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Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed a consultant psychologist for the national cricket team who will work with the players whenever they need his services.
   The psychologist Salahuddin Kausar, who is an assistant professor of the BSMMU, will meet the cricketers for a full session on February 14, ahead of the impending home series against Sri Lanka.
   ‘We have had psychologists working with us in the past on a temporary basis but now we will have someone whenever we need him. That is very good for the team because there are individual needs of the players besides team-related problems,’ national captain Habibul Bashar said welcoming the appointment.
   ‘For example sometimes players suffer mental depression, they start thinking about the outcome of a match rather than playing their natural game. This might appear a common problem but that can cause a huge drawback for the side collectively,’ he added.

The Asian Football Confederation venue inspector, Saifuddin bin Abu Bakr, visited the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on Sunday and expressed his satisfaction with the facilities at the venue. After inspecting the Dhaka venues and hotels on Friday the AFC official went to the port city to complete his job before returning to Malaysia to give his final verdict about holding all the four group matches of the AFC Challenge Cup in Bangladesh.
   Saifuddin, accompanied by Bangladesh Football Federation assistant general secretary Monzur Hossain Malu, visited the stadium in the morning and also went to Hotel Agrabad, St Martin and Harbour View hotel to see for himself the existing accommodation facilities.
   ‘Saifuddin expressed satisfaction over the facilities but everything will depend on his report to the AFC, which he will submit within a few days. The BFF is looking forward to receiving the go-ahead signal from the AFC,’ said Malu.
   A day earlier, Saifuddin visited the Bangabandhu National Stadium to get an in-depth view of the big bowl. He, however, was concerned about the on-going renovation works at the stadium but the federation officials assured him that the works will be completed before the tournament commences on March 25.

Describing Mohammad Asif as the find of the Test series against India, former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal has said that if groomed properly, the youngster could be the next Glenn McGrath.
   ‘What a great find this lad is. Properly handled, he could be the next Glenn McGrath, or even better,’ Iqbal wrote in The News.
   The former Pakistan skipper was completely bowled over by Asif’s performance in the decisive third Test against India and believes that the youngster just needs to add some pace to his accurate bowling.
   ‘He bowled in exactly the right places and all that he needs in my view is another yard of pace.’
   The Pakistani great also heaped praise on all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, whose selection in the team was questioned by several experts including him.
   ‘I must put my hands up and admit how wrong Razzaq proved me with his performance. I, like many others, had felt that in seaming conditions, Pakistan would be better served by a third specialist seamer like Rana Naved but Razzaq did the job just as well as any frontline seamer,’ he said.
   ‘In addition, he stood with Akmal in that excellent partnership that salvaged the match for Pakistan after that disastrous start.
   Iqbal also said Pakistan look a more united team now and the change should be credited to coach Bob Woolmer whose efforts have instilled discipline into the ‘most unmanageable bunch (of cricketers) in the world’.
   ‘This side, which till a couple of years ago was widely
   believed to be the most unmanageable bunch in the
   world, seems to exemplify the principle of the three musketeers – all for one and one for all,’ he said.
   ‘And this element of team spirit and discipline is due to the efforts of my old Kent colleague, Bob Woolmer,’ he added.
   ‘Bobby’s job is not just about cricket; it is also about something called man-management and he has shown how it is done,’ he further said.

Sourav Ganguly said he shared an ‘outstanding’ relationship with Rahul Dravid and respected his judgements and ploys as the captain of the side.
   ‘We have been playing for 10-years together and we have an outstanding relationships bet-ween both of us and I have tried to help him in whatever way I can,’ he said.
   ‘But one must remember that he is the captain. He has thought about certain things before the series and he should be allowed to do that and just as other players at any stage I felt that his ploy could be good for the team,’ he said in an interview.
   ‘With so many runs behind me in one-day cricket and successes in the last 10 years - probably one of the best after Sachin Tendulkar - obviously my expectations will be to be a part of the one-day side,’ said Ganguly.
   ‘There is going to be a lot of cricket in the next one year till the World Cup...And I am sure my opportunity will come.’
   Asked about reports that Dravid did not want to upset coach Greg Chappell by including him in the one-day squad, Ganguly said he was not aware of such issues.
   ‘I really don’t know all these issues and I don’t want to get into it. As I said my entire good wishes are with the team and I hope we can at least pull off the one-day series.’
   ‘I don’t know all these things. I am just a player in the team. So, I have no clue about all these stuff,’ he said.

