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Steve Bruce is struggling. His Sunderland side are without a win so far this season and have already suffered losses against arch-enemies Newcastle and Championship Brighton during their miserable start to the campaign.

A month ago it all seemed so promising. Bruce was one of the most active Premier League managers over the summer, bringing 12 new faces into the Stadium of Light and waving goodbye to 14. This is a dramatic overhaul for any club but Sunderland had faded out badly at the end of the 2010/11 season and the flurry of activity was seen as a much needed breath of fresh air.

It is early days but the overhaul has not brought the improvement that many people expected.

Bruce was backed generously by Chairman Niall Quinn and owner Ellis Short in the transfer market, they have allowed him to reinvest the majority of Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent’s transfer fees back into signings but the manager has not utilised this healthy warchest effectively enough.

The most significant loss of all was Asamoah Gyan’s last minute departure to Al-Ain (a deal which surprised everyone) but Bruce claims that the player’s departure was an issue that had rumbled on for months. If that was the case why did he not find a replacement?

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At the start of last season Sunderland’s front three were Bent, Gyan and Wellbeck, now it reads Bendtner, Wickham and Ji Dong-Won. This is a step down in anybody’s book and Sunderland’s owners must be wondering whether Bruce can still be trusted with the cheque-book.

Since the departure of Darren Bent, Sunderland’s form has slumped. Alarmingly, Bruce has not yet managed to halt this slide. More worrying still is that Bruce is now yet again rebuilding and waiting for players to gel. He has a squad packed full of new faces as he begins his third season in charge.

The demands at Sunderland are realistic and simple. People want to see their side improve year on year (something that Bruce delivered successfully in the past two seasons) and challenge in every match. Trophies are not an immediate concern. From January, Bruce has seemed unable to meet these modest expectations and this is likely to make Niall Quinn and Ellis Short very nervous indeed.

Already a front runner in the dreaded Premier League sack race, Bruce seriously needs to get a winning mentality back into his side. If the summer overhaul was supposed to do it he now needs to try something else, and fast.

Is there enough quality in the side to improve on last season? Can Bruce be trusted with signings?

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League leaders Queens Park Rangers travel to Reading on Friday in the pick of the Championship’s weekend action.

QPR have gone five games unbeaten in the league while Reading have strung together four unbeaten results heading into the clash at Madejski Stadium.

Rangers will be aiming to extend their five-point buffer atop the table, while Reading are hopeful of narrowing the gap on the top six to one point.

Loan signing Mikele Leigertwood – who has scored in his last two matches for Reading – will be unavailable to face parent club Ranger because of the terms of his loan deal, while Tommy Smith could return for QPR after missing their win over Portsmouth with a hamstring injury.

If QPR triumph, it would be their first taste of victory away at Reading since 1997 and would complete their first league double over the club since the 1963/64 season.

Second-placed Norwich City travel to Burnley’s Turf Moor on Saturday hoping to consolidate their place in the automatic promotion spots.

Top-six sides Leeds United and Nottingham Forest have home fixtures on Saturday which they can use to reinforce their promotion claims, with United to face Coventry City while Forest take on seventh-placed Watford.

Bottom-side Preston North End host fellow strugglers Bristol City in a huge opportunity for both sides to help their respective seasons.

Portsmouth can also move clear of the drop zone with victory over Derby County at Fratton Park, while Crystal Palace (21st) and Middlesbrough (18th) do battle in another clash between two teams at the lower end of the table.

Ipswich Town can consign Sheffield United to more time in the relegation zone with a victory at Portman Road.

Leicester City and Barnsley go face to face in a true mid-table battle, with the sides separated by just two points.

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Ninth-placed Milwall host Doncaster, while Scunthorpe welcome Hull City to Glanford Park having won just one of their past 12 in all competitions.

The South Wales derby between Cardiff City and Swansea City is the feature match on Sunday, with the fierce rivals to do battle at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea have the edge on their Welsh counterparts, winning their most recent battle 1-0 at Cardiff City Stadium in November.

Everton go into the new campaign full of hope that the club’s January signings of Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar can help replicate the sort of upturn in fortunes over the second half of last season over the course of an entire campaign – if they can, then the club could be potential dark horses to challenge the top six.

