Angleterre: N'Zogbia restera à Newcastle
 
Charles N'Zogbia, jeune milieu de terrain venu du Havre, restera bien à Newcastle. Les deux clubs ont finalement trouvé un accord à l'amiable annonce l'UEFA. N'Zogbia avait rejoint le club anglais plutôt que de signer en faveur de son club formateur. Il n'a fait qu'une apparition avec les Magpies depuis cet été.

Cantona issues Man Utd job hint  
 
Cantona won four Premier League titles at Manchester United  
Former Manchester United star Eric Cantona would consider returning to the club as manager one day.  
But the Frenchman, who made 191 United appearances, would not come back if he felt he could not be creative.  
 
"I will not return in the near future," he told MUTV. "If I come back I will need to be involved in football for two or three years because things change.  
 
"I do not want to be a manager like everybody else, playing the same system. I want to create something."  
 
Cantona says that he would like to follow in the footsteps of Johan Cruyff, who was an innovative coach when he led Barcelona to European Cup glory in 1992.  
 
"I remember the 1970s with Ajax and after that Cruyff as a manager at Barcelona," Cantona added. "It was a new system.  
 
I don't want these kind of people to come here
 
Eric Cantona on Malcolm Glazer  
 
"It is like in music - when you are a rock star and create something new."  
 
The 38-year-old also stated that he is against American tycoon Malcolm Glazer's attempt to take over the club.  
 
"I am against this kind of thing because I am like a child - I am a dreamer. I don't want these kind of people to come here," he said.  
 
"If it is not Manchester United, if it is not a club where he can earn so much money, do you think he would love to come?"  
 
Meanwhile, Cantona is at the centre of a storm after using an obscenity on MUTV on Sunday.  
 
Cantona was appearing on a show where supporters quiz guests and it was broadcast at 5.30pm.  

Strachan rules out Portsmouth job  
   
Pompey hold talks with Strachan  
Former Southampton manager Gordon Strachan has rejected the chance to become Portsmouth's new boss.  
The Scot was Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric's first choice to replace Harry Redknapp, who left Fratton Park for rivals Saints earlier in December.  
 
"I think it's a fantastic job for anybody apart from somebody who has just been the Southampton manager," Strachan told the BBC.  
 
Club director Terry Brady held initial talks with Strachan on Saturday.  
 
The former Scotland international added that joining Southampton's local rivals would not be a wise move.  
 
"It's got everything going for it but I've got too many memories of the other side and I don't want to sour those memories," he said.  
 
"Everything's right - it's 10 minutes away, there are good players there, a good set-up, a good atmosphere at the ground.  
 
"There's lots to do but it's not right for somebody who has just been the Southampton manager."  
 
Since Redknapp's departure, executive director Velimir Zajec and coach Joe Jordan have overseen first-team affairs.  
 
The duo had gone five matches unbeaten until Sunday's 1-0 defeat at home to champions Arsenal, but the club are still in a respectable 12th place in the Premiership table.  
 
Strachan left St Mary's in February, after earlier announcing his intention to take a break from the game at the end of the 2003-04 season.  
 
His previous managerial experience came at Coventry, whom he led for five years from 1996 to 2001.

Robinho career at crossroads  
By Tim Vickery  
 
A week ago the gossip doing the rounds in Brazilian football was that Robinho's mother had already been killed.  
 
Thankfully it turned out to be wrong. Her kidnap ordeal came to an end on Friday and she is safely back at home.  
 
On Sunday Robinho made an emotional return to action, helping Santos clinch the league title.  
 
All he needs now to complete his Christmas is a move to Europe, not only to further his career but to put some distance between his family and the social problems of his country.  
 
This next step will be the most fascinating challenge of his young career.  
 
Robinho is a wonderfully artistic player, with magnificent dribbling skills.  
 
"Robinho is unlikely to be as good or have the same global prestige as Ronaldinho Gaucho or Kaka"
Tostao  
 
But his build is so frail that it looks like he has been put together from pipe cleaners.  
 
Can he continue to tip the balance or he will find himself squeezed out by the extra pace and power of European football?  
 
So far plenty of European scouts have not been convinced.  
 
Robinho has been labelled as the "next big thing to come out of Brazil".  
 
But the title is something of a double-edged sword. Robinho carries it because - some two-and-a-half years after he first made his breakthrough - he is still playing his football at home.  
 
In the meantime, his old friend and team-mate Diego has moved to Porto, Vagner Love was snapped by CSKA Moscow and Nilmar joined Lyon.  
 
All three are younger than Robinho, all have played more for Brazil than he has and all of them have already been showing their stuff in the Champions League.  
 
 
Robinho has had a difficult 2004  
While they moved across the Atlantic, Robinho was left behind.  
 
Not only that but on the two occasions when Robinho has stepped up a level he has looked very lightweight.  
 
He was poor in both legs of the final of last year's Copa Libertadores when Boca Juniors, a side who mark with a European intensity, had few problems in neutralising the Santos number seven.  
 
And at the start of this year Robinho flopped in the South American Under-23 Championships, a tournament taken extremely seriously because it qualifies two teams for the Olympic Games.  
 
Brazil amazingly missed out and Robinho made little impression.  
 
Dealing with failure, though, is part of the life of any footballer and Robinho's reaction has been excellent.  
 
He has continued to take risks on the field and has worked hard at his game.  
 
Despite his slight build he has become proficient in winning possession, using speed and intelligence to swoop at the perfect moment to poke the ball away from his opponent and set the counter attack in motion.  
 
Glorious sight  
 
Nevertheless doubts remain.  
 
One of his many admirers is Tostao, Brazil's great centre forward from the 1970 team who is now the country's most distinguished analyst of the game.  
 
Recently Tostao wrote that "Robinho is an exceptional striker, but he's unlikely to be as good or have the same global prestige as Ronaldinho Gaucho or Kaka.  
 
"Robinho lacks the physical structure of these two great players."  
 
For what it's worth, that is also this writer's opinion. But it would be wonderful to be proved wrong.  
 
Robinho in full flow is a glorious sight and if he can produce his best on a weekly basis for the likes of Real Madrid then football will be the winner.  
 
I'm hoping my prediction proves to be as wide of the mark as the gossip about the fate of Robinho's mother.