Sachin Tendulkar is no more a confident and dominant batsman that he once used to be, feels former India spinner Babu Nadkarni.
   Nadkarni, who was in Karachi to watch the third and final India-Pakistan Test, said Tendulkar’s reflexes have slowed down probably due to excess cricket.
   He attributed Tendulkar’s poor batting form to four reasons.
   ‘He is very conscious these days while batting and you can feel that he is not the confident player any more. Where has that confidence gone?’ asked Nadkarni, 72, during an interview with IANS.
   Since his world-record 35th Test century scored in the second match against Sri Lanka in Delhi in December, Tendulkar had scores of 16, 23, 19, 14, 23 and 26 in Tests.
   In the just concluded three-Test series against Pakistan, he managed just 63 runs in three innings at an average of 21.00.
   ‘His reflexes have slowed down. And age is catching up with him, considering that he started playing Test cricket at the age of 16,’ pointed out Nadkarni about the 32-year-old Mumbai batsman.
   ‘His mind and body combination is down at the moment, and the last reason could be that he is playing too much cricket,’ he said, before leaving for Mumbai.
   While pointing out that some of the great batsmen like Sunil Gavaskar had also gone through lean periods, Nadkarni, who holds the world record of bowling 23 consecutive maidens in a Test, said Tendulkar was nowhere near his best in the Test series that India lost 0-1.
   ‘He was in poor form, and was not even 10 per cent of what he is capable of as a batsman. Maybe the (elbow) injury is playing a part (in his poor form),’ said the articulate Nadkarni.
   ‘He should be at his prime at this age as generally batsmen reach their peak at the age of 32-33. Maybe, the strain of playing 16 years at international level is also affecting him. The same thing happened to Gavaskar,’ he said.
   ‘I feel pity for him and I was disappointed. But he just needs one long innings and he would be back in form,’ he said about the man who has accumulated 10,386 runs at 56.14 in 129 Tests.
   Nadkarni, who took 88 wickets in 41 Tests between 1955 and 1968, said the Indian team performed poorly in all departments of the game against Pakistan.
   ‘If I describe India’s performance in one sentence, it would be: they batted badly, bowled badly and fielded badly.
   ‘In Karachi, we lost the match after the first hour,’ he stressed, referring to Irfan Pathan’s hat-trick in the match’s opening over. But after putting them on the mat at 39 for six on the first day, India allowed Pakistan to claw back to a 341-run win.
   Nadkarni, however, felt that the five-match one-day international series, starting in Peshawar today, would throw up a closer contest.
   ‘It will be different in one-dayers. There will be close encounters,’ Nadkarni said, and added that Pakistanis were the ‘best hosts in the world.’

The Dhaka Bank 20th Bangladesh International Junior Tennis Championships got underway at the National Tennis Complex on Sunday.
   State minister for youth and sports, Fazlur Rahman, inaugurated the tournament as the chief guest. Founder chairman of Dhaka Bank, Abdul Hai Sarkar, was also present as special guest.
   A total of 32 boys and girls took part in the qualifying round on the opening day. Rifat Bityakov, Jeong Sun Keun, Choi Woo Khuk and Kyoung Gi Won qualified for the main draw from the boys’ section while Edinarova Margarita, Gurmulya Beatrice, Hanah Rhem and Wang Wen Bo are the girl qualifiers. The matches of the main draw will begin today.

Young Pegasus suffered their second defeat in the First Division Cricket League as they lost to Gazi Tank by 63 runs at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
   Young Pegasus earned 28 points while Gazi Tank’s remained at 22 in 16 matches.
   Gazi Tank made a moderate total of 221 for eight. In reply, Young Pegasus were all out for 158 in 31.3 overs.

Irfan Pathan not only poses problems to batsmen with his swinging deliveries but also has been an enigma for the Pathan tribe in Pakistan that is keen to know the ‘real’ Irfan.
   As the Indians get ready for the first one-day against Pakistan here today, questions are being asked by Pathans, ‘Does Irfan really belong to their tribe? Does he speak Pashto? Is he really a Pathan or is it just his surname?
   The questions are being asked not just to Indians but to Pakistanis as well.
   When Pakistan vice-captain Younis Khan was going through security checks at the Jinnah Airport in Karachi on way to Peshawar, a young security guard asked him, ‘Does Pathan speak Pashto?’
   Younis smiled and said ‘no’, leaving the guard a bit disappointed.
   Taxi driver Mohammed Aftab also wanted to know the story behind Irfan’s surname. And these questions continue to be raised everywhere in this city.
   Meanwhile, Pathan will have added support at the stands of the Arbab Niaz Stadium, venue of the first India-Pakistan one-day clash here today, as his parents have arrived here to watch the five-match series.
   While the families of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Ajit Agarkar have returned home, Pathan’s parents and sister have checked into the Pearl Continental hotel here.
   ‘They did not come earlier as my sister was having her examinations,’ Pathan told.

