Wigan lose goalless tag

More Hearts trouble

—– Blackburn Rovers remain six Premiership games without a win after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Ewood Park ends ten-a-side.
Tugay hits a sensational opener with a stunning volley from 30 yards but his afternoon later takes a dramatic downward turn.
He is sent-off by referee Phil Dowd after being adjudged to be last man as he brought down Hossam Ghaly for Jermain Defoe to score from the spot.
In stoppage time Ghaly is sent off for an elbow - a decision which leads to an eyeball-to-eyeball row between Dowd and Spurs boss Martin Jol.
Rovers manager Mark Hughes is none too happy either: “I’ve never been an advocate of technology but sooner rather than later they should bring it in.
“When huge decisions at the top level have an impact on teams, management and players then something has to be done.”

—– In their 50th Premiership game, Wigan Athletic record their first-ever top-flight goalless draw despite dominating Aston Villa at the JJB Stadium.
They miss out on a fifth consecutive win but Latics manager Paul Jewell remains upbeat: “We were terrific. In the first half, that’s as well as we have played in the Premiership.
“All that was missing for the icing on the cake was a goal or goals. We missed some good chances but that happens.”

—– He may only be 18 but Danny Haynes is already assured of hero status in Suffolk.
Not for the first time, he is Ipswich Town’s matchwinner in an East Anglian derby as he comes off the bench to score twice and clinch a 3-1 win against Norwich City at Portman Road.
The young striker also notched a controversial late winner in last season’s victory at Carrow Road.
New Norwich boss Peter Grant sees plenty of room for improvement from his troops: “We were awful. If you have lazy minds you’ll always struggle. We’ve got a million miles to go yet. We’re still not good enough.”

—– Standby for more fireworks at Heart of Midlothian after Nacho Novo’s goal gives Rangers a 1-0 win at Tynecastle.
It leaves Hearts in fifth place (behind Edinburgh rivals Hibernian), and with Celtic beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-0 yesterday, they are now 18 points behind the leaders.
With captain Steven Pressley left on the bench, stand-in skipper Paul Hartley vents his frustration: “We have had a lot of turmoil since I have been at the club. We thought things had settled down but, maybe, it is just starting up again.”

Preston join Cardiff at top

Rosenior stood down

—– With Chelsea due to visit Manchester United next Sunday, the Old Trafford clash already has the makings of a title decider.
United head Chelsea at the top of the Premiership by three points with the champions now eight points clear of the rest after both win again.
United go behind at Sheffield United but ease to a comfortable victory with two goals from Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with a 22nd minute strike from Geremi.
Portsmouth are up to third with a 2-1 win against Watford at Fratton Park with Arsenal fourth after being held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium.
The point lifts the Geordies out of the bottom three but Charlton Athletic - in Les Reed’s first game in charge - are still bottom after a 0-2 defeat at Reading.

—– With Championship leaders Cardiff City losing their unbeaten home record to Queens Park Rangers (0-1) last night, Preston North End join them on 36 points with a 1-0 win at Leicester City.
Birmingham City would also be level but they are held to a 1-1 draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Andrews.
Derby County push Blues for the title of current form horse with a 2-0 win at out-of-form Luton Town to move up to fifth.
Crystal Palace win for the first time in nine league games with a 2-0 success against fellow strugglers Barnsley at Selhurst Park but Leeds United’s recent optimism is quelled after Southampton win 3-0 at Elland Road.

—– League One leaders Nottingham Forest preserve their unbeaten away record with Nathan Tyson’s late goal at Rotherham United.
Managerless Scunthorpe United move up to second as Andy Crosby’s late penalty gives the Iron three points against Northampton Town at Glanford Park.
Yeovil Town lose ground after being held to a goalless draw at strugglers Leyton Orient.
Crewe Alexandra win 4-0 at Brentford to dump the Bees in to the bottom four. After a run of 16 games without a win, manager Leroy Rosenior - who only took over at Griffin Park in June - is sacked. Youth coach Scott Fitzgerald takes temporary charge.

—– Walsall move six points clear at the top of League Two with a 1-0 win at Hereford United.
Darlington continue to prosper under new boss Dave Penney with a 3-1 win at second-in-the-table Lincoln City.
Another new manager isn’t enjoying the same fortune. Paul Ince’s Macclesfield Town still await their first win of the season and are now ten points adrift after they lose the battle of the bottom two (2-3) against Boston United at Moss Rose.

Mightiest Magyar passes away

83 goals in 84 games

The legendary Ferenc Puskas - the outstanding star of Hungary’s ‘Mighty Magyars’ team that dominated European football in the fifties and later a great of Spanish football - died this morning in his home city of Budapest. He was 79.

His father was a player and coach with local club Kispest and, at the age of 16, Ferenc was already their regular inside-left and displaying the brilliance that was soon to become familiar to a much wider admiring audience.

He rarely used his right foot but his left was so lethal that it was rarely needed.

Ferenc made his international debut as an 18 year-old while his remarkable ability had much to do with Kispest being converted in to a new army sports club called Honved. Here, he became known as the ‘Galloping Major’.

