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Saturday, 30th
September
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Premiership:
Darren Bent opens the scoring at The Valley but Charlton Athletic lose
to Arsenal. Andrew Johnson goalscoring form continues, but a
last-second goal denies Everton victory in the 1-1 draw with Manchester
City. |
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Friday, 29th
September
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Stoke City have
seen off competition from Crystal Palace and QPR to complete the loan
signing of Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie. The 29-year-old has
fallen out of favour at Villa Park, making only one substitute
appearance this season. That prompted the former England
international to ask Villa boss Martin O'Neill for a move. He won
the only England cap of his career as a substitute against the Czech
Republic in 1998. |
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Thursday, 28th
September
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Steve McClaren
will announce his squad tomorrow for next month's Euro 2008 qualifiers
against Macedonia and Croatia. Captain John
Terry is fit after a back problem but McClaren will be without injured
midfield duo Owen Hargreaves (broken leg) and Aaron Lennon (knee).
Manchester United's Michael Carrick or Newcastle United's in-form Scott
Parker could step in as a holding midfielder. Former England
captain David Beckham is not expected to be recalled. |
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Monday, 25th
September
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John Terry
underwent treatment from the England osteopath yesterday as Chelsea
battle to get the defender fit again. The centre-back missed the
Blues' win over Fulham on Saturday with a back injury and is a doubt for
Wednesday's Champions League tie at Levski Sofia. The 25-year-old
has not returned to training but it is believed that the problem has
eased after the treatment. He will now travel to Bulgaria with the
rest of the squad on Monday. |
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Saturday, 23rd
September
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Premiership football:
Frank Lampard scores both Chelsea goals in the London derby against
Fulham, finishing two goals to nil. |
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Wednesday,
20th September
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John Gregory
is the new manager of Queens Park Rangers.
The former Aston Villa boss returns to management three-and-a-half years
after leaving Derby County. "I'm back in the hot-seat and
it's a huge challenge." |
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Dion Dublin has signed for Norwich
City. The former England striker, who is 37, has signed a contract
until the end of the season.
Dublin was a free agent after being released
by Celtic. "I'm delighted to capture such an experienced player,"
boss Nigel Worthington said. "He's a big character and a top
quality player. His ability and professionalism will be a big plus for
us. His main position is as a striker and obviously that's where I
am looking for him to be involved, although obviously he can also
provide strong cover in the centre of defence as well." |
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Tuesday, 19th
September
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Stan Collymore
has given a lukewarm reaction to
Australian A-League side Newcastle Jets' offer to bring him out of
retirement, according to his agent.
Former Liverpool and England striker
Collymore, 35, has received two other offers from Australian clubs.
Agent Simon Kennedy said "In the last year, we've had offers from a
Premiership side and five Championship clubs - but it must be right.
We've had interest from Australia but it's not at the forefront of our
mind." |
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Monday, 18th
September
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Bryan Robson
and West Bromwich Albion have parted company 'by mutual consent'.
Club chairman Jeremy Peace said: "In view of the results since early
2006, it's been decided a change is necessary if the club is to achieve
its aims. This is a very important time for the club with
promotion a priority and the best way forward is to make a change." |
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Gareth Southgate
has said that Middlesbrough have agreed a fee with Real Madrid for
Jonathan Woodgate. The 26-year-old centre-half moved to Boro on a
season-long loan in August with an option for a permanent deal.
"We have a fee agreed with Real Madrid. Now our job is to encourage him
to stay with us. The fans have already shown how much they think
of him. Now we have to prove we can give him what he wants and develop
him as a player." |
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Michael Owen
has been assured his cruciate ligament operation will not end his
career. "When I came round after surgery, the surgeon told me
'whatever makes you retire from football it won't be your knee'.
Coming from a man as respected as Dr Richard Steadman, that was the
perfect way to wake up. Perhaps it was seeing his office full of
signed shirts and thank-you letters from dozens of grateful sportsmen."
|
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David Beckham
has revealed for the first time his "anger" at being dropped from the
national team by Steve McClaren. "Steve McClaren called me out of
the blue. He had called me before asking about my ankle - I
thought everything was good. He said 'I want to move forward but
there will be casualties along the way and you're one of them.' I
was angry and disappointed when I got off the phone. It surprised
me, I was gutted. Playing for England meant everything to me.
