Source: Telegraph
Greg Halford on song as Sheffield United hold Hull City
Greg Halford is aiming to go from top of the flops to Top of the Pops. The former England Under-20 international failed to make the grade at Premier League level with both Reading and Sunderland but things are now looking up on and off the field. [LNB]Halford, on loan at Sheffield United from Sunderland, is plotting his way back up the football charts and is setting his sights on success in the music business as well. [LNB]The 6ft 5in former Colchester full-back showed there is no limit to his talent by nodding the Championship side into an early lead and then ignoring a head wound that required stitches to thwart Hull as a central defender. [LNB]He even used the Cup tie as a platform to promote a record company he has invested in by plugging it on a T-shirt he exposed after scoring. "I was just trying to advertise the record label," Halford, 24, said. "I had the T-shirt on because I was confident I could score. [LNB]"I asked about what the referee beforehand and he said it was perfectly all right. But I wasn't tempted to take the shirt off to give a full view because I'm on four bookings and didn't want a suspension." [LNB]Halford, who admitted to a "clash of personalities" with former Sunderland manager Roy Keane, added: "I wanted to be selfish and let nobody else in so I put as much money as I could into it and hopefully the rewards will be big. It's a proper record label looking for unsigned acts and new talent. The chairman, Eric Nicoli, is a massive person in the music industry; he used to own EMI. [LNB]"One of my best mates, Paul Rose, who I went to school with, went through Pop Idol and got to the last 16. He's joint owner." [LNB]On a more sombre note, Hull manager Phil Brown has concerns about record £5 million signing Jimmy Bullard's problematic knee. "Jimmy didn't feel 100 per cent and I'm not going to risk my players in an FA Cup tie when I've got a very important game against Tottenham next Monday," said Brown, whose defender Kamil Zayatte headed an equaliser to force a replay. [LNB]Quarter-final draw[LNB]Blackburn Rovers or Coventry City v ChelseaSwansea City or Fulham v Manchester UnitedCardiff City /Arsenal or Burnley v Sheffield United or Hull CityEverton v West Ham United or Middlesbrough [LNB]Ties to be played on the weekend of March 7-8.
