BRITISH FOOTBALL NEWS ARCHIVE

Croatia 2-0 England
The hysteria over formations has misdirected criticism of last night’s debacle in Croatia – a defeat that leaves qualification for the European Championships in two years time far from simple. Naivety in switching to outdated wingbacks away to a team undefeated at home in competitive matches is clear. Even more so after the insipid performance a few days earlier at home to Macedonia. What was needed was a simplified approach – a clichéd back-to-basics. Keep it simple. Keep it tight. Do not throw in a new but outdated formation with enforced permutations of playing personnel and hope for the best in such an important fixture. Yet it was the not the shape of the line-up that produced defeat. It was the characterless and spineless performance of too many individuals far too readily proclaimed as world class. Rio Ferdinand was slack and lucky to stay on the pitch. John Terry has been magnificent for Chelsea but last night was shaky and at fault for the first goal. Ashley Cole seemed to think he was a left winger and Jamie Carragher – Mr Reliable for Liverpool – was too often left exposed to Croatian wing-play; simple balls played over the top and wide into the space for attackers to exploit. Gary Neville cannot and will never be able to cross like David Beckham or Stephen Gerrard and should not be asked to have to do so. Wayne Rooney is still a long way from his best and Peter Crouch received almost zero service. The three man midfield lacked penetration or drive and again Frank Lampard was off form – how many more performances like this before he warrants being dropped? But then any potential replacements are thin on the ground. Neither Michael Carrick nor Scott Parker impressed – the later unlikely to play again once Owen Hargreaves is fit and Gerrard is back from suspension. Ironically, Paul Robinson was perhaps England’s best player, producing a number of important stops to save his team mates blushes, only to find himself doing the blushing. But then if ‘keepers insist on kicking up chunks of turf whilst taking goal-kicks what did he expect?

Steve McClaren has five months until a hugely important fixture away to Israel and it would be wise to not become embroiled in debates over formations. He must discover a way of exploiting the undoubted talents of the players in his monthly charge. Of course the shape of the team is important. But it was the despairing failure to even look like creating a goal against a middle-of-the-road team, a lack of imagination and spontaneity. We crave more Joe Coles, whose verve and daring to try things are all too often criticised in this country but remain desperately needed. Successful modern football teams need pace – it is (to quote Mr Hansen) the hardest thing to defend against. Theo Walcott anyone? - Fran Wilson

All talk but no bungs
Sam Allardyce. Oh dear oh dear. Bung taking premiership manager. Or is he? Did last night's Panorama investigation actually throw up any evidence of bung taking beyond hearsay? Not really. Are the words of a couple of agents enough to find the man guilty? I doubt it. But surely his own son incriminates him beyond reproach? Did he? Craig Allardyce’s defence is that he was playing up his own importance to attract opportunities. It would appear that he was paid money as part of numerous transfers but where is the legal line between commission and bung taking drawn? And where is the direct evidence that this involved Sam Allardyce? Whilst intriguing television that has highlighted an undeniable problem in football’s dirty corridors of backhanders and nepotism, it remains to be seen whether it has actually uncovered anything of real substance. We can only hope that the BBC has more substantial evidence tucked away for the lawyers who will, as always, be the big winners in the scandal.

Perhaps more shocking was the blatant touting of 15 year old Middlesbrough youth player Nathan Porritt by Peter Harrison to various clubs including Chelsea and Liverpool. Frank Arnesen, Chelsea head of development and scouting, is seen on tape offering £150,000 over three years to entice the player down from the north-east. It is the same behaviour that saw Chelsea receive a large fine and a suspended 3-point deduction for tapping up Ashley Cole of Arsenal. And successfully entice two Leeds United academy players to sign. Why should clubs invest in young players, nurturing them through their youth systems only to see them poached by the big clubs with six-figure bribes? Something needs to be done to stop this.

One thing does seem clear from last nights programme and that is that bung taking and tapping-up are rife in the modern game. But then we already knew that. What we have now are the names of some of the agents and involved and allegations that some managers are in on it. With only Sam Allardyce’s involvement apparently corroborated by at least two different agents, none of others have been named and are unlikely to be any time soon, unless of course leaked to a red top. Last night there was a lot of talk of bung taking but little evidence of bung taking. We need more. - Fran Wilson

Macedonia 0-1 England
Another game and another goal for the irrepressible Peter Crouch; eleven goals this year alone has vaulted him to the front of the England striking queue. If anyone else had been scoring at that pace they would have been hailed as world class a long time ago. It is probably not to far wrong to suggest Peter Crouch will never be called world class whatever his achievements.

Macedonia provided a much sterner test than poor Andorra a few days before and could be justifiably disappointed to not get a draw from the game. For the majority for the first half England we reliant on when-did-he-get-back-into-the-squad Phil Neville’s long throws for their best chances, spurned by Crouch and Defoe. In the end, England’s goal came from a Frank Lampard cut-back that Crouch volleyed home via the underside of the bar.

This was not a pretty performance and brings the team back to earth after easy victories over disinterested and poor opposition (Greece and Andorra). There will be tougher trips to both Russia (under the masterful Hiddink) and Croatia (under Slaven Bilic – remember him West Ham?), who did themselves no favours by drawing 0-0 with each in their first qualifying games, as well as Israel. Incidentally, when did Israel become part of Europe? Yet, along with Kazakhstan, they find themselves trying to qualify for the European Championships and the European section for the World Cup qualifiers as well. The last time I looked at a map Kazakhstan was not in Europe.

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland surprised just about everyone by defeating Spain 3-2 thanks to a hat-trick from David Healy. Maybe that one million pound prize money isn’t looking so far off after all. In reality they will not qualify in a group that contains both Sweden and Denmark. Enjoy it while it lasts - Fran Wilson

England 5-0 Andorra
Peter Crouch continues to head both inextricably and inexplicably towards England’s all-time goal scoring charts. 10 goals in his last 10 England games is an envious record and with Jermain Defoe scoring twice against Andorra as well, Steve McClaren has created an attacking vibe to his recently inherited England squad. With the in-form Andy Johnson on the bench and Wayne Rooney (and possibly even Michael Owen) to return England have an embarrassment of riches upfront. It is all a long way from the Sven’s world cup era.

The emphasis on Saturday was on getting the ball wide against an awful team made up of part-timers and with Steven Gerrard banishing all memories of the David Beckham era with another man-of-the-match display this proved a winning tactic. Unfortunately, any result other than double figures would have be taken a given and despite scoring six goals this was a dreadful game to have to watch. Attack versus defence doesn’t do it justice. Andorra were unable to move the ball between beyond a couple of passes and failed to construct any kind of attack worth noting in the entire ninety minutes. Should they be playing at this level? In a season packed with far too many games already no they shouldn’t. The result was never in question and Andorra’s players can have taken little from the game other than the privilege of playing against Premiership starts. Is this itself enough to justify their participation? No, it is surely a matter of time before a knock-out phase is introduced for mountain-tops, tax-havens and large rocks to prove they belong in such company. The likes of the Faroe Islands (who lost 0-6 to Scotland!), Andorra, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Cyprus and San Marino shouldn’t be wasting space on the international calendar.

England travel to Macedonia on Wednesday and will look to ease into a lead in the qualification race for the European Championships in 2008. England look relatively impressive but then they did when qualifying under Sven. There are bigger tests then the Principality of Andorra to come. - Francis Wilson

Call me unpatriotic
Call me unpatriotic (or worse?) but there is something unnervingly satisfying about Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances in the face of ignorant booing. It is the finger up to those who still thinks he is to blame for England’s woeful exit from this summer’s World Cup that perhaps explains this feeling. Or am I on my own here? Either way, Ronaldo and Co. have successfully elevated Manchester United to the top of the table after two games, scoring some eight goals along the way. And hooray…Chelski have lost a game: self-proclaimed novice Gareth Southgate getting one over The Special One thanks to a last gasp winner from perennially chubby Mark Viduka. Elsewhere at the top, Sven’s toy-boy Theo Walcott has begun to show some of the ability that wooed the Swede into making The Worst Decision Ever and has now come off the bench twice to set up goals and has scored for the England U-21s as well. The boyfriend of Melanie Slade (who recently completed her A-Levels- why did that ever make the news?) may yet make the grade.

New-boys Reading showed why the cantered to the Championship title last year in an impressive show of spirit, coming back from two behind to defeat Middlesbrough 3-2. Ex-Bristolian Leroy Lita scrambling home the winning goal after an hour. Martin O’Neill showed why he is such a highly rated manager, organising Aston Villa into drawing with Arsenal at their new stadium and then masterminding (thanks to a dubious sending off) victory over Reading a few days later. American Aston Villa are witnessing another new dawn but the question remains as to whether the sleeping ‘giant’ can be prodded from its slumber. They should finish comfortably in the top half but may struggle to get into Europe.

Where I come from elbowing someone into unconsciousness is considered an offence worthy of an appearance before at least one judge. On the football pitch it is apparently worth only a yellow card. Ben Thatcher’s apologies are not enough and when something looks equally bad in both slow motion and full-speed then you know something is wrong. It was assault in no uncertain terms and there must be punishment for it. Another poor refereeing decision saw Andy Todd of Blackburn jump on Andy Johnson’s back, ride there for a couple of minutes, before hopping off to clear the ball into touch. And get away with it.

Chelsea have again been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League, this time in the First Group Stage. More excitingly, Celtic and Manchester United with play each other home and away and I fear Scottish Football will discover once again its inferiority. The full draw is below for those who care.

Group A
Barcelona
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia

Group B
Inter Milan
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow

Group C
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasaray

Group D
Valencia
Roma
Olympiakos
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
Real Madrid
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
Dynamo Kiev

Group F
Manchester United
Celtic
Benfica
FC Copenhagen

Group G
Arsenal
Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburg

Group H
Ac Milan
Lille
AEK Athens
Anderlecht - Francis Wilson

Premiership Transfer News
The season's barely finished but there has already been a flurry of activity in the English transfer market with Premiership clubs off-loading unwanted players to make way for fresh signings.

Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Morientes leads the way, having agreed terms for a move to Valencia. The 30-year-old never really settled on Merseyside and was omitted from his country's World Cup squad.

Egyptian striker Mido's loan spell at Tottenham has expired and he'll return to Roma, making way for the arrival of Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov at White Hart Lane. Wigan fullback Pascal Chimbonda, a surprise inclusion in the France squad, also looks destined for a move to Spurs.

Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson is currently hot property with Wigan, Everton and Bolton competing for his £8.5 million signature. Wigan are also chasing Chelsea's German defender Robert Huth, rated at around £5 million. Elsewhere, Manchester City have resigned veteran striker Paul Dickov on a free from Blackburn Rovers. - Paul

FA Cup Final: Liverpool 3-3 West Ham United
Liverpool have won the FA Cup for the seventh time after a classic final against West Ham at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A three all draw after 90 minutes brought extra time and them penalties before Liverpool finally prevailed.

After a hesitant opening twenty minutes, it was a surprisingly open game with West Ham making the most of their first half chances. Jamie Carragher diverted Scaloni's cross into his own net after 21 minutes to give the Hammers the lead.

Seven minutes later, their advantage was doubled as Dean Ashton pounced on a fumble by goalkeeper Jose Reina to poke the ball home. Liverpool then woke up and Crouch was unlucky to have a header ruled out for offside.

However, moments later, an inch perfect through ball from Gerrard was smartly converted by Djibril Cisse to give Liverpool the momentum going into the interval. The break came at the right time for West Ham as they regrouped and came out of the blocks guns blazing at the restart.

Almost immediately they broke down the left and had two good opportunities to extend their lead but Harewood and Benayoun were unable to capitalise on them. From that point on Liverpool always looked the more likely winners and Gerrard levelled the scores on 54 minutes.

However, West Ham refused to roll over and there was yet another twist when a miss-hit cross from Konchesky looped over Reina and into the net. The Hammers so nearly held on and would have done so but for one man.

The commentary team had already written Steven Gerrard off as a passenger, saying that West Ham were playing against 10 men as the England star struggled with cramp, but up he popped in the 91st minute to drive home a thunderbolt from 30 yards.

The play in extra time was reduced to walking pace as player after player succumbed to fatigue and cramp, the only notable chance coming right at the death as a West Ham free kick bounced off the stricken Harewood and was tipped into the post by Reina with Harewood too weak to turn in the rebound.

So for the second year running the final ended in penalties. Reina's saves from Zamora, Konchesky and Ferdinand gave Liverpool a 3-1 win. - Paul

Scottish FA Cup Final: Hearts 1-1 Gretna
It was a case of so near yet so far for minnows Gretna as their fairytale run in the Scottish FA Cup came to a dramatic end after more than 120 minutes of gripping football in front of a crowd of 51,232 at Hampden Park.

Gretna are the first club from the third tear of Scottish football to appear in an FA Cup final and they may be more used to playing in front of fewer than 2,000 people at their Raydale Park home but they certainly weren't overawed by the atmosphere in Glasgow.

Hearts made the more assured start and tested Gretna early on. However, the underdogs managed to weather the storm and work their way into the game. It developed into an exciting affair with plenty of chances, albeit mostly for the Edinburgh side. The breakthrough finally came after 39 minutes when Rudi Skacel scored from close in to put Hearts one up at half time.

However, in running away with the Second Division title, Gretna have built up a winning habit this season and certainly weren't going to let this game slip away without a fight. They got their chance to draw level on 76 minutes when O'Neil won a penalty. McGuffie saw his spot kick saved but reacted quickly enough to tuck away the rebound.

That goal took the tie into extra time and subsequently a penalty shoot-out although Hearts fans will feel they should have had a penalty of their own in the final minutes of the encounter. However, the greater experience of the Hearts players paid off as the held their nerve to win the shoot-out 4-2 and capture the cup. Gretna have the consolation of a place in Europe next season. - Paul

Champions League: Arsenal 2-0 Juventus
The only remaining British representatives in this season's Champions League gave themselves an excellent chance of progressing into the semi finals of the competition with an impressive 2-0 win over Italian champions Juventus at Highbury.

Patrick Vieira had a torturous night on his return to the ground where he was worshiped for so many years. Some sections of the crowd booed him but the Frenchman became an increasingly peripheral figure as it became clear that he is a pale shadow of his former self. The real star of the show was his replacement at the heart of the Arsenal midfield, Cesc Fabregas.

The young Spaniard turned in one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt to date and deservedly opened the scoring in the 40th minute, converting Henry's through ball after Pires had tackled Vieira. From that point on, Arsenal were in near total control of the game and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage, Fabregas this time providing Henry with the ammunition to beat Buffon.

Juventus ended the match in turmoil, with two red cards in quick succession to Camoranesi and Zebina. With Vieira also suspended for the second leg it is hard to see a way back into the tie for the Italians, although they will have Pavel Nedved back for the game in Turin. - Paul

FA Cup Semi Final Draw
The two remaining heavyweights will meet at the semi final stage in this season's FA Cup, meaning that one young English manager will have the chance to prove himself in domestic football's biggest showpiece.

Steve McClaren's Middlesbrough have a home replay against Alan Curbishley's Charlton Athletic to earn the right to face Alan Pardew's West Ham United in the second semi final. The winners of that contest will play either Chelsea or Liverpool in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on the 13th May.

The full draw:

Chelsea v Liverpool
Old Trafford, 22nd April 2006, 17:15

Charlton / Middlesbrough v West Ham
Villa Park, 23rd April 2006, 16:00 - Paul

Hammers Complete 1/4 Final Line Up
West Ham United took revenge for their recent thrashing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers by dumping them out of the FA Cup in their 5th round replay at Upton Park.

West Ham went ahead as early as the tenth minute when a defensive mishap saw a clearance deflect in off Bolton 'keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. However, Bolton fought back and got an equaliser through Kevin Davies on 31 minutes to eventually take the tie into extra time.

Marlon Harewood broke the deadlock after only six minutes of the first period of extra time when he converted a cross from Israeli international Yossi Benayoun for his fourteenth goal of the season. West Ham will be away at Manchester City in the next round.

Full Quarter Final Draw:

Man City v West Ham Utd (20/03/06)
Birmingham City v Liverpool (20/03/06)
Chelsea v Newcastle Utd (20/03/06)
Charlton v Middlesbrough (20/03/06) - Paul

City Overcome Villa In Cup Replay
Manchester City scored a last gasp equaliser in their FA Cup 5th Round clash at Villa Park to secure a replay, and they took full advantage of their second chance in the competition, beating Aston Villa 2-0 at Eastlands.

Greek international Georgios Samaras opened the scoring on 17 minutes and his strike partner Darius Vassell doubled the advantage just after half time, dealing a fatal blow to his former club's cup chances.

Aston Villa did pull a goal back late on through Steven Davis and they piled on the pressure during the final minutes but couldn't find an opening to take the game into extra time. Manchester City will now be at home to either West Ham or Bolton Wanderers in the quarter finals. - Paul

League Cup Joy for Manchester United
Manchester United won their first major trophy in 21 months with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Louis Saha flicked a long punt from Edwin van der Sar into his path. Rooney's first touch took the ball too close to the Wigan defenders but De Zeeuw and Chimbonda got in each other's way allowing the England striker to slot home.

The game was wrapped up in a devastating six-minute second-half blitz when Saha, Ronaldo and Rooney again found the net. Saha profited from a pin-point cross by Gary Neville to bundle the ball home at the second attempt after some good work by Ryan Giggs.

The third goal was the result of a dreadful clearance by Stephane Henchoz, who played the ball straight to Louis Saha, who found Ronaldo free on the right. The Portuguese winger fired a crisp shot across goal and into the far corner.

Wigan were still reeling from that double blow when a Giggs free-kick created uncertainty amongst their defenders, who allowed the ball to drop to Rooney on the edge of the six-yard box and the England man was never going to miss form there. - Paul

FA Cup Quarter Finals Draw
The draw has been made for the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup and it's an all-Premiership affair with the last surviving lower division clubs having been knocked out in the fifth round.

Unusually, the fixtures will be played midweek due to the pressure placed on this season's calendar by the World Cup. They take place on the 20th-23rd March.

Charlton Athletic v Middlesbrough
Aston Villa/Man. City v Bolton/West Ham
Chelsea v Newcastle United
Birmingham City v Liverpool - Paul

Premiership Round-Up
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the big match of the weekend, beating Liverpool 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. French defender William Gallas opened the scoring in the 35th minute and Argentine striker Hernan Crespo doubled the lead midway through the second half. Liverpool had goalkeeper Jose Reina sent off late on for a push on Arjen Robben.

The win restored Chelsea's 15 point lead at the top of the Premiership, which had been temporarily cut to 12 points by Manchester United's 4-2 win over Fulham the previous day. Ronaldo (twice), Saha and Park found the net although Van Nistelrooy was offside in the build up to the third goal and Fulham manager Chris Coleman was sent off for his protests at the decision. McBride and Helguson were the Fulham scorers.

Elsewhere, London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal bounced back from recent defeats to keep up the pressure on third placed Liverpool. Spurs easily beat Charlton 3-1 at home whilst Arsenal got a rare win on the road at Birmingham.

UEFA Cup contenders Wigan and Bolton shared the points in a 1-1 draw at the Reebok Stadium and their cause was helped by Blackburn's defeat at West Brom. Aston Villa pulled off an impressive 4-0 win away at struggling Middlesbrough thanks to a Luke Moore hat-trick and Newcastle beat Portsmouth 2-0 at home. Finally, Everton and West Ham had home wins over Manchester City and Sunderland respectively. - Ed.

Spartans into Quarter Final Draw
Edinburgh based East of Scotland League minnows Spartans have made it into the draw for the quarter finals of the Scottish FA Cup after a hard-fought goalless draw against St Mirren. They will be rewarded with an away tie against either Clyde or Gretna if they can come through the replay at St Mirren Park.

The draw is now wide open as both Auld Firm giants have crashed out of the competition. Celtic fell to Clyde in the last round and Rangers were dumped out by Hibernian, who won 3-0 at Ibrox with goals from O'Connor, Sproule and Killen.

Hearts are favourites after they comfortably dispatched Aberdeen 3-0 at Easter Road, Pospisil, Elliot and Pressley getting the goals in the first half. Aside from the two 3-0 wins for the Edinburgh rivals, all other ties require replays so the quarter final line up still has many possible permutations.

Clyde/Gretna v Spartans/St Mirren
Hamilton/Alloa v Airdrie United/Dundee
Falkirk/Ross County v Hibernian
Hearts v Inverness/Partick Thistle - Ed.

Shearer Breaks Milburn's Record
Alan Shearer has finally broken the Newcastle United all time goalscoring record, having been level with Jackie Milburn on 200 goals for the past four weeks.

The striker latched on to Shola Ameobi's backheel to poke the ball home through goalkeeper Dean Kiely's legs in the 64th minute of Newcastle's 2-0 home win over Portsmouth.

