Missing Cherries land FA charge
® BOURNEMOUTH expect to be fined after being charged with breaching anti-doping rules – because one of their stars failed to inform them he had moved.
Under FA regulations clubs must provide details of the whereabouts of all first-team and Under-21 players so that random drug tests can be carried out.
Penalties are handed out if this information is found to be wrong three times in the space of 12 months.
Change
On the first two occasions Bournemouth fell foul of the rule manager Eddie Howe had promoted two U-21 players to train with the first team.
Because the Cherries have two separate training grounds, one at Dean Court and the other at a nearby school, the change was not passed onto the FA.
The third time, which triggered the charge, testers turned up to a player’s registered address, only to find he had moved without notifying the club.
The player, who has not been named, is believed to have been disciplined by the south coast side.
On Thursday Manchester City were fined £35,000 and warned over their future conduct for the same charge. For my generation, winning the FA Cup was always a bigger deal than the league. So when Roy Evans dropped me for the final against Man U the night before the game, I cried like a baby. It was my birthday too!
In fact, I had some shocking Cup luck down the years. Got giant-killed with Spurs, West Ham and Liverpool.
That’s what they call the magic of the Cup. Form goes out of the window and anything can happen, especially these days, with big clubs putting out all the kids in the early rounds. That’s why I fancy my boys Millwall who are
to beat Leicester as my Bet of the Day. Having said that, if Sutton can do a job against Arsenal I’ll be even happier!
I’m putting Millwall in my Razor-sharp treble tip too, along with Spurs to beat Fulham away and Huddersfield to hold out for a draw at home to Man City. That works out to sweet odds of
– could be well worth a dabble. As for my longshot – how about an eachway punt on Middlesbrough at to lift the trophy? Now there’s a bet!