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Euro bid talks set for February
]]> <p> The Scottish and Welsh football associations are set for crunch talks in February over the prospect of co-hosting the 2016 European Championships. </p>
Manchester City in '&pound;129m bid for Casillas'
]]> <p> Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has rejected a &pound;129m move to Manchester City, according to reports in the Spanish media. </p>
Liverpool escape punishment over Shields campaign
]]> <p> The Football Association will not take any formal action against Liverpool after their players wore T-shirts carrying a message of support for a fan who was jailed for the attempted murder of a Bulgarian waiter in 2005. </p>
Scholes poised for early return
]]> <p> Paul Scholes is in line for a surprise comeback against Blackburn at Old Trafford tonight. </p>
Real Madrid seal Huntelaar deal
]]> <p> Real Madrid have announced that they have reached an agreement with Ajax to sign Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for an initial fee of 20 million euros (&pound;17m). </p>
Trezeguet considers return to national team
]]> <p> Striker David Trezeguet said he could come back from international retirement, five months after announcing he was quitting the France team. </p>
Scotland considering joint Euro bid
]]> <p> The Scottish Football Association today confirmed holding &quot;tentative&quot; talks with Wales and Northern Ireland over co-hosting the 2016 European Championships. </p>
Vieira reveals respect for Keane
]]> <p> Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has named long-time Manchester United adversary Roy Keane as one of the best players he has ever played against. </p>
Exclusive: Mega names key to City's &#163;70m transfer plan
]]> <p>Manchester City's wealthy Arab owners are determined to try to land a "world superstar" in the January transfer window and have drawn up a list of targets, headed by Kaka and Lionel Messi. The other names that have been discussed are Fernando Torres, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto'o, with the Abu Dhabi United Group prepared to pay upwards of &pound;70m for a top-name signing to add to their British transfer record purchase of Robinho, for a fee of up to &pound;34m, on the final day of the summer transfer window. </p>
Special One's disciple aims for Watford conversion
]]> <p>"Brendan Who?" was the response of most Watford fans, and many others, when the struggling Championship side appointed Brendan Rodgers as their manager last week. One man, however, knew all about the 35-year-old rookie. Jose Mourinho took time out from overseeing <i>Internazionale's</i> defence of their Serie A title to recommend Rodgers to Watford's board personally. Understandably, they took note. </p>
Lean spell worse for Chelsea, says Carragher
]]> <p>Anfield was an angst-ridden place as Liverpool took top spot in the Premier League on Monday night but Jamie Carragher, whose perspective on things is broader than most, served a reminder yesterday that Liverpool's "rough spell", as he describes it, has not cost them as dearly as Chelsea's. </p>
Smith looks forward to key trio's comeback
]]> <p>Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, has received three pieces of good news ahead of this weekend's Scottish Premier League game against Hamilton. Kenny Miller, Sasa Papac and Steven Davis are all set to return for the visit of Accies after sitting out recent matches. </p>
Young remains uncomfortable with swing to the left
]]> <p>Luke Young has admitted he does not see his long-term future at left back despite being switched into the role by the Aston Villa manager, Martin O'Neill, for the first time in nearly a decade. </p>
Answer to title conundrum could come made in Japan
]]> <p>Here's a question as you ponder the Premier League title race that refuses to obey logic: can you remember a season when the following took place? Arsenal blew their title hopes by losing games to extremely humble opponents, including one defeat to a club now in League Two. One of the key title challengers then, like Chelsea now, failed to take enough points off their biggest rivals. And Manchester United did not play a league match for 26 days. The last clue is the giveaway, it was 1999-2000, when Sir Alex Ferguson's team returned from the ill-conceived and short-lived World Club Championship in Brazil to find the Premier League title still unresolved.</p>
Greening confident West Bromwich can repeat great escape
]]> <p>Jonathan Greening insists that the current West Bromwich Albion side have more quality than the one which avoided relegation in dramatic fashion three years ago. </p>
Ronaldo hails his 'beautiful' triumph in Ballon d'Or
]]> <p>Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday became the fourth Manchester United player to win the Ballon d'Or as European Footballer of the Year after a landslide victory in a poll of journalists organised by France Football magazine.</p>
