England Football Blog

Ince, the next Blackburn boss

According to BBC Radio 5 Live, Paul Ince is set to be named as the new manager of Blackburn Rovers.

The MK Dons boss is Rovers’ number one target after Mark Hughes departure, even if  Sam Allardyce have been interviewed for the job.

Former England manager Steve McClaren and ex-Getafe boss Michael Laudrup have also been in the discussions.

Rovers chairman John Williams says that the club have not yet made an offer to anyone.

“We are now down to a small short-list,” Williams told BBC Radio Lancashire. “I am delighted with how the process is going and we hope to make a decision by the weekend.

“We have steadily gone about our business in the proper manner but we have not yet made an offer to anyone at this stage.”

BBC Radio 5 Lives charming reporter Juliette Ferrington said: “The former England captain has always been a target of Blackburn and the MK Dons are expecting the situation to be resolved in the next few days.

“That would tie in with the bookies who, in the last 24 hours, have made Ince firm favourite to succeed Hughes.

“Sam Allardyce has also been interviewed for the job but I understand he is likely to miss out in favour of Ince.”

Six candidates have been interviewed to take over after Hughes, who already, june 5th, left for Manchester City. Ince, McClaren, the Dane Laudrup, and former Bolton and Newcastle manager Allardyce regarded as the leading candidates.

McClaren has been out of work since he was sacked (thank God!) by England in November after he failed to lead England to Euro 2008 and he told Radio 5 Live on June 7 that he would be interested in the Blackburn job. Personally I don’t understand that someone want him on the payroll.

To Danish media have Laudrup reported that he have been interviewed for the role.

Ince has had an very impressive season with MK Dons after moving from Macclesfield in June last year.

The 40 year old, former midfielder (West Ham, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool) led MK Dons to the League Two title as well as the Football League Trophy in his first season with the club. In his first season! How can they let him go?

His achievements attracted Leicester City, who made an official invite to the MK Dons for Ince’s services earlier in June.

Blackburn would need special dispensation to appoint Ince as he does not yet have the Uefa Pro Licence coaching qualification.

Uefa and Premier League rules require anyone wishing to manage in the top flight to hold the Uefa Pro Licence, which requires 240 hours of study and usually takes a year to gain.

The Premier League could block his appointment, although Gareth Southgate got the green light to manage Middlesbrough two years ago without being licensed.

We can hope that League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan,  will not lobby against Ince’s appointment.

Hughes, the new Manchester City manager

Mark Hughes has been appointed as the new manager of Manchester City after signing a three-year contract.

Hughes agreed to leave Blackburn after a second round of talks held with the City hierarchy in London on Tuesday.

City’s only concern was a late move by Chelsea, but no one believes Hughes was never a serious contender.

Thaksin Shinawatra (City owner) has now landed his top target after the brilliant Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure.

Shinawatra said: “He’s an outstanding manager who has achieved many things with Blackburn.

“Mark was always the first choice of our new executive chairman, Garry Cook. Together they will make a great team. They will both prove to be excellent acquisitions, I’m sure.”

Thaksin also sent a message to City fans, wich still are angry at the sacking of the fantastic Eriksson, saying: “These are exciting times for Manchester City and I hope the supporters can understand that I share their goals.

“That sometimes means making ruthless decisions. Now we can go forward to a new era, with a new management structure and great hope and ambition.”

Cook, who was appointed as executive chairman last month, said: “In our view Mark is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager’s job.

“He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.

“The club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad.

“Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately.”

Hughes has lead Rovers into Europe two times, but recently indicated his high, long-term ambitions will not be fulfilled at Ewood Park.

Hughes has apparently given up the stability of Blackburn because of the bigger stature of Manchester C.  Despite facts that the volatile regime that sacked one of the worlds best managers, Sven-Goran Eriksson.

And having always worked with “pennies” in Blackburn, it is likely he will nowplay with major transfer funds.

Another temptation for Hughes was European football, City playing in the Uefa Cup, and to manage a team that plays in front of more then 40,000 spectators on a regular basis.

Hughes has impressed during his 3½ year period at Ewood Park,  Rovers to seventh in the Last seasons Premier League.

Hughes also, luckily, led the club to its 1st FA Cup semi-final in 40 years in 2004 and also in 2007.

Blackburn chairman John Williams paid tribute to Hughes.

He said: “We have enjoyed a first-class, mutually beneficial relationship with Mark.

“He leaves the club in a strong position with three consecutive top 10 finishes and an excellent squad of players.

“In turn, we have helped Mark to establish himself as one of the most sought-after young British managers in the business, having previously had no club management experience.

“We wish him well. We would have liked him to stay on, but he made it clear he wanted a fresh challenge.”

Earlier this year, Hughes tried to become Newcastle manager, but Kevin Keegan took the job.

