The forthcoming Friendship Cup Football tournament, organised by a group of football organisers who do not hold any posts in the federation, may turn out to be a test of strength in the football arena.
   The current executive committee of Bangladesh Football Federation failed to hold any international tournament during its tenure. Now with the BFF election scheduled to take place on January 19 the tournament is set to have some effects on the crucial election.
   Sensing something wrong in the scenario the National Sports Council urged the organisers to focus only on the Friendship Cup Football and not on any election or federation politics.
   In an unscheduled meeting at the Bangladesh Olympic Association the tournament organisers and the officials of the Bangladesh Football Federation and the National Sports Council reached a consensus that the organisers would be concentrating only on the football tournament.
   The NSC and the BOA were concerned that despite not belonging to the BFF the organisers succeeded in bringing three overseas clubs along with the two crowd-pullers of Dhaka for the tournament. With no football on the field for four months the tournament will certainly be appreciated by the football lovers as well as the authorities.
   The BFF has approved the formation of the District and Divisional Football Associations but no general meeting was called to explain the new inclusions in its list of councillors. The federation is going to hold the DFA elections next month and the intending candidates have already started their campaign. But a clash of interest occurred when the football organisers found an indirect involvement of some of them in the DFA elections.
   The tournament is certainly an itchy issue for the current executive committee of the BFF the tenure of which expired in April last but was extended for another year by the FIFA asking them to bring some amendments to the constitution of the federation. It was alleged that some of the BFF executive committee members were not in favour of the tournament.
   The BFF election, traditionally ruled by the organisers close to the ruling party, will have a new look this time. With the caretaker government in power and the NSC closely monitoring every procedure, the election is sure to see many twists and turns as never seen in the past.

Australia (551/4 dec) lead Sri Lanka 211 & 80/2) by 260 runs at stumps, day 3
   Australia were all set for victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Brisbane after play ended on day three with the tourists 80-2 in their second innings.
   Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 211 and were asked to follow on.
   At stumps they were still 260 runs behind after Brett Lee had taken 4-26 in the first innings, Mitchell Johnson adding his first two wickets in Tests.
   Marvan Atapattu (51) and Chamara Silva (40) were the best of a poor set of scores from the Sri Lankans.
   Lee, the new leader of the Australian bowling attack in the absence of retired greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, warmed to the responsibility thrust upon him.
   But after the day began with Sri Lanka on an uncertain 31-2, it was his seam-bowling colleagues Johnson and Stuart Clark who supplied the early incisions.
   Skipper Mahela Jayawardene poked tentatively at Clark, edging to Adam Gilchrist for the first wicket on Saturday to make it 45-3.
   Left-arm seamer Johnson’s first strike in Test cricket followed 11 overs later, Thilan Samaraweera giving Gilchrist a fourth catch off a superb delivery that squared him up.
   A moderate stand of 54 followed between Atapattu and Silva, but it was nowhere near enough.
   The positioning of Michael Clarke at short third man paid off a treat as Silva slashed Clark straight to the fielder.
   Sri Lanka took lunch on 124-5, and after the interval Atapattu’s 127 ball vigil was finally ended as he mis-hit a pull off Lee to square leg.
   Andrew Symonds and Stuart MacGill joined the fun with a wicket apiece before Lee returned to dispose of the tail.
   With Australia’s bowlers having barely broken sweat it was no surprise the follow-on was enforced.
   Atapattu was dismissed for the second time in the day when gloving a pull shot off Symonds to Gilchrist.
   And with the shadows creeping across the square, Ricky Ponting took a sharp slip catch to give Lee another wicket after Jayasuriya had blazed 39 off 49 balls.
   It had been a decent cameo for a one-day match perhaps, but his innings had not aided Sri Lanka’s cause.

Cricket fans can expect an extended Diwali as a cracker of a contest is on the cards between India and Pakistan in the third One-day International in Kanpur today. The series is levelled 1-1.
   As international cricket returns to the historic Green Park Stadium after two years and seven months, fans can look forward to see fireworks in the five-match series.
   The last international match played at this venue, one of the oldest in India, was also an India-Pakistan ODI.
   On April 15, 2005, Shahid Afridi, who cracked an unbeaten 14-ball 29 in the second ODI in Mohali on Thursday to help Pakistan to a win, had smashed the world’s second fastest century to catapult his team to an easy victory.
   The other ominous sign for India is bogeyman Younis Khan’s continued fine form. The Pakistan vice-captain, who has amassed 1,061 runs at 106.10 in just six Tests against India, hammered 117 off 110 balls in Mohali to play the lead role in snatching the win from a hopeless position.
   After two ODIs, the prolific right-handed batsman from the North West Frontier Province leads the tally on either side with 142 runs at an average of 71.
   Then, Misbah-ul-Haq also continues to pose problems for India. He scored 49 off 44 balls to ensure that Younis’ efforts did not go in vain.
   India too has many positives to look up to despite the defeat and to gain confidence, mainly from the performance of the batsmen who put up a total of 321 in Mohali.
   Sachin Tendulkar’s continued good form augurs well along with that of Gautam Gambhir’s.
   Although Tendulkar failed by a solitary run to register his 42nd century, his 91-ball 99 will hopefully propel him to do better in Kanpur. Extending his Twenty20 form to ODI, Gambhir cracked 44 in the first match in Guwahati and followed it up with a 68-ball 57 in Mohali. The Delhi left-hander is enjoying the form of his life and he will be the batsman Shoaib Malik’s bowling attack would be most wary of, besides Tendulkar.
   Another left-hander who is equally threatening for Pakistan is Yuvraj Singh. He has played knocks of 58 and 34 in the two ODIs and on his day could tear apart a bowling attack that is without injured speedster Mohammed Asif.
   But the other Pakistani bowlers, including pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar, would try to overcome the absence of Asif, who could still join the team for the three-match Test series starting on Nov 22.
   Akhtar bowled a good spell Thursday to become the only bowler to snare three wickets in Mohali.
   Exactly one year ago both Akhtar and Asif were under the dope cloud during the Champions Trophy in India, before their board gave them a reprieve facilitating their re-entry into international cricket.
   The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led home side would also draw confidence from the track record of Green Park Stadium.
   India has won six of the nine matches played at this venue, situated close to river Ganga, while Pakistan won the solitary ODI it played in 2005.
   India’s two top scorers in the previous match against Pakistan in Kanpur will, however, be absent this time around as they are out of the team. Rahul Dravid, the then captain, had scored 86 and Mohammed Kaif and 88-ball 78 in 2005.