McDonald ruins dream of Wenger's youngsters
]]> <p>The notion that Arsene Wenger's precociously gifted Carling Cup side might actually be good enough to win the competition was abruptly deflated last night, in a manner with which, even on a chill December evening in industrial Lancashire, the Arsenal manager could have few complaints. If Burnley's victory on penalties at Chelsea in the last round owed something to luck, this one was unquestionably theirs on merit. </p>
Griffin hands it to Ellington as Derby turn back clocks
]]> <p>Nathan Ellington's contentious penalty in the last of three minutes of stoppage time means Derby County are in the League Cup semi-final for the first time in 40 years. The striker, on loan from Watford, thrilled 4,500 visiting fans by gently rolling in his sixth goal in the competition &ndash; the best return in the country and more than he has managed in the Championship since May 2007.</p>
Ronaldo retains focus despite new accolade
]]> <p> Cristiano Ronaldo insists winning the Ballon d'Or award will not burden him with increased pressure to perform. </p>
Milan's Ancelotti rules out new signings
]]> <p> AC Milan will stay out of the transfer market in January despite recent poor results, coach Carlo Ancelotti said today. </p>
Benitez backs under-fire Keane
]]> <p> Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez insists misfiring striker Robbie Keane will overcome his current crisis in form. </p>
Ince blasts 'out of order' critics
]]> <p> Blackburn boss Paul Ince has savaged the critics he feels are trying to tear the club apart. </p>
Rocha want first-team football at Tottenham
]]> <p> Tottenham defender Ricardo Rocha admits he faces an uncertain future at White Hart Lane despite the positive impact of Harry Redknapp's arrival as manager. </p>
Trejo interested in West Brom move
<p> Real Mallorca striker Oscar Trejo wants to hold talks with West Brom over a possible January move to the Barclays Premier League's bottom club. </p>
Atletico receive death threats ahead of match
]]> <p> Atletico Madrid have received death threats ahead of next week's trip to Olympique Marseille in the Champions League, the Primera Liga club said today. </p>
Hughes unmoved by Robinho comments
]]> <p> Robinho will escape disciplinary action by Manchester City after claiming the club has a small-time mentality. </p>
Roma aim to keep Mexes
]]> <p> Roma boss Luciano Spalletti insists he has no intention of letting Philippe Mexes leave the Italian capital. </p>
Carragher draws comfort from top spot
]]> <p> Defender Jamie Carragher has admitted Liverpool are &quot;going through a rough patch&quot; but insists there are plenty of reasons to be positive. </p>
Everton target Larsson amid injury crisis
]]> <p> Former Celtic and Manchester United star Henrik Larsson would consider a return to the Barclays Premier League amid reports he is a target for injury-ravaged Everton. </p>
Van Persie: I was not the target of Gallas' outburst
]]> <p> Robin van Persie does not believe he is the disruptive influence in the Arsenal dressing room described by team-mate William Gallas. </p>
Ajax confirm Real Huntelaar talks
]]> <p> Ajax confirmed today they have opened talks with Real Madrid over the possible sale of captain Klaas Jan Huntelaar to the Spanish champions. </p>
Ronaldo scoops Ballon d'Or
]]> <p> Cristiano Ronaldo hailed &quot;one of the most beautiful days of my life&quot; and vowed to keep improving after winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in the early hours of the morning. </p>
Hunt&rsquo;s double beats Coventry and keeps Reading in hunt
<p> Reading manager Steve Coppell hailed his side after they started &ldquo;a big month&rdquo; with a 3-1 Championship win over Coventry. Daniel Fox gave Coventry a deserved early lead with a terrific free-kick but a brace from Noel Hunt and a Kalifa Cisse strike saw the Royals record a vital win. </p>
Game over? English football at bursting point
]]> <p>Back in October, in the Great Hall of Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club, 1,000 "senior decision- makers in world football" gathered. There was an air of optimism and self-congratulation. Commercial managers from some of the country's top clubs talked of exciting new opportunities in the Far East. Gossip was traded about how lucrative the next Premier League television deal would be.</p>
James Lawton: Messi's maturity the true measure against which Ronaldo falls short
]]> <p>So all glory, then, to Cristiano Ronaldo, widely expected to be crowned Europe's best player and assigned by his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, to the company of Pele and Johan Cruyff? Sorry, no can do in this quarter. The task is made impossible for two reasons.</p>
Football in brief: 02/11/2008
]]> <p> <b>Whelan keen to cash in on Heskey before contract ends this summer</b> </p> <p> Emile Heskey appears poised to leave the club following remarks from chairman Dave Whelan. </p>