Alan Shearer is currently assisting Glenn Roeder as manager of Newcastle in the wake of Graeme Souness' dismissal from the job, although both men have made it clear that they don't want the role on a permanent basis. - Ed.

Arsenal Hit By Defensive Crisis
Arsene Wenger is faced with some massive selection problems this weekend as he struggles to get to grips with the current defensive crisis at the club which has left eight defenders on the sidelines.

Sol Campbell is the latest absentee, having ruled himself out of the reckoning for this weekend's trip to Birmingham. The England centre-half hasn't been seen since he left the ground at half time, having been replaced during Arsenal's defeat by West Ham at Highbury. He is said to have some serious personal problems playing on his mind.

This bombshell came in the same week that fullback Lauren confirmed that he will miss the rest of the season through injury. The Gunners also have two players (Toure and Eboue) still at the African Nations Cup in Egypt, on top of further injuries to Cygan, Cole, Clichy and Gilbert.

The back four against Birmingham is likely to consist of youngsters Djourou, Senderos and Larsson, with Matthieu Flamini playing out of position at fullback.

There may still be a Campbell on show at St Andrew's however, as Birmingham's new signing, striker DJ Campbell is set to make his debut. It remains to be seen whether he can inject some life into Birmingham's miserable season.
- Ed.

Wigan Face United in League Cup Final
Manchester United beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 in Wednesday night's League Cup semi final second leg to win 3-2 on aggregate and set up a clach with Wigan Athletic in the final, which takes place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on the 26th of February.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy gave United an early lead in the eighth minute but they were pegged back by Steven Reid's strike just after the half hour mark and the sides went in level at half time after Van Nistelrooy had his penalty saved by Brad Friedel.

Luis Saha broke the deadlock early in the second half with a smart volley into the corner of the net and United managed to withstand the Blackburn pressure, bringing on Silvestre and Vidic to reinforce the back line.

Wigan Athletic disposed of Arsenal in a dramatic second leg at Highbury. The Gunners looked set for a final appearance when Thierry Henry levelled the tie in the 65th minute and his replacement, Robin Van Persie, looked to have won it with his free kick in the second period of extra time.

However, Wigan never gave up hope of reaching their first major final and they got their reward with only two minutes remaining as on-form striker Jason Roberts capitalised on some sloppy defending to scramble the ball home in front of the ecstatic away supporters. - Ed.

Premiership Round-Up
Manchester United temporarily cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the table to six points when they overcame Aston Villa 2-0 in the early kick off at Villa Park. Van Nistelrooy and Rooney got the goals.

However, the champions soon restored their nine point advantage by winning 2-0 themselves in another heated clash with Arsenal at Highbury. Arjen Robben and Joe Cole were the scorers.

Newcastle and Wigan were the most impressive performers elsewhere, both inspired by hat-tricks from their front men. The Latics are sixth after Henri Camara hit three in their crushing of hapless Charlton and the Magpies are eleventh and level on points with West Ham following their win over the latter. Michael Owen bagged three goals with Alan Shearer getting the other in a 4-2 victory.

Tottenham Hotspur shared six goals with Middlesbrough at the Riverside in an entertaining match and Bolton notched up four of their own at Goodison to put more pressure on struggling Everton.

At the foot of the table, there was no relief for Birmingham, beaten 4-1 at Manchester City. Steve Bruce's team dropped below Portsmouth, who managed a 1-0 win over West Brom in Harry Redknapp's return to Fratton Park. Fulham 2-1 Blackburn was the other result. - Paul

SPL Round-Up
Glasgow Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to four points over Hearts despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Inverness and Caledonian Thistle.

Thistle took an early lead in the Sunday afternoon game at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium when Craig Dargo scored inside the first minute. Hartson equallised for Celtic midway through the first half when the home defenders allowed him far too much time and space in the box.

Gordon Strachan admitted he was happy with the draw, especially as Dargo failed to convert a first-half penalty. The Celtic manager also claimed that the fourth official threatened to send him to the stands for repeatedly 'putting his hands to his head'.

Elsewhere, Rangers made it two in a row with a 1-0 home win over Hearts. Peter Lovenkrands continued in his rich vein of form, scoring the winner on 35 minutes. Third placed Hibs beat Motherwell 2-1, Kilmarnock won away at Falkirk and Aberdeen drew 0-0 again, this time at Livingston. The game between Dundee United and Dunfermline was postponed. - Paul

Portsmouth Want Redknapp Back
Porstmouth chairman Milan Mandaric is reportedly trying to re-sign Harry Redknapp as manager of the club only a year after he left Fratton Park and took over at south coast rivals Southampton.

Redknapp is believed to be keen on the return trip as he has been unsettled at Saint Mary's since the appointment of Sir Clive Woodward as 'Performance Director' last summer.

Redknapp has not yet been given permission to talk to officials from Portsmouth but he may get the opportunity if the two clubs can agree a financial settlement to compensate the Saints for the loss of their manager.

The vacancy at Portsmouth arose when Frenchman Alain Perrin was sacked on the eve of their Premiership clash with Chelsea. Since then, Sheffield United's Neil Warnock, Rangers' Alex McLeish and former Ireland boss Brain Kerr have all been linked with the job. - Paul

Neville to Succeed Roy Keane
England right-back Gary Neville has been confirmed as the new club captain at Manchester United following the departure of Roy Keane. Neville, is one of the longest serving players at the club and has stood in as captain on previous occasions. Manager Alex Ferguson also considered Ryan Giggs and Ruud Van Nistelrooy for the job but plumped for Neville due to the influence and respect he has both on and off the pitch. The thirty year old has played 477 games for United, scoring seven goals. - Paul

Solskjaer to play again?
Could the day every Manchester United supporter dreams of finally be coming over the horizon? It's been 18 months since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pulled on a red shirt in anger and during that period we've been teased by regular reports of an impending comeback but in reality a return to action has never seemed to get any closer for the Norwegian hit man.

His last outing was in the 2004 FA Cup final against Millwall and he will always be remembered for his injury time winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona but unfortunately his last few seasons have been plagued by knee trouble. Now, at 32, the striker could finally be making a comeback in the reserve team on Monday night at Hyde FC's Ewen Fields stadium against Liverpool. - Paul

Roy Keane Leaves United
Manchester United have announced that they are parting company with club captain Roy Keane by mutual consent, thus ending the Irishman's 12 year stay at Old Trafford.

Keane, 34, had previously announced that this would be his final season with the club and recent rumours suggested that he would depart during the January transfer window so the timing of today's announcement comes as a surprise.

It appears that Keane's position at United may have become untenable in the wake of derogatory comments he made about some of his team-mates in an interview with the club's own TV station.

However, other sources suggest that he brought forward his departure date in order to help him secure a longer-term contract at another club, although why he couldn't wait until January remains a mystery.

Could it be that United's American owners, the Glazer family, needed to offload one of the club's high earners to ease the pressure on their loan repayments? Keane, with his recent injury problems and propensity for rocking the boat, would have been an obvious choice. - Paul

Holders Rangers Crash Out in Derby
Glasgow Rangers have gone out of the Scottish League Cup at the quarter-final stage after a 2-0 defeat away to cross town rivals Celtic. Rangers were defending the title they won last year but their recent poor form showed no sign of abating and the pressure on manager Alex McLeish is bound to intensify following this result.

Shaun Maloney broke the deadlock in the 27th minute with a long-range shot that deceived goalkeeper Stefan Klos. Rangers had a handfull of chances to level the scores but Celtic looked the stronger team and the result was never in doubt following the second half dismissal of Sotirios Kyrgiakos. The game was wrapped up on 82 minutes when Bobo Balde helped a Nakamura cross into the net off Stefan Klos. McLeish may now be relying on qualification from his Champions League group to keep him in a job. - Paul

Rix Takes Hearts Job
Heart of Midlothian have unveiled former Chelsea coach Graham Rix as their new manager. Rix, 48, succeeds George Burley in the Tynecastle hot-seat just over two weeks after the former Ipswich and Derby manager was controversially 'sacked' by Lithuanian owner Vladimir Romanov.

Rix takes over a club who are in good shape on the field, currently sharing top spot with Cetlic, but have been beset by backroom upheaval in recent weeks. A director of football will be brought in to oversee the buying and selling of players but Rix will be in charge of coaching and selecting the team.

The appointment received a lukewarm response from the Hearts supporters as several bigger names with more managerial experience had been linked with the post. Rix was sacked within 12 months in his two previous positions as first team manager at Portsmouth and Oxford and he has a conviction for having unlawful sex with an underage girl. - Paul

Beckham wins red card appeal
Real Madrid's David Beckham has had the red card he received in the La Liga match against Valencia rescinded after an appeal to the Spanish Football Federation.

The England captain was booked for dissent by referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez minutes from the end of his side's 2-1 home defeat to Valencia. The dismissal followed seconds later as he emulated Wayne Rooney by applauding the official. However, he did seem to still be reacting to the initial decision and the Spanish FA accepted this explanation and decided only one offence had been committed.

Former Everton midfielder Thomas Gravesen was also harshly sent off in the same game. He received a straight red card for a tackle from behind even though he was in the opposition's half and there were several covering defenders. - Paul

CL: Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
No-body was overly surprised when the Champions League Group G game between Liverpool and Chelsea failed to produce a goal. As expected, the two English sides cancelled each other out and appeared happy to share the points at Anfield. They are now joint top of the group on four points apiece, ahead of Betis who won 1-0 away at Anderlecht.

Glasgow Rangers are now joint second in Group H after they lost out narrowly away at Internazionale behind closed doors in the San Siro. Julio Cruz missed a first half penalty for the Italian side but they did manage to find the net shortly after the break when David Pizarro's free-kick was deflected in. The game finished 1-0 to leave Inter top on six points, three clear of Rangers and Artmedia Bratislava who surprisingly won 3-2 away at Porto. - Paul

CL: English teams lead the way
Both Manchester United and Arsenal are top of their Champions League groups after 2-1 victories in the second round of matches. It's hard to know which of their respective managers, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, will be more relieved as both teams went into the games with extensive injury problems.

Manchester United were particularly hard hit in defence where they were forced to hand a debut to youngster Phil Bardsley and again played Kieron Richardson at left-back. Benfica started confidently, having won their opening group game, and both teams created their fair share of chances in the first half. However, it was United who went in ahead at half time thanks to a deflected Ryan Giggs free-kick. Giggs was making his 100th European appearance.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first although the Portuguese champions seemed to possess more of a cutting edge up front, United's attacks tending to peter out whenever the typically ineffective Ronaldo got possession. Eventually the inevitable happened and the home side's defence was breached by a pinpoint free-kick from Simao after a needless foul from Smith.

