Go Wes: Liverpool and Tottenham enter the race to sign Wesley Sneijder - Mirror.co.uk

Liverpool and Spurs are leading the chase for Wesley Sneijder.

He is still open to offers after being told he can leave by Inter Milan and was chased by Manchester United 18 months ago only for their interest to end over his personal demands.

Sneijder maintains he has not agreed a deal with any club but Milan are so keen to get the £200,000-a-week midfielder off their wage bill that they are willing to accept a cut-price £10million fee - a drop from the £14million they paid for him three years ago.

Sneijder said: "'Clearly it's best for everyone concerned that in January I am transferred.

"If that doesn't happen then I will stay. I have a contract with Inter until 2015.'

Inter Milan boss Andrea Stramaccioni has axed Sneijder from his squad and sent Sneijder on his mid-season break early after the Holland international reacted furiously to being told to take a pay cut.

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is ready to pull the plug on Nuri Sahin's loan stay at the Kop from Real Madrid.

The little attacking midfielder has been a flop since his expensive season-long stint began and he is unable to get near to the side.

Now the Anfield club are looking into ways of cancelling the move halfway through its term - and saving around £3 million in the process.

Liverpool signed up for paying a year of Sahin's salary and also a rental fee to Real on top as he joined as one of Rodger's big captures.

But Sahin has been found wanting in the hurly-burly of the Premier League and the cash would be spent on sorting out the final details of Thomas Ince's move from Blackpool.

Ince is seen as a player with a full-time future at Liverpool and Sahin may be sacrificed to bring in extra funds to pay the Seasiders who are haggling over the current offer for their star attacker.

Real were happy to see Sahin go to Liverpool for first-team football, but they may be reluctant to take him back - unless they can find him another home.

Negotiations between the two giants are about to become serious, with Sahin's days on Merseyside numbered if agreement can be reached.

QPR 0 Liverpool 3: Luis Suarez casts Harry Redknapp's men adrift - The Times (subscription)

Liverpool ended a difficult year in promising style by winning 3-0 at Queens Park Rangers to leave Harry Redknapp's hapless side eight points adrift at the foot of the Barclays Premier League.

Liverpool have never previously lost as many league matches in a calendar year - 17 - but a Luis Suarez brace and a Daniel Agger header in the first half mean they will start 2013 in ninth place in the top flight.

Illness meant that Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, was not present to witness the game, but Redknapp may have wished that he, too, had stayed away after his 600th Premier League game ended in chastening defeat.

The QPR manager elected to replace Rob Green with Julio Cesar in goal and the former Brazil goalkeeper quickly found himself under assault at Loftus Road.

Suarez got his first sight of goal in the third minute after nutmegging Clint Hill, but Julio Cesar was equal to his effort.

It was a different story seven minutes later, however, as Suarez flummoxed Hill with a sharp turn on the edge of the 18-yard area before coolly rolling the ball into the bottom-left corner.

The Uruguayan made it 2-0 in the 16th minute, following in from close range after his initial cross came back to him via Nedum Onuoha to register his 13th league goal of the campaign.

It was one-way traffic, with Julio Cesar fumbling a Steven Gerrard shot and the recalled Jordan Henderson steaming in to prod the ball wide.

Liverpool's third goal came in the 28th minute and once again QPR's defence was easily exposed, with Gerrard afforded far too much time to deliver a right-wing cross that Agger nodded in.

Desperate blocks from Armand Traore and Ryan Nelsen prevented Gerrard from inflicting further damage prior to half-time, before Adel Taarabt belatedly responded for QPR with a swirling left-foot shot that Pepe Reina fielded.

Julio Cesar denied Suarez a hat-trick early in the second half by pushing a fierce shot from Suarez on to the crossbar.

QPR showed greater desire to get forward following the change of ends and after Traore drilled a low cross across goal, Stephane Mbia had three attempts at goal from distance, two of which required Reina to save.

Liverpool lost Jose Enrique to an apparent hamstring injury late in the game, but, Rodgers' absence notwithstanding, it was the only troubling element of a very straightforward victory.