Gallas was not referring to me, claims Van Persie
]]> <p>Arsenal's Sunday matchwinner, Robin van Persie, has refused to accept that he was the player William Gallas was referring to in the Frenchman's much-publicised remarks that lost him the captaincy. </p>
Lack of strike power hits Everton
]]> <p>Everton may be able to muddle through until the new year with just one fit senior forward, but their manager, David Moyes, knows there will be little light at the end of the tunnel when January comes.</p>
Dyer warms up for Christmas comeback with friendly runout
]]> <p>The West Ham United midfielder Kieron Dyer is aiming for a Christmas return to action after 15 months out with a career-threatening injury. The 29-year-old broke his leg against Bristol Rovers in a Carling Cup tie in August last year, less than a fortnight after joining the Hammers from Newcastle, but is set to feature in a friendly this week. </p>
Robinho reveals Hughes' pursuit of Luisao
]]> <p>Mark Hughes may be trying to keep his January transfer ambitions under wraps but his prime asset, Robinho, appeared last night to reveal that the City manager is interested in Benfica's Brazilian central defender Luisao. </p>
Makeweight Malouda in firing line
]]> <p> Senior Chelsea players have pointed the finger at Florent Malouda as one of the team's major underperforming stars and there is a feeling in the club that Luiz Felipe Scolari should pick Wayne Bridge on the left wing instead. </p>
Liverpool reclaim summit but fall short of peak form
]]> <p> Who could have forseen it last summer? Liverpool trooping off Anfield to a muffled chorus of boos on the December night they put a point&rsquo;s daylight between themselves and the second best team in the land. </p>
Jewell backs motor-mouth Pulis
]]> <p>The Derby County manager Paul Jewell yesterday described Tony Pulis as loud and argumentative &ndash; although he still has the utmost respect for the Stoke City coach.</p>
Chelsea and Lyn reach Mikel agreement
]]> <p> Chelsea have reached an agreement with Norwegian club Lyn Oslo in their dispute over the transfer of John Mikel Obi. </p>
Heskey could make January switch
]]> <p> Emile Heskey appears poised to leave Wigan in January following the latest remarks from chairman Dave Whelan. </p>
Grimsby confirm Fowler interest
]]> <p> Grimsby chairman John Fenty has revealed there is &quot;a glimmer of a chance&quot; that former England striker Robbie Fowler will join the Coca-Cola League Two club. </p>
Ronaldo favourite for Ballon d'Or
]]> <p> Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is set to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or overnight. </p>
Fabregas tells team to build on Chelsea win
]]> <p> Victory over Chelsea will count for nothing with Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas if his men do not go on to repeat the performance against the rest of the Barclays Premier League. </p>
Drogba going nowhere says Kenyon
]]> <p> Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon insists Ivorian striker Didier Drogba has a future at Stamford Bridge. </p>
FA rule out Scolari action
]]> <p> The Football Association will not be taking any action against Luiz Felipe Scolari over the Chelsea manager's comments about referee Mike Dean at the weekend. </p>
Tosic on verge of Manchester United move
]]> <p> Serbia winger Zoran Tosic expects to join Manchester United in January after being granted a British work permit following a personal appeal by Alex Ferguson. </p>
Watford chairman quits
]]> <p> Watford chairman Graham Simpson has resigned from the club with immediate effect. </p>
Kenyon rules out January signings at Chelsea
]]> <p> Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad to be strengthened in the new year - but not by the addition of fresh talent. </p>
Adebayor hails vital win
]]> <p> Emmanuel Adebayor claims Arsenal's victory at Chelsea has &quot;sent a message&quot; to the rest of the Barclays Premier League that the Gunners are still very much in the title race. </p>
Alex Ferguson backs congestion charge
]]> <p> Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson gave his backing today to a proposed congestion charge. </p>
FA to investigate Mido abuse
]]> <p> The Football Association are investigating racist chanting directed at Middlesbrough striker Mido during the Tees-Tyne derby against Newcastle on Saturday. </p>
Watch all the latest action

Scolari seeks apology from referee over Arsenal goal
]]> <p>Luiz Felipe Scolari appeared to imply last night that Robin van Persie's equalising goal at Stamford Bridge &ndash; which was clearly offside &ndash; was the result of a conspiracy theory to keep Arsenal in the Premier League title race. </p>
Sam Wallace: Pardew succeeds in parallel universe but reality suggests downward spiral
