North London Cup game of two halves

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!