New Toon boss Alan Pardew has pledged to pull out all the stops to keep contract rebel Steve Taylor at Newcastle – as he faces up to the *prospect of losing Sol Campbell. Pardew *believes he can break the deadlock in the long-running contract dispute that has seen ex-England under-21 centre back Taylor placed on the transfer lost. And Toon insiders believe the young centre back has been impressed by the first sight of Pardew's reign. When the latest round of negotiations with Taylor's agent Paul Stretford ended in stalemate, reports circulated that the player was ready to leave St James' Park. But Pardew told the Sunday *Mirror he is buoyed by his first chat with Taylor and says the *matter is "far from resolved". Taylor's outlook may be shaped by claims that Campbell, 36, has been unsettled by the *departure of Chris Hughton and could leave St James' Park sooner than expected. There are even suggestions that Newcastle might be *prepared to get the veteran stopper off the wage bill in January, if an offer came in. But Pardew said: "I have spoken to Steven Taylor this week. He wants a contract that he thinks is fair for his ability. If you are asking me do I want him to stay, the answer is ‘Yes'." Pardew also revealed that he plans in-depth talks with the representatives of Joey Barton and Jose Enrique to clarify their long-term futures. And he wants to keep Ivory Coast schemer Chiek Tiote at Newcastle for as long as possible, saying: "We need to protect Tiote and ensure he stays for the next five or six years."
New Toon boss Alan Pardew has pledged to pull out all the stops to keep contract rebel Steve Taylor at Newcastle as he faces up to the *prospect of losing Sol Campbell. Pardew *believes he can break the deadlock in the long-running contract dispute that has seen ex-England under-21 centre back Taylor placed on the transfer lost. And Toon insiders believe the young centre back has been impressed by the first sight of Pardews reign. When the latest round of negotiations with Taylors agent Paul Stretford ended in stalemate, reports circulated that the player was ready to leave St James Park. But Pardew told the Sunday *Mirror he is buoyed by his first chat with Taylor and says the *matter is far from resolved. Taylors outlook may be shaped by claims that Campbell, 36, has been unsettled by the *departure of Chris Hughton and could leave St James Park sooner than expected. There are even suggestions that Newcastle might be *prepared to get the veteran stopper off the wage bill in January, if an offer came in. But Pardew said: I have spoken to Steven Taylor this week. He wants a contract that he thinks is fair for his ability. If you are asking me do I want him to stay, the answer is Yes. Pardew also revealed that he plans in-depth talks with the representatives of Joey Barton and Jose Enrique to clarify their long-term futures. And he wants to keep Ivory Coast schemer Chiek Tiote at Newcastle for as long as possible, saying: We need to protect Tiote and ensure he stays for the next five or six years.
Ryan Babel has received an official apology from FC Utrecht for the way their fans abused his mother. The Dutch club were visitors to Anfield on Thursday night for their Europa Cup tie. Utrecht fans baited Babel with chants about his mother being a *****. Babel said: "It was not nice for me. I know why they did it. It has everything to do with the fact that I have an Ajax background. "Ajax is the biggest rival club of Utrecht. Although I have left there four years ago and class myself as a real Liverpool player, they see it differently.'' Utrecht chairman Jan Willem van Dop said: "I contacted Dirk Kuyt, who used to be a Utrecht player, for Ryan's details. Once I got them I wrote to Ryan and offered him our apologies. Stuff like that should not be said by our fans."
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce moved to dampen talk of Europe as his side soared to their highest Christmas placing for a decade. The Black Cats, unbeaten at home in nine Premier League games this season, leapfrogged Bolton with a 1-0 win that lifted them to sixth place. On-loan Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck took his tally to five in the last six matches with a 32nd minute header that caused Black Cats boss Steve Bruce to quip: "If Sir Alex Ferguson gets drunk on his birthday on New Year's Eve he might let us keep him! But we know at least we have got Danny until the end of the season." But, having gone on a win-less 14-game run last term, Bruce wants to keep Wearside expectations under control. Bruce said: "It would be great to get into Europe but we have to keep our feet on the ground. I don't want to raise expectations levels too high. "The fact that we are sitting joint fifth has people getting excited about qualifying for Europe. But we have to be careful about getting carried away after the winter we had last year. "What we have now is a good start and we will go into the Christmas programme in sixth place. It is then a question of how we build on that in the second part of the campaign." Bruce paid tribute to Welbeck's match-winner and an incredible point-blank save from keeper Craig Gordon from Zat Knight. He added: "Craig Gordon's save was a wonder-save. It was right up there with Jimmy Montgomery and Gordon Banks – it was that type of quality. It was world class. It was a terrific result for us. Danny Welbeck was alert for the winning goal and Craig Gordon made that fantastic save."
Stephen Ireland is suing Manchester City for £1.5million after being hit in the pocket for failing to keep his mouth shut. City agreed to give the midfielder the pay-off as compensation for taking a pay cut when he joined Aston Villa as an £8m makeweight in the £24m deal that saw James Milner depart for Manchester. But the payment hinged on Ireland accepting a confidentiality agreement that would prevent him publicly criticising his former club. City were furious when Ireland conducted an interview in which he lambasted the Blues. He accused Citys big names of being money obsessed and insisted Mancini was unable to build relationships with his players, and warned Milner would soon discover he had made a mistake by moving. City fired off a letter to Ireland to warn him he was in breach of their agreement. But he continued to shoot from the lip, Sunday Mirror Sport understands that Citys Abu Dhabi-based owners were so angry they ordered the kiss-off to be blocked. A City insider confirmed: A confidentiality agreement was agreed when Stephen joined Aston Villa. A warning was sent when he subsequently broke that agreement, so when he did it again the payment was withheld. Now Ireland is ready to go to court to win his money. Irelands fall from grace at City was dramatic and his stock has continued to tumble at Villa Park. Named player of the year by supporters in 2009 after an outstanding season under Mark Hughes, the Cork-born midfielders form crumbled the following year. When Mancini replaced Hughes a year ago he was unable to halt the slump and the Italian questioned whether Ireland was mentally tough enough to succeed at the top level. When Ireland asked to quit the club City offered him to Villa in part-exchange for Milner only to be stunned when the player demanded a £2m severance package. Ireland, on £72,000-a-week at City, accepted a £10,000-a-week drop in salary. Ireland has been such a flop at Villa Park that Gerard Houllier has axed him from his squad after just 12 appearances and is ready to listen to any offers. Celtic are favourites to land Ireland on a six-month loan deal, although there is interest from both Liverpool and Everton.