]]> <p>Steven Gerrard's equaliser in the 91st minute of the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham is remembered as one of those points in history that fans of dull British films would to refer to as a "Sliding Doors" moment. The point at which a life diverges from one path and finds another route on the basis of one tiny detail or, in this particular case, a goal from one of the best footballers in the world. </p>
Van Persie double stuns Chelsea
]]> <p>It was not so long ago that Stamford Bridge was regarded as the kind of stadium where all away teams &ndash; famous or humble &ndash; came to lie down and die. But yesterday it was the Arsenal players who took their leave bare-chested and belligerent, tossing their shirts into the crowd and generally swaggering about the place as if they owned it, which, for one afternoon, you could say that they did. </p>
Cash is king in a world of paupers
<p>In the absence of goals or controversy, that other football staple &ndash; cash &ndash; became a talking point after this fog-bound draw between two teams still struggling to find some form of momentum this season. </p>
Moyes provides spur for Everton to raise game
<p>Harry Redknapp suffered his first home defeat as Tottenham manager yesterday but this was no smash-and-grab by an injury-hit Everton side who were sharper all over the pitch and are now breathing down the necks of the top six.</p>
Keane on the edge after slide
<p>Where Sunderland go from here, with or without Roy Keane still installed as their manager, is Old Trafford next Saturday evening. The prospect added an extra degree of chill on Wearside in the aftermath of the Black Cats' toothless capitulation to Bolton. It was their fifth defeat in six Premier League games and their fourth in a row in all competitions in what has become their Stadium of Plight.</p>
Swans visit scant reward for giant-killing Histon
]]> <p>Histon's stunning win over Leeds yesterday did not bring them the reward in the FA Cup third round they were hoping for. The Blue Square Premier side were handed a home tie with Swansea. </p>
Portsmouth avoid Milan repeat with battling win
<p>For the second time in three days Portsmouth surrendered a two-goal advantage, but Blackburn Rovers are no Milan and so this time a Sean Davis strike with 11 minutes remaining was enough to secure victory.</p>
Wizardry of Messi has Barcelona flying high
]]> <p>Lionel Messi scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season to send Barcelona four points clear at the top and remind everyone that soon-to-be-announced European Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is not completely without peers.</p>
Celtic raise spirits as lead at the top grows
]]> <p>Celtic bounced back from their European disappointment with a 1-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday which took them seven points clear of their Glasgow rivals, Rangers, who were beaten 2-1 at Hearts in their lunchtime kick-off at Tynecastle. </p>
Mourinho's Inter grind out another victory
]]> <p>Internazionale ended up six points clear at the top of Serie A last night after the Italian champions beat Napoli 2-1 and city rivals Milan were humbled 3-1 at mid-table Palermo.</p>
Baggies are 'mugged' by match-saving Kirkland
<p>The sentiment in the match programme was plaintive. "It's a fair bet this afternoon's game is pencilled in for the graveyard slot on Match of the Day."</p>
Benitez hammers home league message
]]> <p>With Steven Gerrard talking of his "hunger" for the league title and Rafael Benitez close to agreeing a new contract, West Ham could find this is not the time to be trying to end a 45-year wait for a win at Anfield. </p>
Fulham expose gap in Villa's education
<p>Martin O'Neill did not hide his disappointment at his team's failure to leapfrog Manchester United into third place in the table, but the Aston Villa manager insisted there were positives to be taken from Saturday's draw at Villa Park. "We have to remember that we have good players who are in their early twenties," he said. "It's all about learning, but I do think this team can grow into something."</p>
McShane and Windass bring light relief to dreadful day
<p>It is good to know that there is still room for light entertainment in the deadly serious world of the Premier League; all the more so when any other sort is in such short supply as at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. Those whose faces had not been frozen rigid in the fog were grateful to Hull City's Dean Windass and Paul McShane for supplying a reason to smile.</p>
Keane: improve or end is nigh
]]> <p>Sunderland are prepared to give Roy Keane time to prove that he can turn around the dismal run of form that has seen them lose six of their last seven matches, but it is not an unlimited period and there has to be an immediate improvement in morale within the first-team squad as much as an upturn in results. </p>
'If he says the ball was going to hit him, why didn't he head it?'