South Africa (226 & 378/3) lead New Zealand (118) by 486 runs at tea, day 3
   Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla shared a triple century partnership as South Africa moved into an indomitable position on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand at the Wanderers Stadium here on Saturday.
   South Africa were 378 for three in their second innings at tea, an overall lead of 486.
   Kallis equalled his Test best score of 186, while Amla was unbeaten on 154.
   The pair put on 330, a South African third wicket record against New Zealand.
   Injuries added to New Zealand’s desperate situation.
   Strike bowler Shane Bond left the field after bowling four overs at the start of the day and had not returned by tea, while Jacob Oram, who dismissed Kallis, limped off midway through an over.
   Former captain Stephen Fleming was missing from the start of the innings because of a badly bruised right forearm.
   Kallis again fell short of a Test double century, prodding tamely at Oram to be caught behind, but when he was on 120 he became the eighth batsman in Test history to score 9000 runs.
   It was his 28th Test century, putting him in sixth place on the all-time list.
   Daniel Vettori, Fleming’s successor, rotated his bowlers without achieving a breakthrough. He had the frustration of having Kallis dropped at mid-off on 108 by substitute fielder Michael Mason.
   Amla was the first to a century when he glanced Chris Martin to the fine leg boundary. He made his hundred off 211 balls with 16 fours.
   Kallis followed in spectacular style when he pulled a rare short ball from Vettori for six. He had faced 166 balls and hit 14 fours and a six.
   In the next over he hooked Jacob Oram for another six. Despite his let-off in the following over, Kallis continued to attack. He raced ahead of Amla as he made his third fifty off just 52 balls with seven fours and a six.
   He added another six, a pull off Martin, before falling after facing 262 balls. He hit 25 fours and three sixes.
   The scoring rate dropped when Ashwell Prince joined Amla before Amla reached 150 off 331 balls with 21 fours. Amla also passed his previous highest Test score of 149 when he made his only other century against the same opponents in Cape Town two seasons ago.

Bob Woolmer was planning to retire from international cricket after the World Cup, Murray Stevenson, the Pakistan team’s former fitness trainer, told the inquest into the former Pakistan coach’s death.
   Stevenson said Woolmer had told him minutes after Pakistan’s loss to Ireland on March 17 - which led to Pakistan’s elimination from the tournament - the match against Zimbabwe would be his last. ‘He told me he had two bottles of champagne in his room at the hotel and we would drink it on Wednesday when the team played Zimbabwe, because it would be his last game in international cricket,’ Stevenson was quoted in the Jamaica Gleaner.
   Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room the next day and was declared dead after being taken to the hospital.
   Stevenson indicated Woolmer was apprehensive of returning to Pakistan after the loss to Ireland and that he overheard him talking to Asad Mustafa, the Pakistan team’s operations manager. ‘Mr Woolmer asked Mr Mustafa for the phone number of the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board as he would like to discuss his future with the Pakistan cricket team,’ Stevenson was quoted in the Jamaica Observer. ‘Mr Woolmer told Mr Mustafa that he would prefer not to go directly back to Pakistan until the emotions had settled down.’
   Stevenson said he had learnt that the coach wanted to retire after the World Cup in the West Indies, and was working on his book on cricket. However, Stevenson said he had no knowledge of any sensitive content that could upset readers or personalities mentioned in the book, which Woolmer intended to publish this Christmas.

Despite a batting failure in the second innings Team West were leading by 154 runs against Team East on the second day of the Challengers Cup at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Team West were 94 for eight in the second innings after wrapping up Team East for 186.
   Team East resumed on 51 for one but two-wicket hauls by Hasibul, Rashedul, Monirul, and Ariful stopped Team East’s first innings at 186. Humayun scored 29 and Monirul added 28. But Team East bowlers hit back as Team West were teetering at 94 for eight at stumps. Mahmuduzzaman scalped four wickets for 24 runs while Rumman and Debabrata grabbed two each. Team West scored 246 in their first innings.
   Meanwhile, Team North were batting on 154 for four wickets against Team South at the BKSP. Mahmudul’s 35, Kamrul’s unbeaten 83 took Team North to a comfortable position at the end of day one. Shoaib took three wickets for 18 runs.

After the introduction of rugby another popular American sport – baseball – is set to make its debut in Bangladesh. Shapla Rong Bitan Baseball tournament, involving three teams, starts at 3:00pm at the Paltan maidan today.
   The organisers said they have been training the players for the last two months to get them ready for the competitive fixture.

Brett Lee’s first Test in charge of a restructured attack is going according to plan after his four first-innings wickets allowed Ricky Ponting to enforce the follow-on. Lee insisted the only differences to his duties were choosing the end and delivering the first over, but he has accepted the extra responsibility in a comprehensive performance.
   Two wickets to finish the first innings at 211 were added to his couple from the second afternoon as he captured 4 for 26 off 17 overs. And he ended the day with the valuable dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya, whose edge was taken smartly by Ponting at second slip, leaving Sri Lanka at 2 for 80 and needing 261 runs to make Australia bat again.
   ‘To bowl close to 20 overs, it’s nice when rewards come your way, especially at the end when the ball went reverse,’ he said. ‘It was great to bowl in partnerships and be there when Mitchell Johnson got his first Test wicket.’
   Each of Australia’s five bowlers chipped in and made it impossible for the Sri Lankan batsmen to break free. Stuart Clark was penetrative early in the day, removing Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva, and Johnson forced numerous plays and misses in the process of picking up two wickets.
   The bowlers were on a high when Ponting, who usually prefers batting again, consulted them about the follow-on. ‘The aim was to pick up one wicket but we got two,’ Lee said. ‘Symonds came on at the right time and got two very handy wickets. To have them two down overnight is a good position for us.’
   Lee expects MacGill and Symonds to be used heavily on day four to lighten the load of the fast men. ‘Stuart’s definitely got a big role to play,’ he said. ‘The quicks have bowled a lot of overs. We need to tidy up one end and bowl Stuey from the other.’

Marvan Atapattu launched an astonishing attack on the Sri Lankan selectors, calling them a set of muppets headed by a joker. His statements came at the end of the third day of the first cricket Test against Australia at the Gabba, with Sri Lanka fighting to stave off a heavy defeat.
   ‘Sri Lanka cricket at this moment of time is not going in the direction it should be going, especially with a set of muppets headed by a joker. I don’t give credit to the way they have handled selections,’ Atapattu said at the end-of-play press conference.
   ‘If they had handled selections properly we should have a good back-up team. For some reason we don’t and at the age of 37-38 people have to come and play for Sri Lanka when it comes to tough tours like this. If selectors are there only for going on tours and getting perks it is a waste of time.’
   Atapattu had not been originally picked by the selectors in the team to tour Australia and was only included after a request made by Sri Lanka’s sports minister Gamini Lokuge.
   Sri Lanka’s national selection committee comprises Ashantha de Mel (chairman), Don Anurasiri, Ranjith Madurasinghe and Jayantha Seneviratne.
   Atapattu, returning to Test cricket after nearly two years and international cricket after a traumatic six months, top scored for Sri Lanka with a patient 51 in the first innings and stitched a 53-run opening partnership with Sanath Jayasuriya in the second after Sri Lanka had been forced to follow on.
   Atapattu also said people were trying to create an impression of disunity within the team. ‘We are a happy dressing room at the moment. A section of people has been trying to say that it is divided, but it is not so. We don’t have problems inside the dressing room but people from outside are trying to create unpleasantness through the media and by statements made by ex-cricketers to displease us. I don’t think they have succeeded,’ said Atapattu who turns 37 on November 20.
   Commenting on the day’s play Atapattu said: ‘We didn’t do justice to our talents and the potential we had in the dressing room in the first innings. We got some good balls early in the innings but that’s not a good enough excuse. It is much easier batting in the second innings.
   ‘There is only the invariable bounce that you got to be worried of. We should be able to get a good partnership or two going tomorrow and hopefully be in a better position.’
   Atapattu said facing Brett Lee was always a challenge to any batsman in the world. ‘I really enjoy facing him. Each delivery is a different challenge that you have to face.’

