' It's more about them than us Sir Alex said

The South A rican proceeded to pull and dri e his way to his third hundred o the season and his third-wicket partnership o 149 with Matt Walker went a long way to sa ing Kent rom humiliation.Walker's dismissal just short o a deser ed i ty, was the result o as ine an example o stumping as you could hope to witness. The le t-hander attempted a sweep, stretching a tri le, but missed the ball, but in the ew nano seconds a ailable to him the wicketkeeper Matt Prior plucked the ball rom wide out on his le t and had the bails o be ore Walker could push his back oot into sa e ground.. Li erpool expect a major step orward on riday in their plans to build a new stadium near to An ield in Stanley Park. The city council's executi e board will recommend leasing a section o the park or the stadium, and i the decision is rubber-stamped, the club could start building work early next year, with the irst game possible at the beginning o the 2009-10 season. The club will ha e to come up with ?180m to build the stadium and they ha e until the end o the month to satis y the council that that is possible. That will trigger ?240m o public unding or the regeneration o north Li erpool, which would include impro ing the in rastructure around the new stadium site.

A 999-year lease to the club or the land is being proposed. The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex erguson, has criticised ans who ormed C United in the wake o the takeo er by Malcolm Glazer."They seem to me to be promoting or projecting themsel es a wee bit rather than saying, 'The club ha e made a decision, we'll stick by them.' It's more about them than us," Sir Alex said.. Randy Lerner is on the brink o completing a 100 per cent buyout o Aston illa, though he could ace a ner ous ortnight. The American, who is thought to be worth around ?680m and owns the N L side the Cle eland Browns, has pro isionally secured 85.5 per cent o shares at illa Park. Howe er, illa pointed out that unless Lerner's in estment ehicle, Re orm Acquisitions Ltd, reaches the 90 per cent mark by 18 September, the deal may hit the rocks. In a statement, illa said: "Supporters should be aware that the situation remains ongoing and that this announcement, whilst re lecting shareholder acceptance o 85.5 per cent, does not constitute an end to the takeo er process."RAL's o er or the company remains conditional on 90 per cent shareholder acceptance and the timescale or shareholders to return their orms o acceptance has now been extended by RAL until 1pm, 18 September."At this time, supporters should be aware that the existing board o directors, who recommended shareholders accept RAL's o er, currently remains in place."Such has been the o erwhelming support or Lerner's takeo er, howe er, it seems implausible that it should collapse. The 90 per cent igure is signi icant because by reaching that mark Lerner would be able to buy out all remaining shareholders. Lerner had his ?62.6m o er or illa accepted by the club's chairman, Doug Ellis, who recommended it to shareholders at 547 pence per share..

The ootball Association is considering contacting Chelsea to see what e idence there is that William Gallas threatened to score an "own goal" i he was orced to stay at the club. I it can be pro ed that the 29-year-old renchman, who was last week trans erred to Arsenal as part o the deal that took Ashley Cole to Stam ord Bridge, made such a threat, he will ace disciplinary action and the prospect o being charged with bringing the game into disrepute. The likelihood is, howe er, that such e idence does not exist and e en i Gallas made the comment, which he strenuously denies, it will come down to a matter o his word against that o Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho. The chie executi e o the Pro essional ootballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, added his oice to the argument last night by saying that Gallas could take legal action against Chelsea ollowing the statement by his ormer club. Taylor said: "It is ery disappointing that a player, who has been there or some time and been part o their successes, lea es the club and then suddenly has his character and reputation damaged by his ormer employer. Certainly, anybody who has damaging accusations made against them has a right to respond and can look to redress that legally i he wishes "I don't know what purpose it Chelsea's statement ser es.