Football news round-up 12-18 Oct

Sunday 18 October 2009

Chelsea’s title hopes suffered a setback when they lost 2-1 against Aston Villa. Didier Drogba had fired the west London club into the lead, but two headers from Villa defenders Richard Dunne and James Collins gave the home side a memorable victory.

Darren Bent scored a bizarre goal to help Sunderland record a 1-0 win over Liverpool. The prolific forward saw his shot deflect off a beach ball on the pitch and fly past Jose Reina to dent another big blow in Liverpool’s title hopes.

Manchester United restored their position at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Bolton. Michael Owen’s header was deflected past his own keeper by Zat Knight and Antonio Valencia put the home side in pole position before Matt Taylor made it a nervy end to the game for the champions with a late consolation.

Arsenal recorded their seventh consecutive victory and moved up to fourth place with a 3-1 home win over Birmingham. Strikes from Robin Van Persie and Abou Diaby put Arsenal into a comfortable lead but Lee Bowyer pulled a goal back for Birmingham. Substitute Andrey Arshavin netted a late third to seal all three points for the home side.

Harry Redknapp made a winning return to his former club Portsmouth as Tottenham came away with a 2-1 victory. Ledley King and Jermain Defoe fired the away side into a two-goal lead. Kevin-Prince Boateng brought Pompey back into the game, but they failed to find an equaliser and remain bottom of the table. Defoe and Michael Brown were both shown the red card in the second half.

James Beattie netted a brace to help Stoke beat West Ham 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium. Beattie opened the scoring from the penalty spot, but Matthew Upson grabbed an equaliser with a free header. Beattie stole all the headlines when he tapped home from close-range.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov grabbed a late equaliser for Everton to deny Wolves a priceless away win. Wolves looked to be heading for all three points after Kevin Doyle had fired them into the lead. But Bilyaletdinov broke the hearts of the Wolves players when he slid home from close-range with just two minutes left on the clock.

In the Championship, leaders Newcastle suffered a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest after Dexter Blackstock scored the crucial winner. West Brom went top of the table with an impressive 3-1 victory over Reading. QPR recorded the biggest victory of the day with a 4-0 win over Preston.

Charlton went top of the table in League One following their 2-1 win over Huddersfield at the Valley. Bournemouth maintained their position as League Two leaders with a 1-0 away victory over Accrington Stanley.

Rangers moved to the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 2-1 win over St Johnstone after Celtic could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Motherwell.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Sunderland have completed the signing of Dutch midfielder Boudewijn Zenden until the end of the season. The former Liverpool and Barcelona star was available on a free transfer after his deal with Marseille expired.

Ghana became the first African team to win the FIFA U20 World Cup following a penalty shoot-out triumph over Brazil in Egypt. The game finished goalless after 120 minutes with Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu scoring the crucial spot kick. Ghana had beaten England's U20 side by 4-0 in the group stages earlier in the competition.

Macclesfield picked up three precious points courtesy of their 2-1 win at Cheltenham. Goals from Ricky Sappleton and John Rooney, brother of Manchester United’s Wayne, saw off Martin Allen’s men at Whaddon Road.

Gateshead have signed striker Daryl Clare on a three-month loan deal from Mansfield Town. The former Chester man is hoping to gain some regular first-team football.

Arsenal  have ruled out the possibility of signing former star Sol Campbell after the defender’s exit from Notts County. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said: “We are only helping him to get fit again. Is it going any further with us? No.”

Gary Waddock has made Reading midfielder Scott Davies his first signing after taking over at Wycombe. The duo worked together during their time at League Two side Aldershot.

Tranmere have taken Liverpool goalkeeper David Martin on loan. The League One club have endured a disastrous start to the season and sacked manager John Barnes last week.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson insists he has not been contacted by the Swedish FA  over the vacant manager’s job.  "I haven't been contacted about the Sweden job,” he said. “I have a contract until the end of the year here so I'm not free to take a job until June or July.

Friday 16 October 2009

The Republic of Ireland are now ranked 34th in the FIFA rankings and that means they will face one of the seeded nations - France, Russia, Portugal or Greece - when the draw for the World Cup play-offs are made on Monday.

Free agent Dutch winger Boudewijn Zenden has come through his trial period to sign for Sunderland for the rest of the season. The former Liverpool and Chelsea man was clear to sign as he left Marseille at the end of last season.

American Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in Arsenal to 28.9 per cent of the club’s shares, one per cent shy of the figure that would mean he has to make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in the north London club.

Chelsea will today start the appeal process against FIFA’s transfer ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Chelsea are currently not allowed to sign players for the next two transfer windows.