South Africa failed to overhaul Australia with what would have been a world-record score, falling 57 runs short of their giant target in the triangular series match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
   The Australians, led by a blistering onslaught from opener Adam Gilchrist, had set the tourists a world-record target after reaching their highest one-day score against the Proteas of 344-6.
   In reply, the South Africans made 287-6, any faint hopes of victory fading when wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher tucked his bat under the arm after a sparkling 76 from 83 balls.
   South Africa must now beat Sri Lanka in the final qualifying match in Hobart on Tuesday if they are to reach the best-of-three finals against Australia starting on Friday.
   Gilchrist laid the platform for Australia’s huge tally, spanking an incredible 14 boundaries on his way to 88 from 66 balls before skying a shot to Boucher off the bowling of supersub Charl Langeveldt.
   The introduction of slower bowling on the spin-friendly wicket helped calm the rampant run rate after his dismissal.
   But even that was not enough to stop the Australians from posting their best limited-overs tally against the South Africans, their previous being 330-7 in Port Elizabeth during the 2001-02 season.
   Even worse for the Proteas was the discouraging fact that the highest successful run chase by any team in a one-day international was 332-8 by New Zealand, against Australia last December.
   Gilchrist had dominated the inexperienced attack from the outset, bringing up his half century with a boundary through long-off from just 32 deliveries.
   At one stage during the ninth over bowler Johan van der Wath shook his head in disbelief as the Australian pierced the field seemingly at will with boundaries past the point, cover, extra cover and mid-off fielders.
   His eventual dismissal marked a welcome relief for South Africa but by then Australia had already reached 138-2 at the start of the 19th over.
   Gilchrist was well supported by captain Ricky Ponting with 72 from 61 balls, while Damien Martyn clocked 79 off 75 and Michael Hussey 47 from 33.
   In reply the South Africans started woefully with captain Graeme Smith’s nightmare run continuing as once again speedster Brett Lee had him caught behind for just six runs.
   Boucher’s knock was solid but included just three fours and it was obvious the South Africans couldn’t produced the flurry of boundaries needed to challenge the Australians.
   Perhaps the most inspiring batting performance fell to Van der Wath who, coming in at number eight, belted two sixes and four boundaries to remain not out on 37 off just 16 deliveries.
   The cameo knock and South Africa’s otherwise brave effort is sure to give them confidence going into the Sri Lankan match.
   But the Proteas, already suffering from the loss of their first-choice strike bowlers Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis, will need veteran Shaun Pollock back in their attack.
   Pollock, the most economical of the South African bowlers in the series, bruised his heel during South Africa’s loss to Australia on Friday and was left out of Sunday’s team.

This rugged northwestern Pakistani city is known not just for great hospitality and Kalashnikovs but also as the birthplace of legendary Indian film actors Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, while Shah Rukh Khan’s original home is also here.
   The ancestral homes of the Kapoor clan, Dilip Kumar, or Yusuf Khan his original name, and Shah Rukh Khan are still intact and their families still live there. And, by an amazing coincidence, all three houses are in the same vicinity – not far from the Arbab Niaz Stadium where the first India-Pakistan one-day international will be played today.
   A visit to the area revealed that the three houses have retained their original architecture and that family members of Dilip Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan still live there, while the house of the Kapoors is now under the nazim, or administrator, after the family migrated to Mumbai following the partition of the country in 1947.
   Dilip Kumar’s original home in the Qasba Khwani area is a three-storey building in a small by-lane that has withstood the ravages of time and weather. A huge wooden, old-fashioned door, which also bears the registration number of the gas pipeline used for cooking purposes like elsewhere in the city, welcomes you.
   As a child, Dilip Kumar attended madrassa Anjuman Himayat-ul-Islam, founded in 1890, before migrating to India. The madrassa is now called Government Middle School. Dilip Kumar visited the school in 1988 in connection with a blood donation event organised by an NGO, said a school teacher.
   A few metres away from Qasba Khwani is Shauli Qatal Street, where the original house of Shah Rukh Khan’s father, late Taj Mohammed, stands. His family members still live in the house, which largely resembles Dilip Kumar’s. One of Shah Rukh Khan’s cousins has a bamboo business just outside the house.
   Shah Rukh’s father and Prithviraj Kapoor had graduated from the city’s Edwards College, which is also close by.
   The Kapoors lived in Dhakinal Bandi, an area just a few metres away from Shah Rukh Khan’s house. The original house of the Kapoor family still stands erect and is largely in good condition.
   ‘It has now been taken over by the nazim and is open to members of the public who want to go inside and see the building,’ said a local man, who added that earlier there was a bag-manufacturing factory in the building.

