Boro therapy for Psycho

County back on top

—– In a season when West Ham United have often bemoaned their luck, they enjoy a massive change in fortune in their first league win since 17 December to move off the bottom of the Premiership.
The Hammers equalise at Blackburn Rovers with a dubious penalty before a highly controversial winner.
TV replays prove the ball did not cross the goal-line. It was stopped from doing so by West Ham striker Carlos Tevez who was, therefore, in an offside position.
The Hammers remain eight points short of safety with only eight games to play.
The pressure on Manchester City and their manager Stuart Pearce is eased with their first Premiership win since New Year’s Day. City win 2-0 at Middlesbrough.
It’s business as usual for the top two. Manchester United beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Old Trafford while Chelsea beat Sheffield United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. United retain their six point advantage.
In a 3-1 win against Watford at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur’s England keeper Paul Robinson scores from a 75-yard free-kick. He beats Ben Foster - his replacement in England’s goal against Spain last month.

—– In the Championship promotion merry-go-round, this week it’s Derby County who are back on top. The Rams beat Play-Off hopefuls Cardiff City 3-1 at Pride Park.
Sunderland retain their unbeaten record in 2007 with a 2-0 win against Hull City at the Stadium of Light to move in to an automatic promotion slot for the first time this season.
Preston North End are back up to fourth after a 2-0 win against Lancashire rivals Burnley at Deepdale.
In the relegation battle, Queens Park Rangers are the day’s big winners with a 3-1 at Leicester City.
Leeds United grab a vital late equaliser at Southend United but stay on the bottom rung.

—– Scunthorpe United establish a new club record of 16 unbeaten league games in a row with a 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Iron’s lead at the top of League One is reduced to four points though as Bristol City win 1-0 at Crewe Alexandra.
Nottingham Forest are back up to third with a 1-0 win against Gillingham at the City Ground while Yeovil Town go down to the same score against Blackpool at Huish Park.

—– League Two leaders Hartlepool United show their title credentials. Losing 0-3 at in-form Stockport County after 36 minutes, they battle back to draw 3-3.
Walsall stay second after a goalless draw at Wycombe Wanderers while Milton Keynes Dons go third with a 2-1 win against Wrexham at the National Hockey Stadium.
Accrington Stanley give free admission to the crucial relegation clash with Torquay United and are rewarded with a last minute winner from Peter Cavanagh.

Hatters sack Newell

FL get timing all wrong

—– Manager Glenn Roeder lays the blame firmly on the shoulders of his defenders as Newcastle United crash out of the UEFA Cup.
Having lead by 3-0 after half an hour of the first leg before going on to a 4-2 home win, the Toon eventually go out on the away goals rule after losing the return leg 0-2 at AZ Alkmaar.
The usually placid United boss blasts: “They are not good goals we conceded. Too often crosses come into our box, they are not defended properly and bad decisions are made.
“I have to find defenders who are good enough to play in front of Shay Given.
“They do well, you are happy with them and you think they have learnt. Then ‘bang’ they go and make the same mistake again and let you down.”

—– Controversial manager Mike Newell is sacked by Luton Town.
In one of the least surprising dismissals of the season, the former Hartlepool United boss probably didn’t chose the best time to publicly criticise the Hatters board.
Luton have sold many of their leading players recently and it’s had the inevitable result on the pitch.
Tuesday’s 1-2 home defeat by fellow strugglers Hull City was their fifth league loss in a row as they dropped in to the bottom two of the Championship for the first time.
Speaking to the press after the game, Newell said: “I have told you several times — investigate what is going on at this club.
“Where’s the £9million gone? Give that to me and I’ll get five experienced players in, I’ll pay them fortunes and we’ll get ourselves out of it.
“It takes three or four years to build a reputation as a decent manager and three months to lose that reputation.”
Of course, he is no stranger to speaking his mind.
After earlier high profile outbursts about agents and female officials, in recent days Newell has been involved in a bitter war of words with Leeds United manager Dennis Wise.

