Today's other stories in brief

Lerner's right-hand man sheds light on O'Neill's decision

RANDY LERNER, the Aston Villa chairman, has passed up the chance to shed any light on Martin O'Neill's departure but his right-hand man was more than happy to do the job for him yesterday.

General Charles C Krulak, a former US Marine Corps commandant who is a non-executive director at Villa Park, accused O’Neill of believing he was “bigger than the club” and of refusing to bring a spiralling wage bill under control.

Krulak’s comments, posted on a Villa supporters’ website, are sure to go down badly with O’Neill, who resigned as manager on Monday. The Northern Irishman felt unable to continue because of the financial constraints placed on him as Lerner sought to redress the balance after Villa’s annual wage bill climbed to €85 million, accounting for 85 per cent of the club’s turnover. Krulak claimed O’Neill was told those figures were unsustainable but said he would not tackle the problem.

“There is absolutely no question that Martin did a good deal for Villa and I have said, over and over, that I felt he did a fine job,” wrote Krulak.

“At the same time, I can promise everyone that he knew and understood the long-range plans for the club and bought into them. He knew full well about the need to bring wages in line with revenue . . . the same as every Premiership club. He was absolutely supported by the owner during his time with the club . . . all one needs to do is look at the money spent. The reality is the wage to revenue issue was not addressed and Martin apparently was unwilling to help address it. He quit.”

Yet it is Krulak’s comments about O’Neill’s personality that will provoke the most interest. The 68-year-old, who has regularly posted messages since Lerner took over in 2006, seemed to imply that O’Neill’s ego was out of control when he wrote: “As an aside, no one person is bigger than our club . . . not me, not Randy, not Paul, not Martin. What is interesting is that, apparently, only three of those named understand that fact.”

O’Neill came under further criticism from Curtis Davies, who rarely featured last season. “A lot of players have been frustrated by not having a fair crack of the whip and I’m one of them,” said the defender.

“There is no guarantee whoever comes in is going to play you or not play you. But if you feel you have got a chance, then you are happy. As long as someone who comes in is fair, I am sure people will be happy. I felt I didn’t have a chance.”

Lerner had been expected to make a statement after flying back to England yesterday morning but the chairman has chosen not to comment at this stage.

Ruling family in Sharjah in UAE 'behind' Liverpool bid

ONE OF the proposed bids to buy Liverpool Football Club is backed by members of the ruling family in Sharjah, the third largest of the United Arab Emirates, according to sources close to the negotiations.

A statement issued last week on behalf of the bid led by the Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi said he represents “a select group of investors from the Middle East and Canada”, who were in “advanced negotiations” to buy Liverpool from the current co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Those investors were not and have still not been named, nor presented officially to Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman conducting the sale of the club. However, it has now been claimed that the investors referred to include members of the Al Qasimi family, which has ruled Sharjah for centuries. While not the richest family among the UAE ruling elite, the Al Qasimis do have great wealth.

Kirdi is said to have authority to represent members of the family in various business dealings, an arrangement not unusual in the Gulf, and he has been negotiating directly with Hicks and Gillett, for the investors to buy Liverpool, since October.

Although there has been no confirmation from Sharjah that any members of the ruling family are involved in the bid, nor has any formal proof that their money is behind Kirdi been presented to Broughton, plans are in place to close the deal shortly, the source said.

Unhappy Bellamy says he may retire

CRAIG BELLAMY is threatening to retire from football – at the age of 31 – if Manchester City leave him out of their 25-man squad for the coming season, as he suspects they will. Bellamy revealed that his manager, Roberto Mancini, had not spoken to him for six months and he is bracing himself to be one of the casualties at Eastlands this summer. “I feel strongly that I can still offer something,” Bellamy said.

“But if I don’t get in the 25-man squad, I don’t know what I will do. I might finish, full stop. I’ve tried to ask the question but I can’t get an answer and, reading between the lines, it doesn’t look great for me. I’ve felt in the way this summer, with everyone. It just feels different. This game is ruthless and I feel I am not going to be part of it. I can see it from a distance and I find that very difficult to take because I really enjoy playing for Manchester City.”

Bellamy revealed he had turned down an offer to play for Steve McClaren at Wolfsburg.

“I let him know as politely as I could that I didn’t see Wolfsburg as an option at that time because I still felt I had a really good chance of playing for Manchester City.”

Sporting Fingal cruise into the fourth round

Mervue United 0 Sporting Fingal 4

A DYNAMIC and disciplined display ensured Sporting Fingal strolled to a facile FAI third round replay success over Mervue United at Terryland Park last night.

Fingal were tidy in the opening quarter and took the lead in the 13th minute courtesy of a clever set piece routine as Ollie Cahill’s free-kick was headed home by Shaun Williams. The cup holders were distributing the ball around with their usual precision and Mervue goalkeeper Ger Hanley was forced to make a splendid reflex save from Gary O’Neill moments later following an Alan Kirby cross. Though Mervue enjoyed a burst of pressure before the interval Fingal added a second goal in the 50th minute when O’Neill scored following a Ger O’Brien cross.

Fingal concluded the contest with a flourish as Conan Byrne bagged two goals in the last minute to book the visitors a fourth round date with Limerick FC.

MERVUE UNITED: Hanley; Crehan, Browne, Curran, Young; Ryan (Mannion, 60 mins), Walsh, Tierney (Curran, 63 mins), Lee (Collins, 75 mins); Connolly, Gaffney.

SPORTING FINGAL: Quigley; OBrien, Browne, Williams, Fitzgerald (Frost, 46 mins); Finn (James, 88 mins), Kirby, McFaul; Byrne, ONeill (Crowe, 72 mins), Cahill.

Referee: C Fitzgerald (Galway).