]]> <p>In an explanation at odds with that of his player, Sir Alex Ferguson suggested last night the handball which earned Cristiano Ronaldo the third dismissal of his Manchester United career came as he tried to stop a ball from hitting his face. </p>
Ronaldo's bizarre red card raises eyebrows
<p>There have been plenty of people walking around Manchester with a flawed sense of perspective just lately. They include those fans who thought this match pitched the biggest club in the city against Manchester United. Joining them is the manager whose superlatives about Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend placed the 23-year-old in a reference frame which included Johan Cruyff and Pele.</p>
Van Persie double revives Arsenal title hopes
<p> Robin van Persie put Arsenal back into the Barclays Premier League title race with a superb second-half double to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. </p>
Man Utd in derby win as Ronaldo sees red
<p> Wayne Rooney's 100th club goal was enough for Manchester United to confirm local supremacy over City at Eastlands - but Cristiano Ronaldo did not help much with a needless red card. </p>
Martins riled but Geordies draw comfort
<p>A local derby, a vocal derby but ultimately a goalless derby. While there was an argument that the fog clouding the Riverside was not quite thick enough for the neutral, both Middlesbrough and Newcastle were able to take consolation from a point each. That and the fact they are not Sunderland. The North-East's three clubs represent a Bermuda triangle of misplaced hope this season and a smattering of empty seats for such an occasion reflected more than the credit crunch. Boro have now won just one of their last six league games here. </p>
Fuller equal to the antics of pantomime villain Windass
<p>It was billed as a relegation six-pointer the day the fixtures came out and, as far as could be discerned through the Potteries fog, there was not an abundance of Premier League quality on display here yesterday. Remarkably, victory for one team or the other would have been either a fifth home win in succession for Stoke &ndash; they have won more than Chelsea &ndash; or put Hull level on points with Manchester United. After Ricardo Fuller's penalty cancelled out Marlon King's opening goal, they each had to be satisfied with a point and probably were even though Hull's manager Phil Brown felt the penalty should not have been given.</p>
Wigan steal home after Kirkland's superb display
<p>"Chairmen don't get managers the sack," Sir Bobby Robson once exclaimed. "Players do". If Tony Mowbray is relegated with West Bromwich, the club the grand old man once played for, this is one of the moments he will look back on and count the individual errors that damned his team to defeat in a game they should have won comfortably.</p>
Outside the Box: Italian job on our hands to get Serie A back on the box
]]> <p>Such is the proliferation of televised football that in an average week more than two dozen matches are normally available live and in full. But there remains one glaring omission from the schedules. Anyone reading a preview of last weekend's game between the top two teams in Italy, Jose Mourinho's Internazionale and Claudio Ranieri's Juventus &ndash; the clubs being traditionally bitter rivals, the two former Chelsea managers without a good word to say for each other &ndash; would instinctively have wondered where they could watch this potential dust-up. The answer, sadly, was nowhere without trawling the internet and hoping for a decent connection to a station elsewhere in Europe. Sky Sports were showing Spanish football, Setanta went for the French League and British Eurosport opted for the glories of the Women's Under-20 World Cup; Serie A was nowhere to be found. It had been a fixture somewhere or other since Channel 4 picked up coverage 16 years ago in the wake of Paul Gascoigne's move to Lazio, even bringing back Kenneth "They think it's all over" Wolstenholme as a commentator. For several years the presenter, James Richardson, would be shown sipping cappuccino and flicking through the bright- pink pages of 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' in some delightful location or other, but in 2002 the channel dropped the programme because of the high price. British Eurosport, Bravo and Five have all had a turn subsequently, until the price demanded this season proved too much for any of them. A small consolation for any Italophiles missing their fix is that the new sports betting channel Sports-Xchange have the rights to the domestic cup competition and will be showing every round through to the final; Milan against Lazio can be seen at 7.45pm on Wednesday on Sky channel 456.</p>