—– The day before Comic Relief Day and a fortnight before 1 April, the Football League calendar appears to be wildly out of date.
League chairman Lord Mawhinney has done a fantastic job in guiding the member clubs through debris of the ITV Digital collapse and extreme competition from the Premiership, but the old boy appears to have lost it.
It’s announced that a working party is to be set up to look at ways of making the game more attractive.
Most surprisingly, Lord Mawhinney seems to think penalty shoot-outs to decide drawn games is a good idea: “Managers may hate shoot-outs but fans love them. The chairmen decided to use this proposal to have a broader look at a range of ideas that might refresh our product.”
Not sure which fans they are, but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is a man who’s been there, done it and definitely doesn’t like it: “I saw this in my first year managing in Japan - it did not have spectacular results.
“In extra-time they played a sudden death goal and if no-one scored they had penalties.
“The draw is part of the culture of the game and I would not like that to disappear.”
Well said.
The Football League prides itself with being the oldest league competition in the world.
After nearly 120 years, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Chelsea increase pressure on City

Double blow for Baggies

—– Free-scoring Tottenham Hotspur take their goals tally up to 23 in their last seven games as they reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Dimitar Berbatov scores twice as Spurs beat Sporting Braga 3-2 at White Hart Lane to go through 6-4 on aggregate.
They won’t be joined in the last eight by Rangers though as they lose 0-1 at Osasuna to go out 1-2 on aggregate.
To add to the disappointment, amid a partisan atmosphere, Rangers reveal they will be complaining to UEFA about alleged heavy-handed policing of their supporters and a lack of segregation.

—– With speculation suggesting that Stuart Pearce has two games to save his job as manager of Manchester City, the first game produces a mixed result.
Chelsea win 1-0 at Eastlands but City produce a much more committed performance against the champions.
The defeat - City’s fifth in a row in the Premiership - leaves them six points above the relegation zone while Chelsea are six points behind leaders Manchester United.
Asked if he has the full support of chairman John Wardle, Pearce retains his sense of humour: “Well, I don’t walk past him every day and ask him if I’ve got his full support. The other night he bought me a sandwich at the reserve game and that’s a real show of affection from our chairman!”
Arsenal put their recent cup woes behind them with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa. They move up to third in the table.

—– West Bromwich Albion suffer a double blow to their promotion hopes.
Crystal Palace’s Lewis Grabban grabs a last-minute winner (3-2) at The Hawthorns while highly-rated defender Curtis Davies is ruled out for the rest of the season with a broken metatarsal.
The Baggies remain in the last Play-Off place and seven points behind the Championship leaders.
Barnsley give their survival hopes a tremendous boost with an emphatic 4-2 win at Plymouth Argyle.
The Tykes move four points above the bottom three.

Battling Leeds stay bottom

Bantams thwart high-flying Robins

—– Derby County draw level on points with Birmingham City at the top of the Championship.
While Blues go down to a 0-1 defeat at Norwich City, only a late Darren Moore goal saves a point for the Rams (1-1) against former manager John Gregory’s Queens Park Rangers at Pride Park.
Third placed Sunderland also have to rely on a last-gasp goal to salvage a point from a 2-2 draw with Stoke City at the Stadium of Light.
Preston North End move back up to fourth with a 1-0 win against Ipswich Town at Deepdale.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ recent charge up the table comes to an end with a 1-2 defeat at Coventry City. The Sky Blues retain their unbeaten record under new boss Iain Dowie.
Seven points now separate the top seven.
It’s even tighter at the other end of the table with the bottom seven divided by only six points.
Another late goal sees Southend United grasp a vital 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Burnley at Roots Hall to move out of the bottom three for the first time since September.
With only one win in their last 14 league games, Luton Town are next to bottom after Hull City win 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.
Leeds United remain at the foot of the table despite a battling 1-1 draw at Leicester City.