Coach Duncan Fletcher fears England stars will suffer burnout in a tough two years that includes an Ashes tour.
   England expect to have just 50 days off international duty in the next year and play in each of the next 20 months.
   ‘Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. Once it’s happened it’s too late,’ Fletcher told the News of the World.
   ‘By the end of the 2007 World Cup we are going to have some very tired players then we go into home series against West Indies and India.’
   England are already worried about Andrew Flintoff’s workload after he returned from the tour of Pakistan with ankle inflammation.
   Fletcher may decide to rest the star all-rounder for the Champions Trophy to have him fully fit for England’s attempt at retaining the Ashes in Australia.
   ‘Michael Vaughan’s job is to win games. I can’t say to him I only want Flintoff to bowl 12 overs in a day,’ he added.
   ‘If we can’t get a wicket, who’s he going to throw the ball to?’
   Fletcher made it clear retaining the Ashes is England’s main goal, even ahead of the World Cup.
   England have failed to reach the later rounds of the last three World Cups, all following Ashes tours.
   ‘Ultimately we set out to beat Australia in an Ashes series at home last year,’ said Fletcher.
   ‘For this England side there will be no better achievement – other than beating them away, which we’ll try to do at the end of this year.’

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce has admitted he would like to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson as England manager.
   Eriksson will stand down after this summer’s World Cup finals and Allardyce is hoping the Football Association will consider him for the post.
   The 51-year-old told the Sunday Express: ‘People say the England job is a poisoned chalice but at this stage of my career I feel I have done my apprenticeship.
   ‘I would love the opportunity to be interviewed for the position.’

Veteran Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath has ruled himself out of the finals of the triangular limited-over cricket series, choosing to spend time with his family instead.
   A statement released Sunday by Cricket Australia, the sport’s governing body, said McGrath had told selectors he did not want to be considered.
   The 35-year-old McGrath has not played in Australia’s last two matches after learning his wife had a recurrence of cancer.
   Jane McGrath has previously been treated for breast and bone cancer and will begin a new round of radiotherapy this week.
   National Selection Panel chairman Trevor Hohns said in the statement that Cricket Australia backed McGrath’s decision.
   ‘Glenn has decided that he needs to be with his family in the immediate future and we completely support that decision,’ Hohns said.
   ‘Our thoughts are with Glenn and Jane at what is a very difficult time.’
   Australia have already qualified for the best-of-three finals which start in Adelaide next Friday.
   McGrath made no announcement about his availability for Australia’s upcoming tour of South Africa.

There was further contract confusion inside Zimbabwe with the revelation that Dion Ebrahim, one of the most senior players remaining in the side, had not been offered a new contract by Zimbabwe Cricket.
   Ebrahim said he was not sure of his position in Zimbabwe cricket after he was told by a member of the government-appointed committee that he was excess to requirements. ‘I get the impression that my patriotism is being called into question,’ he said. ‘I am very surprised by that because I was one of the players who stood by the board during the rebel saga. I don’t know where this is coming from really.’
   Ebrahim said he remained optimistic that he would have a future in Zimbabwe cricket, but added: ‘It’s becoming very hard. If nothing happens then I would have to explore other avenues.’

Nigeria and Ivory Coast reached the African Nations Cup semi-finals after marathon penalty shootouts against Tunisia and Cameroon respectively on Saturday.
   Nigeria and Ivory Coast will now meet in the last four in Alexandria on Tuesday while hosts Egypt play Senegal.
   Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama saved three penalties in their shootout and one during the match as the Super Eagles beat holders Tunisia 6-5 after a 1-1 draw.
   Ivory Coast and Cameroon, renewing a rivalry from the World Cup qualifiers, took their shootout to 24 kicks before the Elephants won 12-11 following another 1-1 draw. After each player had taken one kick, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals, stepped up for the second time and fired over the bar.
   Didier Drogba then converted for the jubilant Elephants, who lost both World Cup qualifiers to Cameroon but still made it to Germany after the Indomitable Lions slipped up elsewhere.
   Ivory Coast and Cameroon’s scrappy match in Cairo briefly burst into life in the first five minutes of extra time.
   Bakary Kone rifled home for Ivory Coast in the second minute after Emmanuel Eboe’s shot crashed against the bar. Cameroon hit back immediately, Geremi Fotso Njitap also hitting the bar before substitute Alberto Meyong Ze slotted home the equaliser.
   The first 14 penalties were all converted before Ivory Coast goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie saved Alioum Sadiou’s effort for Cameroon. However, Tizie was judged to have moved and Alioum converted the re-take.
   In an increasingly good-natured shootout during which rival players mingled and chatted in the centre circle both goalkeepers also scored before Eto’o finally missed.
   In the other quarter-final, Nigeria went ahead in the fifth minute when 18-year-old striker Obinna Nsofor, making his first start, scored from just inside the area.
   Tunisia, whose niggly approach, gamesmanship and play-acting has blighted a tournament that has otherwise been played in an excellent spirit, were awarded a controversial penalty nine minutes later.
   Zied Jaziri tumbled over theatrically as replays suggested no contact was made and, although he celebrated the decision, Enyeama saved the penalty from Brazil-born full-back Clayton.
   Three minutes into the second-half Karim Hagui stole in behind the defence to head home the equaliser.
   A bad day for the tournament’s marksmen was complete when Brazilian-born Francileudo dos Santos, who has scored four goals for Tunisia, limped off, effectively ending their potency as an attacking force. But despite creating chances, Nigeria could not find a winner.
   They then missed two of their first three penalties as Tunisia keeper Ali Boumnijel saved from Joseph Yobo and Yusuf Ayila hit the bar. But Enyeama saved successive kicks from Adel Chedli and Slim Benachour leaving the scores level at 2-2 after four kicks each.
   The next seven penalties were all converted before Enyeama made his third save, this time from Riadh Bouazizi, to put the defending champions out of the tournament.

