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England News November, 2005

Wednesday, 30 November 2005 - Premiership football:- Steven Gerrard scores Liverpool's second goal against basement club Sunderland.  Peter Crouch has now gone 18 games without scoring.

Carling Cup Fourth Round: Danny Murphy scores for Charlton Athletic, but a David Thompson equaliser for Blackburn Rovers eventually pushes Rover's into the quarter-finals following a 3-2 victory.

Frank Lampard has been shortlisted for Fifa's World Player of the Year award.

Tuesday, 29 November 2005 - Nationwide have revealed they will end their six-year sponsorship of the England side after next summer's World Cup finals in Germany.  The building society have called time on the deal with the Football Association as they believe it has "run its course".  Spokesman Chris Hull said: "Nationwide needs to ensure its activities are in the best interests of its members.  All opportunities must represent value for money.  Nationwide has been involved with football for a decade and we will continue as a sponsor of football throughout the UK and at the highest level in England.  Next summer's World Cup in Germany will be the fourth consecutive major tournament where Nationwide has been a sponsor of the England team - we have a 100% qualification record with the three lions.  However, after a fruitful six-year relationship with the FA, we believe that this partnership has run its course."

Carling Cup Fourth Round: Emile Heskey scores Birmingham City's second against Millwall.  The tie ends in a 2-2 draw, City eventually progressing following a penalty shoot-out.

Monday, 28 November 2005 - Ronaldinho has been named 2005 European Footballer of the Year.  The 25-year-old Barcelona playmaker was favourite to claim the Ballon D'Or, having already won the 2004 Fifa World Player of the Year and the inaugural FIFpro award.  The Ballon D'Or is widely accepted to be the highest accolade available to a player plying his trade in Europe.  Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard came second, while Liverpool's Steven Gerrard finished third.

Fulham have paid tribute to club legend Johnny Haynes by re-naming a stand after him.  Fulham invited suggestions from supporters on how best to remember the great player following his tragic death back in October.  Ideas from retiring his famous number 10 shirt and a statue in his honour were all put forward, however the club opted to re-name the Stevenage Road stand.  The stand has now been re-named the Johnny Haynes Stand in memory of the ex-England international who turned out 658 times for Fulham.

Sunday, 27 November 2005 - Premiership football:- Wayne Rooney inspired Manchester United to a deserved victory at West Ham United.  United went behind after just 52 seconds, but then created plenty of chances and equalised when striker Rooney cut inside a defender before powering home.  Rooney then provided the corner for John O'Shea's headed winner which lifts United to second in the Premiership.

Saturday, 26 November 2005 - Premiership football:- Frank Lampard marked his record-breaking 160th consecutive Premiership appearance with a goal as Chelsea beat managerless Portsmouth, Lampard has not missed a league match for Chelsea since September 2001 and celebrated by slotting in his team's second goal with a 67th minute penalty. 

Friday, 25 November 2005 - George Best has died in hospital at the age of 59 after suffering multiple organ failure.  Best, who was first admitted in October with flu-like symptoms, died at 1255 GMT. London's Cromwell Hospital said it ended "a long and very valiant fight".  Son Calum, 24, who had kept a bedside vigil, said: "Not only have I lost my Dad... we've all lost a wonderful man."  The ex-Manchester United and Northern Ireland star is to be buried in Belfast beside his mother, Ann, next Friday.

Thursday, 24 November 2005 - Sir Bobby Robson is interested in becoming Portsmouth's new manager.  Former England manager Robson, 72, has been out of work since he was sacked by Newcastle in August 2004.  Despite his age Robson insisted he would still be able to run a top club.  "I am competent to do another job. Where it is I don't know. I am waiting for the right job to come along,  If the job came along I would take it, even at my age. I still love being on the pitch. It is what I like and what I am good at, and with respect, I am not being egotistical here.  I miss Saturday afternoons, being with the players, being on the pitch and I miss the thrill of training and playing and getting results."

Ashley Cole's broken foot will keep him out of action for the rest of the year.  The news is a blow to boss Arsenè Wenger, who had hoped to have the 24-year-old back in action in December.

Jason Wilcox has joined Blackpool on loan from Leicester City.  The former England international, 34, has moved to Bloomfield Road for a month after dropping out of the first-team picture at Leicester. 