World number one Roger Federer today said he was ‘100 per cent’ fit and ready to put recent defeats behind him ahead of his Masters Cup title defence.
   The Swiss top seed, beaten twice last month, is favourite to land a fourth title in six appearances at the year-ending showpiece.
   ‘I feel 100 per cent. I’m physically fresh, I feel like I have no problem in my body. Mentally I’m fine,’ said Federer, who arrived here a week early.
   ‘I think the break after the Davis Cup was important. I had some other breaks during the season and I’ve really paced myself well.
   ‘It’s been another great season and I have high hopes for this tournament.’
   Losses in Madrid and Paris to David Nalbandian have highlighted a rare blip by the metronomic Swiss, who has scarcely missed a beat in nearly four years on top of the rankings.
   Three more Grand Slams notwithstanding, Federer has been found wanting on occasion including early-round shocks against Guillermo Canas (twice) and the unheralded Filippo Volandri.
   However, with just two defeats since 2002 and victories in 2003, 2004 and 2006, Federer has made the Masters Cup his own and remains the man to beat at the futuristic Qi Zhong Stadium.
   He has been boosted by a favourable draw against Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez, neither of whom have beaten the Swiss, and Andy Roddick, whose last success against Federer was in 2003.
   ‘I joke a lot. I have to have a little bit of humour,’ said Roddick, who has had a disappointing season.
   Federer will also be relieved the in-form Nalbandian, his conqueror in Paris and Madrid and in the 2005 Masters final, has not qualified for the eight-man event despite a late charge up the rankings.
   Clay wizard Rafael Nadal heads the second group of four where all eyes will be on dashing Serb Novak Djokovic, the revelation of the season now ranked third in the world.
   The 20-year-old has mastered both Federer and Nadal this year and looks favourite to seal one of the two semi-final spots ahead of fellow debutants David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet.
   Spain’s Nadal dominated the early part of the season, reaching an Open-era record of 81 consecutive wins on clay, but was demolished by Nalbandian in the Paris final.
   Meanwhile, organisers will be hoping for a smooth tournament after a scandal-hit season rocked by allegations of match-fixing, poisoning and Martina Hingis’s positive test for cocaine.
   Russia’s Davydenko is at the centre of the match-fixing probe after unusual betting patterns relating to his first-round loss in Poland in August, prompting suggestions from some players that bribery approaches were common.
   Davydenko has since been fined for not trying against Marin Cilic in St. Petersburg and warned to up his game during a spectacular service meltdown against Marcos Baghdatis in Paris.
   Former great Hingis retired under a cloud after revealing she failed a drugs test at Wimbledon, and this week Tommy Haas claimed he was poisoned during Germany’s Davis Cup loss to Russia last year.
   ‘I hope better times will arrive for tennis. I always believe if you’re stuck in a hole and maybe things aren’t going well, you will come out stronger. Everything in life is this way,’ Federer said.
   Shanghai had its own share of controversy when Nadal and Andre Agassi pulled out within minutes of each other in 2005, angering Chinese officials.
   China’s economic capital is hosting its penultimate Masters Cup but will join the global Masters Series in 2009.

Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar is looking for a baby whom he wants to adopt.
   Akhtar revealed this while paying a visit to a school for mentally challenged children in Chandigarh on Friday, a day after Pakistan won the second ODI match against India levelling the series 1-1.
   ‘I don’t want to publicise this matter. I am looking for one (baby),’ Akhtar said.
   The controversial Pakistani player who has been in news for all the wrong reasons, be it doping charges or hitting his team mate with a bat, said that he has not yet decided whether to adopt a baby boy or girl.
   ‘The time is right and I can give time to that kid whether a baby boy or baby girl. God willing my family and I want to support and look forward to adopting one child,’ he added.
   Akhtar has been doing charity work in areas like bone marrow banks and cancer awareness in Australia.
   It was a special occasion for 120 children of the Chandigarh school, who sang songs from popular Hindi movies for the Rawalpindi Express.
   Akhtar also played cricket with the children and few of them even managed some lusty blows against his ‘fast’ deliveries.

Anil Kumble, India’s new Test captain, has said he expects 100% from his players during his tenure. When asked by the Kolkata-based Telegraph what type of captain he would be, Kumble replied, ‘One who ensures that his players are prepared in the best possible manner and one who allows them to play their natural game.
   ‘I want that 100 per cent from every player, that’s it,’ the legspinner said. ‘Besides consistency, I’m looking forward to building a team ethic.’
   Kumble said he would draw from his experience while leading the side. ‘Having been around for 17 years, I know what’s required to be done ... We’ve got to go forward and that can be achieved by being consistent,’ he said. ‘Personally, I’m at my best when I’m really intense and would like a high level of intensity from the team as well ... The Test series [against Pakistan] isn’t far away and the matches are back-to-back, so there’s little time to think too much.’
   Kumble’s first Test as captain will come at the Feroz Shah Kotla, a happy hunting ground. ‘The Kotla has always been special,’ he said. ‘I scored a hundred at the U-19 level, then I made my India comeback [1992-93 tour of South Africa] after doing well in the Irani Trophy there.I’ve also got ten wickets in a Test innings [against Pakistan in 1999] . It really is a special ground and I’m happy that my debut as Test captain is going to be there.’

Germany’s coach Joachim Low insisted in the press here on Saturday the lack of financial resources is not the only reason why Bundesliga clubs have struggled in Europe this season.
   None of Germany’s three sides are likely to qualify for the knock-out phase of the Champions League, while Nuremberg were beaten 2-0 in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night by Everton and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 at home with Bolton.
   But while top teams in other European countries, like England for example, have an infinitely larger budget than their Bundesliga counterparts, Low insists there is much more than just finances behind the issue.
   ‘The money is only part of the reason, I see no reason to believe Norway’s Rosenborg are any richer that the German clubs,’ Low told German tabloid Bild.
   ‘But the Norwegians are a good example of a system where they develop players, while Arsenal and Manchester United focus on continuity and have had the same coaches for years.
   ‘I can only really talk in terms of selection for the German team and for the last two years I have insisted on attack, technique and developing strong characters.
   ‘And those characteristics are something we are developing in Germany.’
   After four rounds of Champions League group games, Schalke and Werder Bremen must win their last two games to have any chance of making the last 16, while Stuttgart are out after four defeats
   Germany’s elite three sides have suffered nine defeats in twelve matches.
   Germany’s strongest side Bayern Munich are top of their UEFA Cup group with a win and a draw, but Bayern’s chairman of the board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says German clubs need to attract investors.
   He also suggested Bundesliga clubs should be given their share of TV money depending on their results, rather than the current system where all 18 clubs are given an equal share.

Indian and Pakistani cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shoaib Malik relaxed on Diwali day watching Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release ‘Om Shanti Om’ at a multiplex here.
   Also present were Tendulkar’s wife Anjali, daughter Sara and son Arjun. His family arrived here earlier to watch him play the second India-Pakistan one day international at Mohali.
   ‘I liked the film. I am a big fan of Shah Rukh. I like all his films,’ Sourav Ganguly said after the show.
   Captain Dhoni and bowlers Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan were among the others who watched the film at the Fun Republic multiplex. Locals who had booked the evening show for the film were pleasantly surprised to find the biggest names in Indian cricket. Many fans went almost crazy on seeing their cricket stars.
   Some members of the Pakistan team led by captain Shoaib Malik came for a late night show of the film. Pace man Shoaib Akhtar was among them.