Freddy Shepherd will offer Martin O’Neill a £30 million transfer kitty to lure him to St James’ Park.
   We can reveal the Toon chairman will make an approach to the former Celtic boss within the next few days as a replacement for Graeme Souness, who was sacked on Thursday.
   Shepherd’s No1 choice, England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, is unlikely to decide on his future until after the World Cup.
   But with Newcastle now facing a battle for Premiership survival, Shepherd will try to persuade O’Neill, who quit Celtic to look after his sick wife, out of retirement.
   A Newcastle source said, ‘Martin will be approached this week about whether he’ll move to Newcastle. The club hope he will accept the offer but everything is still up in the air.
   ‘However, Freddy will make it clear funds will be made available to bring in the players he wants.’

Tortured Sol Campbell vowed to return to Arsenal this week just three days after telling stunned team-mates ‘You will never see me again.’
   Campbell’s lawyer Bon Battu issued a statement that read, ‘Sol is absolutely fine. I have been in continuous contact with him since Wednesday evening. He needed time and space to gather his thoughts.
   ‘He has no personal problems whatsoever. He will be back in training next week.’
   Campbell controversially fled Highbury on Wednesday night and the News of the World exclusively revealed he told stunned team-mates he was ‘finished with football’.
   But Battu tried to minimise the impact of Campbell’s distressing behaviour, saying, ‘He just felt that he needed to take time out and take stock of the situation.
   ‘He’s done that now and is ready to come back.
   ‘And despite all the crazy rumours circulating about him he’s actually fine and in good spirits.’
   But instead of finally bringing the stunning saga to a conclusion, it merely added another amazing twist to the story that’s rocked English soccer and Campbell’s stunned team-mates.
   They were left in little doubt on Wednesday, when Campbell was substituted at half-time after a disastrous opening 45 minutes against West Ham, that the 31-year-old veteran was quitting.
   A close pal revealed, ‘Sol walked into the dressing room at half-time, put a towel over his head and shoulders and sat there in silence.
   ‘Then he got up in front of all the players and stunned everyone by saying, “That’s it. I’m finished with football, I’m finished with this club. You are never going to see me again”.’
   Campbell then got up and walked out.
   Rumours abounded that he had jetted off to the United States, with reports that he was in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
   There were even stories that he was holed up at Sir Elton John’s home in the South of France.
   Even Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted after Saturday’s 2-0 win at Birmingham that Campbell refused to tell him where he was when the pair spoke on the phone.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says his side do not need financial might in order to compete with Chelsea.
   The Spaniard who takes his Anfield squad to Stamford Bridge for a Super Sunday clash with Jose Mourinho’s Blues, with the European Cup holders standing 18 points behind the Premiership champions.
   Both sides have already met three times this season, with two goalless draws being the result in the UEFA Champions League group stages, while the West Londoners thrashed The Reds 4-1 in The Premiership back in October.
   Despite the obvious points gap between the two sides, Benitez pointed to his time as Valencia manager as an example of how a club can be successful against financially bigger sides.
   ‘I’m convinced it’s possible to close the gap on Chelsea by being smarter,’ Benitez said. ‘It was the same in Spain with Valencia.
   ‘It was impossible to compete financially with Real Madrid and Barca (Barcelona), but we won two leagues and a Uefa Cup. It is the same here at Anfield.
   ‘It is only my second season, but we are getting closer.
    ‘It isn’t always necessary to have the very best players. I’d rather have the right player come in and do the job.
    ‘And I don’t think about the money Chelsea have. I prefer to think about what I can do with my team.
    ‘Without money, you need imagination to look for players who will be good enough.’