Fulham + Stockdale = true

Darlington goalkeeper David Stockdale joins Fulham on a two-year deal for an concealed fee.

The 22-year-old kept the 0 in 20 in League Two last season as the club just missed out on the play-off final after losing on penalties to Rochdale.

“I’m delighted as it has always been a dream of mine to play in the Premier League,” Stockdale said.

“We are hopeful of great things from David,” Fulham manager Roy Hodgson told the club’s website.

“He is one of a number of highly-rated young English keepers and will continue to develop his skills and realise his full potential at Fulham under the guidance of Mike Kelly and the rest of my coaching staff.

“I am confident that he will be a valuable asset to the team in the future.”

Fulham have also already signed Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer playing in Middlesbrough.

The 35-year-old ended an 11-year career on Teesside by signing a two-year deal at Craven Cottage.

United will spend more

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has says that the club will bring in players to improve the team this summer.

The Old Trafford outfit may have won their 10th Premier League crown on Sunday to make it 17 league championship titles in all, but they will not rest on their laurels.

Gill revealed: “We will be in a position where, if we can improve it, we will.

“It is the best league in the world so if we want to continue to be at the top we have to make sure we look at the squad and improve it.”

Last summer United spent over £50m on Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani, while Carlos Tevez was signed on a two-year deal ahead of a permanent deal.

 What will come next?

Vital wins for North East trio and fellow strugglers Reading

Kevin Keegan enjoyed his first win since returning to Newcastle United, Sunderland picked up three points away from home for the first time and Bolton Wanderers stay in the bottom three.

Reading won their six-pointer with Birmingham City, Middlesbrough edged past Derby County, Blackburn Rovers easily beat Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur left it late to overcome Portsmouth.

Everton’s UEFA Champions League hopes suffered a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Ham.

Mark Viduka and Michael Owen provided a relieved Keegan with a much-needed lift as Newcastle beat struggling Fulham 2-0.

Newcastle enjoyed a dream start in front of a bumper St James’ Park crowd when Viduka turned smartly on the edge of the area and fired a low shot inside the far post for his first goal of 2008.

Obafemi Martins had a goal disallowed for offside before Owen made the points safe seven minutes from time when he met Geremi’s free-kick unmarked to head beyond Kasey Keller.

Everton were looking to move level on points with Liverpool in the race for fourth place but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni gave the Toffees the perfect start when he turned away from young defender James Tomkins to lash the ball beyond Rob Green in the eighth minute.

But Dean Ashton climbed to head the Hammers level from Lucas Neill’s hanging cross after the break, with young substitute Freddie Sears hitting the post in the dying seconds.

Sunderland boosted their survival hopes with a first away win of the season as substitute Michael Chopra scored the only goal at Aston Villa.

Chopra, who netted Sunderland’s first goal this season, came up with another important strike when he latched on to Kieran Richardson’s pass to finish coolly beyond Scott Carson on 83 minutes.

Bolton Wanderers are stuck in the relegation zone after being held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester City at the Reebok Stadium.

The hosts came closest to scoring when Icelandic defender Gretar Steinsson headed a corner against the post in the first half.

Blackburn and Wigan both had a man sent off as Rovers battled to a 3-1 win at Ewood Park.

Blackburn were ahead on 12 minutes when Roque Santa Cruz stooped to head home his 13th Premier League goal of the season from close range after Chris Kirkland could only parry David Bentley’s swerving shot.

But Wigan were level within five minutes after Blackburn defender Christopher Samba was sent off for a slight tug on Emile Heskey’s shirt in the box, and Marlon King stepped up to equalise from the spot for his first goal for the club.

Rovers, though, were back in front in first-half injury-time when former Wigan striker Jason Roberts showed great skill on the edge of the area before slipping his shot through Kirkland’s legs.

The home side continued to make light of their numerical disadvantage and scored a third goal on 63 minutes when Bentley curled in a cross from the left for the arriving Santa Cruz to head home at the far post.

Wigan’s chances of a comeback took a further knock on 69 minutes when Wilson Palacios was sent off for a second bookable offence after bringing down David Dunn.

Reading climbed further away from trouble after Andre Bikey grabbed both goals in a 2-1 win over relegation rivals Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium.

The Royals edged in front just past the half-hour mark when Bikey nipped in at the near post to glance John Oster’s free-kick into the net.

Mauro Zarate pulled Birmingham level on 65 minutes when the Argentinian scored his first goal for the club after firing home from Mikael Forssell’s pass.

But Blues were undone by Bikey again on 79 minutes after the Cameroon international darted in to meet Nicky Shorey’s free-kick.

Darren Bent made a decisive impact from the substitutes’ bench as Tottenham won 2-0 at home against Portsmouth.

