| Wayne Rooney struggles to see big picture in England stalemate against Montenegro Fabio Capello's infatuation with target men leaves England's talisman out of his depth as troubles continue, telegraph.co.uk |
England draw, Spain edge Scots The latest round of Euro 2012 qualifiers brought drama on and off the pitch with plenty of goals and some unruly crowd violence. foxsports.com.au |
Football League: your thoughts QPR's victory failed to disguise Cardiff's superiority while a former Arsenal trainee took Dover to the third round of the CupIt seems Neil Warnock and Dave Jones might not like each other that much. At the very least their post-match press conferences at Loftus Road after Queens Park Rangers' 2-1 top-of-the-table Championship victory over Cardiff City provided a bracing alternative to the usual comfortable clubbiness, with both managers carping on about unawarded penalties and launching pre-emptive strikes towards whatever the other might suggest in their absence.Jones in particular was incandescent over Kevin Friend's failure to award a penalty in the 85th minute for what looked like a trip on Jay Bothroyd. He even suggested Cardiff might have gone on to get a winner. If this seemed optimistic you could understand his frustration. Cardiff were the better team overall, if not in terms of goals scored and territory in the second half, then in terms of passing and controlled football.Their dominant spell towards the end of the first half provided the classiest passage of the match and of the two teams it is Cardiff who look currently better equipped to thrive at the higher level if – or probably when – they both get promoted. Rangers are unbeaten because they have an excellent defence (and they should hurl a percentage of their transfer trust fund at buying Kyle Walker from Tottenham), because they have great energy and purpose and are expert at set pieces. Cardiff have more clarity to their style and, already, a dusting of class in midfield and attack.Having said that, the match was settled by a moment of brilliance from Adel Taarabt, the Moroccan who is entrusted almost single-handedly with providing a gloss of butterfly-ish guile to Rangers' attack. Taarabt's winning goal was expertly taken. It was also typically Taarabt-ish in that it was the high point of a scattergun performance. He is a Championship-level attacking genius: give him 10 chances to create something and one will end up in a wonderfully worked goal. At a higher level he will rarely get such a wealth of opportunities.Craig Bellamy was also excellent today, and altogether more direct in style. Not yet fully fit, he worked hard, looked typically jet-heeled and finished neatly after a terrible mistake by Kaspars Gorkss. Bellamy will get sharper: if he stays fit it he has the dead-eyed quality to light up the Championship and ensure that, of these two, it is Jones who leads the way in May. BRTalking points• The decision for Hull City to play in white today was either inspired or absurd, depending on your perspective. Their game against Middlesbrough took place in a near-blizzard, meaning that players were often hard to pick out against the snow. Many felt the game should have been called off, but those fans who chose to tough it out at the Riverside were treated to a richly entertaining game, which ended in a 2-2 draw.• At one point this looked set to be the day of the underdog in the second round of the FA Cup. With more than 80 minutes gone, FC United, who currently play in the seventh tier of English football, led 1-0 away to the League One leaders Brighton, while the Conference National side Tamworth were 2-1 up away to Carlisle United, another League One side. But FC United, playing with 10 men from the 70th minute after the sending off of Scott McManus, were eventually pegged back and eventually needed a Sam Ashton save from Elliot Bennett's penalty deep into stoppage time to preserve a draw that earns them a home replay. Tamworth were less fortunate, conceding twice in the last four minutes to lose 3-2.• One non-league side was able to complete their upset, however, Conference South Dover Athletic beating League Two Aldershot through two goals from the former Arsenal trainee, Adam Birchall. The striker hadn't scored since his team's first-round win over Gillingham, but he seems to be enjoying the FA Cup run – including the qualifying rounds he has now scored 11 goals in this year's competition. Dover weren't the only non-league side to reach the third round today, though – in an all-Conference National clash, York City beat Darlington 1-0 to reach the third round. PBQPRCardiff CityChampionshipFA CupBarney RonayPaolo Bandiniguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Sheffield Wednesday avoid administration after Leicester City chairman Milan Mandaric completes takeover Leicester City Chairman Milan Mandaric completes takeover of League One side Sheffield Wednesday. telegraph.co.uk |
Gignac ready to return with Marseille France and Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac has recovered from a groin injury and is likely to play against Rennes on Wednesday. cbc.ca |