TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester City and Chelsea have been told they can have Atletico Madrid's 26-year-old striker Radamel Falcao next summer - but the bidding starts at £48m.
Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente was
part of the Spain squad which won Euro 2012
Arsene Wenger, 62, has £35m to spend in January and the Arsenal manager will attempt to buy a striker with Atletico Madrid's Adrian Lopez, 24, and Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente, 27, his leading targets.
Sunderland are ready to compete with Everton for the signature of Belgium striker Jelle Vossen, 23.
Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman has told Wilfried Zaha, 19, to snub Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City and stay at Selhurst Park.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has asked his network of scouts to search for another new striker for the January transfer window.
Nemanja Vidic's agent has ruled out any possibility of the 30-year-old Manchester United defender joining Serie A champions Juventus in January.
Leeds United are close to completing a move for Southend United 's 24-year-old winger Ryan Hall.
St George's Park: A look around the new £105m facility
A panoramic shot of the Sir Alf Ramsey indoor training pitch at St George's
Park. Former England managers have been remembered at the complex with suites or
areas named after them to give nods to the country's past. The centre provides a
base for all 24 England teams, from the senior men's and women's sides down to
the junior boys' and girls' teams.
Wayne Rooney will captain England against San Marino
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: ENGLAND v SAN MARINO
- Venue: Wembley Stadium
- Date: Friday 12 October
- Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC
website
Wayne Rooney
will captain England in Friday's World Cup qualifier against San Marino in front
of a capacity 90,000 crowd at Wembley.
The Manchester United forward, 26, takes the role because of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard's respective absences through suspension and injury.
Rooney, who has won 76 caps, said: "This is something I'm really proud of.
"It's a big challenge for myself, and I'm excited. Hopefully we can cap the day off with a good victory."
Rooney is aware of the importance of putting on a good performance against a side ranked joint worst in the world, at 207th, alongside Bhutan and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
San Marino's all-time record
| P114 | W1 | D 5 | L108 | F19 | A473 |
"The players don't want to let the fans down," he
continued.
"The fans, since I've been involved with England, have been fantastic. They follow us around the world. We're looking forward to the game and hopefully we can deliver for the fans."
Two goals for Rooney would lift him clear into fifth place on England's all-time goalscoring list, going past Sir Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse and Alan Shearer.
England's top goal scorers
49: Sir Bobby Charlton48: Gary Lineker
44: Jimmy Greaves
40: Michael Owen
30: Sir Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Alan Shearer
29: Wayne Rooney
"People have mentioned I will get into the top five
(goalscorers) if I get a couple more and that would be great," he added.
"Obviously, the result is more important but it's an opportunity for us to try and get a few goals."
England manager Roy Hodgson is similarly enthused by the sell-out crowd at Wembley.
"It shows the support there is for the national team football in this country, and how lucky we are to have an arena that takes 90,000 people," he said.
Hodgson did not appear overly concerned by San Marino, who have won only one and drawn five of their 114 internationals, conceding 473 goals.
He refused to say who is in the starting XI but did reveal that next week's trip to Warsaw will influence his selection.
"We have a very important [World Cup qualifying] game in Poland on Tuesday, so of course a lot of my thoughts are how best to use my squad," he added.
"I know whatever team I choose at Wembley is likely to win the game."
Rooney previously captained England in a 1-0 defeat by Brazil in November 2009 in place of the then injured and now retired John Terry.
Meanwhile, Hodgson said that although Ryan Bertrand should not have sworn on Twitter, it showed his heart was in the right place.
The Chelsea defender angrily contradicted the FA's suggestion he had been withdrawn from the squad because of a sore throat, but subsequently apologised for swearing on the social media site.
"What he was saying is quite laudable," said Hodgson.
"He really wants to play for England and is really angry it has been suggested it is merely a sore throat when he is actually quite ill. But he shouldn't use a swear word.