Elsewhere, Tim Cahill brought an end to a hugely successful eight-year spell by moving to MLS side New York Red Bulls and Joseph Yobo completed his move to Turkish outfit Fenerbache, while Marcus Hahnemann and James McFadden were both relseased from the club at the end of last season.

The main big exit (there’s one every summer) was Jack Rodwell who left for Manchester City in a transfer move that smacks of desperation with Roberto Mancini just keen to get someone, anyone, in through the front door and when the entire squad was fit, the England international struggled to get into their starting eleven and he won’t be missed, in the short term at least.

One To Watch – Steven Naismith

The Scottish forward arrived at Goodison Park this summer as a bargain bucket free transfer to bolster the club’s forward ranks after rejecting a new transfer with the Rangers Newco.

His partnership in Scotland alongside Jelavic is also a welcome boost and it shows that for the first time in a long while, particularly in light of Cahill’s departure, is prepared to start with two strikers up front. Nonetheless, upon returning after a lengthy injury lay-off, after being out for most of last term with a cruciate ligament injury, the fact that he is playing in a new, quicker league means that he should be given time to adapt, but the early signs are promising.

Breakthrough Year – Ross Barkley

The main beneficiary of Rodwell’s departure to Manchester City this summer will surely by Ross Barkley, the England U-21 international midfielder who first burst onto the scene at the beginning of last season with a series of rambunctious displays, which led to some preposterous over the top praise from Martin Keown among others.

While he may have only gone on to make six league appearances altogether last season, Barkley will be 19 years-old in December and it’s time that he stepped up to the plate in what is still a relatively thin squad and in Marouane Fellani, he has one of the finest central midfielders in the league to play alongside and learn off.

Predictions

Everton were let down badly by their away form last season where they managed to win just five games on their travels all season, less than West Brom, Wigan and the same as Norwich. While they may have only scored 50 goals in the league last season, they were a completely different side in the second half of the campaign after their customary slow start to the season.

If they can banish that perennial hoodoo over their early season form, then they could potentially be a force to be reckoned with in the latter stages of the campaign, with on eye on a possible top six place and Europa League spot. They do have a very small squad, though, even by Everton’s standards and a lot will come down to whether they get a few more bodies in with the money received from the Rodwell deal, otherwise they may be a bit light in midfield and out wide on the wings.

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Without European football to distract them, though, like rivals for a top six spot Newcastle and Liverpool both have, they may be able to sneak in under the radar and force their way in. The top six is as fluid as it has been at the moment when compared to recent years – Tottenham have a new manager, Chelsea are trying to implement a new style of play while Arsenal could either be brilliant or flop, so the stability of this current Everton side may prove much to their benefit, even if they could still do with a few more fresh faces.

When it comes to the cups, Everton are always, much like I have just done, tipped as dark horses for them and in all honest, they should have made the FA Cup final last term after going ahead in the semi-final at Wembley against local rivals Liverpool before letting them back into the match. The focus has and will always be the league first and foremost, and the nature of how early on in the season the League Cup is isn’t always conducive to them getting far in it.

Nevertheless, I’m backing at least one cup final to make good on the undoubted progress the club has made in recent years, and Moyes requires a piece of silverware to validate his credentials for bigger challenges in the future, with the Manchester United job still on the cards.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

Perception of FIFA is at an all time low right now. People see football’s international governing body as a corrupt and pompous old boys dictatorship. They are not wrong. After the success of Qatar’s World Cup bid, the accusations of corruption and bribery have further tarnished an already unpopular organisation, prompting talk of smaller federations (such as UEFA) splitting from FIFA, but would this improve the state of the game?

The first thing to know is what FIFA actually does. Every four years it organises the World Cup. Attempting to make it more celebrated and more profitable than the one before. It then spends the next four years reinvesting the money generated from the competition back into football by way of all the other unprofitable world cups such as the Under 20’s, the women’s world cup and so on as well as investing in countless development projects.