Gary Neville and Robbie Fowler both continued their comeback from injury as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 4-2 in Wednesday's reserves derby.  Neville, who is returning from a groin injury, came on as a substitute for United against Villareal before fine tuning his fitness in the reserves.  City's Fowler, who is recovering from a back problem, played a full 90 minutes.

Wednesday, 23 November 2005 - November : England remain ninth in the latest Fifa world rankings, meaning they are still well-placed to gain a seeding for the 2006 World Cup.  Fifa is expected to use the world rankings and performances at the last World Cup to calculate the seedings.  The Czech Republic have moved up to second behind Brazil.

John Hollins has been appointed manager of Crawley Town.

Saturday, 19 November 2005 - Premiership football:- Alan Smith scores one of three goals for Manchester United as they beat Charlton Athletic.  Joe Cole also scores one of three goals for Chelsea against Newcastle United.  Kevin Phillips and Gareth Barry score for Aston Villa against Sunderland. 
A Nicky Barmby goal for Hull City was not enough as they ran out eventual losers to Reading.  David Unsworth is one of the Sheffield United scorers against Millwall.

Friday, 18 November 2005 - The government is to take a first step towards bidding to host the 2018 World Cup by launching a feasibility study.  Chancellor Gordon Brown and Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Tessa Jowell, will announce the move.  The feasibility study is needed before the Football Association decides whether to bid for the tournament.  Alec McGivan, who spearheaded England's unsuccessful bid for the 2006 World Cup, said the FA would certainly back the bid if the government did.  He said England's last bid had been scuppered by politics, rather than by any doubts about the country's ability to host the tournament.  "What let us down last time was that Uefa - bar one vote - wanted Germany to have the World Cup".  He said the FA was now better liked within world football than it had been at the time of the 2006 bid.  "England traditionally has been seen as rather arrogant. The FA has learned that lesson, and has won friends and influence as a result," he said.  But he said the European vote could be split if Spain also wanted to host the 2018 tournament.

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Gary Neville played for an hour on Thursday in his first match action since injuring his groin in August.  Neville started for Manchester United's reserves in the 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion before being replaced on 62 minutes.  The 30-year-old could now feature on the bench in United's Premiership game against Charlton on Saturday.  He could then be back in the starting line-up for the Champions League encounter with Villarreal on Tuesday.

Wednesday, 16 November 2005 - Sven-Göran Eriksson has opted to wait until the outcome of the World Cup draw before deciding on England's opponents for their three warm-up games.  The England coach will discover the make-up of his side's group on 9 December in Leipzig, Germany.  "What makes the most sense is to wait to see who we are drawn with.  That way we can pick the teams to play who will be most useful in terms of building towards the finals."
South Africa, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, are confident of playing England before next summer's finals.  South African Football Association president Molefi Oliphant said: "We have agreed to play two teams who will feature at the World Cup finals in Germany in June as part of their World Cup build-up.  We will play Poland at home. We have not finalised a venue where we will play England."  However, according to South Africa's FA chief executive, Raymond Hack, the fixture with England had yet to be confirmed.  "The England game is only 50%. It is largely dependent on the World Cup draw and whether England feel it should be part of their build-up to play a warm-up against an African nation."  England plan to play their friendlies on 1 March, in late May and in early June, after the squad has been chosen.

Tuesday, 15 November 2005 - France U21 2 England U21 1 A controversial late penalty saw England Under-21s suffer an agonising 3-2 aggregate play-off defeat to France in the European Championship qualifier. Jimmy Briand's spot-kick won it for France after Kieran Richardson's tentative lunge on Lassana Diarra.  Darren Bent, who also hit the post, gave England the lead with a fabulous header 10 minutes after the break.

Terry Venables has admitted he would be interested in taking over as manager of the Republic of Ireland.  The 62-year-old Venables has emerged as the favourite to succeed Brian Kerr but has yet to hold talks with the Football Association of Ireland.  He said: "I've been offered quite a lot of positions. But if something came up that was special, like Ireland which is international, it may be interesting."

The Football Association has revealed it will not make a decision on a making a formal bid to host the 2018 World Cup until autumn 2006.  A Treasury spokesman confirmed the Government and Football Association are in early talks about launching a bid.  And FA communications director Adrian Bevington admitted a bid would be given "serious consideration."  But he added: "It will be at least next autumn before we would put any definite proposals in place.  It's fantastic news that the Government, through the Treasury, have announced their support for any such future bid.  But in terms of the precise nature of any such bid that won't be for another year or so."