—– Bradford City move out of League One’s bottom four with a surprise 3-2 win at promotion chasers Bristol City.
The second-placed Robins would have been only three points behind leaders Scunthorpe United with a win.
Millwall’s hopes of making the Play-Offs are hit after being held to a 2-2 draw by Crewe Alexandra at the New Den.

—– Milton Keynes Dons move level on points with third placed Swindon Town in League Two after a 3-0 victory against Macclesfield Town at the National Hockey Stadium.

Spireites sack McFarland

Huge demand for first Wembley tickets

—– Coca-Cola extend their sponsorship deal with the Football League until the end of the 2009-10 season.
The global drinks company began its partnership with the FL in 2004 when they took over from the Nationwide Building Society.
Although he refused to divulge any figures, League chairman Lord Brian Mawhinney says the three-year extension is a significant rise on the initial agreement: “The previous sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola was the largest with which the League has been involved.
“This has now been eclipsed by the new sponsorship deal.”

—– With the Spireites only a point above the drop zone, League One Chesterfield sack manager Roy McFarland.
The former England centre-back had been in charge at Saltergate for nearly four years.
Chairman Barrie Hubbard paid tribute to the veteran boss: “Roy has helped return respect from the football world and we thank him for that.
“During my long involvement with the club I have made a number of mistakes, but appointing Roy McFarland as manager was not one of them.
“He helped a club recovering from the shenanigans of a previous regime.
Lee Richardson is named caretaker manager for the remaining nine games of the season on his 38th birthday.

—– Tickets for the first match to be played at the new Wembley stadium are sold out within hours.
The 60,000 tickets (priced at £10) for England Under-21s match against Italy on 24 March go on sale at 3pm and they have all gone by the end of the day.
Demand is so great that the Football Association’s web site crashes.
The match is a test event that, all being well, will allow a safety certificate to be issued to enable the rebuilt stadium to stage the FA Cup Final on 19 May before a capacity crowd of 90,000.
Next week’s game will establish a new record attendance for an England Under-21 game.
The current high is 34,494 for the game with France at Tottenham Hotspur on 11 November 2005.

Blackburn and Watford reach last four

Rangers keep SPL race alive

—– Tottenham Hotspur look set to become the first team to win at Chelsea in a domestic game during the Jose Mourinho era as they lead their FA Cup Sixth Round tie 3-1 at the interval.
They fail to end their 17-year winless jinx at Stamford Bridge though as Salomon Kalou hits an 86th minute equaliser to earn a replay.
Spurs have now scored 14 goals in their last four games but demanding manager Martin Jol bemoans further missed chances: “They threw everything at us, with three strikers. I knew that it would have been over if we scored a fourth goal and we could have done that.”

—– In a 2-0 win against Manchester City, Aaron Mokoena is the hero turned villain as he scores his first goal for Blackburn Rovers with the opener but is later sent-off.
City are backed by over 7,000 supporters at Ewood Park and they vent their frustration on the Premiership strugglers and under-fire manager Stuart Pearce at the close of their FA Cup exit.

—– Watford reach the semi-finals for the fifth time in their history with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Championship survivors Plymouth Argyle.
Hornets boss Adrian Boothroyd hopes their FA Cup success can rub off on to their Premiership relegation campaign: “Not winning that much in the season can take its toll but they have kept going and been resilient and I’m just delighted we are in the semi-finals.
“We are in the semi-final and it keeps our season bubbling along. It just keeps that effervescence going that we keep going for each game.”

—– With success in the Black County derby, Wolverhampton Wanderers are proving to be the dark horses in the Championship promotion race.
After their 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion at Molineux, manager Mick McCarthy says: “They keep tipping Sunderland to win it; we are only a point behind them so hopefully we can tag along on their coat-tails.”
It’s Wolves’ sixth successive win and their first against their local rivals since March 2001.

—– After five games without a win, former leaders Oldham Athletic get their League One Play-Off hopes back on track with a 4-0 win against Doncaster Rovers at Boundary Park.