Farmers urge minister to provide extreme weather insurance - The Guardian

Last year's record rainfall has cost British farmers £1.3bn, prompting calls for government to provide insurance against extreme weather if it wants to preserve national food security.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) estimates the extreme levels of rainfall in 2012 has cost the industry £600m in lost output, especially from poor wheat and potato harvests, and another £700m in extra costs such as feed for cattle, which could not graze in water-logged fields.

The figures are being published on Tuesday, ahead of the first major speech to the industry by Owen Paterson, environment secretary, on Thursday at the Oxford Farming Conference. The NFU president, Peter Kendall, said they would be used to press Paterson to soften his expressed desire to axe European "Pillar 1" subsidies, which pay farmers a set amount for owning land in production. The UK gets about €3.65bn (£2.97bn) a year under the EU scheme.

The NFU supported ending the subsidy, but only if it was done across Europe and ideally elsewhere in the world, so farmers in other countries did not have an advantage. It needed to be replaced by a form of extreme weather payment or insurance to protect farmers from going out of business during the most difficult years, said Kendall.

"All we seem to get out of the Treasury and Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] these days is 'Pillar 1 is worthless'," Kendall said. "If they are determined to move away from Pillar 1, we need a debate about income insurance or protection when we have got years like 2012. It's not the same as producing nuts and bolts in a factory – we can't farm under water or when we don't get any rain."

The EU is locked in negotiations over dramatic cuts to farm subsidies but they are expected to take years because of strong resistance, especially from France.

Farmers are likely to face scepticism about calls for financial support after decades of headlines about fat subsidy payments, and – before they were replaced by the acreage payments – food "mountains" and milk "lakes" caused by paying farmers to produce food regardless of demand.

The global decline in production of wheat, maize, dairy products and many other foodstuffs in 2012 caused steep rises in prices, with the UN warning in October that wheat prices had already risen by 25%, with the prospect of more to come.

In the longer term, analysts expect farming to enjoy a global boom as expanding populations and rising wealth and consumption continue to outpace supply.

The investment guru Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros, urged business students to learn to drive a tractor instead. "There are many things happening in agriculture, which mean agriculture is going to be fabulous for another 10 to 30 years," Rogers said in a video blog .

Paterson, who was moved to Defra in the September reshuffle, will try to capitalise on that optimism to launch the Future Farming Group on Thursday, a campaign to attract more people to consider farming as a career.

The NFU says the 2012 "black hole" in farmers' finances is the worst situation for 10-15 years, not part of the normal ups and downs of the industry.

Kendall argues that governments have been supporting agriculture for centuries, and today most, if not all, countries have some form of insurance, even states which are proudly subsidy-free.

He said the renewed focus on national food security – as climate change is prediccted to bring more extreme weather and disrupt agriculture and transport around the world – made the issue more urgent.

"In years like 2012 it is very clear to see that the support farming receives from the CAP [EU common agricultural policy] is an absolute lifeline to many farmers," said Kendall in a statement accompanying the new financial estimate.

"Recently, we have heard government representatives refer to these support payments as 'worthless', arguing that payments should only go to environmental goals. With the possible exception of Sweden, the UK government is the only one out of 27 member-state countries in the EU arguing in this way.

"I firmly believe the only likely outcome of this strategy is further discrimination against English farmers. What is more, this ideologically driven approach is outdated given the increasing volatility in global prices and the challenging global climate," he said.

Defra told the Guardian that it had responded to the tough conditions by relaxing regulations such as restrictions on when slurry can be spread on fields and deadlines for applications for funds.

"We recognise the impact the wet weather has had on farmers and that is why we have relaxed some of our restrictions to help them," said an official.

"We have also made it clear that direct payments under CAP should not be phased out in the next financial period, but that businesses should have time to adjust."

Twitter leads to under-performance on field of play, says Lord Coe - Telegraph.co.uk

However he said that the mis-use of the site by athletes can lead to distraction.

"I have walked past my parents [and] close friends an hour before a race and not even recognized them or registered them. I just find it bizarre that people can be sitting there figuring out in 140 characters what they would say to the world at that moment. Just go out and win the bloody race," said Lord Coe.

Lord Coe did not name athletes, but members of the British athletics team have got into trouble in the past for Tweeting.

Phillips Idowu, the triple jumper who failed to win a medal in the London games, angered his management when he withdrew from last year's European Team Championships on Twitter.