Manchester United have agreed terms with Burnley to sign 14-year-old striker John Cofie, the Championship (second division) club said on Friday.
   The struggling Lancashire team, who parted company with manager Steve Cotterill on Thursday, reported the transfer on their website (www.burnleyfootballclub.co.uk).
   No fee was given for the English youth international, who local media reported had signed a six-year deal, but British newspapers said earlier this week that Burnley hoped to receive one million pounds ($2.11 million) in compensation.
   The second division side said they had negotiated a 25 per cent sell-on clause for Cofie and have first option on loaning back the player at a later date.
   United have also agreed to play a friendly within 12 months of Cofie signing professional terms at Old Trafford.
   ‘The player was unwilling to come back to Burnley, so we didn’t have a choice in keeping him here,’ said the club’s operational director Brendan Flood. ‘This just shows how hard it is to keep someone who is exceptional.’
   Tim Bailey of sports lawyers Beswicks, legal representative and spokesman for the Cofie family, was quoted on the Lancashire Telegraph website (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk) saying: ‘John is highly delighted to be joining one of the world’s leading clubs. He is looking forward to this next step in his football career.

Mark Hughes has given the clearest indication yet that he would relish the challenge of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.
   Hughes has been widely tipped as the most likely man to succeed Ferguson when he finally opts to call time on his reign and the Blackburn manager claims replacing the Old Trafford legend is not the impossible job that many portray it to be.
   The Scot celebrated 21 years in charge of United earlier this week and, even at 65, he shows little sign of losing his fierce hunger.
   Former United striker Hughes has become a leading candidate on the back of his work with the Wales national team and more recently his impressive spell at Ewood Park.
   The Rovers manager takes his team to Old Trafford today aiming to become the first team this season to take points off all of the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’ - United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
   But while many feel that whoever follows Ferguson into the United hot-seat would take on impossible expectations, Hughes believes that Ferguson’s success at the club will make it easier for his replacement to build on the foundations already laid out.
   Hughes said: ‘Sir Alex has put the foundation stones in at United and the club itself has just grown to a huge size.
   ‘The level of expectation is still huge, but with the fact that he has won trophies and the Premier League title on so many occasions, perhaps the expectation isn’t quite so great now.
   ‘That maybe sounds contradictory, but when Sir Alex first arrived at Old Trafford, United hadn’t won the league for almost 20 years.
   ‘I was in his team in the early days and every year that we didn’t win the league, it became even more demanding for everybody and you certainly felt that as players.
   ‘There was always that aim of being the team that won the championship again and I was thankfully part of that team. We had this albatross around our neck that we hadn’t won the title for so long, but that no longer applies at United.’
   United go into the Blackburn game in red-hot form having destroyed Dynamo Kiev 4-0 in the Champions League in midweek. That victory was the fifth time in six games that United have hit four goals past their opponents.
   But an ankle injury suffered by Wayne Rooney in training on Friday will hit United’s attacking prowess.
   With Ferguson relying on Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo to score the goals, he admits that injury-prone French forward Louis Saha, who is still not fit enough to complete 90 minutes, can become United’s secret weapon from the substitutes bench.
   Ferguson said: ‘We’re trying to get through the situation Louis finds himself in, in that we know we don’t play him every game, so the dilemma is do we start him or do we bring him on?
   ‘If we look at the composition of our side now, he is different to everyone else and I think he makes a bigger impact as a substitute.
   ‘Therefore at the moment my inclination is to use him as a substitute. He’s fine with that.
   ‘Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ratio of goals after coming on as substitute was incredible, but Louis does more for the team in terms of his physical presence.’

Stevie Gerrard reckons Arsenal’s young guns will crack under the pressure of a title campaign.
   The Liverpool skipper says his side are bubbling after the record 8-0 Champions League destruction of Besiktas in midweek.
   Now Gerrard believes Rafa Benitez’s side will start to turn up the heat on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
   Gerrard, who celebrates five years as captain this week, is back to his best form after a stuttering start to the season.
   He told The Sun, ‘I played through it and now I have come out the other side, scoring goals and feeling great.
   ‘We are keeping pace at the top and we are not at our best yet, while few would argue that Arsenal are playing to their full potential at the moment.
   ‘They’re on fire and playing out of their skin. But they have not had the problems that us, Chelsea and Manchester United have had with injuries to key players.
   ‘It will be interesting to see how well they perform when they lose a few key players and face more tricky matches.
   ‘The only thing we can do is get our own house in order and keep winning. Our away form is a massive improvement on last season and we know we must improve at home.
   ‘But people are saying we are out of it and struggling. Wrong. We are in the first week of November, in a better position than we were this time last season and unbeaten in the league with a game in hand on most.
   ‘Let us see where we are when the prizes are handed out come May – that is what counts.’
   Gerrard admits his form has been patchy this season. He added, ‘I know I was not at my best earlier in the season.
   ‘But when you have been out for a while like I was with injury, it is always going to take time to get back into your rhythm.’
   Boss Benitez has been delighted with the form of unheralded hitman Andriy Voronin.
   He has been one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers and the Ukrainian was desperate to get a goal against Besiktas to celebrate the birth of his new-born son. He revealed, ‘I had a hand in four or maybe five goals on Tuesday but I really would have liked to have scored because I wanted a goal for him, but unfortunately I couldn’t manage it.
   ‘It was still great to play in an 8-0 win but now we have to look to a very important league game against Fulham.
   ‘It’s vital to win – we must win. We haven’t played as well as we should and it’s important we go into the international break on a high.’
   Benitez could hand Fernando Torres a start as the Spanish hitman has recovered from a groin injury. That would mean Peter Crouch is likely to be back on the bench at best.
   The Liverpool chief has grown weary of the ‘will he-won’t he pick Crouch’ saga and insisted once again it is all down to horses for courses.
   He added, ‘Crouch played well the other day, so if I leave Torres out we will start talking about him.
   ‘You need to understand that we have four very good strikers, all of them are good and all of them can give us different things.’

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned that Michel Platini’s proposals to change the Champions League will put the integrity of the competition at risk.
   UEFA president Platini wants to make the Champions League more accessible across Europe and is determined to include six champions from the bottom 40 countries of UEFA’s membership, as well as making places available for domestic cup winners.
   Platini may accept a compromise whereby each association would decide whether the cup winners should replace the lowest league qualifier for Europe’s top club tournament.
   But Wenger fears his fellow Frenchman is in danger of undermining the competition because too many matches will be non-contests. This season’s group stages have already seen Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 7-0 and Liverpool thrash Besiktas 8-0.
   ‘You have to be careful not to change the Champions League too much by bringing in even more weaker teams because you could find yourself with games with no meaning,’ Wenger said. ‘That would be very dangerous for the quality of the competition.’
   Wenger used Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Czech side Slavia to rest eight of his first team regulars but there is no chance of a break for the coach.
   So it’s just as well that the notorious workaholic claims he wouldn’t know what to do even if he did have time to get away from football.
   ‘I don’t need a rest,’ he said. ‘I am marathon runner. I am always busy. There is always work to do that we can not do when we play.
   ‘I must say I am quite lost on holiday. But the holiday period is the transfer period so there is always football.
   ‘I can sit on the beach on my phone and I have met players there. The players are at the beach as well in the summer!’
   Wenger will be back on the bench at Reading on Monday as Arsenal try to maintain their position on top of the Premier League.
   The constant grind of top-level competition can cause managers to burn out if they let the stress get to them. It’s not a problem that bothers Wenger.
   ‘No one has found a machine to measure the pressure so I don’t know how much damage it does to me compared to somebody else,’ he said.
   ‘Many people say I am under massive pressure and it is terrible to experience but you cannot measure it to see if it is worse than someone else or not.
   ‘I keep fit, go to the gym, go running. I do a little everyday. But for me if you are in sport then you are in sport.
   ‘The players are under physical stress that I am not. Yes, there is mental stress but I like to be “in there” and keep in.’