—– It’s maybe only delaying the inevitable, but Rangers keep the SPL title race alive with 1-0 Old Firm win at Celtic.
The unlikely matchwinner is Ugo Ehiogu with a overhead kick.
The gap at the top is reduced to a little matter of 16 points.

—– In a protest again the local council’s alleged lack of co-operation, Chester City chairman Stephen Vaughan reveals that he has enquired about changing the club’s name: “Part of our ground is in Flintshire - it could be called Chester-Flint, or Chester-Ellesmere Port.”
Mr Vaughan has previously voiced his frustration.
In December 2005, he threatened to move the League Two club to play more than 20 miles away in Widnes where he is chairman of the local rugby league club.

Black Cats run continues

Scunthorpe match club record

—– In the day’s only quarter-final, a controversial penalty saves Manchester United’s FA Cup quest.
With Middlesbrough 2-1 up at the Riverside, George Boateng - who gave Boro the lead - is adjudged to have handled in the area.
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate, known to have come out on the wrong end of penalties before in his career, takes the decision with admirable good grace: “We don’t like to complain about referees really but he’s [Boateng] a yard away when it’s flicked so I’m not quite sure what he can do to adjust his position.”

—– Backed by over 8,000 supporters at Barnsley, Sunderland notch their ninth win (2-0) in eleven games to go third in the Championship.
While the Black Cats appear to be timing their promotion run to perfection, fellow candidates Southampton and Preston North End are stuttering just at the wrong time. Saints lose 1-2 at Stoke City while North End go down 0-2 at strugglers Hull City.
In the crunch relegation contest, despite staying in bottom place, Leeds United give their survival hopes a massive boost with a 1-0 win against Luton Town at Elland Road.

—– The meeting of the top two in League One ends all-square as Scunthorpe United and Nottingham Forest battle out a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd (8,906) at Glanford Park. The Iron also equal a club record unbeaten run of 15 league games which has stood since the 1971-72 season.
An early Phil Jevons penalty gives Bristol City a 1-0 win against Brentford at Ashton Gate as the Robins move up to second.
Yeovil Town take over in third after a 2-1 win at Cheltenham Town.
Doomed Rotherham United have a Sodje of a day at Millmoor. Striker Akpo Sodje hits four goals as Port Vale come away from South Yorkshire with a 5-1 win.

—– Walsall reduce the gap at the top of League Two to three points with a 1-0 win against Chester City at the Bescot Stadium.
Third-placed Swindon Town maintain their chase with a 2-0 win against Accrington Stanley at the County Ground.
Stockport County and their keeper Wayne Hennessey’s record-breaking run comes to an end at Barnet. Ollie Allen’s deflected opener in a 1-3 defeat is the first goal they’ve conceded in 862 minutes.
In Mike Bateson’s first game back at Plainmoor as chairman, Torquay United breath life back into their Football League survival hopes with a 3-0 win against Wycombe Wanderers.

Blues replace Rams

Hartlepool salvage point

—– Suitably late in the day, Multiplex hand over the keys of the new Wembley Stadium to the Football Association.
Effectively the same as completing a house sale, the exchange signals the end of the £757million construction work.
Although not giving any promises, FA chief executive Brian Barwick says it is a “significant step towards staging this year’s FA Cup Final and opening the new Wembley Stadium”.
The first of two test events needed to obtain a safety certificate will be a community day for 60,000 people on 17 March.

—– Birmingham City replace Derby County at the top of the Championship.
Recent signing Rowan Vine scores the game’s only goal on the stroke of half-time at St Andrew’s. It’s his first goal for Blues.
It’s not all good news though as leading scorer Gary McSheffrey is sent-off and will miss the next three vital games.
City boss Steve Bruce says: “In this division, anybody can beat anybody but we have given ourselves a great chance. We have been resilient over the past month or so. We’re in pole position and cannot ask for any more than that.”