Staff at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium, are to be kitted out with uniforms designed by the man who dressed Princess Diana.
   Bruce Oldfield, who also counts celebrities Catherine Zeta Jones, Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall among his clients, has created a new range for more than 250 hostesses who will work at the new 90,000-seat stadium in northwest London.
   The staff will work at the 17,000-member ‘Club Wembley’, which according to publicity aims to ‘establish a new standard in sporting hospitality’, and minister to fans who have bought their seats at the stadium on 10-year leases.
   The deep, coral-red five-piece collection includes a wool-blend trouser suit, cotton summer and winter blouses and a winter fake-fur lined and collared, belted overcoat.

England football captain David Beckham has hung up his boots, at least those that are made from the skins of baby kangaroos, the Independent on Sunday reported.
   The Real Madrid midfielder is said to have ditched his trademark Adidas Predator boots after being told by an animal rights group that the baby marsupials were used to make them, the newspaper said.
   Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!) reportedly sent him a video on kangaroo culls in Australia called ‘Killing for Kicks’ which prompted the 30-year-old to switch to Predator boots made from synthetic materials.

Thierry Henry’s 200th goal for Arsenal helped the Gunners end a difficult week on a high with a 2-0 win at Birmingham on Saturday.
   Alan Shearer also celebrated a landmark day, his 201st goal for manager-less Newcastle sealing a 2-0 victory over Portsmouth as well as making the former England forward the highest scorer in the club’s history.
   Manchester United bounced back from a midweek defeat by Blackburn with a 4-2 defeat of Fulham at Old Trafford, cutting Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table to 12 points ahead of the champions’ meeting with Liverpool on Sunday.
   Goals from Park Ji-sung, Fulham old boy Louis Saha and two from Cristiano Ronaldo got United back on a winning track. Brian McBride and Heidar Helguson found the net for Fulham.
   Despite the win, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Chelsea would have to make ‘catastrophic mistakes’ to lose the title at this stage.
   ‘I think the sensible opinion is that Chelsea have got the title as long as they don’t throw it away,’ Ferguson said.
   ‘But you never know. Tomorrow I’ll have my red and white scarf on supporting Liverpool,’ he added with a grin.
   Henry reached his milestone mid-way through the second half after team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor, on his full debut, had headed a makeshift Arsenal side into a 21st-minute lead.
   There was good news off the pitch as well for manager Arsene Wenger with troubled defender Sol Campbell, who had gone missing after a midweek defeat by West Ham, confirming he would be back at training on Monday.
   Wenger said the England centre-back would be welcomed back with open arms despite the continuing mystery as to the precise nature of his problems.
   ‘There was no acrimony, it was just he was not well and you have to accept that,’ Wenger added. ‘There is no bad feeling at all. You can only, at that level, perform if you are in a good state and he wasn’t.’
   Newcastle made a positive start to life after Graeme Souness, who was sacked on Thursday, with a convincing victory over second-from-bottom Portsmouth.
   Charles N’Zogbia put the Magpies ahead five minutes before the break.
   Shearer, who is acting as a temporary assistant to caretaker manager Glenn Roeder, then made the points safe with a goal that took him past Jackie Milburn’s club record.
   ‘It couldn’t have been more perfect,’ said stand-in boss Glenn Roeder. ‘For the team to win 2-0, for Shay Given to keep a clean sheet and then to throw Alan’s record-breaking goal into the mix – it was just what we needed.’
   Steve McClaren’s chances of becoming the next England manager suffered another hammer blow when his Middlesbrough side slumped to an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.
   A hat-trick from Luke Moore and a Kevin Phillips strike saw Boro slip to just one place above the relegation zone.
   West Brom jumped above McClaren’s free-falling side with an impressive 2-0 over Blackburn. Kevin Campbell, on his 36th birthday, and midfielder Jonathan Greening got the goals that will further buoy the Baggies hopes of Premiership survival.
   Everton’s climb up the table continued with a 1-0 win over Manchester City, who had midfielder Stephen Jordan sent off in the closing stages. Scotland defender David Weir claimed Everton’s eighth-minute winner.
   Anders Johansson, with his first Premiership goal, rescued a point for Wigan at Bolton, who had gone ahead in the 63rd minute through Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos.
   West Ham condemned Sunderland to their 19th defeat in 24 matches this season thanks to late goals from new signing Dean Ashton and Paul Konchesky.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd says he is ready to look abroad if necessary to find the club’s next manager.
   ‘In the past I have expressed a preference for a British manager but I feel that at this difficult time we have to look at every option open to us,’ he told The Sunday Mirror.
   The job vacancy sign went up again at St James’ Park after Graeme Souness was sacked on Thursday, with Shepherd appointing Glenn Roeder as caretaker boss and Alan Shearer acting as his assistant.
   The temporary management team got off to a flying start with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth, Newcastle’s first success in seven games with Shearer scoring his 201st goal to beat Jackie Milburn’s old mark.
   Shepherd meanwhile says he is prepared to wait until after the World Cup to land the right man for the job — bringing the likes of Guus Hiddink, Luiz Felipe Scolari and even Sven-Goran Eriksson into the equation.
   ‘That means we will be looking at every available candidate, no matter which country they coach or manage in.
   ‘It is a World Cup year and that could throw up one or two interesting possibilities.
   ‘Ideally, I would like to have the managerial situation sorted out sooner rather than later, but if waiting until after the World Cup led to getting the right man then I would be prepared to bide my time.’
   Magpies’ chairman Freddy Shepherd sacked Souness after United had picked up just one point from their previous six matches, and the home team were under severe pressure to arrest the alarming slump.
   Souness’ departure did not come as a surprise to the man he was hired to replace, Sir Bobby Robson who suggested that Souness to some extent had brought his downfall upon himself by failing to exploit the resources available to him.
   ‘Graeme had a lot of injuries, but he also let a lot of good young players go, either selling them or sending them out on loan,’ he told the Mail On Sunday.
   ‘James Milner, Jermaine Jenas, Darren Ambrose, Craig Bellamy, Laurent Robert, Aaron Hughes, Andy O’Brien - all of them would have done a job for the team.
   ‘I know better than anyone Craig could be an irritant, but he wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t be handled. By falling out with him so publicly, Newcastle lost a star player for the knockdown price of five million pounds and the team’s attacking play has not been as fluent since.’
   Robson also questioned the quality of coaching under Souness, feeling that despite injury problems results should have been better.
   ‘In recent weeks, there has been talk of an injury curse, which I don’t buy.
   ‘Certainly the club have suffered poor luck but there were still enough expensive players on the pitch for results to have been better.
   ‘However many mistakes Jean-Alain Boumsong made at the back, communication with the rest of his defenders never improved under Graeme and his coaches, which baffled me, to be honest.’