These are early days in the Juande Ramos revolution, but already the green shoots of recovery are appearing at Tottenham.
   Ramos has yet to be defeated since taking charge of Spurs last month and confidence, which had been splintered after a disastrous start to the season and the brutal sacking of Martin Jol, is slowly being pieced back together.
   The Spaniard was justified when he declared his belief that he would record his first Premier League victory in today’s meeting with Wigan at White Hart Lane.
   There are still problems to be addressed. Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgaria striker, remains a disillusioned figure and hardly celebrated his goal against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA cup on Thursday.
   Berbatov is believed to want a move to a Champions League contender and Ramos recently intimated he would not stand in his way.
   The former Sevilla coach must also remedy the defensive failings which have seen Tottenham keep just one clean sheet in the league this season, a statistic that just about legitimises their current position in the bottom four.
   ‘It is not a nice position to be in and we need to get out of it as quickly as possible and it is up to us to do that,’ Spurs defender Michael Dawson said.
   ‘We need to climb the table and the way to do that is to win matches.
   ‘But it’s been good to work with the new coaching staff - different, but good. With the amount of games we’ve got at the moment you can quickly put work from the training ground into matches and results have picked up.
   ‘It is now two wins in the cups and a draw in the league, so hopefully we will build on it on Sunday.’
   Spurs should be relishing the prospect of tackling a side which has been dragged through even more turmoil than them this season.
   Wigan began the campaign still reeling from the departure of the long-serving and hugely successful Paul Jewell and this week they sacked his replacement, Chris Hutchings, after just 14 matches in charge.
   Dave Whelan, the chairman, acted after seeing the Latics slump into the relegation zone on the back of six straight defeats and is now looking for his third manager in six months.
   Graeme Souness has emerged as the early front-runner although, in a bizarre turn of events, Jewell could yet return to the JJB stadium after suggesting he would consider talking to Whelan.
   In the meantime, Frank Barlow will assume control on a caretaker basis and his first task is to instill some belief into a side which has assumed a bedraggled air in recent weeks.
   ‘We have had two knockdowns - the first is that we have not been winning games, and the other knockdown is for your manager to be gone,’ Mario Melchiot, the Dutch defender, said. ‘This is when you have really got to be self-firing.
   ‘As soon as the new person comes in, whoever it may be, it is going to be the best thing for the club and for the group as well, because it makes a more settled group.
   ‘The most important thing is we stick together and do the best that we can.’

Three season ticket holders at English Premier League side Arsenal claim the club could be in breach of contract for allegedly allowing racist chanting at their stadium, a report said Saturday.
   The Independent newspaper said the trio – a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew – had written to the club chairman, claiming that the use of the words ‘Yid’ and ‘Yiddos’ to refer to fans of Tottenham Hotspur broke human rights laws.
   Some Arsenal fans argue that the terms directed towards their north London rivals are not racist and refer to their Jewish history, claiming that some Spurs fans themselves call themselves ‘the Yid army’.
   But the three Arsenal fans’ lawyer, Lawrence Davies, said this does not stop the language being offensive or anti-Semitic, echoing a similar debate among some Spurs fans that using the term could foster casual anti-Jewish sentiment.
   In his letter to Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, Davies said his clients were entitled to take action against the club.
   ‘The test in law is whether the language concerned causes offence to the person concerned. The season ticket holders have all felt offended,’ he wrote.
   By not taking action, Arsenal could be in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976 in providing a service or allowing harassment to occur without challenge, he added.
   ‘The season ticket holders have a contractual relationship with the club. The contract states that fans exhibiting racist behaviour will have their contracts terminated and will be ejected from a particular match,’ he wrote.
   ‘None of the ‘Yid’ chanters have been challenged.’
   Davies and the fans acknowledged that Arsenal had done much to kick racism out of football in recent years but said they needed to go further.
   Arsenal has a deal with the Israeli tourism ministry. Its stadium is also sponsored by Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates whose government has no diplomatic links with Israel.
   The club said it had a tough anti-racism policy for both home and away fans. ‘Where evidence exists (including video evidence), prosecutions will follow,’ a statement to the newspaper said.

Meet Juande Ramos’ secret weapon in his bid to turn Tottenham into world-beaters – doctor baby food.
   Antonio Escribano is in talks about joining Spurs’ medical staff and bringing his magic mush with him.
   Boss Ramos made a special request to bring in the University of Seville’s professor to boost the fitness of Dimitar Berbatov & Co.
   Escribano, 56, told The Sun, ‘I will be there this weekend and we will talk to see how to arrange things. For me this is not a transfer – I will just be a medical consultant after the English club asked me.
   ‘It’s difficult for me to be there permanently because I am a professor in the university and I also work with five clubs in Spain. But if we can reach agreement it’s no problem.’
   Escribano, who worked with Ramos at Seville, is known as ‘doctor baby food’ in Spain because of his liquidised concoction of natural ingredients he gives players to aid their recovery after matches.
   He added, ‘The famous “baby food” is just a nutritional help at the end of matches and at half-time.
   ‘It’s good because it makes the recovery of the player much better.
   ‘They have called me from England for my work and the one who called me is evidently Juande.
   ‘I’m not annoyed that they know me as the man of the baby food. In reality it’s just food.
   ‘It was a Seville player who told me one day “this is what my baby eats” and people started calling it baby food. But it’s really a drink.’
   Spurs face fellow-strugglers Wigan today unbeaten in three games under Ramos – although the Spaniard insists his players’ confidence is in pieces.
   The former Seville chief is renowned for having teams who play attractive football. But he admits Tottenham must grind out results before they can start playing fancy stuff.
   Ramos said, ‘We are a little low in the league so it is important for us to get some points.
   ‘It would have been nice to have got a victory at Middlesbrough last weekend so it is necessary to get three points against Wigan.
   ‘I think we are still a long way away from achieving what we want to do, in terms of our style of play.
   ‘The team is very low on confidence and needs security.
   ‘We need a few really good results to relax the team and make them believe in themselves again.’
   Under-fire keeper Paul Robinson kept his second clean sheet in eight days against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Thursday’s UEFA Cup clash.
   The England No 1 said, ‘We’ve played three games this week, not against the toughest of opposition but we’ve only conceded one goal – and I think that’s where you always have to start.
   ‘We’ve had a game every three days so we’ve had limited time.
   ‘But we’ve worked hard and I think you can see things coming across what we’ve been doing with the manager on the training pitch.’

