Top two win

DIC withdraw Liverpool bid

—– Continuing his policy of resting many of his leading players, Arsenal reach their first League Cup Final under Arsene Wenger.
The young Gunners beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 after extra time in the North London derby at the Emirates Stadium to go through to a Millennium Stadium meeting with Chelsea by a 5-3 aggregate.

—– The Premiership top two both win at home - Manchester United 4-0 against Watford and Chelsea 3-0 against Blackburn Rovers.
Newcastle United move up to ninth place with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa at St James Park while strugglers Charlton Athletic grab a vital point in a 1-1 draw at Bolton Wanderers.

—– West Bromwich Albion and Southampton move to within a point of the Championship promotion places.
They both record 2-1 home wins - the Baggies v Plymouth Argyle and the Saints against Sheffield Wednesday.

—– League One promotion chasers Bristol City and Nottingham Forest both suffer 0-1 defeats - City at home to Cheltenham Town and Forest at Carlisle United.

—– Dubai International Capital end their interest in taking over Liverpool.
The announcement follows the failure of the Anfield club’s board to formally accept DIC’s bid following a second offer from American George Gillett.
The deal valued the club at £450million.

—– The biggest deal on Transfer Deadline Day is Birmingham City’s Matthew Upson’s controversial £6million to West Ham United.
Blues boss Steve Bruce had publicly stated he did not want the former Arsenal centre-back to leave but chairman David Gold explains: “It was always about Matthew doing the right thing and honouring his contract - as we did when he was out injured for the past year. This is just simply about player power and the player clearly did not see his future with us.”
The Transfer Window closes at midnight although, after a seven-day break, Football League clubs are still allowed to sign players on loan deals until the fourth Thursday in March.

Wretched Wigan run continues

Rams go six clear

—– Liverpool close the gap to second-placed Chelsea to only two points with a 2-1 win at West Ham United in the Premiership.
The Hammers miss the chance to move out of the bottom three as Wigan Athletic suffer a club record eighth consecutive league defeat. The Latics lose 2-3 at Reading.
Sheffield United ease away from the relegation zone with a 2-0 win against Fulham at Bramall Lane while Portsmouth and Middlesbrough battle out a goalless draw at Fratton Park.

—– Derby County go six points clear at the top of the Championship after Birmingham City suffer a shock 1-3 home defeat to strugglers Southend United. The Rams beat Burnley 1-0 at Pride Park.
Third-placed Preston North End also lose 0-1 at Colchester United.
Despite a vital 2-1 win at Hull City, Southend United’s win means that Leeds United drop to the bottom of the table.
Queens Park Rangers sink in to the bottom three after a 0-2 defeat in another key relegation encounter at Barnsley.

—– Walsall restore a three point lead at the top of League Two with a 2-0 win at Macclesfield Town while Swindon Town are held to a 1-1 draw at Peterborough United.
Signs of a revival for bottom-of-the-pile Torquay United are short lived as they crash 0-5 at Mansfield Town.

—– Liverpool formally stall on the £156million takeover bid from Dubai International Capital.
They appear to want more time to consider a revised offer from George Gillett, the owner of Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team.

Pearson handed Under-21 role

Setanta to make FA rights bid

—– As widely expected, Alex McLeish is named the new Scotland national team coach.
The former Rangers boss succeeds Walter Smith who resigned to take over at Ibrox earlier this month. He has agreed a deal until 2010.
Fondly known as Big Eck, McLeish who won 77 full caps names his former Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers assistant Andy Watson and the vastly experienced Roy Aitken as part of his backroom staff.
The delighted 48 year-old says: “To be manager of your home nation is a very proud day indeed for Alex McLeish, my family and friends.
“I would love to have as smooth a transition as possible, and continue the good work that Walter Smith has done. Walter has raised hopes of the nation fantastically well and we hope to continue that trend.”

—– Newcastle United coach Nigel Pearson is given the go-ahead to work with the England Under-21s.
While the appointment of Stuart Pearce as head coach has yet to be ratified, United give their permission for the former West Bromwich Albion boss to join the young Lions squad in an assistant capacity.
Toon manager Glenn Roeder says: “When Trevor Brooking approached me about Nigel when I was doing my Pro Licence at Warwick University last week, I told him straight away it was not a problem to us.”

—– Rumours suggest that satellite broadcaster Setanta Sports are considering joining the race for the TV rights for the FA Cup and England internationals.
With the rights due to be sold next month, Setanta will join commercial broadcasters ITV, NTL and Five, in bidding for some of the rights.
The FA is expected to bring in over £400 million for its new TV rights deal because of the competition.