Luiz Felipe Scolari says his lack of English should not stop him becoming Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor.
   Brazilian Scolari will leave his job as Portugal manager after this year’s World Cup and he has hinted that he would be interested in the England job.
   ‘I know if I want to take over England I need to learn the language more,’ he told Five Live’s Sportsweek programme. ‘It is difficult now but I know in two or three months I need to learn more and it is no problem for me.’
   He added: ‘It is not a problem for the job as the language for the players I know very well but it is important for communication with the media.
   Scolari also said he would consider the Newcastle job, along with the England vacancy, but only after his contract with Portugal expires.
   ‘After I finish my contract with Portugal I consider all offers,’ he said.
   Scolari engineered England’s downfall at the 2002 World Cup, with his Brazil side knocking out Eriksson’s team at the quarter-final stage. And Scolari’s Portugal side also ended England’s hopes at the last eight stage of Euro 2004, winning on penalties before going on to lose to Greece in the final.
   Scolari recently told The Observer: ‘I get happy when my name is mentioned for a job with a club or the England team but we must respect our fellow professionals.’
   He added: ‘I would analyse with interest if I receive an invitation to work in England but I will only be able to talk about that at the end of my contract.’

A stunning 45-metre strike from Spain forward David Villa earned Valencia a 1-0 win at Deportivo Coruna, while Real Madrid ran riot to sink Espanyol 4-0 at the Bernabeu in Primera Liga action on Saturday.
   Valencia remain second with 43 points from 22 games, nine behind leaders Barcelona who host Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Real are third with 42 points.
   Villa took his tally for the season to 14 as he saw Depor keeper Jose Molina off his line in the 21st minute and let fly with a dipping shot from just over the halfway line that bounced inside the far post.
   Depor were awarded two controversial penalties to knock Valencia out of the King’s Cup in midweek, and controversy surrounded another spot-kick given to them in the 27th minute on Saturday when Raul Albiol led with his arm going for a header.
   Visiting keeper Santiago Canizares saved Victor’s first attempt only for the referee to order the kick to be retaken. He guessed right again to stop the second as well.
   Real hardly broke sweat against fellow King’s Cup semi-finalists Espanyol as they extended their winning streak to seven games in all competitions. Real opened the scoring with their first attack when Beckham broke down the right in the 14th minute and crossed low to the near post for Guti to flick the ball in from close range.
   Brazilians Robinho and Roberto Carlos combined down the left after 43 minutes to set up Zinedine Zidane for the second, and two minutes later it was Cicinho who broke and floated a pass to Ronaldo to head the third.
   Espanyol, who were hammered 5-0 by Getafe two weeks ago, offered little resistance.
   Five minutes after the break Zidane collected Cicinho’s pass to fire in a half-volley from outside the area.
   Beckham put on a strong performance and set up compatriot Jonathan Woodgate in the 63rd minute with a deep cross but the defender’s header was cleared off the line.
   Only some profligate finishing from the home side and good saves by Gorka Iraizoz prevented more goals.
   Earlier on Saturday, a Salva Ballesta header dragged Malaga off the foot of the table and earned new coach Manuel Hierro a 2-1 debut home win over Athletic Bilbao.