Celtic on target after Maloney golden shot
<p>Shaun Maloney restored Celtic's equilibrium with a goal that banished the Champions' League hangover caused by the midweek defeat at Aalborg and put daylight between them and Rangers in the title race.</p>
Ton of worries for Keane as Sunderland wilt
<p>So where now for Roy Keane and Sunderland? Unfortunately for them, to Old Trafford next Saturday. They will not make the trip in the best of spirits after this tame capitulation, their fifth defeat in their last six Premier League games. </p>
Knox pierces darkness to put lights out on Wycombe
<p>This was a classic upset of the kind that makes the FA Cup the stuff of romance and nightmare as Eastwood Town, of the Unibond League, knocked out Wycombe, the unbeaten leaders of League Two. With their poorly-lit, fog-shrouded ground almost in darkness at the end, they prevailed deservedly to take a place in the third round draw.</p>
Low on a high after stunning strike rewrites Rovers history books
<p>Gloucestershire, home to an agricultural college, dry-stone walls, plenty of organic food producers and now, in the shape of Forest Green Rovers, a team that will play in the third round of the FA Cup for the first time. Who they will face on the first Saturday of January will be decided in the draw this afternoon, but their manager Jim Harvey would like to play Manchester United. </p>
Keane on brink of walking away
]]> <p> Roy Keane's future at Sunderland is in the balance this morning. The possibility of the Irishman walking out two years and three months after accepting the job is real, as Keane hinted yesterday following Sunderland's dismal 4-1 capitulation to Bolton Wanderers at what is fast becoming a Stadium of Plight, write Simon Turnbull and Michael Walker. </p>
Let's strike gold in Abu Derby, says City great
]]> <p>Even though he only returned from Manchester City's Uefa Cup tie away to Schalke in the early hours of Friday, Mike Summerbee looked extremely well for his 65 years as he walked into the city-centre hotel. It comes as a shock to realise that he made his first-team debut for Swindon Town as long ago as 1959; yet, unlike so many of that generation from an era of brutal tackling and cold-sponge physiotherapy, he receives little or no gyp from old footballing war wounds. Perhaps it was the combination of an excellent City performance in Germany &ndash; the 2-0 win qualifying them for the knockout stage with two matches still to play &ndash; and the prospect of today's derby that added a spring to his step.</p>
It's been a 'nightmare' but Almunia now dreams of beating Chelsea
<p>The Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has known difficult times in his four years with Arsenal, so for him to admit that the past fortnight has been the worst of all confirms the tensions existing inside and outside the dressing room. Almunia's hope is that this afternoon's derby at Chelsea will be the start of a happier new chapter, but his reluctance to regard the late win over Dynamo Kiev last Tuesday as a turning point just yet suggests all is still not sweetness and light.</p>
Ebanks-Blake strike keeps the chasing pack from Wolves' door
]]> <p>For the second time this season, Wolverhampton Wanderers found the task of registering a club record-equalling eighth successive League victory a step too far.</p>
McAllister can lead Leeds back to big time
]]> <p>Gary McAllister took a detour back to his childhood on Friday. It was one that revealed early Scottish passion for the FA Cup, a relationship that was cemented when he collected a winner's medal with Liverpool in Cardiff in 2001. But seven years on from that May afternoon, McAllister takes Leeds United to rural Cambridgeshire today, to Histon.</p>
Mackay turns the tide as Fleetwood go down fighting
<p>When you have waited 122 years to reach the second round of the FA Cup it might be considered greedy to go to the wish fairy for more. Fleetwood Town gloried in the biggest day of their history yesterday but the romance ran out with the tide on a foggy day on the Fylde coast. </p>
Villa fail to shine despite Young's silver service
<p>If Aston Villa are to break the big four's monopoly at the top of the Premier League they will have to do better than this. Victory at Villa Park yesterday would have seen Martin O'Neill's team climb above Manchester United into third position, but this was not the form of Champions' League contenders. In their previous two matches Villa had won away to Arsenal for the first time in 15 years and taken a home point against Manchester United for the first time in seven attempts. Although they hardly looked in danger of breaking another sequence by losing at home to Fulham in the League for the first time in 35 years, their failure to capitalise on their territorial superiority must be a cause for concern. </p>