Bolton hold Gunners

Beckenbauer backs 2018 bid

—– Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce accepts the Football Association’s invitation to replace Peter Taylor as England Under-21 coach.
Capped 78 times at full international level, he would take the post on a part-time basis whilst continuing as City manager.
The FA will now hold talks with the Manchester City board over the proposed appointment.
Pearce says: “The club have been extremely open-minded but with concerns about time constraints on my job.
“I can guarantee them that I will be working absolutely solidly whether I take the Under-21 job or not. They know that and they know what sort of man I am and I think it would be of massive benefit to this football club.”

—– Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers meet in the FA Cup for the third season in a row and, predictably, there’s little to choose between them. The first FA Cup tie to be played at the Emirates Stadium ends in a 1-1 draw.
The Fourth Round has still yet to produce a shock as League One Nottingham Forest lose 0-3 at Chelsea while Championship Southampton lose 1-3 at Manchester City.
In the Black Country derby, West Bromwich Albion win 3-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

—– Oldham Athletic move back up to second position in League One with a 3-2 win at Northampton Town.

—– Franz Beckenbauer - president of the organising committee at last summer’s World Cup in Germany - gives his total backing to England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
A member of FIFA’s executive committee, he tells the News of the World: “I am 100% behind an English bid. England has everything - the best stadiums and the best crowds and infrastructure.
“The only country I see with an obvious chance is England. Who else can bid from Europe? France has already staged it in 1998 and Italy do not have the infrastructure.”
The 2018 tournament is almost certain to be held in Europe under FIFA’s rotation system.

Robins rock Boro

Rooney hits top double

—– In a positive sign that the top teams are taking the FA Cup more seriously than they may have done in recent years, there are no shocks in the Fourth Round.
League One promotion chasers Bristol City put up the performance of the day. Two down to Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate, they fight back to earn a deserved 2-2 draw.
Blackpool v Norwich City is the only other tie requiring a replay after a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road.
A brace from Wayne Rooney hands Manchester United a 2-1 win against Portsmouth at Old Trafford.
He second is an exquisite lob that generates vivid reminders of Eric Cantona’s iconic goal against Sunderland in 1995.
The game also generates more discussion about goal line technology when Pompey’s Pedro Mendes clears after TV replays show the ball had crossed the line but the goal isn’t awarded. It seems what goes around comes around as Mendes had a similar goal chalked off when he was playing for Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford two years ago.
In the clash of the Premiership strugglers at Upton Park, Watford beat West Ham United 1-0.
Blackburn Rovers are the biggest winners with a 4-0 success at Luton Town.
It’s the end of the road for the lowest ranked team. In the first-ever Round Four tie, League Two Barnet lose 0-2 at home to Plymouth Argyle.
Bristol City and Blackpool are the only two teams outside of the top two divisions to go in to the hat for the Fifth Round draw.

—– In the only Championship game to be played today, Cardiff City move back in to the Play-Off places following a 3-2 win against Leicester City at Ninian Park. Michael Chopra hits a hat-trick for the Bluebirds.

—– Scunthorpe United are the only one of the top four in League One action, and the Iron take full advantage with a 3-0 win against Millwall at Glanford Park to go three points clear.
Yeovil Town move in to the top four with a 2-0 win at Bradford City.
Leyton Orient ease their relegation worries with an emphatic 4-0 win at Crewe Alexandra.

—– Walsall’s lead at the top of League Two is reduced to a single point. The Saddlers are held 1-1 at home by Boston United while Swindon Town beat Macclesfield Town 2-0 at the County Ground.
Rochdale move out of the bottom two and up to 18th with a 5-0 drubbing of promotion hopefuls Milton Keynes Dons at Spotland.

Liverpool confirm Gillett approach

Fans in Notts takeover

—– Michel Platini - the former captain of France - is elected as UEFA’s new president.
He narrowly wins the vote in Dusseldorf ahead of 77 year-old Lennart Johansson who had held the post for the past 16 years.
The headline-grabber from 51 year-old Platini’s manifesto is to limit the number of Champions League places to three per country, rather than the current four.
Put another way, he explains: “I talked about finding a better equilibrium for the number of clubs and that’s for 2009-10. If you are just talking about one club in England, that doesn’t convince me that it’s not the right thing to do.”