At the time Charles van Commenee, the then-head of UK Athletics, said that athletes need training when it comes to Twitter use.

"You can't forbid athletes to use Twitter, this is an issue we have to deal with in modern times," he said.

Some athletes have admitted that social media sites cost them dear in last summer's games.

Emily Seebohm, the Australian swimmer who was favourite for an Olympic gold in the 100m backstroke but narrowly missed out on the medal, admitted that she stayed up too long on Twitter and Facebook in the lead-up to the games.

Following her defeat in the race she said: "I just felt like I didn't really get off [social media] and get into my own mind."

Matt Brown, an Australian swimming coach, said during the games that he would like to "throw away some of those phones".

Dr Victor Thompson, a London-based sports psychologist, said that there is no direct relationship between the amount of time that sports stars spend on Twitter and their performance.

"It may indicate to some that you may be less dedicated or are not focused on the right things but spending an hour on the computer doesn't necessarily have a bearing on how you spend the next 23 hours of the day," he said.

However he said that people's performance could be affected by negative comments that they read on the site.

"You are going to get the extremes of comments about you as an athlete – the real positives and the real negatives. People will use these when they evaluate their own performance, rather than what they think or the coach thinks. And that really influences their mood and how they bounce back," said Dr Thompson.

In the summer Andy Murray, the tennis player, said that athletes should not be on Twitter "too much".

"It's a bit like sitting on a computer 20 minutes, 30 minutes before your match. You wouldn't be advised to do that. The same applies with Tweeting or mobile phones," said Mr Murray, who won Olympic gold last year.

However there are many athletes who would argue with Lord Coe's theory. Prolific Tweeters who can not be said to have under-performed on the field of play include Sir Chris Hoy, Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis.

Joe Simpson astounds Wasps with magic try against London Welsh - The Guardian

A brilliant try from the scrum-half Joe Simpson was the highlight of London Wasps' bonus point victory as they recorded a Premiership double over London Welsh.

Simpson had an outstanding game as Wasps came from behind with tries from the wing Elliot Daly, the replacement prop Will Taylor and, right at the end, a fourth try for the wing Tom Varndell.

The Welsh fly-half Gordon Ross kicked all his side's points with five penalties, while the Wasps fly-half Nicky Robinson landed three penalties, Daly booted one and the replacement stand-off Stephen Jones kicked the only conversion of the match.

The first half-hour was dominated by the boot, both with positional kicks and shots at goal, as first Welsh took a six-point advantage and then saw it clawed back by their visitors.

There was not a great deal to choose between them up front, and the kicking was generally poor, with the Welsh full-back Tom Arscott a particular offender.

Wasps could have led handsomely at the interval had they taken the majority of their kicks. Daly missed a long-range effort for the visitors before an excellent scrum from the Exiles and an offside decision given their way saw Ross secure two successes.

But the lead did not last long as Robinson levelled matters with two penalties but then sent two more penalties wide of the uprights from similar distances of 25 metres.

Ross, on the other hand, was deadly accurate at that short range. As Welsh frustrated their opponents and the front row of Franck Montanella, Neil Briggs and James Tideswell caused havoc for Zak Taulafo, Rhys Thomas and Phil Swainston, Ross secured another two goals to take his side into a 12-6 interval lead.

But, even though the ball may have been greasy from the earlier rain, there was little excuse for a poor first half with hardly any invention in attack towards either try-line.

Robinson reduced the arrears after the break to three points with his third penalty before a piece of individual magic took the match up a gear.

In what will surely be one of the contenders for try of the season, Simpson took the ball from a lineout 30 metres from the Welsh line, went through a gap at the back and embarked on a diagonal sprint across the pitch.

He looked to be going nowhere but somehow found a gap towards the line. The scrum-half ran through three tackles and got past desperate defence on the line to touch down and leave everyone in the crowd amazed.

Robinson failed with the conversion but that put Wasps two points to the good and, when Daly kicked a thumping penalty from fully 53 metres, it was the turning point of the contest.

Wasps were on top and they threatened to leave Welsh with nothing to show for their efforts when Daly sprinted down the right wing to just get in for the second try of the game.

Welsh would not lay down, and Ross' fifth penalty put them within sight of Wasps. But a final converted try from the replacement Will Taylor saw Wasps home and dry. Vardnell went over on 83 minutes to get the bonus point.

