not the man who was once expected to manage Liverpool will be allowed to remain in office long enough to complete this relatively modest WEDNESDAY was a saint's day. The shops were closed, the streets were empty, the golf courses were overflowing.

Yesterday this city was back to its bustling, traffic-choked self but there should have been a requiem for the lost soul of Real Madrid. After Real had gone out of the European Cup on Wednesday night, 1-0 winners over AC Milan in the second leg of their first-round tie but beaten 2-1 on aggregate, John Toshack remained true to the litany of losing managers the world over. He cited injuries as a reason for his team's failure and continued to grumble about the penalty in the San Siro awarded against Real after their goalkeeper, Buyo, had clearly brought down Van Bas-ten outside the area. This was pure Tosh. Real's early departure from the Champions' Cup merely confirmed their decline as a power in Europe, it anytning, Milan su- Rugby League Leeds 30, Warrington 6 PMriokWaan ANDY ROXBURGH has gone for experience in bis lS-man squad for the crucial World Cup match against Norway on Wednesday week.

In naming it yesterday he went for the ootuau League. Scotland's national coach is upset at the general lack of consideration south of the border, and specifically furious about the decision to televise the match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, which is thereby shifted from the Saturday to the Sunday before the international. Roxburgh named five Anrao- Scots, two of whom Jim Leighton and Brian McClair will play for United only three days before the Norway game, which will also be televised. Roxburgh, already having to sweat through the full English programme on Saturday, will not have his whole squad with him until Monday. "It's not a case of the English wrecking your plans," Roxburgh said.

"They simply ignore you. You would think they would have the basic courtesy to recognise that Scotland Athletics Recharged Leeds Tennis Dilemma Davfcflrvina JEREMY BATES today finds himself in what is commonly referred to as a no-win situation. He expects his request for a wild card into next week's Silk Cut tournament at Wembley to be turned down; he cannot play in the qualifying stage unless he is out of both the singles and the doubles at the Prudential National Championships by tonight; and by not competing at Wembley he will automatically slide further down the world ranking list. As Britain's No.l, Bates feels he has grounds for complaint. Three times in the past four years he has won a round at Wembley, and only recently he beat Brad Gilbert, next week's No.

3 seed behind John McEnroe and Michael Chang. The national team manager Warren Jacques agrees: "If anyone should get a wild card it is Jeremy." And that, he says, was his recommendation to Len Owen, the director of the Wembley tournament. Bates is convinced, though, that Owen wants "a new face" and plans, if he has GB hone from home Paul FHxpatrfck LEEDS looked potential candidates for relegation against the New Zealand-ers almost three weeks ago. Last night at Headingley they followed Sunday's victory against Sheffield Eagles with an emphatic win over Warrington to join a group of four clubs a point behind the leaders. This win had a heavy Australian influence.

Craig Izzard, playing so impressively since moving from front to second row, was a deserved man of the match for Leeds. But if he had not taken the award it might have gone to Mark Laurie or Craig Coleman. Laurie, before tiring, was a splendid partner for Izzard in the second row, while Coleman was at his most authoritative in midfield, producing kicks of mathematical precision and setting up a succession of attacks with his imaginative passing. Warrington are looking increasingly careworn leaders. They were far from convincing against Barrow last week, made no impact against St Helens on Sunday and rarely looked as if they would cause Leeds embarrassment last night and the Republic of Ireland have vital World Cup matches in the midweek." Scotland need one point to ensure qualification from Group Five.

Pat Nevin is recalled and his Everton team-mate Steve McCall is the only uncapped member of the party. Gordon Strachan and Steve Clarke make way. 8COTLAHD SQUAD (World Cup qualifying match Norway at Hampden Park, November 15); Lolshton (Manchester United), aoram (Hibernian); Ualpao (Dundee United), Killer (Aberdeen), HeLaleb (Aberdeen), Attken (Celtic), HcPkereon (Hearts), meet (Liverpool), ISfiBeM rcerbel. suet (Aberdeen). Hnrioaf (Manchester United).

MacLeod (Boruesia uorrmunoi. mourn (fcvenonj. (Motnerweni. neves (Rangers). HoCeMrt (Rangers).

(Bsyem Munich). SCOTLAND UNDta-It SOUAD (Uefa Champion ship march Norway at MdXamUd Park, Penh, on November 14): Qunn (Norwich). Fenwaan (Hamilton). Maa (St Mirreti); Haas (Dundee United), Ollsiii (Dundee United). HeLeren (Hearts).

Hamilton (Hibernian). Robertson (Aberdeen). Whyte (Celtic), Wilson (NoOJngtiam Forest), Sharp (Dunfermline). McLeo (Dundee). saeKlrtay (Dundee United).

