Liverpool FC sale: as it happened

Football shirts, football kits uk, soccer jerseys, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK, football news

Tom Hicks and George Gillett last night tried to derail Liverpool's sale to the owners of the Boston Red Sox by obtaining a temporary injunction in a Dallas court, claiming $1.6bn (£1bn) in damages and calling it an "epic swindle". The club immediately responded by vowing to overturn the "unwarranted and damaging" order as talks with New England Joint Ventures continued into the early hours after yesterday's resounding victory in the high court.

As Liverpool's reconstituted board met with NESV, on the verge of a deal to buy the club for £300m and bring the tenure of Hicks and Gillett to a close, the duo launched a desperate bid to reopen the sale process. The restraining order appears to prevent a sale taking place before the hearing on 25 October. Now the boards of Kop Football and Kop Holdings accept they must fight to have it removed in order to proceed with the sale to NESV.

A statement on the Liverpool website read: "The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed."

The news of the restraining order came in a statement posted on the website of the American law firm Fish & Richardson. The Texas District State Court petition accuses the chairman, Martin Broughton, appointed by the creditors Royal Bank of Scotland in April to oversee the sale of the club, and his fellow directors of acting as "pawns" of RBS to perpetrate an "epic swindle" in selling the club to NESV for less than half its supposed market value and ignoring several higher offers.

 more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/13/liverpool-sale-high-court-verdict-live

Fabio Capello says England were 'lucky' to draw with Montenegro

Football shirts, football kits uk, soccer jerseys, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK, football news

Rio Ferdinand said that England "should be winning games like that" as the team left here to a chorus of boos, having failed to score for the first time in their redeveloped national stadium.

Montenegro, who are ranked 40th in the world, stayed on top of Group G after England revisited their World Cup failings in South Africa over the summer by producing a disjointed and lethargic performance. The England manager, Fabio Capello, echoed his captain's frustration with the team's display and said that his side had even been "lucky" to draw, after Milan Jovanovic hit the visitors' only real opportunity against the crossbar, seven minutes from time.

"We can take a few positives but we really should be winning games like that," said Ferdinand. "I think we deserved better. They hit the bar late on but up until then we were on the front foot trying to create chances and their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves. It seemed like it would be his day.

"Maybe we did try too hard, but that's what happens. You want to please the manager and the fans, but it just wasn't to be."

Capello's side had not been held at home for two years – indeed, England had not drawn a home match 0-0 since Macedonia left Old Trafford with a point in 2006 – and this was a sobering evening after the recovery hinted at by victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland last month. It was more reminiscent of the struggles endured by the Italian's side against Algeria in Cape Town in June.

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/13/rio-ferdinand-fabio-capello-england-montenegro

Wales need Euro 2012 qualifying 'miracle'

Football shirts, football kits, soccer jerseys, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK, football news

The Welsh have suffered back-to-back defeats to Montenegro and Bulgaria now travel to Switzerland, who are also pointless after two Group G matches.

"Miracles are needed to if we are to get second place in this group," said Aston Villa defender Collins.

"And we can't expect to qualify after losing our first two qualifiers."

Wales have failed to qualify for a major championship finals since starring at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

The Welsh did make it to a European Championship quarter-finals - losing to Yugoslavia - in 1976 but, unlike the present day, the European finals were only made up of the last four teams.

Wales lost 1-0 in Montenegro - who now top the group thanks to three wins from three matches - before a 1-0 defeat by Bulgaria at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday.

Now Wales go to Switzerland hoping to avoid losing their opening three qualifiers - an unwanted feat a Welsh team has not suffered since the 1970 World Cup qualifying campaign.

more.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_of_wales/9077003.stm

England v Montenegro: Phil Jagielka's emergence puts Rio Ferdinand's place in doubt

Buy official football shirts, football kits, soccer jerseys, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK

No final decision has been made by Capello. He will watch and observe the players in training, as always, but if Ferdinand is left out it will be the first time that he has been 'dropped’ — though it may well be dressed up as being because he is short of fitness — since Sven-Goran Eriksson’s momentous decision to omit him against Austria five years ago.