QPR v Liverpool – as it happened! - The Guardian (blog)

Usually it's around the beginning of January that the gloom kicks in. It's dark when you put your flushed feet on the inhospitable floor; it's dark when you are microwaving your Weetabix and putting enough sugar on top so that you don't have to taste what's underneath. It's dark when you are groping your way to work; it's dark when you are groping your way to lunch. It's dark when you are on your third trip of the afternoon to the tea machine and doing you're absolute best to avoid the pile of work stacking higher and higher and higher on your desk; it's dark when you're in the supermarket staring at the shelves unable to chose what you want for dinner. It's dark when you are watching TV and wondering why people find Michael McIntyre funny; it's dark when you are failing to fall asleep because of the weird noises outside your window.

Darkness, darkness everywhere … it's best to have a drink.

But nope, that's out of the question. That's gone for 31 dreary, drawn-out days. Health is the excuse – "ah sure, I have to give the liver a break after the lorry load I ploughed into me over Christmas" – but being broke after frittering it away over presents that didn't want to be bought for people that didn't want to receive them (but smiled politely and said the right things, anyway) is the real reason. However, worry not dear readers for that gloom is days away yet, days. For now, go eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart. Unless, of course, you are a fan of QPR or Liverpool because then it is entirely understandable if you lot embraced the January gloom a little earlier than the rest of us.

QPR have spent most of their time since August 18 snuggling up with the foot of the table. Their away form has been more shocking than a queen-sized bed of electric eels – three points from a possible 30 – but at least their home form has been OK, right? You know, something that they can build on, something to give the fans the briefest sliver of hope, make them think they won't be sinking back down to the Championship next season. Ehhh-eeeeh! Of the 160 sides that make up the Premier League, the Championship, League One, League Two, the Blue Square Bet Premier, the Blue Square Bet North and the Blue Square Bet South, only three have garnered less points at home all season than QPR – Hartlepool, Scunthorpe and Hinckley United hang your heads in shame.

The vast majority of that is down to what happened BH because since Redknapp came in and took control of the over-paid, under-performing misfits, there has been some decent results and a lot more organisation to the team. The four games before he took charge saw three defeats and a draw; the four after saw three draws and a win – their only win of the season. But as quick as optimism can be created, it can be crushed and QPR's had something of a Christmas catastrophe against Norwich and West Bromwich Albion. "A bad day, a bad result, we're bang in trouble," said Harry after the West Brom one. He wasn't un-right.

Top half of the table they may be – by the skin of their goal difference – but Liverpool have never had fewer points after 19 games since the three points for a win rule was introduced. They have, at times, played some pretty decent stuff – see the win over Fulham for further details – and shown the resilience needed of a side that has such notions of upperosity – see the win over West Ham for further details. However, the 2-Live-Crew-styled big but is that the Merseysiders have failed to show these qualities on a regular basis and right now a top-four finish looks about as realistic as WWF back in the day.

Honest individual that he is, Rodgers admitted as much on Friday: "There is no doubt we need to be more consistent. We've shown that on our day we are a match for any team in the league and some of our performances this year have been exceptional, but we have to do that over longer periods and that's something we'll strive for going forward," he chilled-out entertained and it is probably worth noting that only once so far this season have his side managed to win two league matches on the trot.

"Liverpool have got some fantastic, high quality players. They're rebuilding and changing things around. They've spent good money," buttered up Redknapp at his recent presser, presumably talking about Luis Suárez and not Jordan Henderson or Joe Cole or Stewart Downing or Andy Carroll. So far this season, Suárez has been one of the best players to watch and not just for Liverpool but for the entire league. He has already matched last season's league goal total and only Steven Gerrard has had more assists for Liverpool. Without those goals and assists, Rodgers' side would be languishing in 15th spot, a solitary point above the relegation zone and a goal difference of -9. Thus, Harry and co will be delighted to hear that the Uruguay striker has shook off that ankle-gah! that has been troubling him of late and should be gracing our screens this afternoon. Confirmation of that and the rest of the team news will be with you just as soon as it is with me.

