White out as Reds go through

Bluebirds sink Black Cats

—– An injury-time equaliser gives Chelsea a vital Champions League point after an ill-tempered encounter at Barcelona.
Didier Drogba pounced with seconds left to seal a 2-2 draw as the increasingly bitter rivalry between the two clubs also results in a total of ten yellow cards.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho hails a “very powerful display” but, on Halloween Night, he condemns the Barcelona players’ behaviour with words that are sure to haunt him: “I think it is not easy for a referee to be a referee when the players are diving minute after minute.”
The Premiership champions - who are set to be fined after picking up six bookings - are almost certain to qualify from Group A with Barca and Werder Bremen battling for the other qualifying slot.

—– Liverpool’s emphatic 3-0 win against Bordeaux at Anfield confirms the Reds safe passage from Group C, along with PSV Eindhoven, with two games to spare.
The game is preceded by the shock resignation of long-serving director Noel White following his criticism of manager Rafael Benitez in a Sunday newspaper.
The article included quotes from an unnamed director questioning Benitez’s transfer dealings and team rotation policy.
Ironically, the Bordeaux visit is the first time in exactly 100 games that he has named an unchanged team.

—– Cardiff City continue to lead the way in the Championship with a 2-1 win at Sunderland. Michael Chopra’s brace takes him to the top of the division’s goalscorers charts.
Preston North End stay second as Dennis Wise is given a harsh demonstration of the task he faces. His new Leeds United charges crash 1-4 at Deepdale.
Burnley are third following a 2-0 win at Luton Town.
Early term favourites Crystal Palaces slip down to 18th with a 2-3 setback at Sheffield Wednesday.
In the clash of the bottom two, Southend United replace Hull City in 24th position as the Tigers come from behind twice to win 3-2 at Roots Hall.

Penney drops in at Darlo

Dowie quits Palace

—– Captain Richard Dunne’s first-half goal clinches Manchester City first win in four games.
Left back Ben Thatcher returns to starting line-up after his eight-match ban but the home defence is rarely troubled by the Middlesbrough attack until the nervy closing stages.
On the down side, the crowd of 36,720 is the lowest for a City Premiership home game since they left Maine Road in 2003.

—– League One Darlington appoint Dave Penney as their new manager.
Caretaker boss Martin Gray will stay with the Quakers as assistant to the 42 year-old.
Penney parted company with Doncaster Rovers in August after four-and-a-half years in charge.
He guided Rovers from the Conference to League One.
David Hodgson was sacked as Darlo boss on 4 October after he was suspended while they carried out an internal investigation.

—– Bob Dowie leaves his role as director of football at Crystal Palace with immediate effect.
Palace chairman Simon Jordan stated in the summer that Dowie’s job was secure following the appointment of Peter Taylor as manager.
Dowie is the younger brother of Iain who left his job as Palace boss in acrimonious circumstances in May and is now manager at Charlton Athletic.

Celtic go ten clear

Luton’s Davis suffers stroke

—– Teddy Sheringham becomes the first 40 year-old to score in the Premiership as West Ham United end their worst run of results since 1932.
The veteran striker heads a superb opener - the Hammers’ first league goal in over eight hours of play - in a 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers at Upton Park.
Manager Alan Pardew had been under enormous media pressure but was grateful for the supporters’ backing: “The fans were special. They showed the quality that some grounds can’t get.
“I’m not the most emotional of people but I was a little bit choked at the start, with the way they backed me, and I thank them for that.”

—– Celtic’s domination of the SPL continues as they move ten points clear at the top after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Kilmarnock.
Following yesterday’s 1-5 defeat at Falkirk, Craig Brewster leaves bottom club Dundee United “by mutual and amicable agreement”. It is expected that he will return to his former club Dunfermline Athletic after Jim Leishman stepped down last week.
Current Raith Rovers and former Heart of Midlothian boss Craig Levein is the hot favourite to fill the Tannadice vacancy.

—– Luton Town’s 0-5 drubbing at Ipswich Town in the Championship is overshadowed by the post-match news that Hatters defender Sol Davis suffered a stroke whilst travelling on the team coach to Suffolk yesterday.
The 27 year-old full-back is recovering in hospital. It is expected that it will take at least six months before he makes a full recovery.