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has told Steve McClaren that Frank Lampard should be an essential part of the England team.
   Grant has been impressed with the way Lampard responded to being dropped by McClaren with a series of dominant displays for the Blues.
   Lampard was also jeered by England fans unhappy with his international form but he shows no signs of being affected.
   It is the kind of character that former Israel boss Grant believes should make Lampard a automatic selection for club and country.
   ‘I was a national coach and I know that you need players not just with quality but also with character,’ Grant said.
   ‘With Frank and John Terry you can see in games during difficult times how they react and how they fight so it is my opinion that England missed him a lot in Russia.
   ‘You cannot say for sure but I know that if he had played the result would have been different. England can win without him but they are better with him.’
   Lampard will hope to regain his place for next Friday’s friendly in Austria and the Euro
   2008 qualifier against Croatia the following Wednesday, but
   his Chelsea colleague John
   Terry will be absent after knee surgery.
   England captain Terry was desperate to play in the Croatia match, but Grant is adamant he needs to make a full recovery before returning. Terry had aggrevating the knee problem while training with his country in Russia last month, just hours after admitting he knew he needed an operation but wanted to play through the pain barrier.
   ‘John likes to train and to play every day, 24 hours a day, but he knows his situation. He is not fit at the moment,’ Grant said.
   ‘In two weeks he will be and we need to take care of him because he always risks his body for Chelsea and for the national team and he has had a lot of injuries. This will be the last - I hope.
   ‘England will miss him because he is a great defender and a great leader, especially in difficult times, but it was the right decision.
   ‘If he was available I would be very happy to see him play for England but he is not.’

Premier League stars including Wayne Rooney snubbed a charity dinner being hosted by England’s World Cup rugby heroes.
   Celebrities from both sports were expected at the ‘football meets rugby’ benefit bash.
   But despite being held at Rooney’s home ground Old Trafford only James Beattie of Championship side Sheffield United went along.
   He joined rugger stars including ex-England captain Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson and Mark Cueto at the black-tie bash.
   Man Utd star Rooney, 22, had been billed by promoters as one of the headline acts for the do. But he phoned the day before to pull out.
   It is thought many of the highly-paid Premiership players that organisers had hoped would attend instead went to the 29th birthday celebrations of Rooney’s team-mate Rio Ferdinand.
   Fans forked out £100ahead to attend the do, billed as ‘Two Great Games United in One Evening’.
   It was part of a series of benefit events held across the country to mark England rugby star Josh Lewsey’s testimonial year and to raise cash for kids’ charity the NSPCC, the Army Benevolent Fund and other good causes.
   One fan told The Sun: ‘We were expecting to see the cream of both sports under one roof. There was even supposed to be a keepy-uppy contest between the rugby lads and the football boys.
   ‘It promised to be great fun. You can imagine the disappointment when the so-called stars of the Premier League failed to show.’
   Another guest at the event said: ‘It shows the gulf in class between rugby players and footballers.’
   The rugby heroes were said to be fuming at the snub on Friday . A source said: ‘The footballers were being slated in their absence. The two camps don’t necessarily get on at the best of times because rugby players view footballers as overpaid prima donnas.’
   A spokesman for Rooney said: ‘For the avoidance of any doubt, he was neither booked nor contracted nor committed to appear.’

Chelsea’s Michael Essien is used to displaying flair on the pitch. But now the Ghana international is using a different kind of creativity in an attempt to kick racism into touch.
   Along with team-mate Didier Drogba, he has sung guest vocals on anti-racism single Skin, by Wills And The Willing.
   Michael explained to The Sun why he felt the need to sing along for the cause.
   ‘Combating racism is something I feel very passionate about.
   ‘So when I was asked to perform on the track I didn’t hesitate. We need to kick racism out of football and society and it touches my heart to be involved.
   ‘I experienced racism on the pitch a few times in France at my first professional club, Bastia. I don’t let racism affect me but it was stupid for people in the crowd to shout racist taunts.
   ‘When it happened I just let it go and got on with the game. I know that sometimes, when people are angry, they say anything without thinking about it, so I just let it go and tried to control myself.
   ‘But with Didier and Wills And The Willing I wanted to take a stand because we are all human beings. It is only colour that changes.
   ‘If I can fight against racism, then why not?
   ‘Didier and myself both love music and we recorded the single at Air Studios in London in the spring, just after we had won the Carling Cup.
   ‘It was great fun. It was my first time in a studio and
   I was a little bit nervous. But Ian, the lead singer of the band, and the guys made me comfortable.
   ‘I will definitely not give up football to be a full-time musician. But if I am called on to do another track and I can help with something I will. Didier and Wills And The Willing performed the song in September at the Royal Albert Hall at an African charity event, which was amazing.
   ‘I took to the stage with the band in front of some of my friends and team-mates at Madame JoJo’s nightclub in London.
   ‘Skin has lyrics like, “It burns, it bleeds, it bruises, it’s simple to understand” and I hope that when people are at work, walking down the street, watching football from the stands or even having a game in the park, they will take the song’s message with them.
   ‘Whatever a person’s race, it is only skin and I really hope the single makes a difference.’

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes he can rival Sir Alex Ferguson’s 21-years at Manchester United after admitting he would be lost without the pressure of management.
   Wenger takes charge of his 635th game at Arsenal against Reading on Monday and recently signed a contract keeping him at the Emirates Stadium until at least the summer of 2010
   The Frenchman admits he does not enjoy holidays away from football, takes his mobile phone to the beach to carry out negotiations with potential new signings and even arranges meetings with players on the seafront.
   ‘I do not need a rest,’ insists Wenger, who gave most of his first-team the night off when Arsenal travelled to the Czech Republic for their 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague on Wednesday.
   ‘I am a marathon runner. I am always busy, there is always work to do that we cannot do when we play. I must say I am quite lost on holiday but the holiday period is the transfer period so there is always football.
   ‘I can sit on the beach on my phone and have even met players there. The players are at the beach as well in the summer.’
   Workaholic Wenger, Arsenal’s longest serving manager in terms of matches, admits he does not know how much damage he is doing to his health.
   The Frenchman’s dedication is reaping rewards, with Arsenal unbeaten in 26 league and cup matches and flying high at the top of the Premier League table.
   Wenger said: ‘No one has found a machine to measure the pressure so I do not know how much damage it does to me compared to someone else. Many people say I am under massive pressure and it is terrible to experience but you cannot measure it to see if it is worse than someone else or not.
   ‘I keep fit, go to the gym, go running. I do a little everyday. But for me if you are in sport then you are in sport.
   ‘The players are under physical stress that I am not. Yes, there is mental stress but I like to be ‘in there’ and keep in.’
   Wenger will recall Alexander Hleb and Cesc Fabregas for the trip to the Madejski Stadium, Arsenal’s sixth game in a hectic 19-day period. Fabregas this week claimed Arsenal can match Wenger’s ‘invincible’ 2004 championship winning team by going the whole season unbeaten.
   Reading manager Steve Coppell has warned Fabregas and his fellow youngsters their free-flowing attacking football will count for nothing if they end the season trophyless.
   Coppell said: ‘Anything less than a trophy this year will be seen as failure. ‘They can play wonderful football but they will be judged on what is in the cabinet at the end of the season.
   ‘You can sense a real confidence coming out of their camp - from the manager downwards you feel there is more of a belief than last year. Given the start they have made and the foundation they have, they need silverware.’

