The outcome of John Terry’s disciplinary hearing dominated the news and Twitter as footballers past and present past their judgement on the Chelsea captain’s four game ban and £220,000 fine.

Former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker seemed baffled by the length of ban handed to the Blues defender while ex-Liverpool forward went as far to call the Football Association “inept”.

Elsewhere there were congratulations for Alan Pardew after he was rewarded for a fine reign at Newcastle with an eight-year contract extension, while players from around the county were enjoying FIFA 13.

“12 Barton handbags. 8 Suarez racism 4 Terry racism FA. Inept.

“Context. Would punishment completely deter, partially deter, not deter, or encourage in this case. That’s the real question.”

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore was infuriated by the FA’s decision to only give the Blues skipper a four-game ban considering the punishments handed out to Luis Suarez and Joey Barton.

“The FA find John Terry guilty and give him a 4 match ban and 220K fine. Just one game more than a regular red card?”

Gary Lineker is slightly confused by the length of ban handed to John Terry which is just one game longer than a red card for violent conduct. Very interesting.

“8 year contract that is long term backing! Maybe I need to go with Pardew’s agent next time.”

Everton captain Phil Neville reacted to the news that Newcastle handed Alan Pardew an eight-year contract extension and is wanting a deal like that for himself.

“Congrats to Alan Pardew on his new 8yr contract!!”

While Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand just straight up congratulated the 51-year-old on his new deal. I wonder if he would have said that if United hadn’t beaten Newcastle in the League Cup on Wednesday.

“Got my copy of the new Fifa 13! Mastered it already!”

Phil Jones happily boasting about his ability on FIFA 13. He’s got a lot of time to get better as well, since he’s a couple of weeks away from his return to action.

“Thrilled to score my first goal for the club hopefully first of many. Thanx for the messages #mufc.”

Man Utd midfielder Tom Cleverley reveals his delight about scoring his first goal for the Red Devils in their win over Newcastle on Wednesday.

“Really proud to announce I’m now a dad!Brentley Moses born this morning 3.960kg all healthy thank God! fanx 4 ur support.”

Chelsea winger Victor Moses reveals he’s become a dad. Many congratulations to Victor and his partner.

“A good day at training today…now some playtime, and colouring with my daughter, followed by dinner and bath time. #daddyduty.”

Talking over fatherhood, Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic admits he’s had a busy day looking after his daughter. How nice.

“Thanks to everyone who helped make my book a bestseller this week, appreciate it.”

Wayne Rooney is thanking the people for helping make his book the bestseller of the week. I hear it’s right up there with To Kill A Mockingbird, really deep and insightful.  

Southampton’s emphatic 4-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend was enough to lift Nigel Adkins’ men out of the Premier League drop zone – but Adkins himself is still favourite in the sack race.

The Saints began the season with four straight defeats and with a daunting trip to Everton next up it would seem that much will hinge on a home game against Fulham before the international break.

Adkins has guided Southampton to back-to-back promotions and many outside the club would consider it ludicrous that there is any question of the manager leaving.

But expectations are believed to be high in the Saints boardroom – as shown by the club record acquisition of Gaston Ramirez – and they are likely to act if results deteriorate at St Mary’s.

Adkins is the 9/4 (3.25) favourite with to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job.

Another man under pressure is QPR boss Mark Hughes after spending vast sums on transfers and wages in the summer.

The QPR website was effusive in its praise of “global phenomenon” Park Ji-sung and “two-time Champions League winner” Jose Bosingwa but early season results have been poor.

Tony Fernandes is a passionate owner and has already shown he can be trigger-happy after dismissing Neil Warnock.

Hughes will be confident of getting results against West Ham and West Brom in the coming weeks but should he fail then expect that price of 5/1 (6.00) with to start to tumble.

Elsewhere in the betting, the grumbles about Sam Allardyce at the Hammers as well as Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas refuse to go away despite decent results on the pitch.

It wouldn’t take a significant downturn on the field for the campaign to build against the London-based pair – Allardyce is at 7/1 (8.00) and Villas-Boas 8/1 (9.00) to be next for the chop.

But for the value options consider two men who are still without a Premier League win in charge of their new clubs.

Brendan Rodgers has said the right things off the pitch and performances on it have been encouraging. But the scorelines are a problem – Liverpool have made their worst start in 101 years.

If Rodgers is unable to turn that around in October then the mood on Merseyside will change very quickly, making the 10/1 (11.00) price with look chunky.

But the real value could be in weighing up Chris Hughton’s future at Norwich.

Following Paul Lambert was always likely to be tough and Canaries fans will fear the worst with games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal next up.

Lose that lot and it’s three points from eight games for Hughton in the Carrow Road hotseat – making the price of 14/1 (15.00) the pick of the bets in this market.

Sign up with for a £25 free bet

Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here – you can also follow Adam on

Follow GoalBetting on

COMMENT
By Chris Teale

Prior to Liverpool’s League Cup trip to West Brom, midfielder Nuri Sahin told Ntvspor in Turkey that he was “seven to 10 days” away from full match fitness.

Yet after a scintillating performance against the Baggies, Reds fans must be relishing the thought of Sahin at peak fitness, if he is not there already.

The Turk was vital for the Merseyside club as they began the defence of the trophy they won last season on a cold night in the Midlands.

Sahin scored both goals as a young Reds side overcame a difficult test at the Hawthorns, capping a very encouraging night for the club.

These goals, added to his assist against Young Boys in the Europa League, points to a player brimming with quality, who will now surely be asked to perform in the Premier League.

Sahin was left on the bench for Liverpool’s clash with Manchester United, but with Jonjo Shelvey banned following his sending off, the Turk must now be ready to step in for the club’s next game against Norwich on Saturday.

Shelvey appeared to have been above the Turk in the midfield pecking order, having made four appearances in the Premier League so far this season. However, his three-game suspension has opened the door for Sahin, and on the strength of his recent performances, he looks ready to take his chance.

The Real Madrid loanee has struggled with injury problems in his career so far, and has only made four appearances in La Liga for the Spanish champions since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2011.

However, Liverpool fans will be hopeful that the midfielder can regain the form that saw him voted the Bundesliga player of the season in 2010-11, a campaign in which he made 30 appearances in the league, scoring six goals and providing eight assists.

He came to the Bernabeu as a highly-regarded prospect, having made his debut for the senior Turkish national team at the age of 17, being the youngest player to ever play and score for his country when he found the net on his debut in a friendly against Germany in 2005.

His six-year contract with Los Merengues suggested that the Spanish giants saw Sahin as a superb prospect for the future, and that they were keen for him to play a key role for them in the future despite previous injury problems.

Sahin’s passing, vision and decision-making will all be crucial as Brendan Rodgers looks to implement his style of football with the Reds, and the Turkish midfield maestro could prove to be the perfect foil for captain Steven Gerrard in what could be a highly effective central midfield pairing.

He may have only arrived at Anfield to gain regular first-team football after a frustrating spell on the sidelines with injury, but his past performances in Germany show that when Sahin plays, he quickly becomes a key part of his team.

While he has only shown his true quality for Liverpool in a Europa League tie and a League Cup game, he has all the qualities to make an impression on the Premier League and become a regular in Rodgers’ side this season.

Reds fans will now be hoping that the young Turk can put his past injury problems behind him and put some of his enormous potential to good use on a regular basis.

Follow Chris Teale on