Chelsea blunt Blades

Villa’s unbeaten start ends

—– In the week of his 21st birthday, Wayne Rooney emphatically ends his goal drought by scoring a hat-trick to help Premiership leaders Manchester United to a brilliant 4-0 win at Bolton Wanderers.
United lead Chelsea on goal difference after the champions win 2-0 at Sheffield United. Danny Webber misses a penalty for the Blades with the score at nil-nil.
Arsenal are held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the Emirates Stadium so Portsmouth move up to fourth with a 3-1 win against Reading at Fratton Park.
Aston Villa’s unbeaten start to the season comes to an end as Liverpool turn on the style with a 3-1 win at Anfield.
Watford are still without a win as they are frustrated in a home goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Charlton Athletic remain at the bottom despite a goalless draw at Newcastle United.
Wigan Athletic win 1-0 at Fulham.

—– Cardiff City extend their lead at the top of the Championship to four points despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Derby County at Ninian Park.
In the big West Midlands derby, Birmingham City overcome in-form West Bromwich Albion with a 2-0 win at St Andrews.
Crystal Palace lose their third home game in a row as Plymouth Argyle move up to fifth with Nick Chadwick’s only goal of the game.
Dennis Wise’s reign at Leeds United gets off to a winning start. The 2-0 win against Southend United at Elland Road also lifts Leeds out of the bottom three.
The biggest win of the day is at the Britannia Stadium where Stoke City thump Norwich City 5-0.

—– Nottingham Forest continue to head League One with a 2-0 win at Cheltenham Town while Bristol City remain in second spot with 1-0 win against Doncaster Rovers at Ashton Gate.
But for their ten-point deduction, Rotherham United would be up to fifth following a 5-1 drubbing of Crewe Alexandra at Millmoor. It takes them out of the bottom four for the first time this season.

—– Jamie Forrester’s seventh goal in three games takes Lincoln City to the top of League Two. The Imps win 1-0 at managerless Swindon Town.
Walsall are deposed as leaders after they are held to a goalless draw by Milton Keynes Dons at the Bescot Stadium.
Paul Ince suffers a heartbreak start to his managerial career. Winless Macclesfield Town lose 3-2 to a last-minute penalty against Mansfield Town at Moss Rose.

—– At the end of a turbulent week for the club at Tynecastle, Heart of Midlothian fail to record the victory demanded by club owner Vladimir Romanov. Hearts draw 1-1 with Dunfermline Athletic - the SPL’s next-to-bottom club.
Rangers are also held at home. Motherwell claim a deserved point at Ibrox.

Broken Hearts

Italian points reduction reduced

—– The Football Association agrees to adopt the Burns Report in its entirety.
The 91-man Council gives a positive vote to a revamp of the FA Board and the appointment of an independent council chairman to replace Geoff Thompson in 2008, as advocated by Lord Burns in August.
The other key points are establishing a new regulation and compliance unit and creation of two new subsidiaries - the Community Football Alliance and the Professional Football Alliance.

—– The on-going soap opera at Heart of Midlothian continues as majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov warns his players they are all for sale if they do not beat Dunfermline Athletic tomorrow.
In response, captain Steven Pressley reads a prepared statement voicing the players’ unhappiness with affairs at the club.
At a pre-match media conference and flanked by team-mates Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon, Pressley reveals there is “significant unrest” in the dressing-room and that the last two years had been “testing for the players”.

—– Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have their penalties for involvement in Italy’s match-fixing scandal reduced.
Lazio had their penalty slashed from 11 points to three, Juventus’ was reduced to nine from 17, while Fiorentina’s deficit was cut from 19 to 15 points.
AC Milan failed in their bid to have their eight-point penalty from the start of the season reduced.
Reggina, the only other Serie A club involved in the match-fixing scandal, are still awaiting a decision on their appeal.
The reductions are made by the Italian Olympic Committee.

—– Preston North End miss the chance to move to within a point of Championship leaders Cardiff City after a last-gasp strike from Andy Gray gives Burnley a 3-2 victory at Turf Moor.
In a dramatic Lancashire derby, Preston’s 11-game unbeaten run ends with four goals scored in the last 13 minutes.