The Football Association of Wales have denied suggestions that John Toshack’s position as manager was under any threat at the end of their World Cup qualification campaign, which ended with an impressive 2-0 win in Liechtenstein.

New Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung used his first press conference at the club to announce he has plans to invest up to £40million in the January transfer window.

Watford have moved level with Millwall Lionesses at the top of the Women’s Premier League table following their 2-0 win over the south London club on Thursday night.

David Beckham has announced he plans to attend the World Cup draw in South Africa as part of his role to back England’s bid to stage the finals in 2018. The England midfielder said: “Given the MLS season ends in November, I'll be in South Africa in December.”

Thursday 15 October 2009

Jason Dodd has been appointed caretaker manager of Aldershot Town. The appointment of the former Southampton player arrives following Gary Waddock’s departure to become Wycombe manager.

Championship side Preston have awarded goalkeeper Andrew Lonergan a new three-and-a-half year contract which will keep him at Deepdale until 2013.

Northern Ireland’s outside chance of making the World Cup play-offs ended despite recording a creditable 0-0 draw in Czech Republic in their final qualifying game.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored his first goal for Wales as they ended their difficult World Cup campaign with a morale-boosting 2-0 win in Liechtenstein. David Vaughan also netted his first international goal.

The Republic of Ireland are already assured a World Cup play-off place, but they failed to impress in their final qualifying match as they were held to a goalless draw by minnows Montenegro.

Croatia will not be going to next year’s World Cup after Ukraine secured the play-off place in England’s group by hitting six past Andorra. Former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko was one of the scorers.

Liverpool are close to having a significant new shareholder, according to the Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah, who owns the F6 investment firm. He said: “Our negotiations to buy shares in Liverpool are ongoing, meetings are taking place and we might be in the final stages in the coming days.”

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has refuted reports that striker Roman Pavlyuchenko will join Zenit in the January transfer window. Redknapp said: “The chairman would have told me [if a deal had been done]. Pav’s a good player and I really don't want to lose him.”

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson insists he will not be leaving Notts County to assist North Korea’s international aspirations. He said: “I don't have any offer and I have no plans to be manager, or whatever it is, for North Korea, absolutely not.”

Free agent Dutch winger Bolo Zenden, 33, appears to have done enough to convince Steve Bruce he is worth a contract after a trial at Sunderland. Bruce said: “He has been here a week now and I have to say he has impressed us all, not least with his fitness levels. He also scored three times in a practice match this week and his team won 4-3 - so if ever he wanted to make a statement, that was it.”

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Chelsea's Brazilian centre-back Alex has signed a new four-year contract that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2013. Alex, 27, becomes the second player to agree new terms this week at Chelsea after Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou agreed a three-year deal on Monday.
 
Brighton moved up to 17th place in League One after a 2-0 victory over Gillingham. Goals from Elliott Bennett, his first for the club, and Tommy Elphick moved Albion out of the bottom four.
 
Wycombe Wanderers have appointed Gary Waddock, 47, as their new manager following the departure of Peter Taylor. Waddock has left his post as manager of League Two side Aldershot to take up the role at the League One club. He will be joined by Martin Kuhl as his assistant at Adams Park.
 
Roberto Mancini's agent has denied the Italian legend is set to become the next manager of League Two side Notts County and work alongside his good friend Sven-Goran Eriksson.
 
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given will captain the Republic of Ireland as he wins his 100th cap in a World Cup qualifier against Montenegro.
 
Conference Premier side Gateshead, currently battling relegation, have announced plans to go full-time. They also plan to build a 9,000-seater stadium.
 
Salisbury have agreed deals to extend the loans spells of Lee Brown and Joe Oastler from Championship side QPR. Both players are 19-years-old.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Notts County have fired manager Ian McParland. The former County winger has been in charge for almost two years but Notts executive chairman Peter Trembling thinks it is time for a change. Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson will be responsible for appointing McParland's successor. "We will take the appropriate amount of time to ensure we make the right appointment," said Trembling. "This will be done to our own time schedule."

Tranmere remain deep in the League One relegation zone after a 1-0 home defeat to Stockport. Tranmere, managerless after sacking John Barnes this week, were reduced to ten men on 67 minutes when Luke Daniels saw red for bringing down James Vincent in the area and Carl Baker scored the resulting penalty to win it for Stockport.

Salomon Kalou has signed a new three-year contract at Chelsea. Ivory Coast striker Kalou, 23, was set to be a free agent next summer but Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has decided to extend the former Feyenoord star's time at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti said: "Salomon is an important player for this club."

Fabio Cannavaro has been cleared of doping by the Italian Olympic Committee. The World Cup winner, 36, took a medicine containing cortisone - a banned substance - after a wasp sting in August and failed a doping test. But the Italian defender has been cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation by the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor.

