Weather causes fixture chaos

Gretna management team resigns

Liverpool have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after late goals by Dirk Kuyt (85) and Steven Gerrard (90) gave them a 2-0 lead over 10-man Inter Milan in this first leg tie at Anfield. Marco Materazzi saw red on the half hour for his second bookable offence.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Olympiakos in Greece.

Seven Football League matches have been postponed due to frozen pitches. The Championship clashes between Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City at Hillsbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United at Molineux were called off in addition to the League One encounter between Carlisle United and Nottingham Forest at Brunton Park. All four matches in League Two fell victim to the freezing conditions including Darlington at home to Chester City, Wrexham’s visit to Hereford United, the contest between Rochdale and Notts County as well as the Edgeley Park meeting of Stockport County and Mansfield Town. The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area final first leg between Morecambe and Grimsby Town at Christie Park was also postponed.

Of the games that did go ahead, Southampton slumped to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Plymouth Argyle in an awful start to Nigel Pearson’s reign as manager. In League One, Brighton & Hove Albion came from behind to beat Cheltenham Town 2-1 at the Withdean Stadium while Huddersfield Town beat Millwall 1-0 at the Galpharm Stadium.

In the Southern Area final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, League Two leaders Milton Keynes Dons beat League One leaders Swansea City 0-1 at the Liberty Stadium.

The British Embassy are investigating after the itinerary for Bolton Wanderers’ trip to face Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Cup on Thursday - including their flight number, arrival time, hotel and training schedule - was posted on Atletico’s official website.

Chris Coleman is the new manager of Coventry City on a three-and-a-half year deal.

Norwich City have signed right-back Juan Velasco on a free transfer, subject to international clearance. The 30-year-old Spaniard has earned a three-month deal after impressing on trial.

Plymouth Argyle have signed Derby County winger Gary Teale and Sunderland defender Russell Anderson on loan until the end of the season. Both players are 29-year-old and are both Scottish internationals.

Gretna manager David Irons and his assistant Derek Collins have resigned their positions to take over at Greenock Morton after the dismissal of Jim McInally.

Nathan Davies

FA Cup quarter-final draw

Tyson pulls hamstring

Bristol City missed the change to go top of the Championship after being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace at Ashton Gate. The visitors took the lead through Lee Hills on the hour before Bradley Orr had his penalty saved by Julian Speroni in the Palace goal with five minutes remaining. The equaliser arrived deep into injury time through Jamie McCombe.

The draw for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup has been made. Barnsley’s reward for knocking out Liverpool is a home tie against Chelsea while Bristol Rovers, conquerors of Southampton in the fifth round, entertain West Bromwich Albion at the Memorial Stadium. The all-Premier League tie sees Portsmouth travel to Manchester United while the winners of the replay between Sheffield United and Middlesbrough will host Cardiff City. All matches to be played on the weekend of March 8 and 9.

Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira has signed a new five-year deal at the club.

Southampton have appointed Nigel Pearson as their new manager on a rolling contract. John Gorman and Jason Dodd, who were put in charge after George Burley left to become the new Scotland boss in January, will remain as part of the backroom staff.

Former Cardiff City, Everton and Newport County player Brian Harris has died aged 72.

Rotherham United claim they are bound for administration unless they secure a major cash injection in the near future. The League Two club have already filed notice to appoint an administrator and cite Inland Revenue debts as a major problem. An investment deal was almost concluded last week but fell through because of the terms and conditions of the lease for their Millmoor ground. A club statement read:

“We are conscious of the need to protect the club from any possible action from its creditors. In order to combat this, we have therefore filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. This does not mean the club is in administration, or even that it will necessarily go into administration. Instead, it protects the club from possible hostile actions at a time when the club needs to be fully focussed on finding new investment. Clearly the threat of administration will recede if a serious investor can now be found. This is something we all want and something the club needs quickly.”

Nottingham Forest striker Nathan Tyson could be sidelined for up to six weeks after injuring his hamstring during the 1-0 victory over Swindon Town at the City Ground. Before limping off, the 25-year-old scored the only goal of the game.

Nathan Davies

Goalless at Bramall Lane

SPL round-up

Portsmouth are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after beating Preston North End 0-1 at Deepdale. The home side can count themselves unlucky as David James saved a second-half penalty from Simon Whaley and were then undone at the death by a Darren Carter own goal.

Sheffield United and Middlesbrough played out an uneventful goalless draw at Bramall Lane. The replay will take place at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday week.