FA refute Croatia charges

Relief for Dowie

—– In a ground-breaking decision, Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic is banned for five UEFA matches for the racial abuse of Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy.
The Serbian was found guilty by European football’s governing body following the game that took place in Krakow on 19 October.
Piara Powar, spokesman for anti-racism campaigners Kick It Out, says: “It is the sort of sanction that people across Europe will think, ‘There is a message to be learned here’.
“The concern in the past has been that many incidents have gone unpunished.
“It is time we were able to demonstrate that racism is being challenged in European football.”

—– The Football Association responds to UEFA’s charges of improper behaviour over incidents involving England fans at the Euro 2008 qualifier in Croatia earlier this month.
FA director of communications Adrian Bevington confirms they will “contest this as strongly as possible”.
He added: “It’s worth noting we’ve had a vast amount of communication and correspondence from England supporters who were in Zagreb on the evening and experienced some very difficult situations in the build-up to the game.”
England fans without tickets were able to break through a security cordon at the Maksimir Stadium which led to ‘concern’ among security guards.
The Croatian Federation also faces the same charge after police used batons on travelling fans.

—– The Queen is a late injury withdrawal from the official opening ceremony for Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle.
A spokeswoman at Buckingham Palace confirms there is no cause for concern for the 80 year-old monarch who has just returned from a three-country trip to the Baltic states.
In her absence, Prince Philip opens the £390million arena, where he is introduced to the Arsenal squad of players by captain Thierry Henry.

Spurs down Dons

Relief for Dowie

—– In a meeting of the two longest-serving managers in English football - Sir Alex Ferguson and Dario Gradi -
a debut goal from teenager Keiran Lee with two minutes of extra time remaining sends holders Manchester United into the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup.
United had gone ahead through Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 26th-minute strike but Crewe Alexandra deservedly equalise through Luke Varney after 73 minutes to send the Gresty Road tie into extra time.

—– Jermain Defoe and Mido each score twice as Tottenham Hotspur ease past Milton Keynes Dons 5-0 at the National Hockey Stadium.
Dons manager Martin Allen isn’t slow to reflect on Defoe’s influence following the Spurs forward’s controversial biting incident against West Ham United on Sunday: “Defoe showed a bit of bite tonight. He got his teeth into us. He was very sharp and his attitude good.”

—– Marcus Bent’s first goal in 17 games hands Charlton Athletic manager Iain Dowie a much-needed win as the Premiership’s bottom club beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at The Valley.
Assistant manager Les Reed notes: “It’s important that we’re starting to progress. To keep a clean sheet for the second match in succession shows we’re going in the right direction.”

—– Liverpool almost throw away a three-goal lead as Reading fight back at Anfield but the Reds survive 4-3.
Two second-half goals were enough to see Chelsea safely through at Blackburn Rovers.
Newcastle United’s three second-half goals at St James’ Park ends Portsmouth’s hopes.

Notts sink Saints

O’Neill’s happy return

—– League One Chesterfield are the major giantkillers in Round Three of the Carling Cup as they inflict more agony on West Ham United.
A corner appeared to have been turned by the Hammers when Marlon Harewood’s superb strike after four minutes ended a 672 minute drought.
Chesterfield - who had already beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City to reach this stage - level through Colin Larkin before Caleb Folan hits the dramatic late winner at Saltergate.
Having reached Europe last season, West Ham have now lost eight games in a row - their worst run of results since 1932.

—– League Two Notts County also cause an upset as they knock out Southampton of the Championship at Meadow Lane. Michael Edwards and Jason Lee score the goals in the first-half before the Magpies stood firm during the Saints second-half onslaught.
Wycombe Wanderers are the only other League Two survivors. After a 2-2 draw with Doncaster Rovers at Adams Park, they win the penalty shoot-out 3-2.

—– Port Vale are through to the Fourth Round for the first time in their history. They beat Norwich City 3-2 on penalties after a goalless draw at Vale Park.
Martin O’Neill makes a happy return to Leicester City as his Aston Villa team prevail 3-2 after extra time. City won this competition twice while O’Neill was in charge at Filbert Street from 1995 to 2000.
Under-fire Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce is also given a boost with a win at one of his former clubs. The Championship Blues win 4-2 at Premiership Sheffield United.
The biggest win of the night is at Goodison Park where Everton beat Luton Town 4-0 while a young Arsenal team over come a tricky hurdle with a 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.
Dennis Wise is at Elland Road to see his new charges for the first time but Leeds United’s season hits new depths as Southend United win 3-1.
Watford win for the first time this season (2-1 v Hull City at Vicarage Road).