But I did not plead with him as he has made his decision. I still
hope I will play for England again - that's why I've not retired from
international football because I want to play again. If I was a
betting man then I wouldn't bet on me playing again, but I really want
to. I'm doing it for myself more than anything. The lads have
adapted really well and I have so much respect for John Terry. He's a
great lad and I'm sure Steve will be a good coach for England. I think
the future is good for England." |
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Sunday, 17th
September
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Owen Hargreaves
will be out for at least six weeks after breaking his left leg. He
will miss England's Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Macedonia and
Croatia in October. "I need to wear a plaster for three weeks then
we will have to see how it goes. After we got back to Munich, we
drove to see Dr Muller-Wohlfahrt, I got X-rayed and it was revealed the
left fibula was broken. That's the way it is in football.
Sometimes you are flying high and all of a sudden you are down again."
Hargreaves said.
Bayern Munich said Hargreaves could return in early
November if his recovery went to plan. |
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Saturday, 16th
September
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Owen Hargreaves
could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a suspected broken leg.
Hargreaves, 25, came off after 24 minutes of Bayern Munich's 2-1 league
defeat by Arminia Bielefeld after colliding with opponent Thorben Marx.
"We think he may have a broken fibula. We will know more after an
examination," said coach Felix Magath. |
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Premiership football:
Andy Johnson and James Beattie both score for Everton as they draw 2-2
with Wigan Athletic. |
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David Beckham
says he has a "burning desire" to prove new Steve McClaren wrong after
being dropped from the national team. "I know people said I should
have seen it coming, but it was a total shock. It's a terrible
feeling not playing for England after 10 years, but I'm not bitter -
more disappointed and hurt. He has made a decision, but I've got a
burning desire to prove him wrong."
Beckham revealed McClaren had told him "you are one
of the casualties". He added: "It's hard to take when the
reasoning behind it was to move on but, I still believe I have got two
or three more good years left in me. I thought I could move on
with the team and not get left behind. I heard there were some
reports that I had begged and pleaded with him not to do it. Well,
obviously I was upset but nothing like that happened. I was upset but I
am a man and I would never crawl to someone to pick me for the team.
I didn't announce my international retirement because I want to play for
England again. I still want to reach that milestone of playing for
England 100 times and help them win the European Championship.
It's a target I set myself a long time ago and I won't give up now.
I want to fight my way back in. Steve McClaren says the door is still
open. I'm not so sure. I'd love to say I'll play for England again
in the future. I'd love to say I'll reach 100 caps and go beyond that,
but I wouldn't tell anyone to bet on it." |
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Thursday, 14th
September
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Aaron Lennon
will undergo a knee operation on Saturday that will keep him on the
sidelines for up to six weeks. Spurs coach Martin Jol was
optimistic Lennon had recovered sufficiently to play in tonight's Uefa
Cup first-round tie against Slavia Prague. But he failed a late
fitness test and Jol confirmed the player will now undergo surgery to
cure the problem. Lennon will miss England's next two games
against Macedonia and Croatia. "Aaron will have the operation on
Saturday. He has a minor tear in the cartilage and we had hoped
for the best. But after training yesterday he said he couldn't do
everything he wanted to so we thought it best that he had the operation.
He will be out for five or six weeks." Jol said. |
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Danny Mills
has joined Hull City on a two-month loan deal from Manchester City.
The 29-year-old has lost his place at City. Hull chairman Adam
Pearson said: "I know Danny from my time at Leeds. It is a big move for
us. He has a wealth of experience." |
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Wednesday,
13th September
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England have equalled their
all-time high of fourth place in the Fifa rankings, underlining Steve
McClaren's successful start as England boss.
Post-World Cup victories over Greece,
Andorra and Macedonia have led to England leapfrogging world champions
Italy, who have slipped to fifth. McClaren said: "There is still a
long way to go. You have done nothing until you win something."