Amantino Mancini scored twice as Roma matched their club record seven straight Serie A wins with a 3-0 win at Parma.
   The result also kept them in fifth place as they chase an outside hope of European football next year.
   Totti had two close-range efforts saved by Parma keeper Matteo Guardalben but Mancini was on hand to slot the ball home from six yards.
   Parma were unlucky not to equalise on 67 minutes when a diving header from Fernando Couto came off the post. It was a costly miss as Mancini quickly extended his side’s lead. The Brazilian sprung the off-side trap on Totti’s pass and placed a perfect lob over the helpless goalkeeper.
   Totti was again involved in the third goal, as his pass over the top of the defence found Perrotta, whose lob landed in the far corner of the net.

Elena Dementieva ended Martina Hingis’s bid for a first singles title since returning to tennis with a crushing 6-2, 6-0 win in the Pan Pacific Open final on Sunday.
   ‘It was probably one Russian too many,’ smiled Hingis, who had beaten Maria Kirilenko and top seed Maria Sharapova en route to her first final in four comeback tournaments.
   ‘It used to be two Williams sisters and a (Lindsay) Davenport. Now there’s a whole army of Russians in the way.
   ‘I’m not looking for excuses. I tried a lot of things but she always had a better answer. Today she was just too good. If she plays like that all the time she would have won grand slams.’
   Dementieva had beaten Hingis 6-3, 6-1 in Filderstadt in October 2002 in what was the former world number one’s last match before chronic ankle trouble forced her into early retirement.
   Hingis returned to the game last month, reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals and winning the mixed doubles crown with India’s Mahesh Bhupathi.
   Dementieva suffered a shock first-round exit in Melbourne but the second seed had too much firepower for Hingis in Tokyo, ending her bid for a record fifth title in just 56 minutes.
   Hingis’s game unravelled as quickly as the ‘Swiss Miss’ had destroyed Sharapova in the semi-finals, Dementieva picking her off from the baseline and making clever use of the lob.
   ‘Martina’s my favourite player so I never expected to beat her like this,’ Dementieva told reporters after winning her first tier one title on the women’s WTA Tour.
   ‘I have never had a 6-0 second set, only against me, but I think the match was closer than the score. I only have one good day every week - otherwise I would be number one already.’
   Hingis, who thrashed defending champion Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 on Saturday, won the Pan Pacific Open in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002 - her last title before retiring.
   She was also runner-up in 1998 and 2001.
   Hingis made a one-off return to the game in February last year, losing to Germany’s Marlene Weingartner in the first round of Thailand’s Pattaya tournament.
   The 25-year-old Hingis was unranked three weeks ago but climbed to 117th after her strong run in Melbourne.
   Her ranking is still set to rise to just outside the top 50 after reaching her seventh Tokyo final. Hingis will continue her return in Dubai and Doha later this month.
   Dementieva, one of 11 Russians in the top 50, will climb from ninth to eighth as a result of her first tournament win since 2004 when she also reached two grand slam finals.
   The 24-year-old Muscovite picked up $196,900 for winning her fifth career singles title.

Michael Phelps triumphed in the highly-anticipated 200m freestyle showdown on Saturday as the FINA short course World Cup concluded.
   American Olympic hero Phelps trailed Italys Filippo Magnini for much of the race, but pulled even at the 150-metre mark before moving ahead in the final stretch, report wire services.
   Both men came in under the existing US Open record, with Italian Olympian Massi Rosolino, who won the 400m free on Friday, finishing a distant third.
   Phelps, who had not competed in a national or international meet since last August, also won the 200m individual medley with a time of 1:55.28, completing a sweep of all four events in which he swam this week and setting American records in the 400m IM and the 200m free.
   The FINA World Cup Series will conclude next week with one more stop, February 10-12, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.