Maria Sharapova’s remarkable comeback after the best part of two months off the circuit continued with her reaching the final of the WTA Championships, the women’s tour’s season-ending climax, here on Saturday.
   The former world number one had only entered to ‘get as many matches as possible’ after struggling with a long-term shoulder injury - yet her 6-2, 6-2 victory over her Russian compatriot Anna Chavetadze was Sharapova’s fourth in four matches and put her within one success of the title.
   Sharapova’s performance was close to being a revelation. Her absence from the tour has enabled her to become fresher and fitter, her ground strokes seem to have been drilled to new levels of excellence, containing more variations of direction and better angles along with its trademark grunting power, and her appetite for competition was huge.
   The comeback star made up for a reluctance to serve really hard - the shot which had contributed most to the injury - by serving smart.
   ‘I’ve played on the tour for quiet few years and I have experience so I should be ready for this,’ the 20-year-old Sharapova said rather menacingly before the match. ‘But this is a new match and I will take it one step at a time.’
   There were three main steps - a decent start, the survival of three mini-crises in the first set, and the maintenance of a formidable momentum in the second set once she had her opponent in difficulties.
   Sharapova’s previous success against Chakvetadze generated confidence on the big points early on. Had she not found a way to save break points in the second, fourth and sixth games of the first set it might have been very different for these altered the mood of the match.
   ‘I had break points against me and I was able to serve my way out of it and then I got some rhythm. I felt confident,’ said Sharapova
   Chakvetadze, who played some good rallies with some forthright hitting, revealed her biggest fault as a psychological one, for she offered Sharapova encouragement by allowing her disappointment to become evident as early as 1-4.
   Sharapova also had to save two break points in the sixth game of the second set, which she did with a solid serve and a trenchant forehand drive - but these were less important, for by then the outcome was barely in dispute.
   ‘Two weeks before the tournament I was talking about whether or not I would play here,’ Sharapova said. ‘I am so glad to have made it and so glad to have made it to the final match.
   ‘To be here is great. To be in the final is even better, because I didn’t expect anything.’

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will be sidelined for at least four weeks after suffering an ankle injury in training on Friday.
   Rooney left United’s training ground on crutches and the injury means he will miss England’s final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia on November 21 and the friendly in Austria six days previously.
   He is likely to miss four Premier League matches, starting with today’s clash against Blackburn, as well as United’s last two Champions League ties. If his rehabilitation goes well he could be back in time for the big clash against Liverpool at Anfield on December 16.
   ‘Wayne Rooney picked up an ankle injury in training and will be out for about four weeks,’ a United spokesperson confirmed.
   The 22-year-old had been in superb form in the last two months, scoring nine goals in his last 10 games for club and country, and had struck up a lethal partnership with Carlos Tevez.
   England coach Steve McClaren admitted Rooney’s absence was a major setback. He had just named the former Everton forward in his squad on Friday before being given the bad news.
   ‘It is hugely disappointing for us and him,’ he said. ‘Given the form he has been in and the contribution he has made to England over the last two games means it is a blow.
   ‘But we have to deal with it, like we have dealt with situations like these before. It is an opportunity for someone else to come and do a job.’
   Rooney’s injury could hand Peter Crouch a place in the England team alongside Michael Owen. It is the latest fitness blow for Rooney, the Premier League’s player of the month for October. He had already missed the first month of the season with a broken foot sustained against Fulham on the opening weekend.
   United manager Sir Alex Ferguson may now have to bring fit-again France striker Louis Saha back into the team sooner than he would have liked.

Steve McClaren has defiantly declared that he is still the man to take England forward.
   McClaren’s team are facing the prospect of elimination from the race for Euro 2008 but the beleaguered head coach insists he loves the job and wants to remain at the helm.
   Should Russia only draw in Israel next Saturday, England will go through to the Euro 2008 finals if they beat Group E leaders Croatia at Wembley four days later.
   But a win for Russia would almost certainly extinguish any lingering hope, with Guus Hiddink’s side fully expected to beat minnows Andorra in their final game.
   Yet McClaren, grateful for the support of English Football Association chiefs, maintained: ‘I am the man take England forward and I really do believe that. I believe I can do the job.
   ‘That’s purely on the evidence of what we’ve done over the last seven or eight months, and certainly on how we handled the aftermath of the games away to Israel and Andorra.
   ‘I believe we’ve turned it around and we’re going forward. The team has come together and I’ve received backing from everyone in the organisation, from the likes of Brian Barwick, Noel White, Dave Richards and the chairman, Geoff Thompson.
   ‘After Andorra, they were very supportive and have been all the way through. I’ve had the support of the players as well and that is reflected in the performances.
   ‘I love working with this team, I love this job, and this team will go on in the future and be successful. I think we deserve to qualify for the European Championships. I think we do purely on our performances of late.
   ‘I want to go on and I don’t want to let anyone down. I have faith and belief in these players - I think that’s the key. The performances we’ve had give me that.
   ‘I want more time with the players. The first six or seven months were difficult and we’ve taken a few hits, like the Macedonia game which we should have won.
   ‘But I can look at the way we’ve been playing of late and say, ‘That’s how I want an England team to play’.’
   On questions of whether his position will be untenable if England fail to qualify, McClaren said: ‘It’s my responsibility and I’m not shying away from it or making excuses.
   ‘It’s a viable debate, but I can’t be involved in that, it’s for other people to decide.’
   McClaren is pinning hopes on Israel holding Russia in Tel Aviv. He said: ‘Going away to Israel is very tough for anybody - we proved that. They’re a proud nation and they have a fantastic home record.
   ‘We have to get behind Israel, we need a performance and I think they know that. I have to hope and believe that results will go right next Saturday and we will go into the Croatia game with our destiny in our own hands. Then, the judgements will be made.
   ‘Whatever happens with Croatia, it will be a tough game at Wembley, whether they are through and relaxed or whether they need a result.
   ‘We’ll know by next Saturday night and I hope to god that we need a result. I think the Croatia game will take care of itself because I think we’ve proved in recent performances at Wembley that we’re on good form there.
   ‘The fans will get behind us and I hope it goes to that game, because I’ll be very confident.’
   McClaren has recalled a fit-again David Beckham to the squad, and added: ‘David is a big-game player, an experienced player, and he’s never let England down.
   ‘He’s in the squad. That doesn’t guarantee him a place in the team or on the bench, but he’s an invaluable member of the squad.’
   Before the Croatia game, England travel to Austria for a friendly next Friday, and McClaren added: ‘Austria is a big game because we’re preparing for Croatia and that has to be my messaage to the players.
   ‘We can give the likes of Ashley Cole and David Beckham a game, but it’s preparation for Croatia.’