HeSHetree (Leicester), Cookie (Hibernian). Crabbe (Hearts), Jeee (Aberdeen. HHor (Celtic). Wales will play all their major internationals in Cardiff in future, but not necessarily at Ninian Park. Brian Flynn will be caretaker-manager at Wrexham after the resignation of Dixie McNeil.

The six major televised meetings will all be on Friday evenings. Gateshead, who successfully staged the European Cup Final, will have the match against the GDR and Canada; Birmingham keeps the AAA WAAA championships; and the new Sheffield arena will have the McVitie's Challenge to close the season on September 14. isao buuoii nxiuitni Feb is go German Democratic Republic, Kolvin Hall. Glasgow. Mar 3-4 European Indoor Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow.

Mar S-IO AAAIWAAA Indoor Championships. Cosford. March 11 World Cross-country Trials, Glasgow. Hank 17 or 18 GB USSR US. Cosford.

Maroh 14 World Cross-country Championships, Aix-lss-Salns. April 8 Euro-pea Champ! onshlps Walks Trials. Leicester. JLprl London Marathon. May IT GB Italy West Germany Hungary (jumps and throws), Southampton.

Haw IS Intar-Countles Championships. Corby. June 18 UK Championships, venue to be announced. JuneTFinlsndvGB, Helsinki. June I1GB Kenya US, Portsmouth.

June 14 AAA Loughborough University. Juna 19 GB GDR Canada, Gateshead. June 30 Jury 1 AAAIWAAA Under-20 Championships, Stoke. Juty SO Royal Mail Games. Crystal Palace.

July 1Juy is AAA Australia British League, Crawley. July 18 Welsh Games. Wroiham. Jury 1718 Scottish Cliampionahlps, Glasgow. July 18 GB Australia Italy (Junior), Horsham.

Jhnj S4 AAAWAAA Championships, Birmingham. JUrguat 11 England Commonwealth, venue to be announced. August 18 GB Spain Belgium Iceland (jumps and throws). Grimsby. Seat 14 McVitie's Challenge, SheTiield.

This rime he often made the crowd gasp with the way he traded drives and retrieves with Jahangir. He even led 11-10 in the first game and 8-3 in the third. But when it mattered most Jahangir had something extra, and the contest lasted only three minutes longer than the previous one. Earlier Chris Dittmar. who lost a repeat of the world final 15-10, 17-16, 13-15, 15-9 to Jansher, criticised Harris's manager, Norman Norrington, for saying his player was unavailable for TV appearances.

Dittmar, the Players' Association president, persuaded Harris to do an interview and said: "Some of the managers seem to make more noise than some of the players." nhakker. to return? McEnroe runs in new umpire double-act Alan Paoa in Paris IT IS not true that John McEnroe and the Australian umpire Richard Ings are not on speaking terms. It is just that their conversations' tend to run along predictable lines. They picked up the threads of their dialogue like word-perfect troupers yesterday during the second round of the Paris Open. When Ings overruled a line judge and called Horst Skoffs serve good as the Austrian served at 5-6 in the first set, McEnroe queried whether Ings was doing a professional job.

"You are an embarrassment," he shouted as Ings looked stonily at him. Escalating freely, McEnroe called Ings "a Ings levied a point penalty. McEnroe then volunteered: "I'm sick and tired of you," which was a little confusing, since this is usually a line from Ings's script Things eventually calmed down as McEnroe played brilliantly to win the tie-break 7-3 and ran through his opponent 6-0 in the second set. The running was literal. McEnroe even rushed to his chair at the changeover as if afraid it would be yanked away.

"I felt so full of energy I was running everywhere," he said afterwards. "Maybe the point penalty had something to do with it Maybe it helped. But I like to play quickly sometimes." The same could not be said of Boris Becker and the Frenchman Guy Forget, neither of whom has had much competition recently. Forget was out for 4'i months with an injury to his left knee and this is Becker's first official event since his US Open victory. The two were involved in a 3'i hour marathon which Becker finally won 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.

Forget, a tall, graceful lefthander, has a reputation for folding gracefully, Becker for pulling through. It almost did not happen that way. The Wimbledon champion served for the match twice and dropped serve twice. At 5-4 he held match point but committed his ninth double fault He broke back immediately as Forget gave signs of upholding his reputation for fragility. Becker immediately imitated him, dropping his own serve with a brace of double faults.

The German picked himself up in the tiebreak when he suddenly rediscovered his main weapon. After a Forget error he hit an ace and a service winner to take a 3-0 lead he would not relinquish. Becker now meets the Australian Wally Masur, who came through the qualifying rounds and had a fine win over the seventh seed, Alberto Mancinl Bee JohnRodda BRITAIN'S athletes will have plenty of opportunity to sharpen up at home for the European Championships next year. Andy Norman, the sporf promotions officer, has induced teams from the United States, Soviet Union, German Democratic Republic and Kenya to come here; in June the British team go to Helsinki for the centenary celebrations of Finnish athletics. Britain's juniors, in the year of their world championships, also have a competitive programme that would be the envy of any country.