Monday, 14 November 2005 - England's hopes of being among the top eight seeds for the World Cup have been boosted by their win over Argentina.  Before Saturday's victory, England were fifth in the seedings - provided Fifa uses the formula it employed to seed teams for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.  The system used then, the World Cup coefficent, has in ninth place Netherlands who lost to Italy at the weekend while 10th-placed US drew with Scotland.  Both those results worked in England's favour in terms of their seeding.  Going into the weekend's fixtures, England were on 46 points - level with Argentina - but Saturday's win does not necessarily move them higher up the list.

Wayne Rooney has cited Peter Crouch as a major factor behind the astonishing comeback to beat Argentina 3-2.  Crouch came off the bench in the 81st minute as England, through Michael Owen, scored twice late on to win it.  "Crouchy was brilliant when he came on in the second half.  He was probably the main influence on us winning.  For the crosses into the box, the defenders were worried about him - which created space for Michael."

Ledley King has given Tottenham Hotspur an injury dilemma after he delayed a knee operation to help England beat Argentina.  He will be sidelined for around six weeks after surgery, and boss Martin Jol is reportedly pondering whether to now wait until the end of the season.  King is likely to want the operation quickly, with his sights set on the World Cup in Germany next summer.

Sunday, 13 November 2005 - Sven-Göran Eriksson lauded his strike pairing of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney after their roles in a dramatic 3-2 win over Argentina.  Owen scored two late goals while Rooney was England's star performer. "Michael Owen is a top goalscorer, one of the best in the world. In the big games, he's always there and he's shown that for many years.  [Rooney] is the complete footballer and he's still only 20. That's not bad.  Rooney made a huge impact. He's considered one of the best players in the world and I hope that he will show the same form next summer.  He can do everything, he was even winning headers against their centre-backs, which was incredible."

Sir Trevor Brooking has defended the bonus payments the England team will get in the 2006 World Cup.  Reportedly, each player could net up to £300,000 if England win the trophy.  Brooking said: "The balance is right. You should reward players and it should be fair and realistic.  If they end up up winning the trophy we look forward to paying what was agreed right at the top end."

Gary Lineker believes the Football Association should appoint former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill as Sven-Göran Eriksson's successor.  O'Neill, 53, left Celtic to spend more time with his sick wife Geraldine.  Lineker, writing in his Sunday Telegraph column said: "I don't know whether he would be interested in the job, but he's perfectly qualified.  He played at the highest level and as a manager worked his way up from the bottom. For God's sake he's a genius." O'Neill has ruled himself out of the running for the vacant Republic of Ireland job due to his wife's illness.  If O'Neill is unavailable, former England striker Lineker thinks the Football Association could do worse than appoint Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce.  "I think Pearce would be a very interesting choice.  Be it as a player or a manager, he has worn his heart on his sleeve. He's quite quirky as a manager, which I like.  He's also honest and dependable, and doesn't stand for any bad behaviour or arguing with referees.  Someone with those sort of credentials is just what you want in a position of power, where you have a greater responsibility to the game.  I think the best managers have always been those who instil either fear or a lot of respect in players, like Sir Alex Ferguson, Josè Mourinho and Arsenè Wenger for example.  And Pearce is the same. I can tell you from personal experience - he's very scary to face."

Saturday, 12 November 2005 - Argentina 2 England 3 Michael Owen scored two dramatic late goals to earn England victory in a pulsating friendly.  Owen nodded in an equaliser on 87 minutes from Steven Gerrard's pinpoint cross and headed the winner from Joe Cole's floated centre in injury time.  Hernan Crespo put Argentina ahead from Maxi Rodrigruez's pull-back but the outstanding Wayne Rooney fired England level from David Beckham's knock-down.  Walter Samuel's downward header made it 2-1 before Owen's late intervention.

Friday, 11 November 2005 - Frank Lampard has won the Barclays Player of the Month award for October.  The 27-year-old was in stunning form for the champions as they collected 10 of a possible 12 points.  The Chelsea man scored twice against Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers and was also on target against Liverpool and Everton.  According to the Actim Index, which statistically measures players' performance, Lampard is currently the best player in the country.