—– League Two leaders Hartlepool United salvage a point against promotion rivals Lincoln City at Victoria Park with an added time penalty from Richie Barker.
It extends Pools unbeaten run to 20 games, just one short of the club record.
Strugglers Wrexham are denied a vital victory by a last minute Glynn Hurst equaliser against Bury at the Racecourse.
The Dragons played the last half-hour with only nine men.

Toon hit four but need more

Stanley face points deduction

—– A late Robbie Keane goal gives Tottenham Hotspur a richly deserved 3-2 at Sporting Braga in the first leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie.
Spurs let a two goal lead slip in Portugal before the Republic of Ireland star hit his second to ensure they return to London with a genuine advantage.
The matchwinner says: “To score three times away is excellent and we’re confident we can build on that at home. We made it difficult for ourselves by conceding two goals but we now fancy our chances back at White Hart Lane.”

—– Newcastle United seemed almost certainties for the quarter finals after hitting three goals in the first quarter of their first leg game with AZ Almaar.
Trailing 1-4 at the break at St James’ Park, the Dutch visitors regain the initiative in the second-half though and now face a more manageable margin of 2-4 for the return leg next week.
Toon boss Glenn Roeder remains confident: “I have to be positive. We will go there and do a thoroughly professional job. AZ are going to come out and attack - they have to.
“I can certainly see their best form of defence is to attack and they need to do that next Thursday.”

—– At the close of a disappointing display at Ibrox, Brahim Hemdani’s late equaliser salvages a draw for Rangers against Osasuna.
Manager Walter Smith accepts the Glasgow club will have to produce much better in the second leg in Spain: “We did not play at all and the 1-1 draw flattered us. It was the worst performance since I came back to the club.”

—– Accrington Stanley’s immediate return to the Conference appears to be a greater possibility after they are charged by the Football League for fielding ineligible players.
The League Two club are only three points above the bottom two and now face the threat of a points deduction.
Preston North End youth team striker Chris McGrail played twice for Accrington when on work experience at the club and therefore still registered as a scholar with North End.
Stanley won four points in those two games and it is likely they will be chalked off.
There is a further charge against a so far unnamed second player.

Larsson signs off in style

MPs back Paisley knighthood

—– Manchester United smoothly move in to the quarter finals of the Champions League, but it’s a case of so near but yet so far for Arsenal and Celtic.
Trailing 0-1 from the first leg in Holland, Arsenal can only draw 1-1 with PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium as visiting defender Alex scores at both ends.
Having already gone out of the Carling Cup and FA Cup in the last fortnight, apart from securing qualification for next season’s Champions League, it’s effectively the end of the Gunners season.
Arsenal also lose the record of the quickest goal in the history of the Champions League as Bayern Munich’s Roy Makaay scores after only 10 seconds against Real Madrid. The record was held by Gilberto Silva who netted after 20 seconds in September 2002 at PSV Eindhoven.
After 180 minutes without a goal, Celtic’s tie with AC Milan goes in to extra time at the San Siro.
Despite their brave fight, Celtic eventually fall short as a brilliant solo goal from Kaka end their European dream.
Proud boss Gordon Strachan declares: “If there was a Champions League trophy for guts and determination then we must be in with a chance of winning it. There were two great teams - one with more technique, one with incredible heart, will and determination.”
Although not at their fluent best, Manchester United progress with a 2-0 aggregate win against Lille.
Henrik Larsson - in his last appearance at Old Trafford - scores the only goal of the night.
It’s his first Champions League goal for United and his last as the loanee returns to his Swedish club Helsingborg on 12 March.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to the 35 year-old Swede: “He has been a credit to himself. His dedication to his job has never changed.”

—– Bristol City move up to second place in League One with a commanding 3-1 at Chesterfield.
The defeat leaves the Spireites just one point above the relegation zone.

—– MP George Howarth tables a Commons motion to grant a posthumous knighthood for former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley.
He became the most successful manager in the history of English football when, during his nine years in charge at Anfield, Liverpool won three European Cups, six league titles, three League Cups and one UEFA Cup.