To their credit, the United players didn't panic and began to ask the Benfica defence some more searching questions. The final pass was never quite right until Rio Ferdinand got his head onto a corner and diverted the ball straight to a grateful Ruud Van Nistelrooy who tapped in from two yards.

Arsenal looked slightly more comfortable away at Ajax despite a lack of options up front. With Henry and Bergkamp both suffering from injuries and Van Persie suspended the Gunners looked to Reyes and Ljunberg for attacking bite and they were rewarded very early on as the two combined for the Swede to make it 1-0 with a smart finish.

The lead was doubled in the 69th minute when Reyes was brought down in the area by goalkeeper Hans Vonk and Robert Pires converted the penalty. Ajax struck back almost immediately through Markus Rosenberg, slotting home the rebound from a thunderous shot by Galasek but Arsenal were then able to preserve their advantage until the final whistle. - Paul

Title Race Over?
Never before has a Premiership season seemed so uncompetitive so early on in the campaign but football fans all over the country are facing up to the prospect of seven months of tedium after Chelsea set a competition record by winning their first seven league games.

At least the Champions gave everyone else a faint glimmer of hope by finally conceding their first goal of the season, and even going behind at home to Aston Villa, but the lead lasted for barely a minute as Chelsea struck back through a Frank Lampard free kick. The England midfielder also slotted home a second-half penalty to wrap up another three points.

With Arsenal and Liverpool drawing away at West Ham and Birmingham respectively and Manchester United succumbing 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea now find themselves ten points ahead of their expected rivals. Charlton Athletic continue to show everyone else the way and impressed once again making it four out of four on the road with a 2-1 win over West Brom.

Elsewhere, there was a continued improvement from Newcastle for whom Michael Owen scored again in a 1-0 victory over Manchester City. Tottenham and Bolton both moved into the top four, also with 1-0 home wins and Sunderland recorded their first success of the campaign, winning 2-0 in the North East derby at the Riverside. They are replaced at the bottom of the table by hapless Everton, who went down 1-0 at home to Wigan. - Paul

Hearts Maintain 100% Record
Heart of Midlothian preserved their incredible one hundred percent record in the Scottish Premier League this season with a 1-0 win over champions Glasgow Rangers at Tynecastle. Czech striker Roman Bednar scored the goal after 14 minutes to take his side eleven points clear of Rangers.

Glasgow Celtic remain in second spot, having come from behind to beat Inverness and Caledonian Thistle 2-1 thanks to a brace from Craig Beattie. The Bhoys are five points behind leaders Hearts after 8 games. Elsewhere, there were wins for Dunfermline over Dundee United and Hibernian away at Motherwell with the other two games finishing all square. - Paul

Swede is the new turnip
England fans across the country have only one question this morning - 'Sven will he go?' A nation's patience has finally run out for the national team manager after yet another substandard performance by his team. Eriksson has been roundly lambasted by all quarters of the English press for his now customary failure to motivate his players and his apparent inability to influence the course of events on the pitch.

The FA's patience must already be wearing thin due to his off-field antics but any remaining confidence in his managerial skills must have disappeared after this result. A stronger man than Sven would walk away now, but that is unlikely to happen. In the past, the FA have been unable to sack him due to the cost of paying off his contract. Now he's approaching the end of this agreement, surely the time is ripe to replace the man at the root of England's problems. - Paul

Eriksson Must Go
England manager Sven Goran Eriksson must take the brunt of the blame for England's lifeless performance away at Northern Ireland in Belfast. For the third game running, his players failed to create many meaningful opportunities against supposedly weaker opposition.

Take nothing away from the Irish; they battled hard throughout and produced an extremely polished display with some well-organised defending. However, they still found the time to create chances and eventually managed to convert one through David Healy.

Eriksson has clearly gone stale as England manager and his days must surely now be numbered. He has long been criticised for his lack of imagination but the three most recent games have shown just how limited his ability to motivate players and devise tactics really is. As always, the fans have been the real victims and now their trip to Germany next year is in serious jeopardy. There's still time to rectify the situation and I would strongly urge the FA to be proactive for once and make a change at the top before it is too late. - Paul

Wigan add Striking power on deadline day
Republic of Ireland international forward Connolly has joined Wigan from Leicester for £3m.

Wigan fans will have their fingers crossed that Connolly will be able to fire them to Premiership safety. It remains to be seen if he has the quality to succeed in the top flight; but he's surely a better signing than 36 year old Dean Windass would have been!
- Ren

Everton seal van der Meyde transfer
Everton have signed injured Dutch winger Andy van der Meyde for an estimated 2 Million from Inter Milan.

Hopefully he'll get fit soon to help Everton try to repeat their heroics of last season.

- Ren

Arsenal and Sunderland loan swap Poom for Hoyte
Sunderland goalkeeper Mart Poom has joined Arsenal on loan. Going the other way is defender Justin Hoyte, who swaps Highbury for Wearside on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Poom will provide cover and challenge for the Number 1 shirt at Highbury as he recovers from a long term injury. Hoyte will hopefully provide Sunderland with a little more quality at the back as they struggle to stay in the top flight.

- Ren

Spurs look to the Orient as Edman leaves
Spurs have signed Korean left back Lee Young-Pyo from PSV and let Erik Edman leave for Rennes. Erik claims he 'will improve as a player in a good league'.

The Korean Left back featured in the 2002 World Cup and follows Park (Man U) into the Premiership. It will be interesting to see if he can have as bigger impact as Tottenham's previous Asian signings; who can forget 'Kevin'. - Ren

Villa go Dutch and sign Bouma
Wilfred Bouma has signed for Villa for around 3.5 Million. The experience Dutch defender will be a valuable addition to the Villa defence. He is a regular for the Dutch national team and was one of PSV's star mean on their way to last years Champions League semi final. - Ren

Spurs snap up young England star Jenas
Spurs have signed up another young England international, this time Jermaine Jenas from Newcastle for 7 Million. It's expected that the more attack minded Jenas will feature in the middle with either Davids or Carrick. Spurs are now building up quite a squad and should be looking to challenge Liverpool for 4th place.

Having stated at the start of the summer that Jenas was worth no less than 15 Million, Souey has accepted a bid of half that amount. One suspects he may have been in the middle of a drinking session when Tottenham made their bid. Either that or the reduced price may be down to Jenas's claims that Newcastle is like a 'Goldfish Bowl'. It makes you wonder what drugs he's been taking. - Ren

Owen heads to Newcastle
Michael Owen has ended up settling for second best and signing for Newcastle over his preferred Liverpool. However I don't think you'll hear any Geordies complaining, they'll be hoping he can end their current goal drought. What price Owen to finish Premier League top scorer?

Real Madrid will be delighted, having made a profit of around 9 Million in the space of a year. They'd only paid Liverpool around 2 Million of the 8 they owed to date; for a player they only really used as a substitute. - Ren

Man City Top the pile
After the early exchanges in the Premir League season, Manchester City find themselves sitting top of the league. They claimed top spot after their Stuart Pearce inspired team fired their way past pointless Sunderland. With an ever increasing unbeaten run and new boys Cole and Vassell looking sharp, a Wright-Philips-less City could be in for a good season. Things are not looking so rosy for Mick McCarthy's Sunderland side, who must be a hot tip for relegation. - Ren

Celtic's woes continue as SPL kicks off
Gordon Strachan's start as Celtic manager didn't get any better as his team travelled to Motherwell for their Scottish Premier League opening game. Hoping to put their midweek humiliation in Bratislava behind them, the Bhoys led 3-1 at the interval. However, their defensive frailties reappeared in the second period as Motherwell hit back to lead 4-3 with only minutes remaining. Celtic did salvage some pride through a last gasp Craig Beattie equaliser. - Paul

Chelsea, Mourinho, Cole Set To Appeal
All three parties involved in the FA tapping-up enquiry have been found guilty and have received hefty fines. The inquest was held as a result of reports in a national newspaper that a delegation from Chelsea, including manager Jose Mourinho, held an illegal meeting with Arsenal defender Ashley Cole.

Chelsea were fined £300,000 and also received a suspended three point deduction which will take effect should they be found guilty of the same offence during next season. Jose Mourinho received a £200,000 fine and Ashley Cole was ordered to pay £100,000. All three parties have signalled their intention to appeal against the verdict. - Paul

England Tour Deemed a Success
England finished their end-of-season mini tour of the United States with a second successive victory to maintain a 100% record for the trip. Real Madrid marksman Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Colombia to move up to fourth in the all-time ranking of England goalscorers.

England manager Sven Goran Eriksson handed a debut to lofty Southampton striker Peter Crouch and a first start to Fulham defender Zat Knight in a makeshift back four that saw Chelsea's Glen Johnson partner him at centre-back. Norwich City 'keeper Robert Green also won his first cap when he replaced David James at half time.

It proved to be an open, exciting game that completely dispelled the common belief that international friendlies are uniformly dull, tedious affairs. Both teams went for the win and the result was some entertaining, attacking football. England opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Owen and doubled their lead six minutes later when the striker was set up by Crouch.

However, the Colombians managed to pull one back just before half time when PSG defender Yepes headed home. Thirteen minutes into the second half, England restored their two-goal advantage as Owen tucked home a Beckham cross to notch up his 32nd goal for his country. The game wasn't quite safe as the Colombians rallied and pulled another goal back through Ramirez but England were strong enough to hold on until the end. - Paul

Hammers Back in the Big-Time
West Ham United have beaten Preston North End in the Championship play-off final to earn a return to the Premiership after an absence of two seasons.

Alan Pardew's team were the better side throughout the encounter and striker Bobby Zamora scored the solitary goal in the 57th minute to seal victory. Zamora, who had squandered a couple of good chances earlier on, went off injured shortly after, and was followed by goalkeeper James Walker a few minutes from time as Preston pushed for an equaliser.

However, Billy Davis' men were unable to find a way back into the game and once again the sixth placed team in the division has profited from the play-off system. Alan Pardew has already asked the West Ham board for money to invest in new playing staff in a bid to boost his team's chances of Premiership survival next season.

The League One play-off final also involved the fifth and sixth placed teams, but this time it was fifth placed Sheffield Wednesday who prevailed with a 4-2 win over Hartlepool after extra time. In the League Two final, Southend United, who only just missed out on automatic promotion, beat Lincoln City 2-0 after extra time to return to the third level of the pyramid. - Paul

England Win US Tour Opener
Kieran Richardson scored twice in the first half of his England debut to inspire an unfamiliar England side to victory in the opening match of their post season tour.