Whilst it may be difficult to look past the fact that an organisation with such a responsibility to the game and such vast sums of money, ($2 billion profit from the 2010 World Cup) is in the hands of a select bunch of questionable individuals, it is crucial to see that the international game is actually in a good state right now. Whilst the men who run FIFA may rightly be entrenched in scandal it has still successfully served its purpose of expanding football throughout the globe. Blatter’s recent attempts to host World Cups across the continents have proved successful and the sport has never reached more people (the last World Cup drew 26 billion views).

As an organisation FIFA does a fantastic job of generating vast revenue from the World Cup. Purely from a business perspective it seems foolish to break away from an organisation that is bringing so much money into the international game.

The question is, could the game be run better? There are certainly concerns about how well this money is reinvested and the percentage that goes back into the game but it is fair to say that due to the relentless expansion of the World Cup they now pump more money back into the game than ever before with $700 million set aside for development projects over the next four years.

I am aware that all this makes me sound like a staunch supporter of FIFA. I am not. Their exploitation of the bidding process and the control they exert over the host nation is deplorable. The cries for dramatic reform of the bidding process and the committee members are entirely justified. However, if you look beneath the dirty top layer there is an incredibly successful machine operating underneath. Splitting away from it just because of the dodgy goings on at the top would be a very extreme and potentially costly decision.

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Tonight sees the second semi-final of the Carling Cup as Birmingham City and West Ham do battle for the right to face Arsenal at Wembley in the final. The tie is evenly poised; with Avram Grant’s men taking a 2-1 lead into the match at St Andrew’s tonight, meaning that there’s everything to play for. But who will be the players that will make the difference tonight?

One man that Birmingham manager Alex McLeish would like to have included but can’t because he’s cup-tied is new signing David Bentley. The on loan midfielder would have undoubtedly relished the chance to send Birmingham to the final, but it will be up to his new teammates to do just that.

It was defender Liam Ridgewell who scored for the Blues in the first leg, and the former Aston Villa man is Birmingham’s second highest Picklive points scorer this season, averaging a solid 50 points per game. The man at the top of the list as far as Birmingham are concerned is Barry Ferguson, and bearing in mind that he was the top scorer of both teams in the first leg with 84 points, the Scotsman is definitely worth selecting.

As far as West Ham are concerned, there is one player who has stood out from the crowd in Picklive this season: Mark Noble. The West Ham midfielder netted the opening goal in the first leg, helping to earn him 80 points and contributing to his 61 point average this season so far.

With Victor Obinna and Frederic Piquionne both suspended, West Ham will be hoping that another man who scored in the first leg will be able to net again tonight; namely Carlton Cole. However, another man who has been in amongst the goals regularly this season is Jonathan Spector, and I wouldn’t bet against him adding to his Carling Cup tally tonight.

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You would expect tonight to be a fairly tight game, with Ridgewell, Ferguson and Noble three men who have plenty of Picklive pedigree. So it’s well worth considering them for selection when you choose your Picklive trio for the Carling Cup encounter tonight!

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Andre Villas-Boas will look to strengthen his Tottenham squad by signing Daniel Sturridge and Brazilian wonder kid Oscar, according to The Daily Mail.

Sturridge, who was used frequently by AVB in his time at Stamford Bridge is seeking talks with current Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo after falling out of favour towards the end of last season. Although the Italian would be keen to hold onto the youngster, it is thought the a £10 million bid would be to good to turn down for a player likely to warm the bench for the Blues next season.Meanwhile, 20-year old Brazilian Oscar is being courted by Spurs as a potential replacement for want away Croatian Luka Modric. The 26-year old playmaker has expressed his desire to leave North London and Real Madrid have shown interest. Oscar, whose current club  have slapped a £20 million asking price on their youngster, almost signing for QPR last season but work permit issues halted the move. It is thought that the Brazilian, capped three times for his nation would be interested in a move to England and with a midfield vacancy looming through Modric’s probable departure, Oscar could play a key role in Villas-Boas’ new side at White Hart Lane.[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’left’]

The writing has been firmly scrawled on the walls at St James’ Park for some time now. It’s just a matter of when not if Jose Enrique will leave Newcastle United for pastures new. The Spaniard has continually refused to sign a new contract with his current deal ending next summer. He’s also decided to criticize the club on twitter, which can only be a ploy to hasten his move away from Tyneside. It looks like he’s off to Liverpool but if a transfer doesn’t materialise will he be welcomed back with open arms?