The Blue Square Premier match between Crawley Town and Kidderminster Harriers at Broadfield Stadium was postponed due to a frozen pitch. The one game that did go ahead saw Aldershot Town beat visitors Stevenage Borough 3-1.

Rangers are four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League after a 0-2 win against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. A Carlos Cuellar header and a Kris Boyd penalty sealed victory for the away side. Boyd’s strike means he is now Rangers’ all-time record SPL scorer. Meanwhile, Hibernian came from behind to beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Easter Road.

Nathan Davies

FA Cup round-up

Dalglish joins Killie

The FA Cup fifth round served up yet more shocks as Barnsley came from behind to beat Liverpool 1-2 at Anfield. Dirk Kuyt put the home side ahead after 32 minutes but Stephen Foster headed an equaliser on 57 minutes before Brian Howard struck an injury-time winner for the Championship side.

League One Bristol Rovers also find themselves in the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in 50 years after a deflected Ricky Lambert free-kick seven minutes from time gave them a deserved victory against Southampton at the Memorial Stadium.

Manchester United knocked out Arsenal 4-0 at Old Trafford with goals coming from Wayne Rooney and a double from Darren Fletcher either side of a Nani strike. To add insult to injury Arsenal had Emmanuel Eboue sent-off on 48 minutes.

The other fifth round ties saw Chelsea ease past Huddersfield Town 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, Cardiff City beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at Ninian Park while Chris Brunt, Roman Bednar (2), Ishmael Miller and Zoltan Gera were all on the scoresheet as West Bromwich Albion beat managerless Coventry City 0-5 at the Ricoh Arena. The home side capitulated after having Michael Doyle harshly sent-off by referee Mark Halsey.

Watford battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Charlton Athletic at The Valley. The Hornets remain in second place level on points with leaders Stoke City who they trail on goal difference. Darren Ambrose and a Danny Shittu own-goal gave Charlton a commanding half-time lead but John-Joe O’Toole and another goal, this time at the right end, from Shittu salvaged a point for the visitors. Leicester City beat Norwich City 4-0 at the Walkers Stadium - ending their 13 game unbeaten run. Darel Russell also saw red for the visitors. Ipswich Town beat Blackpool 2-1 at Portman Road while struggling Colchester United picked up a vital point in a 1-1 draw at Hull City.

Top beat bottom in League One as Swansea City beat Port Vale 0-2 at Vale Park while Nottingham Forest climbed to third with a 1-0 home victory over Swindon Town. Nathan Tyson scored the only goal of the game. The League One clashes between Crewe Alexandra and Carlisle United at Gresty Road and Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United at Keepmoat Stadium were postponed due to frozen pitches.

Hereford United moved into second place in the League Two table with a 2-0 win against Chesterfield at Edgar Street. Sherjill MacDonald and Gary Hooper were on target for the Bulls. Darlington slipped to third following a surprise 1-2 home defeat against relegation candidates Mansfield Town. In fact, it was a good day for all those clubs stuck in the lower reaches of the league as four of the bottom five all won. As well as Mansfield, Bury, Notts County and Dagenham & Redbridge picked up three points. The League Two matches between MK Dons and Wrexham at stadium mk and Morecambe and Shrewsbury Town at Christie Park were postponed due to frozen pitches.

In the Scottish Premier League, Celtic closed to within a point of table-toppers Rangers with a 3-0 victory over Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park. Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, Scott McDonald and Andreas Hinkel were all on the mark for the home side. Elsewhere, Falkirk demolished St Mirren 4-0 at the Falkirk Stadium, Motherwell beat fellow Fir Park tenants Gretna 1-3 and Inverness Caledonian Thistle drew 1-1 against Dundee United at Caledonian Stadium.

The Scottish Football Association have lost an appeal to UEFA. The SFA wanted one of Scotland’s Uefa Cup slots to the fourth-placed team in the Scottish Premier League but their pleas were rejected. This means a continuation of the current system, which sees the beaten Scottish Cup finalists automatically qualify for the UEFA Cup - if the winners have already qualified for European competition.

Kilmarnock have signed Paul Dalglish until the end of the season after the 30-year-old left Houston Dynamo last month.

Nathan Davies

FA hold serious reservations

Celtic announce profits

Stoke City are the new leaders of the Championship this evening after beating Scunthorpe United 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium. Martin Paterson and Jack Hobbs gave the visitors a commanding half-time lead but two goals from Liam Lawrence either side of a Richard Cresswell effort completed a remarkable second-half comeback.