Sven Goran Eriksson's squad was badly depleted by injuries and player abstentions but they found themselves ahead as early as the fourth minute when Richardson struck home a direct free-kick showing a confidence and maturity beyond his years.

The youngster, who returns to Manchester United having spent the second half of the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, took to international football like a fish to water and bagged a second goal just before half time.

Eriksson's hand was forced yet again early in the second period as more injuries meant both Fulham's Zat Knight and Charlton's Luke Young were handed debuts in a makeshift England back four. They maintained a clean sheet until the 78th minute when Clint Dempsey snatched a goal back to reward the USA for some good attacking football.

The game attracted an impressive crowd of around 45,000 to the Soldier Field in Chicago and presented Sven Goran Eriksson with a useful opportunity to give some fringe players a chance to impress. He will be further heartened by the news that Michael Owen scored in his final game of the season for Real Madrid; both he and David Beckham should be available for Tuesday's friendly against Colombia. - Ed.

Celtic Bounce Back to Win Cup
Glasgow Celtic have bounced back from their dramatic last-minute league title loss to win the Scottish FA Cup in manager Martin O'Neill's last game in charge. He steps down to look after his wife during her battle with cancer. Gordon Strachan takes over the reins for next season.

Celtic took the lead early on in the final against Dundee United, Alan Thompson striking an eleventh minute free-kick that was deflected in off luckless defender Gary Kenneth. Kenneth's afternoon looked like getting even worse when he brought down Craig Bellamy to concede a penalty in the last ten minutes. However, Chris Sutton spurned the opportunity to wrap up the match by spooning the penalty over the bar. Dundee United did hit the bar in the dying seconds but in the end they could do nothing to deny O'Neill the perfect leaving present. - Paul

STOLEN: One Large Silver Cup
South Wales Police are expected to launch a criminal investigation after the FA Cup was taken from its rightful owners whilst on display at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Detectives are said to be hunting a gang a thieves who were known to be operating in the area over the weekend in question. They are also following up a number of leads in North London. The gang, who are known as 'the Gunners', made off with the trophy late on Saturday afternoon, but Police believe that there may have been a large number of witnesses.

The events followed one of the most one-sided cup finals in the long history of the competition. Manchester United dominated their over-awed southern rivals from start to finish and throughout extra time but were unable to find the net. Alex Ferguson's side set up camp deep inside the Arsenal half and laid siege to their goal, applying more concentrated pressure than a sumo wrestler in stilettos.

Playing beautiful, flowing football, the men in black surged forward again and again but wave after wave of attack was repelled, more by luck than judgement and the Arsenal goal continued to lead a charmed life. United were denied repeatedly by a combination of poor finishing and misfortune, twice striking woodwork.

Blundering Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehman was caught in no-man's land on several occasions as the ball flew back and forth across his goalmouth, a peerless Wayne Rooney ever at the heart United's best work. What finer sight to behold than this young buck in full flight? Now a leaping gazelle, now a charging rhino, a touch of magic, a burst of strength, running, dancing, slicing majestically through the Arsenal defence. Alas, twas not his day and the match was doomed to conclude with that abhorrent lottery, the shoot-out at twelve yards. - Paul

Preston join Hammers in Play-off Final
Preston North End held off Derby County to preserve their 2-0 lead from the first leg and reach the Championship play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Lillywhites arrived at Pride Park with a two-goal advantage thanks to strikes from Nugent and Cresswell at Deepdale on Sunday but they faced a Derby side buoyed by the news that Polish striker Rasiak and Spanish midfielder Idiakez were back from injury.

The Rams had the better of the first period but failed to convert any of the chances that came their way and became increasingly frustrated as the game wore on. Their golden opportunity came 10 minutes from time when Rasiak earned a dubious penalty but he struck a post from the spot and the chance was gone.

Preston's opponents in Cardiff will be West Ham United, who earned a fantastic victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road thanks to a brace from Bobby Zamora. Alan Pardew's men had led 2-0 in the first leg but were pegged back to 2-2 and looked to be facing a daunting task in East Anglia. However, they excelled themselves on the night and are only 90 minutes away from a return to the big time. - Paul

Spurs chances of europe via the Fair Play League
Spurs fans will be biting their finger nails when the fair play draw is held at UEFA HQ. The are the UK entrants as the best behaved team not to already have qualified for Europe. Arsenal won the fair play league in the UK but play in next years Champions League.

Norway head the provisional UEFA Fair Play rankings, based on all UEFA competition matches played at club and national team level between 1 June and 31 March 2005.

Norway will receive an additional place in the first qualifying round of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup. Behind the leaders, several countries are in contention for the two other UEFA Cup berths on offer via the Fair Play table.

To be entered in the fair play draw a nation needs an eight-point average when the rankings are finalised at the end of the season. This will determine which two countries will be entitled, together with the outright winner, to enter an additional team for next season's UEFA Cup.

It appears 6 countries will feature in the draw as they currently all have an 8 point average: France, Germany, England, Estonia, Sweden and Denmark.

Therefore each country has a 1 in 3 chance of gaining an extra UEFA Cup place.
- James

FA Cup: United - Arsenal final
The favourites triumphed in the two FA Cup semi finals to set up a mouth-watering final in Cardiff on the 21st of May.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal brushed aside an overly physical Blackburn team to book their place in English football's showpiece event. Robert Pires put the Gunners ahead in the first half and substitute Robin Van Persie made the game safe with two excellent late strikes.

They were joined in the final by Manchester United, who had an equally comfortable victory against Newcastle. Ruud Van Nistelrooy re-found his scoring touch and Paul Scholes, with a header and Cristiano Ronaldo wrapped up the tie. Shola Ameobi had briefly given the Magpies hope when he slotted the ball home to make it 3-1. - Paul

Toffees Dent Palace Survival Hopes
David Moyes' Everton turned around their recent poor form to convincingly dispatch hapless Crystal Palace and give their Champions League bid a much needed shot in the arm.

It was a poor first half in which Mikael Arteta's early strike was one of the few talking points. Palace never got out of the starting blocks in the second period and were soon dead and buried after a quick brace from Tim Cahill. Youngster James Vaughan then made history by becoming the youngest ever Premiership goalscorer, making it 4-0 on his debut.

The Eagles missed an opportunity to move out of the relegation zone, falling another point behind West Bromwich Albion, who salvaged a late draw at Aston Villa. - Paul

Bhoys reach Cup final
Glasgow Celtic have booked their place in the Scottish Cup final, where they will face relegation threatened Dundee United at Hampden Park on the 28th May.

Martin O'Neill's team took a very early lead through Chris Sutton and added a second early in the second half through Welshman Craig Bellamy. However, a spirited fight-back in the last half hour saw Hearts make it a tense finish as substitute Cesnauskis pulled one back. The Bhoys weathered the storm and will be strong favourites for the final. - Paul

Premiership Round-Up
Chelsea suffered a scare at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Birmingham City went ahead through Uruguayan Walter Pandiani and held on to their advantage until the last 10 minutes. Didier Drogba eventually salvaged a point.

Arsenal moved clear in second place, a Robert Pires strike giving them a 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough. This allowed them to capitalise on Manchester United's slip-up at Carrow Road, where they went down 2-0 to Norwich City who now have a glimmer of hope in their fight against relegation. - Paul

Heskey Earns Recall
Birmingham City striker Emile Heskey has had his rich vein of form rewarded with a recall to the England set-up as Sven Goran Eriksson named his squad to face Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan in World Cup qualifiers.

The full squad is:
GOALKEEPERS: James, Robinson, Green.
DEFENDERS: Terry, Ferdinand, Carragher, King, Cole, Neville G, Neville P, Brown.
MIDFIELDERS: Downing, Hargreaves, Cole, Beckham, Jenas, Dyer, Gerrard, Lampard.
FORWARDS: Owen, Rooney, Johnson, Heskey, Defoe. - Paul

Premiership Round-Up
Chelsea maintained their eleven point lead at the top of the Premiership with a convincing win over struggling Crystal Palace. Goals from Lampard, Cole and a brace from Kezman wrapped up a 4-1 home win after Riihilahti briefly made it 1-1.

Earlier, Arsenal battled to a 1-0 win at Ewood Park in a dress rehearsal for the upcoming FA Cup semi final against Blackburn Rovers. Robin Van Persie got the goal. Manchester United won by the same score against Fulham thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo strike.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Bolton and Tottenham over Norwich and Manchester City. Portsmouth held Newcastle United to a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park. - Paul

Keegan Quits Shock
Serial quitter Kevin Keegan has walked out of yet another high profile managerial post. Keegan, who is known throughout the football world as a genuine, honest bloke, had previously announced that he would leave Manchester City at the end of next season.

However, Keegan, who is nothing if not honest, parted company with the club following a home defeat to rivals Bolton that all but ended their hopes of European qualification. Stuart Pearce is likely to take over the reins on a caretaker basis but a whole host of big names have yet to cast their hats into the ring for this challenging vacancy. - Paul

Chelsea and Liverpool Lead the Way
English hopes in Europe will be carried into the Champions League Quarter Finals by Chelsea and Liverpool after Manchester United and Arsenal crashed out.

Also through are Juventus, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, PSV, Lyon and the winners of the Internazionale-FC Porto second leg. The draw will take place on the 18th March with ties being played on the 5/6th and 12/13th of April.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough continue the English challenge in the UEFA Cup with ties against Olympiakos and Sporting Clube respectively. - Paul

Beattie opts for Goodison
The football transfer window has reopened and Premiership clubs are already wheeling and dealing. The biggest move so far is that of Southampton's James Beattie to Everton subject to a medical.

The 26 year old is expected to sign a four and a half year contract and will cost around £6 million. Southampton are attempting to bolster their squad by bringing in former Everton players Abel Xavier and Alex Nyarko.

Earlier, Newcastle United made the most expensive move so far by splashing out around £8 million on defender Jean-Alain Boumsong from Glasgow Rangers. He will be joined at St James' Park by Celestine Babayaro, who moves from Chelsea. - Paul

Chelsea survive Arsenal test
Jose Mourinho's championship challenge survived its latest and toughest test to date as his Chelsea team came through their trip to Highbury unscathed despite a thorough examination in the second half.

Arsenal came flying out of the blocks and took the lead early on as Henry instinctively fired in a Jose Reyes knockdown. However, the Blues overcame their jittery start and equalised through John Terry, who nodded in his third Premiership goal of the season from a corner.