Rio Ferdinand is expected to keep his place for England in tomorrow's friendly against Argentina.  Ferdinand is set to partner John Terry in defence, with Sol Campbell on the bench.  Eriksson is said to have been impressed by his display in United's win over Chelsea.  Eriksson must also decide who will replace injured left-back Ashley Cole.  Wayne Bridge appears to be in pole position, despite playing only 60 minutes of first-team football since returning from a broken leg.  Paul Konchesky and utility man Phil Neville are Eriksson's other options.  Ledley King is expected to be available to reprise the holding midfielder role.  The defender came through Thursday's training session unscathed after missing Wednesday's run-out with a knee injury.  The match is Argentina's home game, but they chose not to play it in Buenos Aires because most of their players are based in Europe.

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Ledley King's hopes of playing in Saturday's friendly against Argentina have been boosted by the news he will train today.  King had missed yesterday's session with a knee injury.  But following further assessment he has been told he is fit enough to return.

Wednesday, 9 November 2005 - The England squad have reached agreement in principle with the Football Association over their bonuses for the World Cup finals.  Each player could net up to £300,000 if England win the trophy.  Gary Neville joined fellow members of the England players' panel to meet the FA.  FA director of communications Adrian Bevington said: "It was a very constructive meeting.  We are delighted that agreement has been reached in principle after the first discussions."

Ledley King is an injury concern for England ahead of Saturday's friendly against Argentina.  King missed the squad's first training session with a knee injury.  The extent of the problem has not been revealed by England's medical staff.  Frank Lampard also missed Wednesday's run-out because he felt 'off-colour', but is likely to return to training on Thursday.  Meanwhile, Wayne Bridge is in line for a recall for the friendly against Argentina, despite playing only 60 minutes of first-team football this season.  Sol Campbell is likely to partner John Terry in central defence, while the preferred strike-force of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are available. 

Sven-Göran Eriksson expects the friendly with Argentina to be the perfect test of England's World Cup credentials.  Eriksson hopes it will also send a signal to South America's elite.  He said: "We all know that when Brazil play well they are difficult to beat and, if it goes their way in attack, they have as many options as they want.  But I don't think it is impossible to beat Brazil.  Let's start by trying to defeat Argentina this week.  It's more difficult for the South American teams to play a World Cup in Europe than in other places in the world. South American teams have only won once in Europe - Brazil in Sweden in 1958... It will be very good going into the World Cup knowing how to play with two systems, with either a diamond-shaped or flat midfield quartet at his disposal.  This is a very good test for us. We are playing one of the best teams in the world and we have good preparation time."

Geoff Thompson, the Football Association chairman, says England is in a "strong position" to host the World Cup when it next returns to Europe.  After next summer's finals, the finals will be staged in South Africa in 2010 and South America in 2014.  England 's bid for the 2006 finals failed but Thompson said: "When it comes back to Europe, we'll be in a strong position.  Our stadia are as good if not better than the vast majority in Europe."  The sheer size of the tournament dictates that only a handful of countries would be able to stage the tournament when it is due to return to Europe in 2018.  Thompson said: "It's almost impossible for the smaller countries to be able to host it.  Therefore, I think the big countries in Europe would be the ones that have that opportunity. France had it in 1998, Germany has it next year, Italy had it in 1990."

Terry Venables has not applied to be Ireland's new manager or been approached about the vacancy, the former England, Barcelona and Tottenham coach revealed.  British bookmakers have suspended betting on Venables succeeding Brian Kerr after some big-hitting punters placed large stakes on him to get the job earlier this week.  But Venables insisted in an interview "I have not been approached for the Republic of Ireland job and I have not applied for it."

Gary Neville is hopeful of returning to first team action when Manchester United face Charlton Athletic on November 19.  The England defender is looking forward to adding some much-needed experience to the United line-up when The Premiership returns.  After being sidelined following a hernia operation, the full back is relishing his return.  "I've started training and should be fit to play against Charlton.  Though it's going to be hard to get back into the team.  When you're injured, you feel helpless and I want to start contributing."

Tuesday, 8 November 2005 - Terry Venables has been linked with the vacant Republic of Ireland mangerial post.  Leading bookmakers have suspended betting after heavy backing for the ex-England coach.  Venables is currently employed as a television pundit.