Ruud Gullit was ready for ‘a huge challenge’ after being formally introduced as Los Angeles Galaxy head coach at the Major League Soccer team’s home stadium on Friday.
   The 45-year-old Dutchman, appointed as successor to Frank Yallop on a three-year contract, was paraded in front of the media at the Home Depot Centre.
   ‘This is a very interesting move for me,’ former European Footballer of the Year Gullit said. ‘Soccer is a growing sport here and has the potential to become huge in America. I am really proud to be in the beginning of that process.’
   Gullit, who previously coached Chelsea, Newcastle United and Feyenoord, takes over a team that failed to reach the playoffs for the last two seasons under Yallop.
   ‘It’s a huge challenge to be here but it’s all here for the taking,’ said Gullit, who was European Footballer of the Year in 1987. ‘The Galaxy is used to winning things and we will try everything in our power to win more titles here.
   ‘I hope to find a team that is curious, that is ambitious and that plays with a lot of heart.
   ‘I don’t know a lot about the MLS and that’s why I have appointed Cobi (Jones) as my assistant (coach) so I can use his knowledge.’
   Former US international Jones ended his playing career with the Galaxy this season.
   The appointment of Gullit gives the club the highest-profile coach in MLS as well as the highest-profile player in David Beckham, who joined the club in July on a five-year deal.
   But Gullit said he would give former England captain Beckham the same treatment as all the other players at the Galaxy.
   ‘David is not going to be more special or less special,’ he added. ‘Of course, he is a very well known player but when he is on the pitch he has to do the same things that the other players have to do.
   ‘As a coach, I have to use his experience because that is also a reason why he came here,’ said Gullit, who epitomized the Dutch ethos of ‘total football’ with his all-round skills in several positions during his own playing career.
   ‘David has a role of helping the other players understand the game a little bit better so he’s going to be a link to the other players. But, as a person, he will be treated as equally as anyone else.’
   Gullit was accompanied at the news conference by Jones, Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas and Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, the entertainment conglomerate that owns the Galaxy.
   ‘We set about to attempt to do something different and I like to think in this signing we have done something different, not just for the Galaxy but the league and the sport,’ Lalas said.
   ‘We wanted a strong personality, someone with confidence, leadership and experience and someone that was right for the time, the place and the circumstances that now exist at the Galaxy.’

Avram Grant insists he never doubted he would silence the critics who claimed he had no chance at Chelsea.
   When Grant took charge in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho’s dramatic departure in September, it seemed the Israeli coach would find it hard to last a month if you listened to the cynicism that greeted his appointment. It was said that he was little more than a puppet for the owner Roman Abramovich and would be unable to win over a group of players mostly loyal to Mourinho.
   But Grant, whose side hosts Everton today, has quietly overseen an impressive run of results that has catapulted Chelsea back into the title race.
   The Blues have been unbeaten in ten matches since his opening defeat to Manchester United, and Grant believes people will now be looking towards him with more respect than when he first took over the club.
   ‘Maybe for some people it has been a surprise, but I think it is a good surprise,’ he said. ‘I think in the last three games we have played a very high quality, not even one team, including Man United or Arsenal, have played better than us.
   ‘We continue to play well. I think you have seen the team progress in their football. You know my vision, and I will follow that. It will not come in one day, but we have good staff here now and I am happy.
   ‘We saw Everton’s UEFA Cup game and they were very good. It could be a very difficult game, but it will only be my third game at Stamford Bridge so it is good to be home.’
   Ashley Cole should feature on Sunday after recovering from an ankle injury. The defender has not played in the Premier League since the beginning of October but he returns this weekend.
   Captain John Terry is still missing and has been left out of the England squad due to his knee injury, but he should return in two weeks. Goalkeeper Petr Cech is sidelined with a calf injury.
   Everton have picked up eight wins out of their past ten matches, and, like Chelsea, are also high on confidence.
   A midweek 2-0 UEFA Cup victory over Nuremberg has given defender Phil Neville a belief that they should attack Grant’s side.
   ‘I don’t think we have ever gone down to Stamford Bridge in better form or with as much confidence,’ he said.
   ‘We can go on Sunday with the confidence that, although they have quality players, lets give it a go and see where that takes us. If we get a point or three points then brilliant. That will mean we are improving.
   ‘In the past we have gone down there and had real backs to the wall but it is a measure of our progress and our team that we are going down there with a little bit of a swagger and confident.
   ‘We need to make sure we show the same level of concentration and diligence we showed on Thursday.’
   Victor Anichebe may be handed a start after his goal in midweek, and he has paid tribute to fellow forward Yakubu. ‘I’m learning so much from him. His game is all about strength but he has scored a lot of goals and I’m doing my best to take his advice,’ he said.
   Forward Andrew Johnson will be missing with an ankle injury, but Leighton Baines could return to the substitutes bench.

Newcastle rode their luck to snatch a 1-1 draw in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland on Saturday thanks to James Milner’s fortunate equaliser.
   Sam Allardyce’s side were outplayed for long periods at the Stadium of Light and fell behind to Danny Higginbotham’s 52nd minute header.
   But Sunderland were denied a first home victory over their local rivals for 27 years when Milner’s cross somehow eluded everyone and crept in at the far post midway through the second half.
   It was rough justice for Sunderland, who are now without a win in seven matches. Newcastle will just be relieved to emerge unscathed after another lacklustre display.
   Roy Keane has insisted he doesn’t want to keep bemoaning his team’s brave but unrewarded performances, but this was another hard-luck story for the Black Cats.
   Keane brought back fit-again Carlos Edwards for his first appearance since August and it was the Trinidad winger who provided the opening opportunity.

English Football Association chiefs have denied that an emergency board meeting has been scheduled to decide national team manager Steve McClaren’s fate. A newspaper report in England on Friday claimed the FA had agreed to meet on November 22 – one day after England’s final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.
    It was suggested that if England have failed to qualify for the finals, the FA want a quick resolution over McClaren’s future because a delegation, including the beleaguered coach, is due to fly to South Africa the next day for the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw.
    But Sir Dave Richards, chairman of the Premier League and a member of the FA’s international committee, insisted there was no crisis meeting on the agenda. ‘There is no board meeting scheduled and that is absolutely categorical,’ Richards said.

Internazionale striker Adriano has announced his desire to leave the Italian champions when the transfer window opens in January.
   The Brazil ace, who has made just 17 Serie A appearances in the last two seasons, has been on the receiving end of public allegations from coach Roberto Mancini over his work ethic and professionalism.
   Now, with a place in the Inter side not looking likely in the near future, the 25-year-old is keen to start afresh elsewhere.
   He told Globo: ‘I had some chances to play at the beginning of the season, but he (coach Roberto Mancini) took me out of the team without giving any explanation.
   ‘I have recovered from all my problems and also scored in training, but Mancini doesn’t believe in me any more.
   ‘That leaves me with no other choice.
   ‘Now, I am waiting for the club’s decision to know what will happen with me. I want to play.’
   Adriano insisted his active social life, which has previously landed him in trouble with both Mancini and national coach Dunga, was over.
   He added: ‘I regret everything I did. I never want to go through that again in my life. I prefer not to remember it.
   ‘I had to turn my back
   on some friends and call my mother, who is living in Italy now, to overcome these problems.
   ‘My main objective is to play so I will have more opportunities to wear the Brazil shirt again.’

Top football clubs Juventus and Inter Milan will be under surveillance by Italian authorities following poor behaviour by both sets of fans since the start of the season.
   A government body on Wednesday banned Napoli supporters from going to their Italian league match at Palermo on Saturday
   because of bad behaviour by their supporters, but decided just to warn Juventus and Inter Milan.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is determined to keep Javier Mascherano at Anfield on a permanent basis. The Argentine ace has expressed a desire to secure a permanent move. Barcelona are rumoured to be monitoring Mascherano’s situation, but Benitez says he is keen to see the player remain on Merseyside. ‘Mascherano wants to stay, he is very happy here,’ Benitez told the Liverpool post.
    ‘He is a key player for us and I have been talking with him and he is really pleased to be at Liverpool. His family are settled here and his wife is learning English and he is very comfortable here. Javier also knows that the supporters like him and I think if everything is okay he will stay with us. We are happy with him so it would be good for everyone if he stayed at Liverpool.’