—– In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Liverpool confirm they have received an approach about a possible takeover from American tycoon George Gillett who is the owner of Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club.
Rival consortium Dubai International Capital (DIC) is still regarded as favourites to take over the club having already analysed the finances.
Liverpool chairman David Moores (who owns 51.6% of the shares) is thought to favour the DIC bid because he believes it would be better for the club’s long-term future.

—– Notts County - the world’s oldest professional league club - is now under the control of its supporters after they formally complete a share purchase.
The Supporters Trust now owns 60% of the League Two club’s shares which effectively gives it control at Meadow Lane.
They bought shares from shareholder Hayden Green who loaned them the money for the purchase on ‘very favourable terms’.
Trust chairman Keri Usherwood says: “I hope people will see what we’ve done and be somehow inspired by that.”

—– Tranmere Rovers’ League One promotion bid is dented by a 0-2 defeat at mid-table Gillingham.

—– Rock bottom Torquay United win for the first time in 20 games to breath new life in to their Football League survival quest.
They beat fellow strugglers Grimsby Town 4-1 at Plainmoor with a hat-trick from former Mariner Lee Thorpe.
Town have now lost seven games in a row and are only five points ahead of Torquay and played a game more.

Spurs handed bye

Mariners look to the future

—– Peter Taylor ends his second spell in charge of England’s Under-21s.
The 54 year-old former Hull City boss believes he can no longer share the post with his duties as manager of Crystal Palace.
Under Taylor, the Under-21s have qualified for this year’s European Championships.
He explains: “I can’t do it anymore and devote my time to helping the team ahead of June’s Championship in Holland. Anybody coming in would have to commit a lot to the job. I’m sad but I’ve had a great time with England.”
The one-time Palace and Tottenham Hotspur winger commenced his second spell at the FA in 2004 after an initial successful stint between 1996 and 1999 when he was employed in the post in a full-time capacity.
A successor should be named before next week’s friendly with Spain.

—– Following Feyenoord’s expulsion from the UEFA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur are given a bye into the last 16 of the competition.
The Dutch club were thrown out following crowd trouble earlier in the season against French side AS Nancy, and seem certain to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Regarding Spurs, UEFA’s alternative was for them to play Wisla Krakow who finished behind Feyenoord in the group stage.
Spurs may launch their own appeal to UEFA as they will now lose revenue from gate receipts and television rights.

—– While their immediate future is focused on a key League Two relegation tussle at Torquay United tomorrow night, Grimsby Town are given a boost following encouraging news about their long-term future.
North East Lincolnshire Council give their approval to a new £14.4million stadium which will have an initial all-seater capacity of 12,000.
Town having been looking to move since 1994, but it is far from a done deal as the application has now to be approved by central government and, more importantly, finance has yet to be secured.
Should it all go through, the Mariners will still play all their games ‘away’ as the site is situated in the neighbouring village of Great Coates.
It would also mean the end for a large piece of football history though as the Main Stand at their current Blundell Park home (in Cleethorpes) is the oldest surviving structures at any senior British ground. It was built in 1901.
Of more pressing concern is their Football League status as, since beating Torquay at Blundell Park on 22 December, they have suffered six consecutive defeats without scoring a goal. It leaves them just a point above the relegation zone.

Southend on the move

Blackburn start price war

—– The first leg of the North London Carling Cup semi-final proves to be a veritable game of two halves as Arsenal come down from two down at the break to grab a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.
With kick-off delayed by 15 minutes due to the Gunners late arrival, Spurs are quickly out of the blocks and establish their two-goal advantage in 21 minutes.
The second is an own goal from Julio Baptista but the Real Madrid loanee turns from villain to hero with his second half brace taking his Carling Cup tally to six goals in two games.
The Arsenal team has an average age of slightly above 21, and manager Arsene Wenger is delighted with the youngsters’ response: “At half-time I tried to lift the young players who were feeling down. We showed in the second half that we have talent and made a great comeback. We could have got a third goal.”

—– Southend United’s long-held ambition to move to a 22,000-capacity new ground at the Fossetts Farm site at Rochford is given the green light by the town’s council.
Blues chairman Ron Martin calls it the most important day in the Championship strugglers’ history.
The application still has to be rubber-stamped by Rochford Council and the Secretary of State.
Southend first played at their current Roots Hall home in 1906 but left in 1920 before returning to the refurbished stadium in 1955.
Many changes have followed since the record attendance of 31,090 (against Liverpool in the FA Cup in January 1979) with current capacity down to 12,400.
The move to Fossetts Farm was first mooted in 2001.