The Australians and Italians come to Horsham for a match in July; and the British team go to West Germany for a match including the Soviet Union and Finland. There is also a match for the under-ISs and there are two fixtures, in France and Czechoslovakia, for the under-23s. It shows a strong commitment to a development policy which no other Western European country can match. Boxing McDonnell turns over a new leaf JohnRmMa ANYONE fighting Azumah Nelson, pound for pound one of the best fighters in the world, needs motivation on his way to the ring. Jim McDonnell, plunged into deepest Essex, Has Deen getting into tne right frame of mind to face the Ghanaian by reading of great fighting triumphs against the odds, like Lloyd Honeyghan's over Donald Curry.

Yesterday Barry Hearn, his manager and promoter, chipped in with another morale-boosting contribution: a taste of what life would be like should McDonnell unset the odds and win at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night NBC, one ot tne tnree American national TV networks, has of fered Hearn a three-fight package for McDonnell, culminating in a fat purse to face the International Boxing Federation super-featherweight champion, Jorge Paez of Mexico. "We telexed wtsu, tnamong them for dangling the carrot It's just the fillip Jim needs: the breakthrough to millionaire class. The exam is on Sunday and if he gets the right mark he's in," said the snooker magnate turned big-fight promoter. "He has to go in and enjoy the Corinthian values, enjoy putting the skills he possesses to work." In this instance, though, McDonnell's steps to the millionaire class are likely to require the fighting equivalent of a 147 break. A year ago he was beaten in his first world title attempt by Brian Mitchell.

He then left the Terry Lawless camp to join Hearn, and ended an Irish fighting era by defeating Barry McGuigan. But taking on Nelson, which McDonnell regards as "36 minutes of my life that could change is an enormous leap. Mike Barrett's swansong as a promoter managers can no longer promote under forthcoming British rules will feature Gary Jacobs and Derek Williams, both making title defences after unsuccessful summer visits to the United States. Jacobs, outpointed by Buddy McGirt in New York, defends his Commonwealth welterweight title against Canada's Donovan Boucher at Motherwell on November 23. Williams, outpointed by Mark Wills, meets Trevor Currie at Cat-ford's Crofton Leisure Centre on December 5, with the vacant European heavyweight title and Williams's Commonwealth championship at stake.

Sam Storey defends the British super-middleweight title against his Belfast rival Noel Magee at the Ulster Hall on November 2a for Bates only one wild card left, to give it to the 21-year-old Chris Bailey, the top seed at Telford. Should there be two, Bates believes the other will be offered to Nick Brown. Yesterday all three reached the last eight of the men's singles. Bates beat Laurence Matthews 6-2, 6-4, but Bailey and Brown each dropped a set the former to Ulll Nganga in a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 victory, the latter to Chris Wilkinson before he pulled through 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Many may sympathise with Bates's view that it was "a bit stupid" to play the nationals the week before Wembley; this, moreover, at a time when every full-time player's ranking is of paramount importance.

Others might feel that, after four wild cards into Wembley, it was perhaps time Bates qualified on merit. Anne Hobbs, the No. 5 seed, had a close call in the women's singles when she recovered from 0-3 in the third to beat Lisa Gould 7-6, 1-6, 8-6, while the second favourite Sara Gomer was tested 6-2, 6-7, 9-7 by the America-based 17-year-old Rachel Viollet, daughter of the former Manchester United player. the racing to the public by setting up finishing circuits, usually in the heart of city centres or other shopping areas. Aberystwyth is the only stage town where this has not been The details of the route were announced at Speke airport, where Steve Joughin, winner of a stage into Liverpool in mid-race last year, predicted: "There are going to be some very heavy legs by the time the riders get to Liverpool." taJC KACS 1880I Sue) Hay ST prologue titiwHrial in Penzance.

Hon 18 Land's End to Plymouth. Tue tM Plymouth to Weslon-supor-Mare. Wed Cardiff to Aberystwyth. Thu 31 Aberystwyth to Llandudno. Jun 1 Chester to Stokeon-Trent; Birminghem circuit race.

Set a Coventry to Nottingham. Sun 8 Chesterfield to Hull. Hon 4 rest day. Tue 0 Bridlington to Middlesbrough. Wee! Sunderland to Carlisle.

Thu Penrith to More-cembe. Prl a Lencester to Selford. Set 9 Manchester to Liverpool. Joey McLoughlin, the former winner of the Milk Race and of the Kellogg's Tour, who has struggled to shake off a knee injury for the past -two seasons, has lost his place in the French team Z-Peugeot. But another British rider, Wayne Bennington, has switched from Systeme-U to join the Z-Peugeot team who will next year be led by the Tour de France winner and world champion Greg LeMond.

