Coppell angered by Goater leak

Steve Coppell is furious that a proposed loan deal taking Reading's striker Shaun Goater to their First Division rivals Ipswich Town was leaked to the press.

The Royals manager has hardly played Goater since taking over at the Madejski Stadium from Alan Pardew last October and had spoken to his Ipswich counterpart Joe Royle about the Bermudan international.

"I had private conversations with Joe Royle and then Shaun so I was not best pleased when the details of those conversations came out in the press," said Coppell. "I know where they came from and I don't want to go into that, but it's not ideal from my point of view."

Coppell also said Goater remained part of his plans. "Shaun has no intention of leaving Reading. He is happy here and wants to complete the job he was brought here to do."

Sunderland and West Ham have been forced to pull the plug on live commentary and video highlights on their club websites after being threatened with legal action by the Football League.

The two First Division clubs had refused to pay £40,000 to use TV footage and commentary for the rest of the season and say they are bitterly disappointed the league is forcing them to pull the services.

Sunderland's communications director Lesley Callaghan said: "Both clubs feel very strongly that loyal supporters will be inconvenienced and denied valuable access to match highlights and commentary. In the current financial climate it is impossible to consider such a payment."

Scottish Premier League clubs who go into administration after this season will suffer a 10-point deduction and be banned from signing new players, the SPL board decided yesterday.