England were last ranked fourth under Glenn Hoddle in December 1997. |
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Aaron Lennon
has recovered from a knee injury and may
play in the Uefa Cup first-round tie against Slavia Prague.
Tottenham had initially feared
that Lennon would require surgery and then be sidelined for a month.
But the 19-year-old trained with the squad on yesterday and will have a
late fitness test before Thursday's game. It now appears he will
also be available for England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia on
7 October. |
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Sunday, 10th
September
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Aaron Lennon
faces several weeks out after suffering a knee injury in training. The
19-year-old missed Saturday's 1-0 loss at Manchester United having
broken down on Friday and will have a scan on Sunday to determine the
problem. "You never know with the knee. It could be his cartilage
and he might need an operation. Maybe he needs surgery but maybe
we'll give him another week's rest because it's only a small tear so
hopefully it will be okay. We'll make an assessment so we know for sure.
It's a disappointment but we played without him in pre-season and others
did well so I'm confident we can play with the other players and get the
results as well," said manager Martin Jol. If it is ligament
damage, he could miss England's forthcoming games against Macedonia and
Croatia in early October. |
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Saturday, 9th
September
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Premiership football:
Andy Johnson kicks of the days play by scoring two in Everton's
Merseyside Derby win over Liverpool, Everton win 3-0 to top the table
going into the afternoon's programme. Scott Parker sets
Newcastle United on their way to victory, but Fulham fight back to score
two in the final ten minutes, leaving United with a 2-1 defeat. |
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Friday, 8th
September
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Glenn Hoddle
is being tipped as the man who will spearhead Jamaica's bid to reach the
2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Hoddle, 49, has become the
front runner for the vacancy after Sven-Göran Eriksson failed to follow
up an approach from the Jamaican FA. Jose Pekerman, the manager of
Argentina during this summer's World Cup, is also in the running but
Hoddle was reported to be the favoured candidate as a English speaker
based in Europe, where most Jamaican professionals play.
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Darren Anderton
has agreed to sign for Bournemouth on a pay-as-you-play deal. The
34-year-old will put pen to paper on the pitch before the Cherries' home
fixture against Crewe on Saturday. Having been a free agent since
leaving Wolves in the summer, he is able to move outside the transfer
window. "Bournemouth play good football, and I don't feel like I'm
too big to play at that level," he said. |
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England Under-21s
face Germany next month in a two-legged play-off to reach the 2007
European Championship finals. Peter Taylor's youngsters defeated
Switzerland on Wednesday to top their three-team group and secure a
place in the next phase of qualifying. Taylor is in charge on a
match-by-match basis until England boss Steve McClaren finds a full-time
successor. The Crystal Palace boss is expected to be in charge for
the match on 7 October and the second leg four days later.
Taylor is set to ask McClaren whether eligible senior
players - such as Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing - can be made
available for the Germany match. "We'd love anybody young enough
to get us through the play-offs. The tournament is very important
to the education of the players. If we put out a strong team, to
get into the finals would be terrific for the players." As well as
Lennon and Downing, Darren Bent and Kieran Richardson - and technically
Wayne Rooney - are young enough to play. |
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Thursday, 7th
September
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Steve
McClaren
was delighted with his side's strength of
character in their battling victory in Macedonia. We knew we would
learn about the players in an atmosphere like this and we have. We
now know what we have got in that dressing room - players who can go
away from home and give people good games. I was absolutely delighted
with them." |
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Michael Owen has undergone
successful surgery on his ruptured cruciate knee ligament.
He can now begin his
rehabilitation after being operated on by specialist Dr Richard Steadman
in America. Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder said: "Our club doctor
Roddy Macdonald is in Colorado and told me the operation went extremely
well. As far as Michael is concerned, he can now start to focus on
playing again. It's going to be a long haul but he can start to
focus on that. And I look forward to the day when I can
write his name on a Newcastle United teamsheet." |
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Wednesday, 6th
September
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Macedonia 0 England 1
Peter Crouch's rich vein of scoring form
continued to give England a hard-fought victory in the Euro 2008
qualifier against Macedonia in Skopje. Crouch scored seconds after
half-time with a shot that bounced off the bar but was clearly over the
line. The Liverpool striker's 11th goal in 14 internationals made
it three successive wins for England coach Steve McClaren. |
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Monday, 4th
September
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Steve
McClaren
expects Rio Ferdinand to return from a
toe injury and be available to face Macedonia on Wednesday.