Arsenal then regained the lead through a hotly disputed free-kick to take a 2-1 advantage into the interval. Robert Pires appeared to dive just outside the Chelsea box and Henry struck the ball into the net as 'keeper Petr Cech was still lining up his wall, having been given permission to take the kick by referee Graham Poll.

The Gunners had the better of the second half and Thierry Henry missed a gilt-edged chance to win it but in the end, Arsenal's weakness defending set pieces let them down again and Eidur Gudjohnsen headed another equaliser.

Chelsea are now 4 points clear of Everton, who beat Liverpool 1-0. Manchester United failed to make up any ground as they were held 1-1 by Fulham. - Paul

United draw Chelsea after Arsenal Win
Manchester United's reserve team overcame Arsenal's spirited youngsters in the League Cup Quarter Final clash at Old Trafford.

A goal from Frenchman David Bellion after only 18 seconds decided the game as both Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger fielded second string players.

Elsewhere, Liverpool saw off Spurs on penalties after two goals in extra-time made it 1-1 at White Hart Lane. Chelsea beat Fulham 2-1 and Watford stunned Portsmouth 3-0 at Vicarage Road.

Chelsea face Manchester United and Liverpool play Watford in the semi finals, which take place over two legs in January. - Paul

United through in Champions League
Manchester United have qualified for the last sixteen of the Champions League thanks to a 2-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais at Old Trafford with goals from Gary Neville and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Liverpool and Arsenal both suffered setbacks in their quest for European success. Rafael Benitez's outfit came unstuck in Monaco where they were beaten by Javier Saviola's disputed goal and Arsenal could only draw at PSV. The Gunners will be without Lauren and Vieira for their final group game after both were shown red cards.

Chelsea played out a dull goalless draw at home to Paris-Saint-Germain, having already qualified for the next round. Celtic did their hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup no harm by drawing 1-1 against Barcelona in the Camp Nou. John Hartson cancelled out Samuel Eto'o's opener. - Paul

Redknapp Quits Pompey
Harry Redknapp has quit as manager of Portsmouth following a period of intense speculation over his future at the club prompted by the appointment of Velimir Zajec as executive director.

Redknapp had spoken out against the proposed appointment and was known to be unhappy that chairman Milan Mandaric went ahead with it, although he denies that his decision to quit had anything to do with the boardroom situation.

Redknapp's assistant Jim Smith has also left the club and the two have already been linked with several other vacancies. - Paul

LEADERS DROP POINTS
The gap between the league leaders and the rest of the pack narrowed in both England and Scotland this weekend, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Celtic all failing to win.

Chelsea lost their 100% home record to a dogged Bolton side who refused to give up, even when faced with a two-goal deficit. Duff and Tiago gave the Blues a seemingly comfortable lead, but Wanderers fought back through a Kevin Davies header and snatched an unlikely point thanks to Jaidi's last-gasp strike.

Arsenal also squandered a lead to be held at home, this time by struggling West Brom. 'Keeper Russell Hoult let a Robert Pires shot squirm into the net early in the second half but the Baggies displayed a new-found resilience and equalised through substitute Robert Earnshaw.

The Gunners remain two points adrift go Chelsea, with Everton a further two points back, having beaten Fulham 1-0.

At Ibrox, Rangers won the third Auld Firm derby of the season 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from a Nacho Novo penalty and Dado Prso. In an ill-tempered affair, Celtic were forced to complete the game with nine men after the dismissals of Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton. - Paul

International Friendlies
Both England and Scotland were outclassed by European opposition in this week's international friendlies.

Sven Goran Eriksson fielded a strong team against Spain in Madrid but his players looked lethargic and uninterested, managing only one goal attempt.

The Spaniards took the lead after nine minutes when Athletic Bilbao's Asier Del Horno headed in a corner would have had a second but for a fine save by Paul Robinson from Raul's penalty.

Wayne Rooney was replaced before the half time interval as he increasingly flirted with a second yellow card and from that point on the game became a tedious stop-start affair punctuated by volleys of racist abuse whenever a black player got the ball.

It was a thoroughly depressing night all round as Scotland went down 4-1 to Sweden at Easter Road. Marcus Allback scored twice before Elmander and Berglund got two in a minute to quell any thoughts of a comeback. James McFadden's penalty proved scant consolation.

The previous night the Republic of Ireland had had a much more enjoyable time, beating Croatia 1-0 in Dublin thanks to a Robbie Keane goal. - Paul

League Cup Quarter Finals
The draw has been made for the quarter finals of the League Cup. The ties will be played on the 30th of November and the 1st of December.

Watford v Portsmouth
Tottenham v Liverpool
Fulham v Chelsea
Manchester United v Arsenal - Paul

CARLING CUP 4th ROUND DRAW
Ties to be played on the 9th and 10th of November:

Burnley v Tottenham
Nottingham. Forest v Fulham
Newcastle United v Chelsea
Liverpool v Middlesbrough
Watford v Southampton
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
Arsenal v Everton
Cardiff City v Portsmouth - Ed

LEAGUE CUP ROUND-UP
Two fantastic nights of League Cup action contributed to a memorable midweek of British football action. The highlights were Burnley's shock 3-1 victory over Premiership Aston Villa and Tottenham's 4-3 extra-time win over Bolton.

Manchester United fielded some of the more peripheral squad players in their 3-0 victory over Crewe and Arsenal dispatched Manchester City despite picking a virtual youth team eleven. Elsewhere, there were shocking scenes at two games in London where violence once again reared its ugly head.

Liverpool's 3-0 win at Millwall was marred by angry scenes as Red's fans reacted to chants about the Hillsborough disaster and there was more trouble at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea overcame West Ham 1-0.

Plucky Colchester came close to claiming another Premiership scalp as they ran struggling Southampton close at St Mary's, eventually succumbing 3-2.

In Scotland there was Premier League action and a real thriller at Celtic Park where the champions lost for the first time this season, going down 3-2 to third placed Aberdeen. Rangers remain second after beating Dunfermline. - Paul

World Cup Qualifiers
The big match of the weekend was the eagerly anticipated England - Wales clash at Old Trafford. The countries hadn't faced each other for 20 years - since the demise of the annual Home Nations Tournament.

England lived up to their status as firm favourites by starting strongly and took the lead through a deflected Frank Lampard shot after only 3 minutes. For a while an avalanche of goals seemed likely to follow but the Welsh defended resolutely and held out until half time.

The second half was a much tighter affair with England threatening periodically on the breakaway. In the end, it took a wonder goal from David Beckham to put the result beyond doubt, although he later blotted his copy book by getting booked and fracturing his ribs in a clumsy challenge.

England now top the group ahead of Poland. Wales are on two points, level with Northern Ireland, who drew 0-0 away in Azerbaijan.

Scotland suffered a morale-sapping 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Norway and their day was further soured by the sending off of James McFadden. The Republic of Ireland gained a creditable 0-0 draw with France in Paris. - Paul

TRANSFERS: Boro spending continues
Middlesbrough continue to be the most active british club in this summer's transfer market. The Teesiders have now completed the signings of Michael Reiziger, Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Boudewijn Zenden and Geremi are expected to follow from Chelsea although details of these deals have not yet been finalised. Michael Ricketts has left to join Leeds and Juninho is in talks with Celtic.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa have agreed to take Chelsea's Carlton Cole on a season long loan, and Jesper Gronkjaer has snubbed Sevilla in favour of Birmingham. Leeds United's Danny Mills is close to agreeing terms with Manchester City. - Paul

Hibs crash out of Europe
It was an unsuccessful pre-season sojourn to Lithuania for Hibernian as their European campaign came to an end almost before it had begun.

The Edinburgh club entered the Intertoto cup, having finished 8th in the Scottish Premier League. They were hopeful that it could lead to an eventual place in the UEFA Cup but Lithuanians FK Vetra proved too strong an opponent.

1-1 was always going to be a difficult result to improve upon away from home so early on in the season, and although Hibs gave it their best shot, a Vasiliauskas goal mid-way through the second half sent Vetra through 2-1 on aggregate. - Paul

Santini is new Spurs Boss
Three quarters of a year after sacking Glenn Hoddle, Tottenham have finally found a new manager. The board promised to engage a big name and eventually they delivered. Current France manager Jacques Santini will take over after guiding his country through Euro 2004.

Santini will have spent two years as the French national team manager following a successful spell at Olympique Lyonnais. A former St Etienne player, he guided the Lyon club to their first ever League Cup and championship wins and laid the foundations of a team that would come to dominate French football. - Ed

Queiroz Returns to Old Trafford
Sacked Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz is set to resume his former role as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United. He'll sign a three year contract which will make him a likely candidate to eventually succeed Sir Alex in the Old Trafford hot-seat.

Queiroz, who had previously been linked with Spurs, left United this time last year to take the reigns in the Spanish capital. However, his year in Madrid was unsuccessful and he was recently replaced. Walter Smith served as United's assistant manager for the second half of last season but has now left the club. - Ed

Mourinho in at Chelsea
Jose Mourinho has been unveiled as the new manager of Chelsea. The former FC Porto boss takes over having achieved everything he could in the Portuguese game and only a week after winning the Champions League.

His predecessor, Claudio Ranieri, has been linked with Tottenham and Spanish champions Valencia, who parted company with their coach Rafael Benitez yesterday. - Paul

United sign Smith
Manchester United have signed Leeds United and England striker Alan Smith for £7 Million.

Smith, 23, will face stiff competition for a place in United's starting line-up. Van Nistelrooy, Saha, Solskjaer, Forlan and Bellion are already at the club, although one or more of these may leave in the summer.

Relegated Leeds United have received £6 million straight up plus 21 year old Danny Pugh, a defender who has been on the fringe of the full Manchester United squad. - Ed

England Squad Announced
Sven Goran Eriksson has announced the 23 players who will travel to Portugal for Euro 2004.

Goalkeepers: David James, Paul Robinson, Ian Walker.

Defenders: Ashley Cole, Wayne Bridge, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Sol Campbell, John Terry, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King.

Midfielders: David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Kieron Dyer, Joe Cole.

Forwards: Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney, Darius Vassell. - Ed

Larsson Makes Emotional Exit
Swedish striker Henrick Larsson left Celtic Park on a high as he scored twice against Dundee United to hand the Scottish champions a 2-1 victory.

Later on he was reduced to tears by the reception he received from the Celtic fans as they thanked him for his contribution to the club's recent successes.