Jonny Evans has withdrawn from Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic. The Manchester United defender has a knee injury and joins Kyle Lafferty, George McCartney, Sammy Clingan, Andrew Little and Chris Brunt on the sidelines.

Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey has urged his team-mates to end their disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign on a high. Wales lost 2-1 in Finland on Saturday and will end their campaign fourth in Group Four and Arsenal ace Ramsey is already looking to the future. "We need to finish on a high really and make the week look a bit better," he said.

Robinho is on the verge of his Manchester City comeback. The Brazilian playmaker has been sidelined since the start of August with an ankle injury but he could be in contention for City's Carling Cup clash with Scunthorpe on 28 October. City manager Mark Hughes said: "Robi' is not far away, he's probably got about 10 more days and then he can be back in the group."

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will not risk striker Fernando Torres against Bosnia-Herzegovina if he is injured. The Liverpool striker has been suffering from problems in his abductor muscle and with the European champions already assured of a place in the World Cup, Torres is likely to be rested for Spain's final qualifier. "Torres is in very good hands here," Del Bosque said.

Gabriel Obertan caught the eye on his Manchester United debut on Monday night. The £3million signing from Bordeaux has been struggling with a spine injury but he impressed during his 45 minute cameo for the reserves in their Manchester Senior Cup win over Oldham. Febian Brandy, Sam Hewson and Joshua King netted for United in a 3-0 victory.

Carson Yeung's takover of Birmingham City is expected to be finalised this week and the incoming vice chairman Sammy Yu insists manager Alex McLeish has the full backing of the new board. "I think Alex will work really well with us," Yu said. "We will put ourselves together like a team."

Republic of Ireland assistant Marco Tardelli hopes the team avoid France in the World Cup play-off draw. The Irish booked their place in the play-offs with a thrilling 2-2 draw against Italy on Saturday but they will not be among the four seeds. Portgual are almost in the draw and Tardelli said:  "I would prefer Greece, maybe - and I would prefer not to meet France, because France have many good players, as do Portugal."

Henrik Larsson will retire from international football after Sweden's final World Cup qualifier against Albania. The former Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United striker, 38, became Sweden's oldest outfield player when he played in their 1-0 defeat to Denmark last Saturday. The Swedes need a minor miracle to qualify for the World Cup and Larsson says time is running out. "It's probably over now. I feel that there will be no World Cup for me, even if we do qualify," he said.

Monday 12 October 2009

Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou claims to have signed a new four-year deal at Stamford Bridge. “Signing this deal with Chelsea has freed my mind to concentrate on football,” said the Ivory Coast international.

Former Tranmere assistant manager Jason McAteer admits he was left stunned by the club’s decision to sack both him and John Barnes, the manager, last week. "It came as a bit of a shock to be fair, I think to the pair of us,” said McAteer. "It was 12 to 14 games in, I don't really think that we had a fair crack of the whip.”

Wayne Rooney has withdrawn from England’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus with a calf injury. The striker suffered the injury in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Ukraine.

But while one Manchester United player has dropped out of the squad another has been called up, in the shape of Ben Foster. Fabio Capello has brought in the goalkeeper as a replacement for Robert Green, who is suspended after being sent-off in that defeat to Ukraine.

There is also a question mark over the fitness of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. The midfielder has a groin strain.

The FA have made an official complaint to FIFA after play was halted in Dnipropetrov when flares were repeatedly thrown onto the pitch. “We have spoken with the FIFA delegate and we will be submitting a report with regard to the missiles," said The FA's Director Of Communications Adrian Bevington. "We will be following that up with a formal complaint.”

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane says he expects his side will have to reach the World Cup the hard way after they confirmed their play-off spot. “There are tough teams in there and I am sure we will get one of the toughest teams, there's no question about that,” said the Tottenham frontman. "We never get an easy ride, do we? No matter what, it is going to be tough.”

Craig Gordon reckons Lee Wallace is ready to challenge for Scotland’s left-back spot. "He is a very solid player," said Gordon. "He is decent on the ball and you get the same performance out of him every week. He is very steady and that's what exactly what you need in that area."

Darcy Blake has pulled out of the Wales squad to face Liechtenstein on Wednesday after picking up a calf injury.

Notts County let a two-goal lead slip as Torquay held them to a 2-2 draw at Meadow Lane. Tim Sills scored the equaliser for Torquay with just 12 minutes left.

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be out of action for up to a month after damaging his ankle. Real Madrid’s £80m man was taken off after half-an-hour of Portugal’s 3-0 win over Hungary on Saturday.