TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Verbeek names three new faces Australia coach Pim Verbeek has named three new faces in a 23-man squad for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Kuwait City on January 6 next year. foxsports.com.au |
Premier League: Stoke City 0-1 Birmingham City This was another excellent result for Birmingham, another bad one for Stoke – which has been the way of it of late. Alex McLeish and his Blues go from strength to strength, unbeaten in the last 11 Premier League games. The pride of the Potteries have now won one in nine.The decisive goal, Cameron Jerome's fourth of the season, was forced home from close range after 50 minutes. Stoke had their chances in what was a mundane scrap, but they tended to fall to Ryan Shawcross. His expertise, as a centre-half, lies elsewhere.The teams came into the match on the back of contrasting results, Birmingham having gained a deserved draw with Chelsea on Boxing Day while Stoke were well beaten by Manchester City. No prizes, then, for guessing who kept the same starting line-up and who made five changes.James Beattie, in for Mamady Sidibe, was the most significant selection by Stoke's Tony Pulis, who had fallen out with the former England striker over his Christmas party arrangements. Beattie was poor and he gave way to Ricardo Fuller in the second half. The former's time in the Potteries is running out.It was never likely to be a classic. Nobody in the Premier League has scored fewer goals than Stoke (15), and Birmingham had hardly been prolific, with 20 in 19 matches before this one. Both managers are concentrating on first principles, fashioning parsimonious defences with grafters in front.The first semblance of a chance did not appear until the 22nd minute, when Matthew Etherington's corner from the right was nudged wide, at close range, by Shawcross. Birmingham's first attempt of consequence, 10 minutes later, saw Jerome nod wide from three yards.Christian BenÃtez appealed loud and long for a penalty just before half-time, but Abdoulaye Faye's challenge was a legitimate one in the eyes of the referee, Martin Atkinson, who had a good view of the incident.The goal the game was crying out for arrived five minutes into the second half – unsurprisingly, it came from a set piece. Jerome's shot was deflected over for a corner, which was taken on the left by James McFadden. His delivery found its way, via Scott Dann's head and Shawcross's involuntary touch, to the far post, where Jerome bundled the ball in from two yards.Stoke hit back hard, Faye's powerful header bringing a reminder of Joe Hart's potential as an England goalkeeper. His appreciative fan club saluted him as "England's No1." He, and the 10 men in front of him, stood firm for a deserved win.Premier LeagueStoke CityBirmingham CityJoe Lovejoyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Wigan v Aston Villa latest casualty as freezing weather ravages football fixtures • Only Arsenal v Everton and Birmingham v Man Utd remain • View comprehensive list of postponed football fixturesWigan Athletic's match at home to Aston Villa is the latest game in the Premier League this afternoon to fall victim to the weather, while Sunday's match between West Ham and Wolves has also been postponed.Wigan's undersoil heating system failed yesterday and engineers have been unable to repair it, causing the pitch to freeze overnight. The referee Stuart Atwell inspected the pitch at 8.30am and decided the heavy overnight frost had left the surface unplayable.Five Premier League matches were postponed after inspections yesterday, including Burnley v Stoke, Fulham v portsmouth, Hull City v Chelsea, Sunderland v Bolton and Liverpool's match at Anfield against Tottenham which was scheduled for a 4pm kick-off tomorrow.Only Arsenal v Everton and Birmingham v Manchester United remain on the fixture list for the weekend's matches in the English top flight.Today's surviving fixtures (3pm kick-offs unless specified)Premier LeagueArsenal v EvertonBirmingham City v Manchester United (5.30pm)ChampionshipCardiff City v BlackpoolCoventry City v BarnsleyDerby County v ScunthorpeLeague OneLeeds United v Wycombe WanderersNorwich City v Exeter CityScottish Cup, fourth roundAberdeen v HeartsDunfermline v StenhousemuirHibernian v Irvine MeadowPartick Thistle v Dundee UnitedSt Mirren v AlloaFor a comprehensive list of all the other postponements click here.Wigan AthleticAston VillaPremier LeagueChampionshipLeague OneScottish Cupguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
US name host cities for World Cup bid • US reveal final list of venues to present to Fifa on 14 May• Cities chosen for 'outstanding leadership' and 'vision'The US World Cup bid team say their selection of 18 host cities will give their campaign the boost required to secure the tournament in either 2018 or 2022.The list of cities will be included in its official bid book, to be presented to world governing body Fifa on 14 May. Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington DC all made the final list.Among the 11 cities eliminated from the final round of the selection process were four that hosted games during the last World Cup on American soil in 1994: Chicago, Detroit, Orlando and San Francisco."Today our hopes of becoming a host nation are strengthened by the announcement of the 18 cities we will submit to Fifa," said the US bid chairman and president of US Soccer, Sunil Gulati. "These 18 cities share outstanding leadership with a vision and understanding of what a Fifa World Cup would mean to the United States, along with how well we can play the role of host to visitors from throughout the world."The United States is equipped and ready to offer Fifa the opportunity to host a passionate and successful World Cup where fans, teams, partners and media can experience the beautiful game at its highest level while allowing the world soccer family to focus on the utmost mission of the game that benefits the world as a whole."Fifa is expected to announce its final decision on the hosts for both 2018 and 2022 at the end of this year on 2 December, after technical delegations have made site visits to all the cities of every hopeful host nation, including England's 2018 bid, this September.The US bid's executive director, David Downs, said the exclusion of prominent cities like Chicago, which hosted the opening game at USA '94, was a sign of the game's development in America over the last 16 years."We consider it a meaningful indicator of the significant growth of soccer in this country that we can put forth such a technically sound bid without four cities that served as hosts for the first World Cup in the United States in 1994," said Downs."The emergence of passionate followings for the sport and state-of-the-art venues throughout the country has strengthened our ability to put together a truly national bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022."World Cup 2018guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Manchester United v Manchester City: Carlos Tevez's agent says Gary Neville has 'no class' Carlos Tevez advisor inflames row between Man City striker and United defender ahead of Carling Cup clash. telegraph.co.uk |