The Football Association has serious reservations over the Premier League’s proposal to play additional games abroad and is particularly concerned that such a project could damage its 2018 World Cup bid. A statement released by the FA said:

“The Football Association has listened carefully to the comments made by FIFA president Sepp Blatter regarding the Premier League’s proposal for an international round of fixtures. This proposal has generated a high level of debate both domestically and with the international football family. While the Football Association has given full consideration to views expressed by all parties, we must make our own position on this subject clear. We can confirm that the Football Association did speak to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke about this matter yesterday. We explained that while we had received a verbal summary on the subject, at this time we are not in possession of any detailed proposals from the Premier League to pass on to FIFA. It was also made clear to FIFA that the Football Association has some serious reservations about the proposal. We have the responsibility to the whole of English football and we have to consider any wider consequences and implications that this proposal may create.”

Investment firm Red and White Holdings - co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov - has increased its stake in Arsenal to 24%.

Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing has agreed a new five-year contract with the club.

Celtic have announced pre-tax profits of £10.07m for the six months to 31 December 2007. The club also slashed its net debt from £15.02m to £6.81m. Chief executive Peter Lawwell said:

“They’re exceptional figures for a Scottish club, everyone is delighted. It’s slightly down on last year but there are reasons for that - some outwith our control - but we have again turned in a very good set of results.”

Nathan Davies

UEFA Cup round-up

Duo leave Kilmarnock

In the last-32 of the UEFA Cup, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane helped Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-2 win in Slavia Prague while El Hadji Diouf scored the only goal of the game as Bolton Wanderers established a lead over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their first leg tie at the Reebok Stadium.

Aberdeen held Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw at Pittodrie to keep the tie alive for the second leg. Josh Walker gave the home side a surprise lead on 24 minutes but Miroslav Klose equalised five minutes later. Sone Aluko restored the Dons lead before the break but the Germans netted a second equaliser when Hamit Altintop rammed home the rebound after Jamie Langfield had parried his 53rd minute penalty.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has stated that plans to play Premier League matches abroad will never happen and any attempts to push the plans through could jeopardise the 2018 World Cup bid. Blatter said:

“We will make a decision on 14th March at the meeting of FIFA’s executive committee. We will say the national associations must not accept it. We must maintain football as a sport. It is not a show, or the Harlem Globetrotters, or a circus act. There is not any chance at all of me changing my mind. My mind is made up. If Mr Scudamore [Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore] says this will help England’s World Cup bid let him say it. There are many candidates for 2018. I can’t imagine when you go against the decision-making body for the World Cup with an initiative that will not be accepted by that body, that it will enhance your chances. It will not be diplomatic. If you don’t accept the authority of FIFA then you can’t expect to win favour. To try to have additional exposure and revenue by expanding the league around the world, I think this is not acceptable. It will not be acceptable to the FIFA executive committee, I am sure. This will never happen - at least this will not happen as long as I am the president of FIFA. We have not been contacted before by the league to ask us what we think of this idea. You speak about rude but I think it is an anti-responsibility. If you are the most prosperous league in the world and if you accept that everyone in football has a responsibility to maintain it not only as a business, but as a game. Then, all of a sudden you come out with a project which only has business and money behind it.”

Marco Tardelli is to become assistant manager to new Republic of Ireland team boss Giovanni Trapattoni.

The Football Association has appointed Quest - a firm of investigators - to conduct an audit into transfers in English football. The audit will look at certain dealings that took place in January’s transfer window and a selection of deals that occur during the summer of 2008. FA director of governance Jonathan Hall said:

“It will focus specifically on reviewing the FA’s processes in respect of the new Agents Regulations, assessing compliance with FA Rules and identifying any areas of poor practice within the industry.”

Business advisory firm Deloitte have published a new Football Money League, which is topped by Real Madrid for the third straight year with Manchester United second in the table based on revenues generated during 2006/7. There are a total of seven British clubs in the top 20 positions. Chelsea are fourth while Arsenal are fifth. Liverpool lie in eighth position, Tottenham Hotspur are 11th and Newcastle United 14th. Scottish champions Celtic are in 17th place.

Barnsley have signed West Bromwich Albion keeper Luke Steele on loan.

Sheffield United manager Bryan Robson has left the club after turning down an offer to become director of football. Kevin Blackwell will take over until the season ends with Sam Ellis as his assistant.

The red card shown to Watford midfielder John-Joe O’Toole during Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Leicester City at Vicarage Road has been overturned. The 19-year-old was judged to have denied Stephen Clemence a goalscoring opportunity in the first half.