"He will be travelling with us and
we expect him to be fine to train again in Macedonia on Tuesday."
But keeper Chris Kirkland and defender Luke Young are out through
injury.
Kirkland has a back injury while a persistent ankle
problem has forced the withdrawal of Young. "While that is great
news on Rio, we have unfortunately lost Chris Kirkland and Luke Young.
Chris woke up at home on Sunday morning with a stiff back and was not
even able to travel down to join up with us in Watford. It is a
real disappointment because Chris has started the season so well and was
excellent when he came on against Greece. We are not calling
another goalkeeper into the squad as we have already got Paul Robinson
and Ben Foster. However, Scott Carson, who is with the Under-21s
in Switzerland, is on standby. Additionally, as a precaution, Luke
Young is not travelling to Macedonia as he has had an ankle problem
which has persisted for a few months." |
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Sunday, 3rd
September
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Steve
McClaren
believes his side passed their opening
Euro 2008 qualifying test with flying colours with a 5-0 win against
Andorra. "They handled the game very very well, just what we asked
of them. It was always going to be a test for us - not the
scoreline, not winning the game, but how we handled it. We
controlled the tempo, were patient, and never got frustrated - despite
some of the tackles." |
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Saturday, 2nd
September
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England 5 Andorra 0
England cruised to victory in
their opening Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra at Old Trafford.
Peter Crouch put England in
front after four minutes and Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard quickly
added a second with a brilliant finish. Jermain Defoe was on
target with crisp finishes either side of half-time as England dominated
completely. Crouch headed home his second from substitute Aaron
Lennon's cross after 65 minutes to seal an easy win. |
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Friday, 1st
September
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Rio Ferdinand
has been ruled out of England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra.
Steve McClaren confirmed today that Ferdinand has not recovered from his
toe injury. "He is continuing his rehabilitation, and he's back
running. We're hoping he will be available for Wednesday against
Macedonia. Michael Dawson and Wes Brown could step into the role and
we've got every confidence in them to do that."
Steve
McClaren wants his players to put
their domestic rivalries to one side as he bids to create a club mood
within the national team. "What I'm trying to create with England
is a club atmosphere, a 'Club England' and a team ethic. The
players have two agendas. At club level they are battling for a place,
the Premiership or the European Cup. But with England, it is
England and everybody is one with the shirt." |
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Transfer Deadline:
Chelsea have ended a long-running saga by
signing England defender Ashley Cole from Arsenal in exchange for £5m
and defender William Gallas.
The deal was completed just before the
transfer deadline with Cole, who was with the England squad in a
Manchester hotel, having his medical nearby. Cole is believed to
have signed a five-year deal worth £90,000 per week. Chelsea had
been linked with Cole, 25, all summer, but disagreements over the
transfer fee stalled the move.
A joint statement from the clubs said: "Chelsea FC
and Arsenal have agreed terms for the transfers of Ashley Cole and
William Gallas. Chelsea will also pay Arsenal £5m. Both players
have agreed personal terms and passed their respective medicals."
Although all the relevant paperwork had been lodged with the Premier
League, neither club had made an announcement by the time the midnight
deadline passed. It was not until 1:30 this morning that the
statement was finally issued. |
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Everton manager David Moyes
is to sue England striker Wayne Rooney over comments made in his book.
Moyes, who was Rooney's boss at Everton before he joined Manchester
United in August 2004, will start legal proceedings against the
20-year-old. Mel Goldberg, Moyes' lawyer, confirmed he will sue
Rooney. He said: "There are couple of comments but I think the
main one is 'Moyes forced me out' (of Everton). That was far from the
truth." |
England Football Online