Guvnor becomes Gaffer

Hearts boss takes a break

—– Dennis Wise is set to become the new manager of Leeds United after the Championship strugglers agree compensation with his current club, Swindon Town. His Robins assistant Gus Poyet will follow him to the Yorkshire club.
The former Chelsea duo will be re-united with ex-Blues chairman Ken Bates at Elland Road.
The appointment of Wise is not universally popular among Leeds supporters but Ken Bates - who became a close friend during their time at Chelsea - is typically belligerent: “I am aware that he may not be everybody’s cup of tea but this is not a popularity contest. It is a question of the right man to resolve a serious situation.”
The former Millwall boss replaces Kevin Blackwell who was sacked on 20 September.
Coach John Carver has since been in caretaker charge but he left the club today following Saturday’s 1-5 drubbing at Luton Town.
Reserve team coach David Geddis takes charge of tomorrow’s Carling Cup tie with Southend United before Wise officially begins his new job on Wednesday.
He took the reins at Swindon in May following Town’s relegation to League Two
Club captain Adrian Williams agrees to take over as caretaker manager at the County Ground after youth coach David Tuttle turned down the opportunity.

—– As his glittering playing career draws to a close, Paul Ince is unveiled as Macclesfield Town’s manager on an initial 14-month contract.
In his first managerial role, the former England and Manchester United midfielder succeeds the vastly experienced Brian Horton, who was sacked on 1 October.
Macc are without a win this season, are currently seven points adrift at the bottom of League Two and have the Football League’s lowest attendances.
The typically confident ‘Guvnor’ insists: “I wouldn’t say it’s a gamble - it’s a challenge and I never shirked a challenge as a footballer.
“It was a gamble to leave Manchester United for Inter Milan, so you do take chances, but that’s the way I am. I’m excited about it.”

—– The on-going managerial drama at Heart of Midlothian takes another twist as head coach Valdas Ivanauskas agrees to take a two-week leave of absence after a meeting with club owner Vladimir Romanov in Lithuania.
Ivanauskas had refused to talk to the media following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock - a defeat that left Hearts eight points behind SPL leaders Celtic.
Romanov sacked George Burley and Graham Rix last season but has so far remained loyal to Ivanauskas.
First-team matters will be overseen by sporting director Eduard Malofeev, the 64 year-old Former Soviet Union and Belarus national coach.

Gunners shoot down Reading

Defoe adds more bite

—– Paul Scholes marks his 500th appearance for Manchester United with the opening goal in a deserved victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford as United return to the top of the Premiership
The former England midfielder nets after 39 minutes before Rio Ferdinand smashes in a second to make it 2-0 after 66 minutes.
The game is watched by a new Premiership record crowd of 75,828.

—– Arsenal remain five points behind the leaders after a sparkling display at Reading.
Thierry Henry scores the Gunners first goal in the second minute at the Madejski Stadium before Alexander Hleb doubled the lead on 39 minutes.
Robin van Persie finished another fast-flowing move shortly after half-time, then Henry converted a penalty as Arsenal completely outclass the Royals in a 4-0 win.

—– Tottenham Hotspur condemn West Ham United to their seventh consecutive defeat with a Mido goal at White Hart Lane.
The goal comes moments after Jermain Defoe sparked an unseemly melee when he appeared to bite Javier Mascherano after the Argentine’s foul.

—– Blackburn Rovers miss two penalties and pay the price as Bolton Wanderers win 1-0 at Ewood Park.

—– Middlesbrough increase the pressure on Newcastle United manager Glenn Roeder with a 1-0 win at the Riverside.

—– Tony Mowbray’s reign at West Bromwich Albion begins in fine style with a 3-0 Championship win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 150th Black Country derby at The Hawthorns.

—– In League One, Swansea City are fifth after a 2-0 win against Millwall at the Liberty Stadium.

—– Nacho Novo is Rangers hero for the second time this week as he comes off the bench to clinch a 3-2 win at St Mirren.