In his four years at the club he has improved dramatically as a footballer and matured into one of the best left backs in the country. Trying to hold onto him has been a chore although you can’t knock him for being ambitious. It’s no lie when I say that it will be a long time before Newcastle United win a trophy again, that’s a cold hard fact. Enrique craves silver wear and if he didn’t I’d think he were as unambitious as our current owner. He wants to perform at the very top and he certainly has the ability to do so.

It’s common knowledge that he’s repeatedly spurned the advances of the club as they try to convince him his future lies on Tyneside. However I do believe there is a way back for Enrique solely due to his status as a favourite with the Geordie faithful. As I’ve said his performances have been marvellous over the last few years not to mention he stuck with the club after the disastrous relegation season. A year in the Championship was the making of the man affectionately known as ‘The Bull’.

He coped superbly with the tougher climate of England’s second league and turned it up a notch last season on our return to the Premier League. His form and general love for the club endeared him and fans took him to their hearts. They now see him is one of their own. I’ve no doubt that if he went round to a fans house and asked for his clothes to be washed the matriarch would simply suggest he put them in the laundry basket with the others.

The fans adore players who play well, love the club and show commitment when things threaten to go South. Even his twitter rants last week have been excused because what he said connected with the thoughts that are already flowing from those in and around St James’ Park. Even the management can’t fault his comments even if  it was foolish to air them over a social network notorious for igniting trouble with footballers. They know he is the best left back we’ve had since the days of John Beresford and they can’t hold him back if he wants to play at a club challenging for honours. We’re simply not competing at the level that Enrique strives to be at. Both the fans and management understand that.

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Personally I wouldn’t have him back simply because of his desire to force a move away from the club. I like Jose and I think he’s a fantastic footballer but the fact that he held off negotiations for months and didn’t bother to inform the club of his desire to leave was wrong. Even on the pitch his form stunk of a man who’s passion for the club was waning rapidly. Gone were the lung bursting bolts up the left replaced with frigid meanders that barely penetrated half way. Moving him on as soon as possible and bringing in a replacement that wants to play for the club should be on Alan Pardew, Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley’s mind.

There is no doubt that the fans would welcome back Enrique forgetting about his rants on twitter and determination to leave the club that gave him his chance in the Premier League in the process. Whether he’ll be staying is another issue. I firmly believe he’ll be trotting down the Anfield left wing come the first whistle of the new Premier League season.

Rory Smith in the Daily Telegraph has revealed that Liverpool are looking at eight potential transfer targets in the January transfer window with the club willing to release funds for at least four of them this month. Out of the following eight, which ones would you take to Anfield?

Romelu Lukaku – A tremendously exciting 17 year old, powerful centre forward, the 6ft 3 Belgian international would be my first choice striker to partner Fernando Torres up front. A bid between £15-20m would be asked for by Anderlecht but due to his age, I have no problem in thinking that Fenway Sports Group would release the funds necessary for a player who has already played eight times for Belgium before his 18th birthday. Denoted the “New Didier Drogba,” he does have big expectations to live up to but although a big risk, I believe it would be one worth taking considering his all-round attributes, which seem perfectly fitted to the Premier League. Could really be an excellent foil for Torres.

Ashley Young – Still young and lightning quick, the Aston Villa midfielder is a winger we have been crying out for since the days of McManaman and Barnes. It is uncertain whether he could ever be as good as those two players, but with Aston Villa struggling in the league, and with the 25 year old only having a year left on his contract, the time is definitely right to test the waters with his Birmingham club.

Urby Emanuelson – A less clear cut decision this one, Emanuelson has spent most of his recent career at Ajax playing as a left winger. He has also however played at left back, and with Liverpool’s recent problems at left back, a move for a pacey, attack minded player such as the Dutch international could be an interesting prospect. Due to Emanuelson having played more as a winger than a full back though, his poor defensive abilities would be a concern. He was moved by Marco Van Basten in the 2008/09 season from left back to left midfield after some poor defensive displays, and hasn’t moved back since. He should probably be only considered for a left wing position then, and there are some better exponents in this list who should be priortised ahead of him.