—– While clubs and players have got richer and richer, supporters have got poorer and poorer so fans around the country will be cheered by Blackburn Rovers initiative to use their increased television revenue to reduce ticket prices from next season.
The recently announced £625million overseas rights deal means that Premiership clubs will receive an average of over £40million each from 2007-08.
With an Ewood Park average of 21,621 at a 31,000-capacity ground, Rovers’ chairman John Williams says: “Our view is that some of this new money must be returned to our supporters in admission prices.
“Most clubs, apart from the biggest, have a problem with crowds. It is crucial that the game remains a live spectacle.”
Whatever next!

Watford keep survival hopes alive

Big Ron is back

—– Out-of-sorts Chelsea reach the Carling Cup Final as they prevent League Two Wycombe Wanderers from pulling off a major shock.
The 2005 winners win the second leg of their semi-final 4-0 at Stamford Bridge to go through 5-1 on aggregate.
Under-fire superstar Andriy Shevchenko scores twice. They’re his first domestic goals since 11 November.
The £30million striker’s improved performance appears to end his speculated rife with Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea boss explains: “If they work and they perform I love them, if they do not work and they do not perform, I hate them. Sometimes you kiss, sometimes you kick.
“I don’t kick, I ignore. He is a good boy, he needs happiness. I think this game can give him a bit of happiness.”

—– Bottom club Watford win only their second Premiership game of the season with a 2-1 success against Blackburn Rovers at Vicarage Road.
Inventive boss Adrian Boothroyd puts the rare victory down to a team trip to the cinema to see the new Rocky Balboa film: “They had heard enough of me so it was time for them to hear someone else. Maybe they should go to the pictures more often.”
To complete a bad night for Rovers, midfielder Robbie Savage suffers a broken leg.

—– Blackburn Rovers’ opposition in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup is decided as Luton Town beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0 in the Kenilworth Road replay with a classic own goal from Zesh Rehman which is set for a place in next Christmas’ DVD market.
QPR boss John Gregory doesn’t see the funny side though: “I’m devastated we’re out. We should have been 4-0 up at half-time and won 7-0. It’s a big blow to the club because it’s a lot of money we’ve lost.”

—– Stoke City move back in to the Championship Play-Off places with a 1-0 win at Burnley.
City boss Tony Pulis also seems to have Rocky Balboa on his mind: “I said to the players, after bad results, it’s not taking the punch and getting knocked down, it’s about getting up as quickly as you can and that’s that we’ve done.”

—– Swansea City move back in to the League One Play-Off places with a 2-0 win against Gillingham at the Liberty Stadium.
Millwall’s post-Christmas revival ends with a 0-3 defeat at Northampton Town.

—– Ron Atkinson confirms his first full-time post in football since losing his job as Nottingham Forest’s manager in May 1999 by becoming the new director of football at Kettering Town.
Big Ron began his managerial career with the Conference North club in 1971.
The 67 year-old has been out of football since 2004 when he lost his job as an ITV pundit for making an on-air racist comment about Chelsea’s Marcel Desailly.

Arteta brace sinks Latics

Shepherd calls for Hall decision

—– Manchester United are less than ten minutes away from taking a significant nine-point lead at the top of the Premiership.
In their 200th meeting with Arsenal, United lead 1-0 on their first visit to the Emirates Stadium through Wayne Rooney but two late goals from Robin Van Persie and Thierry Henry keep the Gunners slim title hopes alive. They also restrict Manchester’s advantage ahead of out-of-form Chelsea to only six points.
Despite the setback, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson looks on the bright side: “We have a game less to play and are a goal better off than Chelsea following their 2-0 defeat at Liverpool yesterday. So it’s not all doom and gloom.”

—– A 0-2 home defeat by Everton condemns Wigan Athletic to a club record equalling seventh consecutive league defeat as the Latics relegation worries deepen.
Mikel Arteta scores both the goals at a windswept JJB Stadium.
On the day of what-would-have-been the 100th birthday of the greatest-ever goalscorer Dixie Dean, Everton’s joy is dampened due to a serious injury to star striker Andrew Johnson.

—– Following the Belgravia Group’s decision to cut short takeover talks, Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd calls for Sir John Hall to end speculation about the Premiership club’s future.
The Hall family hold 41.6% of the club’s shares.
Shepherd says: “If he lives to be 100, is Sir John going to keep trying to sell these shares? Are we going to have this uncertainty forever? I want him to be honest with me and the supporters. The club simply cannot go on dealing with proposed buyers knocking on the door who turn out to be time-wasters.”