Chester City have appointed former manager Steve Mungall as Bobby Williamson’s new assistant to replace Jimmy Bone who has left the club.

Lincoln City manager Peter Jackson is to undergo treatment for throat cancer. Coaches Iffy Onuora and Grant Brown will be placed in caretaker charge of the Imps when Jackson has radiotherapy next month. Jackson said:

“It’s cancer cells in my throat which have turned to cancer in the last four weeks. I’ll have to go on a series of lengthy treatments in March. I will be off for one month with maybe two to three weeks recovery after that.”

Kilmarnock’s Eric Skora has retired from professional football due to a recurring injury while striker Aime Koudou has also left Rugby Park after being released from his contract by mutual consent.

Nathan Davies

Posh beat Spireites

FA fine clubs after melee

In the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, Everton took control of their two-legged tie against SK Brann with a 0-2 victory in Norway. Leon Osman and Victor Anichebe scored second-half goals for David Moyes’ men. Meanwhile, Rangers and Panathinaikos played out a goalless draw at Ibrox. The second-leg will be played in Greece on Thursday 21 February.

At the Recreation Ground, Peterborough United beat hosts Chesterfield 1-2 in their League Two encounter.

Stevenage Borough and Forest Green Rovers drew 0-0 at Broadhall Way.

In the Scottish Premier League, Steven Fletcher bagged a hat-trick as Hibernian beat Gretna 4-2 at Easter Road. Gretna goalkeeper Gavin Fleming was sent-off late on.

St Mirren beat Dundee United 0-1 at Tannadice to set-up a Scottish Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Giovanni Trapattoni has been named manager of the Republic of Ireland on a two-year deal. The former Italy boss will leave his current job at Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg at the end of the season and will be in charge of the Republic for the game against Serbia on May 24. His salary will be partly funded by entrepreneur Denis O’Brien, one of Ireland’s richest men. Trapattoni is keen on Arsenal youth coach Liam Brady as his assistant.

Dietmar Hamann has extended his deal with Manchester City until the end of the 2008/2009 campaign.

Charlton Athletic have called off takeover talks with potential investors after persistent rumours of a £45m buy-out by a Middle Eastern consortium. A statement to the Stock Exchange read: “The board have concluded that the best interests of the club are served under the current ownership. As a result all talks regarding possible offers for the company have now been discontinued.”

Sheffield United plc chairman Kevin McCabe has won a tender to buy into Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros. McCabe’s Hungarian firm Esplanade Kft will buy the club’s real estate for £8.45m.

Watford have appealed against the red card shown to John-Joe O’Toole during last night’s 1-0 win over Leicester City at Vicarage Road. The midfielder was judged to have denied Stephen Clemence a goalscoring opportunity.

The Football Association have fined Chesterfield and Rotherham United £2,000 and £2,500 respectively after a melee during their League Two match at the Recreation Ground last December. The Spireites admitted a charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion but the Millers contested the same charge. Both clubs have also been warned about future conduct. Rotherham won the match 0-2 with Derek Holmes and Mark Hudson scoring.

Nathan Davies

Football League review

Nurnberg confirm new boss

Watford remain top of the Championship after beating Leicester City 1-0 at Vicarage Road despite having John O’Toole sent-off early on for a professional foul. Despite being reduced to 10-men Darius Henderson scored the only goal of the game before half-time to secure a third straight win for Aidey Boothroyd’s men.

West Bromwich Albion drop to fourth after being held to a goalless draw at The Hawthorns by Sheffield United, Bristol City are second after winning 0-1 at Scunthorpe United while Stoke City climb to third with a 3-2 home win over Southampton.

Colchester United are off the bottom of the league after a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Preston North End at Layer Road. Scunthorpe United replace them at the bottom.

Elsewhere, Andy Cole scored his first hat-trick in seven-and-a-half years as Burnley battled back from 2-0 down to beat Queens Park Rangers 2-4 at Loftus Road.

In League One, runaway leaders Swansea City remain eight points clear after Ferry Bodde scored the only goal of the game against Walsall at the Liberty Stadium. Second-placed Doncaster Rovers won 0-2 at Bournemouth while Leeds United and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 at Elland Road as Gary McAllister continues to search for his first win as Leeds boss. Basement club Port Vale were leading 0-2 at Hartlepool United but ended up losing 3-2 after having Krystian Pearce sent-off for two yellow cards on the hour.