"He has already apologised for it but it goes to show what a problem we
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Footballer's quotes
'I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country'. Ian Rush
'I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona'. Mark Draper
'
Do you remember when we played in Spain in the Anglo-Italian Cup?' Shaun Newton
'Winning doesn't really matter as long as you win'. Vinny Jones
'I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock'. Barry Venison
'My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7'. David Beckham
'I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league'. Mark Viduka
'I took a whack on my left ankle, but something told me it was my right'. Lee Hendrie
'Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well, he's the only manager I've actually had at this level. But he's the best manager I've ever had'. David Beckham
'If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day'. Neville Southall
'Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11 internationals out there today'. Steve Lomas
'I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country'. Ian Rush
'I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona'. Mark Draper
'
Do you remember when we played in Spain in the Anglo-Italian Cup?' Shaun Newton
'Winning doesn't really matter as long as you win'. Vinny Jones
'I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock'. Barry Venison
'My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7'. David Beckham
'I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league'. Mark Viduka
'I took a whack on my left ankle, but something told me it was my right'. Lee Hendrie
'Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well, he's the only manager I've actually had at this level. But he's the best manager I've ever had'. David Beckham
'If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day'. Neville Southall
'Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11 internationals out there today'. Steve Lomas
We haven't forced Terry to quit England, claim FA as hearing starts
John Terry was not forced to quit England over his racism hearing, the FA claimed on the first day of his Wembley hearing.
As manager Roy Hodgson paid tribute to departing Terry, FA general secretary Alex Horne revealed they are mystified by his decision to retire from international football.
Horne insisted the disciplinary hearing over Terry's racism charge was entirely separate to his England prospects.
Terry left the hearing at around 3pm on Monday afternoon having spent six hours at the FA headquarters and Anton Ferdinand has also gone home for the day.
Going home: John Terry leaves the FA headquarters at Wembley Stadium after day one of his racism hearing
Time to call upon Rio's experience again
Ferdinand: Has crucial part to play
Rio Ferdinand may have been out of the England picture in June, but I says this is the defender's time for club and country.
In the space of 24 hours this week, John Terry announced his immediate retirement from international football, and Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic was ruled out for at least eight weeks following knee surgery.Man Utd v Newcastle
Manchester United reached the fourth round of the Capital
One Cup despite fielding an inexperienced defence as they edged past a resurgent
Newcastle.
Anderson scored when he marched towards the visitors' defence just before
half time and fired into the bottom corner. Tom Cleverley made it 2-0 from 18 yards with his first Manchester United goal.
But after Papiss Cisse came on, he almost sent the game to extra time when he scored from a close-range header and hit the bar with an overhead effort.
QPR v Reading
Pavel
Pogrebnyak grabbed the winner for Reading as they twice came back from a goal
down to beat QPR in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
Junior Hoilett finished a solo run with a shot into the bottom corner to put
the hosts ahead before Kaspars Gorkss headed in a leveller.
Djibril Cisse's powerful shot put QPR back in front only for Nicky Shorey's
free-kick to haul Reading level again.
Pogrebnyak flicked in a winner and even had a penalty saved as Reading won.
Carlisle v Tottenham
Goals from Jan Vertonghen, Andros Townsend and Gylfi
Sigurdsson gave Tottenham victory over Carlisle to send them through to the
fourth round of the Capital One Cup.
The visitors took the lead shortly before the break when Vertonghen headed
home Sigurdsson's free kick. Andros Townsend put Spurs in control with a 53rd minute second, running from the halfway line before scoring.
Sigurdsson wrapped up the scoring when he nodded in Kyle Walker's cross.
Arsenal 6 - 1 Coventry FT
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster occurred when 96 Liverpool fans died after they were crushed within Sheffield Wednesday's stadium during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.
The fans who died had been in two pens of the Leppings Lane terrace. Each pen was separated by fences, including an overhanging barrier designed to prevent pitch invasions. Each pen had a small locked gate that opened onto the pitch. The report, compiled by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, said that despite obvious signs of distress, it was a while before the police fully reacted and launched attempts to rescue those who were being crushed.