Larsson's final appearance in a Celtic shirt will come in the Scottish cup final against Dunfermline at Hampden Park. He'll then go on to play at Euro 2004 before winding down his career at an as yet unknown club. - Ed

Robinson leads Leeds exodus
England reserve goalkeeper Paul Robinson has become the first player to leave relegated Leeds United, having agreed a deal with managerless Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs have begun a squad overhaul by releasing their two reserve 'keepers as well as injury-prone veterans Darren Anderton, Christian Ziege and Gustavo Poyet. - Paul

Arsenal Win Premiership
The Gunners have taken the Premiership trophy back to North London without losing a game. Their 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane against old rivals Spurs was enough to secure the championship with four games to spare.

Arsenal have already sent out a warning to their rivals by signing Feyenoord striker Robin van Persie. Arsene Wenger intends to strengthen the squad in order to try and retain the Premiership title for the first time. - Ed.

Henry wins another award.
Arsenal's Thierry Henry has won the PFA's Player of the Season award for a second successive year.

Frank Lampard gained second place and Steven Gerrard came in third.

Chelsea's Scott Parker picked up the young player's award ahead of team-mate John Terry. - Ed

Celtic Secure Championship
Glasgow Celtic have won the Scottish League with several games to spare. A 1-0 win at Kilmarnock was enough to secure the title thanks to a Stilian Petrov goal.

The Bhoys will not complete the campaign undefeated, however, as they lost to Aberdeen in their next game - the end of a 77 match unbeaten run at Celtic Park. - Paul

Linfield win Irish League
Linfield secured the Daily Mirror Irish League Premier Division title with a 2-1 win over Glentoran.

Glentoran will play Coleraine in the cup final on Saturday the 1st May. - Paul

Players' Player Vote
The nominees for the PFA Player of the Season have been announced. They are current holder Thierry Henry, his Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira, Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jay-Jay Okocha.

The players shortlisted for the Young Player of the Season award are: John Terry, Glen Johnson, Scott Parker, Wayne Rooney, Kolo Toure and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The winners will be announced on the 25th April. - Paul

Kirkland out for season
It has been confirmed that Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland will miss the rest of the season through injury.

He is also likely to miss out on a place at Euro 2004 which means that Sven Goran Eriksson will have to find another reserve goalkeeper to take to Portugal as cover for David James and Paul Robinson. - Paul

Marshall denies Barca
Rookie Celtic goalkeeper David Marshall was the star of the show as the Bhoys saw off wave after wave of Barcelona pressure to book a place in the UEFA Cup quarter finals. Celtic held a one goal advantage from the first leg in Glasgow but had their work cut out to keep a clean sheet against La Liga's form team.

The Catalans set out to attack from the off and fielded a team full of exciting talent including World Cup star Ronaldinho. However, Celtic had eleven heroes on the field and soaked up wave after wave of pressure. Slovakian centre-half Stanislav Varga was a tower of strength and Stilian Petrov worked tirelessly in midfield.

The 0-0 scoreline was thoroughly deserved and Celtic will face another Spanish side, Villareal in the quarter finals.

Gerard Houllier's position at Liverpool has been made even more uncertain after the Reds lost their last chance of gaining any silverware this season. 1-1 after the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool started well and went ahead through Emile Heskey but were undone when Igor Biscan gave away a penalty for pulling Steve Marlet's shorts.

The offence appeared to take place outside the area so the resultant penalty was a bit harsh, but as Biscan was the last man, he had to go. Drogba converted the spot kick and Meite scored in the second half to send Marseille through.

Newcastle completed the formality of their second leg against Real Mallorca. Already 4-1 up, they ran out 3-0 winners in the Balearics to set up a tie with Bobby Robson's old club PSV Eindhoven. - Paul

Honours even at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea and Arsenal drew 1-1 in their Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg.

Eidur Gudjohnsen capitalised on a Jens Lehmann error early in the second half to give Chelsea the lead, but Robert Pires headed in an equaliser six minutes later to give Arsenal a valuable away goal.

Marcel Desailly will miss the second leg after a picking up a foolish yellow card for impeding the Arsenal goalkeeper. This led to his dismissal when he later mistimed a challenge on compatriot Patrick Vieira.

Arsenal did not escape unscathed however, as Ashley Cole will miss this weekend's clash with Manchester United. Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires are also doubtful. - Paul

Arsenal beat Chelsea to extend lead at the top
LONDON, Feb 21 (SW)- Arsenal have extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to 7 points after beating Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Second place Manchester United were held to a 1-1 at home with Leeds.

Arsenal's unbeaten start to the league season run has been increased to 26 games, as the Gunners came from behind to see of 3rd placed Chelsea.

Arsenal got off to the worst possible start when after just 27 seconds, Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen put Chelsea ahead after firing home from inside the box.

However an inspired Arsenal side led by captain Patrick Vieira equalised on fifteen minutes, Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp sliding a pass through for the captain to fire home his first goal of the season.

Just six minutes later, a goalkeeping error from Chelsea's Neil Sullivan allowed Brazilian midfielder Edu to stroke home his fifth goal of the season.

Both defences restricted the attackers to minimal second half chances but Cheslea hopes were thrashed when in the 60th minute, goalscorer Eidur Gudjohnsen was sent off for his second bookable offence after bringing down Arsenal's 18 year old defender Gael Clichy. The Icelandic striker was earlier booked for diving in the penalty area.

Arsenal saw off some late pressure from Chelsea's ten men to claim all three points away from home and to extend their lead over their London rivals to 9 points.

At Old Trafford, second placed Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw with 19th placed Leeds United. Leeds had to field their 18 year old goalkeeper Scott Carson who had previously only paid for one minute in the Premier League. Carson managed to keep a first half clean sheet but was eventually beaten by England midfielder Paul Scholes after 64 minutes. It appeared at this stage as if the floodgates would open for the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs but instead it was Leeds who scored the next goal just three minutes after going behind. Alan Smith scored the crucial goal which gives Leeds survival hopes renewed enthusiasm; his powerful header beating Tim Howard.

Arsenal are now seven points clear of second placed Manchester with the teams now in the final third of the season.

Scott Stephens (London, 21.02.04) -

United see off City in Manchester derby
Manchester United are through to the FA Cup 5th round after seeing off local rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford.

United overcame the first half dismissal of defender Gary Neville to eventually run out 4-2 winners.
After 34 minutes, England international Paul Scholes put United ahead inn his 400th appearance for the club. A low cross by Ryan Giggs troubled the City defence and Scholes was on hand to poke home the first goal of the game.
Then on 38 minutes, a clear dive in the penalty area by United's Gary Neville, immediately followed by a frustrated head butt on ex-Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman resulted in a yellow then a red card for the defender.

Mid way through the second half Manchester City squandered two very good chances and couldn't make their one man advantage tell. On 70 minutes, a Ronaldo cross was driven home from very close range by Ruud van Nistelrooy and just two minutes later, it was Ronaldo scoring from close range at the back post to extend United's advantage even further.

On 77 minutes, City defender Michael Tarnat gave his side a glimmer of home when he struck home from inside the box to make the score 3-1 but only two minutes later, another very close range effort by United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy finished the game as a contest. There was still however for Robbie Fowler to hit a well placed free kick home with four minutes to play to make the shoreline look slightly more presentable at 4-2, but it was the red half of Manchester's day.

Scott Stephens (London, 14.02.04) -

Arsenal claim a club record; Man Utd. stay second
LONDON, Feb 7 (SW) - Arsenal have achieved a new club record after going 24 games league games unbeaten since the start of the season after claiming a 3-1 away win at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Manchester let a three goal lead slip but clinched a late winner against Everton to run out 4-3 winners.

Arsenal maintained their two point gap over second place Manchester United after a well fought out away win on a very bad Molineux pitch. Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp gave the gunners an early lead after 9 minutes with an accurate drive past Wolvers goalkeeper Paul Jones. Wolves equalised midway through the first thanks to a goal by Romanian striker Vio Ganea.

However, Arsenal dominated the second half and two goals in the space of 5 minutes by Thierry Henry and Kolo Toure assured that Arsenal's unbeaten status in the league was preserved.

At Goodison Park, Manchester United displayed a degree of defensive weakness after letting a 3-0 half time lead slip. Two first half goals by Louis Saha and one by Ruud van Nistelrooy appeared to have given Alex Ferguson's side a very healthy advantage. However, three second half goals by David Unsworth, Kevin Kilbane and a John O'Shea own goal meant that for the first time in his managerial career, Alex Ferguson ad seen his team squander a three goal lead. With Everton pressing for a very unlikely victory, Ruud van Nistelrooy sneaked in at the far post in the 89th minute to claim all three points as Manchester United remain two points behind leaders Arsenal.

In another seven goal thriller, Tottenham Hotspur who were on the wrong end of a 4-3 result in midweek, had a reversal of fortunes as they claimed a 4-3 victory at home to lowly Porstmouth. Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet claimed the winning goal in last minute of the game.

In today's other games, League Cup Finalists Bolton drew 2-2 with Liverpool in a very tough game for both sides. Aston Villa condemned Leeds United to their seventh straight Premiership defeat leaving them firmly rooted to the bottom of the league. Blackburn won 1-0 away at Middlesbrough and Newcastle claimed a solid 3-1 home win against Leicester City. In the only scoreless game of the day, Southampton and Fulham battled out a 0-0 draw.

Scott Stephens (London, 07.02.04)
-

Transfer Window Closes
The European transfer window closed with a flurry of activity in the Premiership.

The biggest move of the day saw West Ham's Jermaine Defoe sign for Tottenham in a player plus cash deal. Bobby Zamora and the princely sum of £7 million went in the opposite direction.

Other permanent deals saw Blackburn's Martin Taylor move to Birmingham City and Huddersfield striker Jonathan Stead join the Ewood Park club.

Most moves were short-term however, with Leeds' Michael Bridges joining Newcastle United until the end of the season and Stephen Caldwell making a similar move in the other direction. DR Congo striker Lomana Tresor Lua Lua has also left Newcastle, in search of first team football at Portsmouth, who also snapped up Leicester City's John Curtis.

Middlesbrough strengthened their midfield with Brazilian international Ricardinho and Charlton took on Arsenal youngster Jerome Thomas. Derby County made a heavy loss on winger Lee Morris who moved to Leicester for a nominal fee. - Ed.

Ferguson Signs New Contract
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has joined star striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in signing a new deal at Old Trafford.

Fergie has agreed a new one-year rolling contract, which will be renewed each season, despite the attempts by Irishmen John Magnier and JP McManus to block the move.

Van Nistelrooy's deal keeps him at the club until June 2008 and midfielder Nicky Butt will also be staying put for the time being as he has decided to stay and fight for his place despite interest from Birmingham City. - Paul

Bolton into Carling Cup Final
Bolton Wanderers have reached the League Cup final after surviving a scare in the second leg of their semi against Aston Villa.