Luis Suárez scores twice as Liverpool inflict more misery on QPR - The Guardian

Harry Redknapp puffed out his cheeks, muttered an expression of disbelief to Joe Jordan at his side, then slumped back against the dugout with a shake of his head in disgust. This mismatch was less than half an hour old and Queens Park Rangers were already embarrassed having just conceded a third goal, a thumping header by Daniel Agger. The centre-half was unmarked, though that was not surprising. Rangers' attempts at resistance had long since disintegrated. This team are sinking without trace.

The QPR manager offered something approaching bullish optimism afterwards, saying his team can still survive, but recovery from a defensive display this shambolic seems improbable even with January and another potential transfer frenzy only a couple of days away. Their solitary league success, against Fulham earlier this month, generated hope that appears cruel in the context of a third successive defeat, form that better sums up Rangers' campaign to date. Three clubs have survived having been bottom on New Year's Day in the 20 years of the Premier League but there has to be a spark to instigate a revival and there was simply no real sign of progress to be seen.

The prerequisite for a struggling side, principally tightening up at the back, had been abandoned here amid the desperation to register a victory. Redknapp acknowledged that, having belatedly hauled off Djibril Cissé with the game lost to avoid suffering a drubbing from which confidence might never have been restored. "We were never going to win 4-3, so I shut up shop," he said, explaining the half-time substitution. "Maybe I should have done that from the start, but we wanted the win and had been open and attacking." Luis Suárez had already torn the home side to shreds by then with the Uruguayan's team-mates revelling in the wide open spaces at his back.

Even when trying to be upbeat, Redknapp could only describe this as "a doing", the first time his side have been truly overrun and outclassed over his six weeks in charge. The eight-point gap from 17th place is a gulf, with this performance arguably every bit as abject as the surrender to Southampton in Mark Hughes' last game in charge in November. Redknapp has not had a chance to wheel and deal as yet but he will be the third successive QPR manager to survey a transfer window with a sense of desperation, players stacking up at the training ground, though the reality is reinforcements are required.

Liverpool's Luis Suárez evades the attentions of the QPR defence. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Clint Hill and Ryan Nelsen are seasoned professionals and utterly committed but, at 35, slippery forwards such as Suárez can and will humiliate them. Both full-backs selected here, Armand Traoré and Nedum Onuoha, looked like broken men defensively. José Bosingwa, a European Cup winner in May, is now "injured" and has been since he refused to sit on the bench against Fulham. Fabio da Silva, on loan from Manchester United, was cast on late but is unfamiliar with relegation scraps. As, indeed, are a number of a party recruited from Real Madrid and Internazionale. One of those, Julio César – recalled for Rob Green, who wallowed miserably on the bench – cannot perform heroics alone. There is imbalance all around, and a trip to third-placed Chelsea to come on Wednesday. They scored eight the last time they trotted out at Stamford Bridge.

It feels ridiculous to have originally considered this contest an opportunity to kickstart the recovery, as Rangers had against this opposition so memorably last term. Liverpool had arrived mid-table and with the norovirus apparently festering in their midst; the manager, Brendan Rodgers, and No2 goalkeeper, Brad Jones, were quarantined and sent back to Merseyside earlier in the day at risk of infecting the entire party. The assistant, Colin Pascoe, also under the weather, was not allowed into the changing room either pre-match or at half-time by the club's medical staff in case he spread the bug and yet they still ran riot.

Suárez, a forward scouted heavily by Redknapp's Tottenham Hotspur while at Ajax, rejoiced in the freedom of Loftus Road. His clever drift away from Hill 10 minutes in to collect Stewart Downing's pass, before tearing at and beyond the back-pedalling centre-half, set the tone. The finish was precise and the hosts already looked in pieces. Within six minutes he had wriggled to the byline, cutting back towards Raheem Sterling in the centre. Onuoha's lunge denied the former QPR youngster but merely set up Suárez to thrash in a second. "He's a magician," said Steven Gerrard, even if an apprentice might have prospered against these opponents.

Agger's header as QPR dawdled at another short-corner routine completed the scoring, though Nelsen twice cleared attempts from his goalline, with the visitors content in their superiority. They will unveil Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea, and most likely Blackpool's Thomas Ince once the window opens this week. Rangers will not have the same leeway in the market but whatever additions they do secure must make an immediate impact before this miserable campaign unravels entirely.

Man of the match Luis Suárez (Liverpool)