This also became the basis of the national team that swept almost all before them for four years - keeper Gyula Grosics, right-half Jozsef Bozsik, inside-right Sandor Kocsis and the revolutionary deep-lying centre-forward Nandor Hidegkuti.

Puskas’ Hungary won the Olympics title in 1952 before ending England’s record of invincibility against continental opposition with the iconic 6-3 victory at Wembley on 25 November 1953.

That foggy autumn afternoon in London became dubbed as the ‘match that changed the game’ as newspaper headlines screamed “The New Wembley Wizards”, “Now It’s Back To School For England - With Hungary The Soccer Masters” and “Make ‘em Run - We Couldn’t”.

To prove it wasn’t a one-off, they thrashed England 7-1 in Budapest a few months later to become overwhelming favourites for the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

Unfortunately, Ferenc was dogged by injury throughout the tournament. His appearance in the Final proved to be a gamble too far as Germany ran out 3-2 winners in Berne.

He returned to the World Cup finals stage eight years later but by then, having taken Spanish citizenship, he was representing Spain in Chile.

Honved were abroad when the Hungarian revolution of 1956 erupted, and Puskas and several of his talented colleagues decided to defect to the West.

Ferenc tried to sign for a number of Italian clubs but they felt he was too old. He was 31 and hadn’t played a competitive game for 18 months.

Italy’s loss was Real Madrid’s gain as he became the Spanish league’s four-times top scorer while his partnership with Argentine centre-forward Alfredo Di Stefano was - almost without argument - the greatest the game has ever seen.

Their ultimate triumph came on 18 May 1960 in Glasgow when, in front of a crowd of 135,000 at Hampden Park, Real won their fifth consecutive European Cup.

In a never-to-be-forgotten 7-3 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, Puskas scored four and Di Stefano a hat-trick.

Real fans called him ‘Canoncito’ - the little cannon.

Ferenc retired in 1966 with a secure future. His business investments included a sausage factory near Madrid.

His coaching career was unremarkable but for taking Greece’s Panathinaikos to the European Cup Final in 1971. He also coached in Chile, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Egypt and Australia.

With the passing of time, Ferenc was able to return to Hungary in 1981 as a national hero. Hardly surprising with a record of 83 goals in 84 games for his country.

He was voted the 20th century’s fourth best player by the International Federation for Football History and Statistics.

In 2002, Hungary’s government renamed the country’s biggest football stadium - The Budapest Nepstadion or the People’s Stadium - after their greatest-ever player.

Ferenc, who was in hospital for six years with Alzheimer’s disease, passed away after suffering from a fever and pneumonia.

CAREER DETAILS
(courtesy of bigsoccer.com)

Born: 2 April 1927 in Kispest.

International:
Hungary 84 (1945-1956) / 83 goals
Spain 4 (1961-1962) / 0 goals

League Games:
Hungary 354 (1943-1956) / 357 goals
Spain 179 (1958-1966) / 154 goals

Domestic Cup games:
Hungarian Cup 40 (1944-1956) / 50 goals

International Cup Games:
European Champions’ Cup 41 (1956-1966) / 35 goals
Intercontinental Cup 2 (1960) / 2 goals

European Footballer of the Year: 1956 (4th), 1959 (7th), 1960 (2nd), 1961 (5th), 1965 (13th)

Trophies & Tournaments:
World Cup participation: 1954, 1962
World Cup beaten finalist: 1954
Olympic Tournament: 1952
Intercontinental Cup: 1960
European Champions’ Cup: 1959*, 1960, 1966*
European Champions’ Cup beaten finalist: 1962, 1964
Hungarian Champion: 1949/50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956
Hungarian runner-up: 1946/47, 1951, 1953
Hungarian Cup winner: -
Hungarian Cup beaten finalist: 1955
Spanish Champion: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Spanish runner-up: 1959, 1960, 1966
Spanish Cup winner: 1962
Spanish Cup beaten finalist: 1958, 1960, 1961*
Top League goalscorer: 1947/48, 1949/50, 1950, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964

* did not play in the Final

Full match-by-match details of Ferenc’s international career can be found on our AFS Genome Project database.

If you would like to share your memories or pay your tribute to the great Ferenc Puskas, please go to the ‘Add Comments’ box below.

Ireland’s last at Lansdowne

Newell survives

—– England end the year with a 1-1 draw against Holland.
Rafael Van der Vaart’s 86th minute equaliser denies England a morale-boosting victory in the Amsterdam friendly.
Wayne Rooney nets his first England goal of the year after 37 minutes as they avoid suffering consecutive defeats for the first time in 13 years.
The highlight is the performance is the debut Micah Richards. The Manchester City right-back becomes England’s youngest-ever defender at 18 years and 144 days.
Everton’s Andrew Johnson is less impressive although he is employed in an unfamiliar position on the wing in a fluid 4-3-3 formation.
In keeping with most friendlies, it is a relatively low-key affair so, as England didn’t win or play like worldbeaters, Steve McClaren will be slaughtered by the press.
Of more concern to the England coach should be the results from tonight’s Euro 2008 qualifiers that saw Croatia win in Israel (4-3) and Russia win in Macedonia (2-0).
It leaves England in third place in Group E.