Hampson nightmare goes on as Currier dramatics tail off Cycling Land's End start for Milk Race Leeds were given a standing ovation at the interval despite a half littered with handling errors. But by then the bulk of a crowd of 8,673 were convinced that tries from Ford and Heron, and the three goals of Mai kill, had established a winning platform. They were right Warrington were rarely able to escape from their own half after the interval, the pressure exacted its inevitable price, and Warrington did not help themselves by losing Darbyshire to the sin-bin in the 50th minute. A minute later Gunn scored at the back of the posts after a magical pass from Coleman. Turner landed an irrelevant penalty in the 56th minute, but in the final 12 minutes there were further tries for Gibson andFawcett.

Thorniley interrupted the flow of play with a good try but for the second time on the night Leeds left the field to a standing ovation. loeoei Spencer; Ford, Bentley. Gibson, Fewcetl; Heron. Coleman: Waddell. Mukill (Gunn, 40min).

Oixon, Izzard. Laurie (Oelaney. 70), Divorty. Warrlnejtoni Lyon Darbyshire, 36); Drummond, Roper, Thorniley, Rudd; Turner, Bishop; Burke. Roslcell.

Molloy, Harmon, Sumner (Clumbers, 57), Sanderson. Asqulth (York). final. Understandably Malcolm Reilly, the Great Britain coach, will now not name his squad for the third Test until Monday. Less than 24 hours after being told that he could leave the club and being put on offer at 185,000, Andy Currier has signed a new contract that will keep him at Naughton Park for the next four years.

Widnes are "delighted" at this unexpected twist to the tale; they never did want to lose their international centre, but clearly felt there was no point in trying to keep someone apparently so determined to get away. Currier's team-mate Rick Thackray, who scored 10 tries last season, will learn today if he must call it a day. He has not played since injuring his back in summer training. George Mann, called up by the Kiwi tourists, will stay on at St Helens an extra month this season as compensation. The 24-year-old prop, who is to cover for the injured James Goulding, will now remain until the Challenge Cup final.

Leeds have brought forward to next Wednesday their Regal Trophy preliminary-round match at home to Ryedale York. The club have a First Division game against Widnes on the original date, November 19. Squash Harris falls to Jahangir again STEVE HAMPSON, suspended for two matches on Monday after being sent off for head-butting in the second Test at Elland Road, received an additional two-match ban yesterday, this time from the League's disciplinary committee, writes Paul Fitzpatrick The Wigan full-back had never been sent off before last Saturday, but the following day made it two dismissals in a weekend when he tripped Cast-leford's Steve Larder. Hampson's exclusion from the third Test at Wigan a week tomorrow could leave Great Britain with a problem at fullback as Alan Tait, who would automatically replace him, still has a hamstring strain and is not certain to play for Widnes against the New Zealanders at Naughton Park on Sunday. The form of Joe Lydon, the Wigan back, will therefore be carefully monitored against Sheffield Eagles at Hillsborough on Sunday.

He too is recovering his fitness, but would be the obvious replacement if Tait cannot turn out Kelvin Skerrett, the Bradford prop who had such a fine Test at Leeds, is another with fitness worries, and a damaged knee could see him struggling to play in Sunday's Yorkshire Cup OrahanSnowdoA AN INNOVATIVE route for the 1990 Milk Race was announced yesterday, with Land's End as the start and Liverpool taking over as the finish point from London and Birmingham which have shared that distinction for the past five years. After the journey up through the West Country and Wales, the route is basically an anticlockwise loop of the northern counties via Carlisle, with the South-east missing out completely. The 17 six-man teams will be ferried by charter planes from London City airport to RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall, while officials will be transferred by Intercity sleeper from Padding-ton to Penzance and more than 100 race-support vehicles will be carried by car transporter. The operation will involve the movement of some 400 personnel. This will be the first visit to Cornwall in the 33 years of the National Dairy Council-sponsored event, which will be decided over 1,150 miles between May 27 and June 9.

The organisers are maintaining their recent policy of taking RkXwrd Jago DEL HARRIS, the great British hope, lost 15-11, 15-10, 15-12 to Jahangir Khan, who thus earned himself a contest today with his arch-rival, Jansher Khan, the world champion, in the Aiwa invitation event at Lambs Club in London. The British Open champion thereby repeated his victory over the England No. 1 in the world team championships two weeks ago. Indeed it was almost a carbon copy. On that occasion Harris won 32 rallies with the hand-in hand-out traditional scoring system, struck some violent blows and fought out some thrilling rallies.

It lasted 60 minutes..