Centre-half Michael Dawson rattled the crossbar in the first half for Spurs before Bent came on to fire Dimitar Berbatov’s scuffed shot beyond David James with 10 minutes to go.

Just two minutes later, Bent turned provider as he played in a cross to supply Jamie O’Hara with a simple tap-in.

Middlesbrough inched ever closer to securing their Premier League status for next season after a 1-0 win at home to bottom club Derby.

Woeful Derby defending contributed to Boro’s winning goal on 32 minutes when Tuncay Sanli collected George Boateng’s inside pass and sauntered into the box before steering a low shot beyond the wrong-footed Roy Carroll.

Robinson returns to England squad

England coach Fabio Capello has recalled Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson to the squad for Wednesday’s friendly in France.Capello has reduced his squad from 30 to 23 and brought in Robinson to replace the injured Scott Carson.

Matthew Upson is also injured, while Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, Shaun Wright-Phillips, David Wheater and Jermain Defoe are cut from the squad.

David Beckham retains his place and could win his 100th cap in Paris.

Robinson lost his England spot in the final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia last year.

Jenas scored the opening goal of Capello’s reign in the friendly win over Switzerland last month, but he missed Tottenham’s Premier League win over Portsmouth on Saturday.

Capello risks his squad for Wednesday being hit by injuries to key players when Liverpool play Manchester United and Arsenal play Chelsea on Sunday.

The Italian has voiced his concern over the timing of the Premier League fixtures.

“This is a friendly - having said that I’m not ecstatic, not happy about it,” said Capello.

“Some of the players I will not be able to train as I would like to.”

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Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Joleon Lescott (Everton), John Terry (Chelsea), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (AstonVilla), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)

Forwards: Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Newcastle 2-0 Fulham

Goals from Mark Viduka and Michael Owen gave Newcastle their first win in 14 league games and boss Kevin Keegan’s first in 10 matches since his return.Viduka struck in the sixth minute when he collected a pass from Geremi and fired low past goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Owen should have doubled their lead with a close-range header before nodding in from Geremi’s free-kick.

Jimmy Bullard had Fulham’s best chances but his long-range efforts were comfortably dealt with by Steve Harper.

Victory will be a massive relief to Newcastle, who move six points clear of the relegation zone after their first win in the Premier League since a 1-0 win at Fulham on 15 December.

But the signs seem ominous for the west London outfit, who are now four points adrift of safety with seven games left.

The visiting team were gifted enough possession during the first half but time and time again failed to come up with the killer ball.

Their downfall was self-inflicted at the other end of the field where Roy Hodgson’s men produced a display that could politely be described as inept and in the sixth minute Viduka took advantage of that.

The Australian, who had not played for nine weeks prior to last week’s draw at Birmingham, controlled Geremi’s pass from the right, turned then drilled his shot into Keller’s bottom right.

Owen, the hero at St Andrew’s should have made it 2-0 but he could only head Geremi’s clipped ball into the hands of Keller after finding himself inexplicably free eight yards out.

The England striker also had a 20-yard shot tipped over by the American shot-stopper, who then had to be alert to divert Obefemi Martins’ low effort round the post.

Harper had his hands kept warm on a wintery Easter Saturday by the spirited Bullard, who fired in a couple of shots from distance that the Newcastle keeper had to crouch down low to save.

Keegan’s men, who looked edgy in the first half despite taking an early lead, were far more confident after the break although shots on goal were few and far between.

They always looked potent though and Joey Barton, who along with Nicky Butt was one of the stars of the show, came closest to doubling his side’s lead when he whacked a 20-yarder that missed Fulham’s right-hand upright by a foot.

The result was still in doubt until the 83rd minute when Owen leapt above the Fulham defence to score his second in two games.

And with that, some of those growing concerns on Tyneside seemed to drift away.

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Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan on Owen:
“People keep questioning all sorts of things with these great players, but they can answer them.”Michael probably answered a few critics again today - there are plenty out there, from what I am seeing.

“He would certainly be in most people’s England side.”

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson:
“We have got seven games to play. But it was a big move for Sunderland with their excellent win at Aston Villa, so we have lost touch with them.”But having said that, seven matches, a lot of things can happen.

“We’ve got to keep believing that our football can get us out trouble and hope things start going right.”

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Newcastle: Harper, Beye (Edgar 87), Taylor, Faye, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Butt, Barton, Owen, Viduka (Smith 84), Martins (N’Zogbia 74).
Subs Not Used: Forster, Carroll.

Goals: Viduka 6, Owen 83.

Fulham: Keller, Stalteri (Healy 84), Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Andreasen, Bullard, Murphy (Volz 71), Davies, McBride (Dempsey 66), Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Warner, Bocanegra.

Booked: Volz.

Att: 52,293

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).