—– On the night that they play their last game at Lansdowne Road before it is redeveloped, the Republic of Ireland record their first competitive win under Steve Staunton.
The Irish comfortably beat minnows San Marino 5-0.
Robbie Keane becomes the seventh player to score a hat-trick for the Republic. The most recent was David Connolly against Liechtenstein in May 1997.
It takes the Tottenham Hotspur marksman’s international tally to 29 goals in 70 appearances.
Ireland will play their forthcoming home games at Croke Park.

—– Mike Newell retains his job as manager of Luton Town but is severely reprimanded by the Championship club.
The former Hartlepool United boss launched a verbal attack on female official Amy Rayner and chairman Bill Tomlins following Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat by Queens Park Rangers.
An official statement reads: “Any repetition of such conduct will not be tolerated.”
Newell apologises to the board and assures them there will be no repeat.

Under-21s win in Holland

Wales morale boosted in Wrexham

—– In a surprise move, Charlton Athletic promote coach Les Reed on a permanent basis to replace Iain Dowie who was sacked yesterday.
The 53 year-old Londoner, who was Dowie’s assistant, will be assisted by Mark Robson who steps up from his role as development coach.
The Addicks use the title of head coach, rather than manager, and a third coach will be appointed to join the duo’s bid to save the club’s Premiership status.
Although Reed has no senior club managerial experience, Charlton have no worries about him having to obtain the relevant coaching badges as he is the author of ‘The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching’.
One of the country’s most respected coaches having worked for many years at the Football Association, he is also a well-known figure at The Valley.
Reed was first-team coach between 1995 and 1999 under manager Alan Curbishley and assistant Keith Peacock as Charlton reached the Premiership through the Play-Offs.
Dowie was dismissed after a ‘review of the club’s structure’.
Plc chairman Richard Murray explains: “We had to consider if we believed our current situation would improve and we reluctantly came to the conclusion that it would not.
“It is vital everyone works as a team in this situation. Unfortunately, I have to say that hasn’t been the case.”

—– England’s Under-21s gain a morale booster ahead of next year’s European Championships with a 1-0 win in Holland.
Arsenal’s Justin Hoyte nets the only goal of the friendly game at Alkmaar.
Sammy Lee took charge of the team for only game only as coach Peter Taylor remains at home to concentrate on his job at Crystal Palace.

—– Wales also enjoy a lift ahead of future Euro 2008 qualifiers with a comfortable friendly 4-0 win over Liechtenstein at Wrexham.
West Bromwich Albion’s Jason Koumas nets twice with Liverpool’s Craig Bellamy and Chris Llewellyn of Wrexham also on the mark.
Wales face similar opposition in San Marino next year.

Newell to meet Luton board

Pressley loses Hearts captaincy

—– Charlton Athletic do a football version of the old bus proverb as two managers nearly come along together.
Having had Alan Curbishley in charge for 15 years, they part company with Iain Dowie after only 15 games.
Three of their games were in the Carling Cup as the 41 year-old led the Addicks to the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the first time in their history.
The problem was only two of his 12 Premiership games were won which left Charlton at the bottom of the table.
That said, Saturday’s 2-3 defeat at Wigan Athletic was their first defeat in four league games.
Dowie controversially joined Charlton in the summer after leaving Crystal Palace whose chairman Simon Jordan has taken him to court over the move.
Although Jordan sympathises with his former employee on this occasion, his relationship with the Athletic management is still on the frosty side: “I think Charlton have not really given him a chance. Gutless, faceless people take those decisions, don’t they?”
Alan Curbishley immediately rules out a return to The Valley.
Glenn Hoddle is rumoured to be the favourite to fill the vacancy.
The club will issue a full statement tomorrow.

—– Luton Town’s directors are to meet manager Mike Newell to discuss the comments he made about lineswoman Amy Rayner after Saturday’s defeat by Queens Park Rangers.
Following an emergency board meeting, a statement read: “The club disassociates itself with the manager’s comments which have no place in the game.
“The board will meet with the manager as a matter of urgency.”
Although Newell has made a public apology, his future is in further doubt due to his excessive criticism of chairman Bill Tomlins.
Luton losing their last four games doesn’t help either.

—– The great Heart of Midlothian soap opera continues with the future of influential captain Steven Pressley thrown in to doubt following his exclusion from tonight’s SPL game at Falkirk.
Hearts refuse to confirm if he was dropped for the 1-1 draw or had resigned the captaincy.
Last month, the 33 year-old centre-back spoke publicly of “significant unrest” at the Edinburgh club following the departure of head coach Valdas Ivanauskas on sick leave.
Keeper Craig Gordon says: “Of course it’s a concern. It’s something that we need to sort out.”

—– Havant & Waterlooville’s 1-2 defeat to Millwall isn’t their only loss in the First Round of the FA Cup.
They are forced to switch the tie against the finalists in 2004 to Portsmouth’s Fratton Park and face a police bill of £35,000.
Although the game attracts a higher than anticipated gate of over 5,000, they still face a loss of over £10,000.
It’s the first time in their history that the Conference (South) club have met a Football League club in the FA Cup.