In that case Steven Gerrard would remain wearing the armband and it is possible Capello may use the opportunity to confirm him as his full-time captain.

Jagielka’s emergence is all the more impressive because of the serious knee injury he has been recovering from and his lack of experience at international level.

Certainly the verdict from the England camp after the last two matches was that he pushed Gerrard hard as the most important player and Capello will now be giving serious thought to the question: does Jagielka deserve to be dropped having played so well, and what sort of message would this send out to the other players?

read more.....

Davies Beats Carroll To Call Up.

Buy official football shirts, football kits, soccer jerseys

, football socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK

Kevin Davies has finally made an England squad. An honour he has deserved for a number of years now after spear-heading Bolton’s attacking line for numerous seasons. He is a “typically English” striker too; a bruiser rather than a technical genius but still a different sort of striker to those England currently posses.

He may have deserved this call-up but surely now is not the time. Davies is 33 and his career will soon be coming to an end. It’s unlikely that he’ll be anywhere near the England squad in 2012, the next time a major championship is on the horizon, and it’s almost guaranteed that he will be nearer the Match of the Day studio rather than the Reebok Stadium pitch in 2014; the year of the next World Cup.

read more.........

Adam Johnson tips balance for Manchester City win over Newcastle

Buy official football shirts, football kits, soccer jerseys

, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK

Adam Johnson's cameo substitute appearance continued Manchester City's rise towards the top of English football but the referee, Martin Atkinson, played just as influential a role in a controversial victory which left Newcastle United's playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken leg.

Ben Arfa was carried off in distress after five minutes following a challenge from City's Dutch international Nigel de Jong, a tackle which could most kindly be described as "full-blooded", and Newcastle last night confirmed the 23-year-old had suffered a broken tibia and fibula of his left leg. He will have surgery tomorrow morningtoday but the club said in a statement that it has not set a time limit for the player, who is on loan from Marseille, to regain his fitness.

Opinion seemed divided as to the legality of the challenge, especially as Atkinson deemed it legitimate, and the Newcastle manager, Chris Hughton, chose his words carefully, although there was little doubting the sub-text of his comments. "Everybody will have their opinion, I'm quite sure, it's been shown enough times," he said.

read more....http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/03/manchester-city-newcastle-united-premier-league

Leeds United beaten 6-4 at home after stunning fightback from Preston

Buy official football shirts, football kits, soccer jerseys, socks and retro soccer shirts online, cheap soccer jerseys and authentic soccer shirt printing from My Football Tops UK

Leeds have had a few ups and downs in their history and their astonishing 6-4 home defeat to Preston marks a new extraordinary chapter.

Jon Parkin struck a hat-trick as Preston produced an amazing comeback to beat Leeds at Elland Road. North End, who began the evening in the drop zone, recovered from 4-1 behind after 39 minutes to snatch a barely believable away success.

Parkin had given them an early lead before the hosts responded brilliantly with Davide Somma's double added to goals from Luciano Becchio and Alex Bruce seemingly putting them in control. Anyone in attendance who thought the game was over was to be proved badly wrong, though, as Preston produced a remarkable riposte.

Parkin, who was taunted during the game but applauded by the home support when he was substituted late on, was the star, scoring either side of goals from Keith Treacy and Callum Davidson, before Iain Hume added a sixth.

The pressure is mounting on a former Leeds hero Gordon Strachan as his Middlesbrough side were beaten 3-1 by Derby County at Pride Park with Kris Commons producing two moments of magic.

Boro took the lead when Kris Boyd, restored to the starting line-up after being dropped for the previous two games, glanced in his second goal for the club. But Derby responded and after Commons had a penalty saved by Jason Steele, they equalised just before half-time when Commons' corner was headed home by Shaun Barker.

Commons was the star of the show in the second half as he produced two classy finishes to give the Rams a second consecutive home victory which prompted County fans to taunt Strachan with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning". More here...........