League round-up: Vintage Clarets warm up for Arsenal with quick Ram raid
<p>Burnley's Martin Paterson scored two goals at the near post as the Clarets wrapped up their 3-0 win over Derby County at Turf Moor inside the first 23 minutes to move up to fourth in the Championship, a point behind third-placed Reading. Kevin McDonald's volley from the edge of the penalty hadstarted the stroll.</p>
Bolton on rise after rout of Sunderland
<p> Bolton Wanderers illuminated a dull day in the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Sunderland that lifted them to seventh in the standings. </p>
Scolari rises above the Blues
]]> <p>Luiz Felipe Scolari is, according to the manager who is closest to him in the Premier League, an "extrovert", by which Ars&egrave;ne Wenger means, a lively character. </p>
Ferguson 'the granddad' plays down Hughes spat
<p>Sir Alex Ferguson employed some levity to gloss over the issue of his relationship with Mark Hughes yesterday. Hughes, like all the old United alumni now managing in the game, is "younger than me, of course," Ferguson said. </p>
Wenger backs Gallas &ndash; and promises to read his book
<p>Maybe it was with a certain irony, given the revelations of last week and the insight into dressing-room bust-ups, that Petr Cech yesterday accused Arsenal of lacking "fight". The Chelsea goalkeeper also went on to state that if Arsenal lose at Stamford Bridge on Sunday "they are out of the title race completely" and while Ars&egrave;ne Wenger refused to accept that publicly &ndash; what else could he do? &ndash; he pretty much agreed. </p>
I will decide January buys, insists Kinnear
<p> In a move that suggests the sale of Newcastle United is effectively postponed, it was announced yesterday that the caretaker manager Joe Kinnear will remain in charge until the end of the season. </p>

Below, you'll find extensive information on leading bbc football articles and products to help you on your way to success.

Shopping For English Premier League (epl) Merchandise
By Miles Joshua
The season is only at its half way stage and it has already become very exciting. Only 10 points separate the top five clubs and the race for the premiership title is heating up. At this point of time, the demand for EPL goods is very high. Each and every fan would like to have something related to his/her favorite club. May be it’s an extra-large poster on your bedroom wall or a card signed by your favorite star, you will want something.

When you decide to buy something, there is always the question of how much the product costs. Even if you are a die-hard fan, you need to afford something before buying it. If you go to a retail store, you will not be able to get what you want for an agreeable price. The prices are very often too high for something that’s not worth that much. You will not be able to spend all your savings on goods. Most retail stores come with a price tag that is shocking. But if the prices are so high, is there a way to buy? Yes, there is.

An auction site is the answer. You might wonder what the difference between buying a product

Michigan Football.mp4

Boredom rears it's ugly head again... This time I was playing NCAA 09 and decided to try out iMovie.

on retail and on an auction. There is a lot of difference. In an auction, you get to choose the price which you can pay for the product. If you win, the product will be yours. The starting price of most auctions is very low and if you are clever enough or if you have a little bit of luck, you can hit jackpot. It would be as if Santa Claus gave you the gift that you wanted. Furthermore, you will save a lot of money by buying on an auction site.

Using an auction site is very simple. You just visit the site, search for you favorite EPL product and bid for it. I will let you know an easy way to win auctions. Bid as low as you can and bid as many times as you can. Another technique in winning an auction is to bid on an item when it’s about to close. There are very few auction sites for EPL goods and they are very rare to come by. In these sites, you will have products that are not available in the retail store. I recently bought a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey for 8 pounds. That’s how easy it gets friends. So, what are you waiting for?

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Tebow dragging the pile

Florida at Florida State 2008. Full crowd. Tebow dragging the pile.