Tord Grip has revealed that he expects Sven-Göran Eriksson to stay on way beyond next summer's World Cup finals.  The England boss has a contract until 2008 but many believe he will quit the job immediately after Germany 2006.  However Grip said that Eriksson is in no rush to leave and added: "I can see him staying.  I think so because he likes his job, that's for sure. For me, it would be absolutely perfect, I love my job."
Grip's also revealed that he expects John Terry to be the England skipper one day, although Beckham will almost certainly retain the captain's armband next summer.  "I see him as a very good player, very good defender, and he's a very good captain for Chelsea, so why shouldn't he be captain of the England team?  He is the captain in Chelsea and Rio (Ferdinand) is sometimes the captain at Manchester United, so we just have David Beckham for us and he will be the captain in the World Cup, that's for sure."

Uefa have named a shortlist of three candidates to host the European Championship in 2012.  Italy and joint bids from Croatia/Hungary and Poland/Ukraine made the final list, with the decision on the hosts to be made in December 2006.  European football's governing body rejected bids from Greece and Turkey.

Paul Robinson expects the friendly clash with Argentina to be fiercely competitive.  "It's a friendly but I don't think it will be played like a friendly because it's a game with an eye on the World Cup,"  The meeting between two of the sides tipped to win the 2006 World Cup will be played in Geneva on Saturday.  "We may meet again in the finals and it's a chance to play against a team as strong as us.  There's a great history between the sides. I remember the 1986 game, that was the first World Cup I really remember. I watched it and I was absolutely gutted afterwards.  Maradona was a cheat but he got away with it.  It's still talked about now but it's a very long time ago.  We won't be thinking or looking back at that, we will be taking the game on its merit and hopefully getting a result.  I remember we beat them in the last World Cup and now we have a chance to do it again."

Jonathan Woodgate has revealed his bitter disappointment at his latest injury setback after returning from 18 months on the sidelines.  The 25-year-old Real Madrid defender is out for a month with a hamstring strain after recovering from thigh problems.  "I am sad, really sad, because I wanted to play against Barcelona.  It's a pity I can't continue playing at the moment because I was just getting back into the rhythm of competitive matches again."  The Barcelona clash is on 19 November and he insisted: "This injury has nothing to do with the old one which was very important news for me. I have completely recovered from that one."

Brian Deane, the former England international, will leave Perth Glory because of ongoing injury problems, the Australian A-League club said in a statement.  The announcement brings to an end Deane's seven-match stint in Australia's fledgling football league, during which the striker scored only one goal.  Deane, 37, said he decided to head home to England after a recurrence of a hamstring injury.  "I am already playing catch-up because of this injury in some ways so that is a personal setback.  Part of me has also been thinking that, from the club's point of view, it would be better to leave a space open to bring someone in to strengthen the squad for the future.  By leaving the club now it gives Perth Glory a chance to regroup during what is an important phase of development for the club."  Perth Glory coach Steve McMahon said he was sorry to see Deane leave.  "He has been a consummate professional during his time at Perth Glory and many of the younger players have learned a lot from him already."

Monday, 7 November 2005 - Jonathan Woodgate's injury nightmare has resurfaced after Real Madrid said the central defender will be out for up to four weeks with a torn hamstring.  Woodgate limped out of his side's win over Real Zaragoza on Sunday and now faces another spell on the sidelines.  The 25-year-old only recently returned following a thigh muscle injury which kept him out for almost 18 months.

Sunday, 6 November 2005 - England squad:- Eriksson has made four changes to his England squad for the friendly match against Argentina in Geneva next week.  David James and Michael Carrick return to the squad having missed the double-header against Austria and Poland, whilst Wayne Bridge has the chance of a first cap since November last year.  Paul Konchesky made his England debut at Upton Park against Australia in February 2003 and, with Ashley Cole missing through injury, is the second left-back included in the squad.  As well as Ashley Cole, those players unavailable for selection due to injury include Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Owen Hargreaves, Chris Kirkland and Jonathan Woodgate.

Premiership football:- A single James Beattie goal secures another Everton win, this occasion against Middlesbrough.

Graham Rix will be unveiled as Hearts manager this week.  Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has turned to Rix, 48, after Sir Bobby Robson and Claudio Ranieri declined the chance to succeed George Burley.  Previously coach at Chelsea and manager of Portsmouth, Rix's last job in football was at Oxford United, a post he left in March 2005.