Wanderers, who led 5-2 from the first match, fell behind early on to a Thomas Hitzlsperger free-kick as Villa set out to cut the deficit. However, their task became all the more difficult when Gavin McCann was sent of after 40 minutes for violent conduct.

To their credit, Villa never gave up and came within one goal of forcing extra-time when J Lloyd Samuel struck with two minutes remaining. Nevertheless, Bolton held out to book their day out at the Millenium Stadium.

STOP PRESS: They will have to wait to discover the identity of their opponents because the Middlesbrough - Arsenal semi-final second leg has been postponed due to bad weather. - Paul

Arsenal Sign Reyes
Arsenal have completed the signing of Spanish international winger Jose Antonio Reyes from Sevilla for a reported £20 million.

The twenty year old left-sided player is Arsenal's record signing and will wear the number nine shirt. He could even make his debut in this weekend's match against Manchester City.

The move brings in some much needed cash for the Spanish club and bolsters Arsenal's attacking options. Reyes will be eligible to play in this seasons Champions League. - Paul

FA Cup Fourth Round Draw
The draw has been made for the fourth round of the FA Cup and there are some big ties ahead. The most eye-catching fixture is at Highbury where Chelsea must visit Arsenal, their nemesis in the cup for the past three seasons.

Another derby clash will be the order of the day if Manchester City overcome Spurs in a replay - the winners travel to Old Trafford.

Minnows Swansea didn't receive a glamorous tie as a reward for their third round heroics, but they will have a chance to progress further against Tranmere Rovers.

Conference side Telford will get a home tie against Burnley, if they can get past Millwall, and plucky Colchester will travel to Sheffield United if they can dispose of Coventry.

Sunderland v Birmingham, Liverpool v Portsmouth and Everton or Fulham v West Ham complete the draw. The matches will be played on the weekend of the 14th and 15th of February. - Paul

Sanchez gets Northern Ireland job
Lawrie Sanchez has been appointed new manager of Northern Ireland. The former striker won a handful of caps for the country during his playing career, which reached its peak when he headed the winning goal in the 1987 FA Cup final for Wimbledon against Liverpool.

He gained managerial experience at Wycombe Wanderers, with whom he enjoyed more cup success including some memorable giant-killing feats. He beat Dunfermline manager Jimmy Nicholl to the job. - Paul

LDV Vans Trophy
Colchester United stormed back from two goals down away at Northampton Town to earn a place in the Southern Section final. A hat trick from Scott McGleish, including an extra-time silver goal winner booked the U's a place against local rivals Southend United in an all-Essex final. The Shrimpers convincingly beat QPR 4-0.

The Northern Section final will be between Blackpool, who beat Halifax 3-2, and Sheffield Wednesday, who beat Scunthorpe 4-0. - Paul

UNITED SIGN SAHA
Manchester United have bought Fulham's Luis Saha for a fee that will reportedly rise to £12 million. The striker's move is subject to a successful medical examination and he is said to be delighted at the prospect of joining the champions.

Saha's arrival is a much needed boost to United's attacking options and provides cover for Ruud Van Nistelrooy in case of injury. The Frenchman is similar in style to Thierry Henry, with scintillating pace and an eye for goal. - Paul

FA Cup Replays
There were two major cup shocks on Tuesday night as Division Two side Tranmere Rovers beat Premiership Bolton Wanderers 2-1 after extra time and Third Division Northampton Town put out First Division Rotherham, also 2-1, to set up a dream tie at home to Manchester United.

Colchester United went through 2-1 winners against Accrington Stanley and were joined in the 4th round by Scunthorpe, Wimbledon, Wolves and Preston.

On Wednesday night, Chelsea beat Watford 4-0 thanks to a brace from Adrian Mutu and goals by Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen. Manchester City put out Leicester and Scarborough beat Southend United. - Paul

Christmas Holiday Action
The games over the Christmas holiday period saw some significant developments at the top of the Premiership, with Manchester United and Arsenal pulling away from third placed Chelsea.

United and Arsenal both took maximum points from their two matches - United beating Everton 3-2 at Old Trafford and winning 1-0 away at Middlesbrough. For their part, the Gunners comfortably dispatched Wolves at Highbury before outplaying Southampton in a 1-0 victory.

The big shock of the festive programme came at The Valley where Charlton Athletic destroyed an out of sorts Chelsea 4-1. The blues recovered to beat Portsmouth at home two days later but the set-back may prompt Roman Abramovich to open his cheque book when the transfer window reopens in January.

At the other end of the table, Wolves beat Leeds to narrow the gap between the bottom two, and Tottenham dropped into the relegation zone after successive defeats. - Paul

United Number One At Christmas
Manchester United beat Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane to overtake Arsenal and Chelsea at the top of the Premiership. First half goals from John O'Shea and Ruud Van Nistelrooy put the visitors ahead but Spurs came back strongly in the last half hour and pulled a goal back through Gustavo Poyet.

United are a point clear of both their championship rivals after Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Bolton. Chelsea beat neighbours Fulham 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hernan Crespo. - Paul

Eight Month Ban For Rio
Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand has been hit by an eight-month ban from football as a result of his missed drugs test in September.

The FA disciplinary panel decided on the punishment after a two-day hearing in Bolton. The ban is due to start on the 12th of January, although the player has 14 days in which to launch an appeal.

Manchester United have indicated their intention to contest the verdict and are said to be shocked at the harshness of the punishment. Previous drugs offenders in football have been treated far more leniently and it seems that the FA have sought to make an example of Ferdinand. - Paul

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw
The draw has been made for the third round of the FA Cup, which will be played on the first weekend of January.

The most intriguing tie sees struggling Liverpool travel to Yeovil to take on the newly promoted Somerset club, who have a history of giant killing.

Only two non-league teams remain in the competition. Telford United have been handed a tough away draw at Crewe Alexandra whilst Accrington Stanley will be at home to Colchester, if they can overcome Bournemouth in a replay.

There are five all-Premiership ties: Aston Villa v Manchester United, Leeds United v Arsenal, Southampton v Newcastle, Birmingham v Blackburn and Manchester City v Leicester City.

Big spending Chelsea travel to Watford and neighbours Fulham take on Cheltenham. Another giants v minnows affair is Sunderland v Hartlepool and the best chance of an upset may be at Goodison park where Everton take on Norwich City. - Paul

England face home nations
England, Wales and Northern Ireland were drawn in the same group for the World Cup 2006 qualifiers. The three also face Austria, Poland and Azerbaijan in matches that will be played on a home and away basis from September 2004.

Scotland have a tough task ahead of them, having been drawn with Italy, Slovenia, Norway, Belarus and Moldova.

The Republic of Ireland face France, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus and the Faroe Islands.

Group winners qualify for the finals in Germany in 2006. The runners-up will go into play-off matches. - Paul

Eriksson offered new deal
The FA have offered England manager Sven Goran Eriksson a multi-million pound contract extension, but the Swede is said to be angry that details of the deal have been made public.

The new contract would see Eriksson continuing as England boss until after the 2008 European Championships - a 4 year extension to his current deal. However, Eriksson feels that the offer should have been kept secret because it puts him under undue pressure to accept.

The more time he spends considering his future, the more the media will speculate about a possible move to Chelsea if Claudio Ranieri fails to bring home any silverware this spring. - Paul

Lee Hughes Update
The West Bromwich Albion striker has presented himself at a police station and is said to be helping the authorities with their enquiries following Saturday night's fatal car crash.

Hughes, 27, is likely to be charged with causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop after an accident. - Ed

Has anybody seen Lee Hughes?
West Midlands Police are on the lookout for West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes who is wanted for questioning with regards to a fatal car accident on Saturday night.

Hughes is said to have left the scene of the accident and has not been seen since. Anybody with information should contact the police. - Ed

ENGLAND SQUAD ANNOUNCED
Sven Goran Eriksson has announced his squad to take on Denmark in a friendly international at Old Trafford this Saturday.

The players are: David James, Paul Robinson, Ian Walker; Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Wayne Bridge, Danny Mills, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Gareth Southgate; David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Scott Parker, Joe Cole, Nicky Butt, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy, Jermaine Jenas; Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney, Darius Vassell. - Paul

Reid Leaves Leeds
Leeds United have parted company with manager Peter Reid by mutual consent. The club made the announcement to the stock market after a meeting in a Manchester hotel.

Already stricken by financial troubles off the field, the Yorkshire club dropped to the bottom of the Premiership after a 6-1 defeat at Portsmouth. Eddie Gray will take charge of first team affairs until a suitable replacement can be found. Gray has thrown his hat into the ring for the permanent position but may face competition from Nottingham Forest's Paul Hart or Gary McAllister of Coventry City. - Paul

LEEDS ANNOUNCE FURTHER LOSSES
Leeds United have revealed a pre-tax loss of £49.5 million in figures announced to the Stock Exchange this week.

The Yorkshire club, who are struggling on the field as well as off it, are said to be around £78 million in debt, despite having sold off some of their most valuable players. - Paul

Brighton name new manager
Forty-Six year old Mark McGee has been named as the new manager of Brighton and Hove Albion.

McGee, recently sacked from Millwall, takes over from Steve Coppell, who left to take charge of Reading. Brighton have started the season well and are currently joint second in Division Two, only three points behind leaders Plymouth. - Paul

Leeds in trouble
It is reported that this week Leeds will announce a loss of around 40-50 million pounds on top of their reported 80 million debt...the future is not looking bright... - James

Barca get Gio
The loan signing of Gio Van Bronckhorst from Arsenal to Barca has gone through following a medical. It is another in a long line of big name load signings happening through-out Europe. Most bizarre is Chelsea loaning Alexei Smertin to Portsmouth a day after buying him for over 3 million...Steve Marlet has also left Fulham to join Marseille. - James

Trev doesn't want the Hammers Job
Temporary Hammers boss Trevor Brooking has ruled himself out of taking over the reigns at Upton Park. He did a fantastic job at the end of last season and would be the ideal choice for West Ham fans. BBC - James

Barca want Gio
Barcelona are attempting to buy Arsenal's Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Is this a sign of the times for the struggling Catalan Giants as they attempt to buy the Arsenal reserve player? BBC - James

Glenn Roeder Sacked by the Hammers
Following the sales of the Upton Park crown jewels and defeat to lowly Rotherham (deserved after refusing to get changed in the Rotherham dressing room). Roeder is sacked by West Ham United. The Board were too weak to sack him whilst he was ill. Read More Here - James