A total of 42 goals were scored in 10 League Two games. Shrewsbury Town were 0-3 down at home to Milton Keynes Dons but quite remarkably staged a comeback to draw the game 3-3. This allowed Darlington to close the gap at the top to four points after beating Notts County 0-1 at Meadow Lane. Ricky Ravenhill scored the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time. Hereford United remain in third after beating Rochdale 2-4 at Spotland. Sherjill MacDonald bagged a hat-trick for the Bulls. Elsewhere, Dagenham & Redbridge stuffed visitors Chester City 6-2 and Tommy Rowe scored a hat-trick as Stockport County beat Rotherham United 1-4 at Millmoor to climb into the play-off places.

St Johnstone are through to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup after a 0-1 win against Ross County at Victoria Park. Liam Craig scored the only goal of the game on 14 minutes to set up an encounter with St Mirren or Dundee United at McDiarmid Park. Meanwhile, Partick Thistle beat Livingston 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Firhill. The Jags will now visit either Hibernian or Rangers.

Manchester United will visit South Africa to take part in the 2008 Vodacom Challenge - a three-way club tournament from July 19-26. South African teams Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will also take part.

The Football Association have overturned the red card shown to West Ham United’s Lee Bowyer by referee Mark Clattenburg during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City at Upton Park. The Hammers midfielder saw red for an alleged two-footed challenge on Blues captain Damien Johnson but following an appeal the three-match suspension has been withdrawn.

Chester City have appointed 36-year-old Jason McAteer as coach to work alongside manager Bobby Williamson and assistant boss Jimmy Bone.

Jim McInally has resigned as manager of Greenock Morton.

Nurnberg have named Thomas von Heesen as their new coach after the sacking of Hans Meyer.

Nathan Davies

Dundee through to last eight

Baggies boss signs new deal

Philippe Senderos and Emmanuel Adebayor were on target as Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League, despite an unconvincing display.

Dundee are through to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup after beating Motherwell 2-1 at Fir Park. Paul McHale opened the scoring for the visitors on 49 minutes and just six minutes later Scott Robertson was on hand to double the lead. Darren Smith pulled one back for Well but Dundee held on despite having Kevin McDonald and Gary MacKenzie sent off late on. Alex Rae’s men now face a trip to Queen of the South.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has suggested that African countries should consider using artificial turf and admitted that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa could be played on artificial pitches. Blatter also suggested future Africa Cup of Nations tournaments should be played on artificial turf.

Birmingham City have cancelled the contract Borja Oubina by mutual consent. Oubina was on a season-long loan from Celta Vigo but suffered a serious knee injury just 13 minutes into his debut against Liverpool and has not played since. The Spanish international has returned to Celta Vigo to continue his recovery from injury.

West Ham United have appealed against the red card picked up by Lee Bowyer during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City at Upton Park. Referee Mark Clattenburg brandished a straight red after Bowyer’s alleged two-footed challenge on Blues captain Damien Johnson. The Football Association will hear the case tomorrow.

Coventry City have sacked manager Iain Dowie, while assistant Tim Flowers and Bob Dowie, who was part of the backroom team, have also left the club. Frankie Bunn and John Harbin will take charge of the team ahead of the game against Cardiff City on Tuesday and the FA Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Mowbray has signed a new contract committing him to the club until summer 2011 while his assistant Mark Venus has agreed an improved rolling 12-month deal

Nathan Davies

Goalless at the Bridge

Dawson blow for Spurs

Manchester United were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford by city rivals Manchester City on an afternoon where the Munich air disaster victims were remembered with an impeccably observed minute’s silence. Darius Vassell gave the visitors the lead and this was doubled through a Benjani Mwaruwari header on his debut. Michael Carrick grabbed a consolation for United in injury time. City’s win saw them complete the first league double over their arch-rivals for the first time since the 1969/70 season.

Chelsea and Liverpool played out a drab goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool now lie fifth and Chelsea sit five points behind leaders Arsenal.

In the Blue Square Premier, Forest Green Rovers beat Crawley Town 1-0.

Celtic moved to within four points of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 1-5 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Shunsuke Nakamura, Aiden McGeady and Scott McDonald (2) were on the scoresheet. Lee Miller struck a consolation for the hosts but Barry Robson netted on his Celtic debut to complete the rout.

Mohamed Aboutrika scored the only goal of the game as Egypt beat Cameroon to claim their sixth Africa Cup of Nations success. The winning goal was the 99th of the tournament, which produced more goals than any other Nations Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson may be sidelined for up to three weeks with a thigh injury after limping off after only 14 minutes of his club’s 0-3 victory over Derby County at Pride Park yesterday.

Nathan Davies