Sven-Göran Eriksson categorically insisted there is no get-out clause in his England contract as he declared he had never considered leaving his post after the World Cup finals.  Eriksson joked that "if I'm clever and we win the World Cup, I should leave", but dismissed reports, based on quotes from his right-hand man Tord Grip, indicating he had a clause in his contract to leave next summer.  That had heightened doubts as to whether Eriksson, who will return to club management after his spell as an international coach, will stay on for the European Championships qualifying campaign.  Asked about the existence of any clause in his current deal, he insisted: "Absolutely not. My contract runs until 2008. It's not true."  While Eriksson did previously speak to Chelsea, leading to the most recent extension in his contract, he added: "I have a contract and I've never had any discussions with any clubs.  We don't have any discussions in the Football Association about it and the contract is there."

Saturday, 5 November 2005 - Premiership football:- A late Steven Gerrard penalty was enough to set Liverpool on their way to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa.  A single Teddy Sheringham goal helped West Ham United beat West Bromwich Albion.
A fifth-minute Nicky Barmby goal for Hull City was not enough as they ran out eventual losers to Watford.

The 2006 World Cup and with just seven months to go, German organisers are being forced to run a fine toothcomb over the 12 World Cup stadia following a problem at the Frankenstadion in Nurmeberg.  Sections of concrete at the 56 million euro Frankenstadion, one of the World Cup venues, cracked during Nuremberg's cup match with Dynamo Dresden on October 25 with plaster flaking off the ceiling due to the vibrations made from fans jumping up and down.  "We can not have something like that happening to us at the World Cup with the whole world watching on," explained Nuremberg business leader Matthias Huber to Bild daily.  German organisers were left red-faced after the 2005 Confederations Cup final on June 29 when the roof at Frankfurt's new 126 million euro Waldstadion allowed rain to leak onto the field following a thunderstorm.  "Another alarm in our World Cup stadia,  in Frankfurt there has been damage to the roof on two occasions already and now the problem in Nuremberg."

Friday, 4 November 2005 - David James and Jonathan Woodgate are poised for recalls to the England squad for the friendly against Argentina.  James has not been involved since being dropped after his poor display as a second-half substitute against Denmark in August.  Woodgate is also set to be included after finally ending his long-term injury nightmare.  Sven-Göran Eriksson will name his squad on Sunday night.  It is widely believed Woodgate will earn his first cap since March 2004, when he played against Sweden.  However, Woodgate is unlikely to start the match, with fellow centre-backs Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Sol Campbell and Jamie Carragher also expected to be included.  James could be given an opportunity as Chris Kirkland is injured - although it would probably be no more than a substitute appearance.  First-choice Paul Robinson should begin the match as Eriksson is expected to name a strong line-up.   Ledley King may retain his place in central midfield after performing well against Poland.  The main selection decision will again be between Campbell and Ferdinand at centre-back.  Ashley Cole's continued absence because of injury could spell a recall for Wayne Bridge, who has now recovered from long-term injury.  Luke Young should continue to cover for Gary Neville at right-back.

Sir Alex Ferguson has threatened to pull his England players out of the squad for the friendly versus Argentina.  He said: "I've never had problems with competitive games but I'll not risk my players in a friendly.  I do not like friendly internationals.  England have one this month and you can bet that Chelsea and Arsenal will be pulling their players out.  And if I have the injury problems I have at the moment, I will be too."  Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith are all expected to be in Sven-Göran Eriksson's squad for the match in Geneva on Saturday 12 November. 

Thursday, 3 November 2005 - Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, has been named Coca-Cola Championship manager of the month for October.

Wednesday, 2 November 2005 - Paul Merson has revealed that he failed in a bid to sign former England goalkeeper David Seaman for Walsall's FA Cup tie at Merthyr Tydfil on Friday.  Regular keeper Andy Oakes is injured and Sunderland have refused permission for on-loan Joe Murphy to play.  "Clubs don't want to loan goalkeepers out and get them cup-tied," Merson said.  "I contacted David's agent but he took out insurance when he retired that means he can't play again."

Tuesday, 1 November 2005 - David Beckham became the first ever Englishman to make 100 Champions League appearances when he lined up to face Rosenborg for Real Madrid.  It has  taken the England captain nearly eleven years and two clubs to reach this exclusive milestone, where he joins only two other players; Madrid team-mate Raul Gonzalez and AC Milan legend Paulo Maldini.  Not far behind is Gary Neville, who looked set to reach the mark first, before injury in August put a temporary halt on his season.  "I'm very proud to have a record like that.  It looked like Gary would be the first one to do it. Hopefully he'll be back soon to get his 100."

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CG