Luis Suarez – Certainly a classy striker, but I have mentioned in a previous article my reservations about him. Still though, he had a good World Cup with Uruguay and if we can get him for the £15m-18m quoted, then it would be a steal in my opinion. That would be no foregone conclusion though as there would be many other teams interested in the player for that price.

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Charles N’Zogbia – A fast, pacey left winger who can go past players and has a dangerous left foot, the Frenchman does have his good attributes. He has had a good 2010 with Wigan but I feel he needs to prove himself over a couple of seasons to merit the amount we would have to pay for him. A strong alternative to Ashley Young on the left side.

Eljero Elia – Another alternative to Young or N’Zogbia would be Hamburg’s Dutch international winger. From what I have seen of him in last summer’s World Cup, I was impressed with his pace and skill. He has gone off the boil this campaign with his German club though and Hamburg have quoted clubs a fee of £12.5million for his services.

Yann M’Vila – The Telegraph suggests that a deal could be put in place with Liverpool for the summer and the 20 year old Rennes defensive midfielder would be a great addition to the squad. We have missed a proper midfield destroyer since the departure of Javier Mascherano, and M’Vila, who is now a regular for France, would certainly fit the bill.

Sylvain Marveaux – The left winger/playmaker is available on a Bosman free transfer in the summer and was seen at Anfield for Liverpool’s match versus Wolves. Could be a useful squad player but would prefer the other wingers in the list above.

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Read more of David Tully’s articles at the excellent Live4Liverpool

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Italy and Spain shared a point apiece in their first game of Euro 2012, with both sides’ coaches happy with the draw.

Azzurri substitute Antonio Di Natale opened the scoring in the second-half, but Cesc Fabregas equalised for the holders soon after.

Cesare Prandelli admitted that he was pleased to get off the mark and feels a draw was a fair result.

“I think it was the right result,” Prandelli told Rai tv, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“There is a slight regret that we conceded so soon after we had scored.

“The important thing is that the players have done what I asked them. We played well and played as a team.”

Vicente del Bosque opted to play without a recognised striker, with Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta the furthest men forward for La Roja, but the Spanish trainer has defended his tactics after the game.

“We wanted to have superiority in the midfield so that we could have possession and arrive higher up the pitch. David Silva, Cesc and Andres Iniesta arrived very well from the second line of attack and I think they did very well in a lot of moments,” he confirmed.

“The plan didn’t go badly, Cesc did very well in this position. When Fernando Torres came on the match was much more open. We had more chances to score, but so did they and we can’t forget that. Time will tell whether this is a good point or not.

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“We have worked hard and put in a good effort. We are relatively satisfied with our work and the result,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Antonio Conte has called on his Juventus players to rediscover the winning mentality of the most successful club in Italian history.Juve boast 27 Serie A titles – nine more than nearest rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan, who have 18 apiece.

But the Turin giants have been without a league championship success since their demotion to Serie B in the aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal of 2006, and finished seventh in the 2010/11 campaign.

Conte, who succeeded Luigi Delneri as head coach in May, wants his new charges to display the same commitment that saw him win five Serie A titles and the Champions League during his time as a Juventus player.

“Alongside all the technical and tactical work, the most important thing we are working on at the moment is trying to get the ‘Juventus spirit’ back. That’s essential. The rest will come with time,” Conte said.

“It takes a great desire to fight, to finish the games with the shirt drenched in sweat, showing love for the jersey.”

“We need to know we are Juventus and Juventus means victories.”

“That’s the essential aspect we are working hard on.”

“I found a more than receptive group, because more than anyone else, the guys are really eager to put these two last seasons behind them.”

Conte was appointed Juve boss after successfully guiding Siena to promotion from Serie B to the top flight last season.

The 41-year-old stopped short of guaranteeing trophies in his first campaign in charge, but promised the team would do everything possible to compete for major honours.

“When I signed a contract with Juventus, I didn’t do it for minimum objectives,” he said.

“It’s not the way I do things and not the way I am, as my past can show.”

“I want to win. Saying that, I cannot say if we will make it, I cannot say it today … but we’ll definitely make anything we can to try and be the best we can till the end of the season.”